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I inquired a few days ago about the return of the Talgos to the Cascades Seattle-Vancouver run. I e-mailed Amtrak and was told that they *do* plan to have the Talgos back in service on the run starting September 1st.
George Harris Member # 2077
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Did you ask when the second Seattle - Vancouver train is supposed to start running?
royaltrain Member # 622
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I'm glad to hear that the Talgo's will be back in service since I have a business class seat reserved from Vancouver BC to Seattle come this December.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I'm not sure about the accuracy of the response from Amtrak. Oftentimes, Amtrak employees are the last to know what is actually going on. If they return the Talgo to the SEA-VAC route, that means another Cascades train will have to use those Superliner cars (and I'm fairly certain that is not in any plan). So this means that if the Talgo train is returned to SEA-VAC, then that would mean that ALL Talgo's have completed their refurbishments (and I don't think they will be by then). I will need to check with some friends who have accurate and updated information on this, and I'll update the info here.
yukon11 Member # 2997
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quote:Originally posted by George Harris: Did you ask when the second Seattle - Vancouver train is supposed to start running?
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Mr. Harris, that is also my question. I, along with some friends of mine, are planning a Canadian train trip next summer (2009). We will be taking both the Whistler Mountaineer & Rocky Mountaineer. We are hoping that there will be a morning run (as opposed to 5:45 PM departure) from Vancouver to Seattle by then. We need to complete our plans by, sometime, this fall. Thus, it would be good to know if there will be a new run. I guess I can try to e-mail Amtrak for more info, but I once tried that without success. Any suggestions?
Richard
Kostroma Member # 2243
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Here is the project website, though it doesn't give any specifics other than when the refurbs are scheduled to be completed.
I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of the equipment used on routes like a lot of you on this board are. Why would they need to take a Talgo away from the Portland run in order to have one for the Vancouver run if two of the trainsets are supposedly finished?
As for the second train, a blurb in the schedule effective May 12th says:
"In the upcoming months, Trains 513 and 516 will be extended between Bellingham and Vancouver B.C. Check with Amtrak or visit AmtrakCascades.com later this year to obtain schedule information for this added service."
But, you know, the best laid plans of mice and Amtrak....
MightyAlweg Member # 5407
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Is there any way to tell which refurbished trainset they use on which train number?
I ask because I plan on taking a Cascades from Seattle to Portland in late August, and as I'm flexible on the departure time I'd like to try and get on one of the refurbished trainsets. According to the link from Kostroma above, the Mt. Rainer and Mt. Olympus (love that name!) trainsets will be refurbished and running daily by August.
Do they stick to a reliable format of using the refurbished Mt. Rainer and Mt. Olympus trainsets on specific train numbers?
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mr. Alweg, Amtrak is not under any obligation to assign any particular trainset to any particular run, even if they have a Consist Book (likely nowadays an ethernet password controlled on line document) that specifies such.
But oh well, I guess airfans can get agitated if they booked a flight on the strength than a 737-2H4 were to be assigned, yet there was a 737-387 at the gate.
I can recall as a kid and having relatives residing on Staten Island (Father's Sister; I guess that's an Aunt - who I never got on with) wanting to ride each active Staten Island ferry. I needed "Gold Star Mother' , but here comes "Mary Murray" a sister vessel, but on which I had ridden (sailed appropriate term for ferries? don't think so).
Anyone think my Type-A Father would be about to wait around for the boat I wanted? Uh, don't think so.
Finally, talk of the Staten Island Ferry can't be all bad around here; lest we forget that both the Ferry and the Staten Island Railroad were once B&O properties.
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