What is the car order on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief passenger train which runs between Chicago and Los Angeles. I think this used to be called the Super Chief. What cars are nearest to the locomotives and what order to the rest to them follow? Also which way to the cars ride, does the brake gear go toward the front or the rear of the cars?
Thanks…
You can watch the Southwest Chief twice each day as it passes through Ft. Madison, Iowa at wwww.livetrains.com. Check Amtraks’ schedule to see exact times.
Cars can operate in either direction with equal ease. Handbrake is on the B end. Don’t know train consist. Did you try a web search?
The Southwest Chief car order is much the same as the rest of Amtrak’s Superliner fleet. After the locomotives there is a baggage car, transition sleeper car, two sleeper cars, a dining car, a sightseerer lounge car, and two or more coach cars (the first having a smoking lounge downstairs, plus a number of freight cars…
The only exception I know of is the Texas Eagle, where there is usually one sleeper car 4 days of the week after the transition sleeper car, and in the 3 days of the week when the Eagle joins with the Sunset Limited west of San Antonio, the Eagle will have another sleeper car after the final coach car. Amtrak switches one sleeper and one coach in San Antonio to the westbound Sunset Limited. Thus, the Sunset Limited will add a coach and a sleeper after its normal order of cars too…Doing so makes the switching of the cars easier…