I had to pay for my hotel room because the airline wouldn’t. That was in Atlanta, and storms fouled up schedules. I did get a discount on the hotel room I think.
Did not know that the standby cars only started at the schedule change. That explains why the standby power cabinet appeared so new.
The mechanical personel probably had been pushing for standby cars and in their infinite wisdom though that their requests caused the stationing of the cars. Much more likely it was national operations management that decided on the standby cars. It was just a good unintended consequence that placing the cars allowed for the benefts I previously posted. ? ?
Blue Streak,
My recollection is that your trip took you west across the northern tier of the country, south along the west coast, and east along the southern tier of the country. Presumably you arrived and perhaps departed San Antonio on the Sunset Limited.
Unless the Sunset Limited was running late, you had to be up and off the train at an early hour to watch the switching operations in San Antonio and talk with the mechanical department folks. Did you get any sleep on your trip?
I worked for the Santa Fe Rlwy beginning in 1966 in Kansas City, MO. The Super Chief - El Capitan trains 17 Westbound, and the Chief train 19 left as advertised, which is to say they departed Dearborn Station on time. They were not delayed , as other arrangements could be made with other carriers.
SAM — You have the trip correctly… In on the Sunset fairly early and out on time to HOU. Then to DAL - CHI. Then to NOL layover there time for couple days then ATL.
My checkered flying career enabled me to sleep any where any time for about 5 day periods at a time. Then took a long sleep period. That is much the same way the trip was scheduled.
I rode the Eastbound SW Chief a few years ago - We were late out of Kansas City and they estimated we would be at least an hour late in Chicago. They had buses meet the train at Joliet and connecting passengers for the East were bused to a connection with the East Coast trains after they left Chicago.
Jim
I have solved the connection problem in Chicago by never, ever trying to make a same day connection in Chicago. I almost never have been able to anyway. Only once did it work and that was by about 5 minutes. Talk about stress. Once when the SW Chief was OT into Chicago the Lake Shore had been canceled for the day. They wouldn’t ticket me on the next day’s LSL because they couldn’t guarantee that it would leave either so the alternative was to sit up all night in coach to DC (no rooms available) with a connection to a corridor train the next day to Boston. I said “no thanks” and they provided me with a SW Airlines ticket to Providence and I made an easy connection to South Station on the MBTA. I arrived home a day early. The worst was a 6 hour late CZ with the before mentioned bus transfer from Galesburg to Indianapolis to catch the Cardinal. It would have been minimally acceptable except that the Cardinal had been delayed by 3 hours after leaving Chicago and didn’t arrive into Indianapolis until 3:30 AM. Had to spend 3 1/2 hours sitting on a bench in that filthy, dreary, scarey train/bus station the whole time. that was the end. I said never aagain and on several occasions I have been very glad I have.