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Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by bostontrainguy
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 6:02 am I realize and respect that Mr. Trainguy holds differently in that he has noted here of a desire to have "The Vacationer" restored (a BOS-NH-NYP-PRR-WAS-RF&P-RIC-ACL-JAX-FEC-MIA train that did not handle passengers at NY Penn) . . .
Just a little anecdotal story:

A few years ago my cousin and his wife and my wife and I were going on a cruise out of Florida. They had never taken the train and thought they would like to join us and try it. After telling them that we had to take our luggage to South Station the night before and pick it up the day after we get back (because only the Night Owl offered checked baggage service) they decided it wasn't worth the hassle and decided to fly and meet us there. So today's passengers expect convenience and the present situation is not convenient for the non-railfan for sure. It's even worse now with no checked baggage offered.

Extending the Palmetto north (with a schedule adjustment) is just a possible option for a new Night Owl offering sleeper and baggage service now missing. Extending it southward to some point in Florida would be the easiest way to increase Silver Service which is Amtrak's heaviest routes.

Some quick but old ridership numbers:

Amtrak Route Ridership
FY19 vs. FY18

Southeast Routes 2019/2018
Silver Star 389,995 368,518 +5.8
Silver Meteor 353,466 337,023 +4.9
Palmetto 345,342 387,919 -11.0
Auto Train 236,041 224,837 +5.0

Amtrak did once offer through coach service on a Silver to Boston way back maybe in the 70's?

Amtrak keeps the "Night Owl" name alive. Announces "Night Owl" fares:

https://secretnyc.co/amtrak-night-owl-fares/

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by EdSchweppe
 
Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 6:38 am Night. Owl. Please. It already runs to Boston (annulments at NYP notwithstanding) and on to Virginia. Whether or not an LD can be extended is a different topic in a thread that's on here somewhere. It's a worthy discussion, but belongs in the appropriate topic i.e. LSL, Silver, Palmetto, and all that.
In deference to El Jefe's request, my response to Mr. Norman is over in the Lake Shore Limited thread.

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by Arborwayfan
 
I just looked up the NYP to WAS schedules and noticed that 67 arrives in Washington at 4:02 am. Does anyone know who decided that was a good idea? That used to be a pretty full Boston-Washington train, even in coach, but now it kind of looks like Amtrak has abandoned the overnight market. I knew the sleepers had been gone for years except that little experiment, but what's with having the one overnight train get in at a time worth of some small town in the middle of nowhere? It leaves Boston at 7:55, which also seems very early for the last train south out of a big city.

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by RandallW
 
It looks like 67's schedule is designed to provide a evening train from BOS to NYP (arriving there just before midnight) which would terminate at NYP except that equipment is needed in WAS for a morning WAS-NPN train, so Amtrak just runs 67 from BOS-WAS with a three hour layover in WAS before continuing on to NPN.

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by bostontrainguy
 
Could do a new "Executive Sleeper". Add a sleeper and remove it in DC with the electric engine. Then put it on a stub station track and allow occupancy to 8AM or 9AM or so.

Re: Federal, Night Owl, Twilight Shoreliner (Trains 65, 66, 67)

  by CNJGeep
 
They need to be by Portal by 1:30 AM so the railroad can shut down and bridge work can commence. This gives 67 a half hour of cushion in case it's extremely late, which has happened two or three times over the last month.
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