16 replies to this topic

[celticheart47]

Thank you Kevin for the information and I will check it out. I just hope now that the screwy California weather is over by the time I get there.

[RailHaRRy]

I have a question for anyone who might know the answer. I would like to find transportation from the Los Angeles Union Station to Sherman Oaks so my son doesn't have to pick me up at 6 something in the am. Does anyone know about taxi or shuttle services at this station?

My daughter lives in Sherman Oaks, and I travel up there fairly often. I agree that the Red Line subway will be by far the easiest way for you to get close to Sherman Oaks, and for your son to pick you up.

The Red Line subway station is directly under the "tunnel" access to L.A. Union Station from the ground-level tracks. So when you get off your train you will go down a ramp or stairs to the tunnel, then can reach the Red Line via escalator at either end of the tunnel. If you are collecting checked baggage you will want to go into the main station (it's well marked), turn right to the baggage claim area, and as you do look to the right to see the entrance to the Red Line. If not getting checking baggage, go the opposite direction in the tunnel (toward the bus terminal) and at the end of the tunnel turn right and you'll see the escalator to the Red Line.

If we can help in any other way, please don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy your trip!

[celticheart47]

Thank you so much for the help. I get in at 6:40am and I was thinking that if the train was late I would have to call him around 5:00 to tell him that the train was late and that really is a mean thing for a mom to do to her kid. I thought that taking some other transportation to my hotel would be an option but I can't check into the hotel that early in the morning. I am now thinking that I could "hang out" at the station until around 9:00am and then he could meet me, and I could store my stuff in his car, then we could go and exlore Olveria Street. Does that sound like a reasonable solution to the problem? I am sorry if I didn't respond to this message correctly but I am new to the forums format. I am used to responding to my yahoo groups. If I make a mistake please forgive.

[celticheart47]

Kevin, your thank you is on page 2 of this correspondence. I have never been on a forum before so I'm making some mistakes in posting. I am only used to posting and replying on my yahoo groups. I am sorry to ask but I have a new problem driving me crazy. I bought the book USA by Rail and I have downloaded several of the route guides pertaining to my trip but most of the more detailed ones are in the opposite direction from which I am travelling. I got this bright idea that I would write my own route guide but found a little glitch. The officaial schedule for a route (such as the coast Starlight northbound) does not reconcile with any of the route guides. For instance, the offical Amtrak schedule says that you leave Santa Barbara at 12:48pm and arrive in San Luis Obispo at 3:43pm. That's 2 hours and 55 minutes. All the guides, including Amtrak's, that I have downloaded says the trip should only be a about 2 hours and 5 minutes. So how do you to figure out where all the landmark are supposed to be when the times are off by so much. I know this is a stupid question but I am really am interested in the answer. I figure I am missing something about this but I honestly can't I figure out what it is.

[bill haithcoat]

I don't know how to reconcile the difference between the timetable and the travel guide. But one point, about calling your son----you don't need to do so at 5 a.m. and wake him up---just call the night before. The train could possibly be running hours late and you can let him know the night before you arrive. If it is still on time the night before perhaps it will be close to on time the next morning. Also, something which does not directly address your problem above, but might be a good to know, is this. Don't necessarily expect the amount of time a train spends traveling in one direction to be the same amount of time in the opposite direction. Issues of congestion, grades, padding, etc can make travel time different in different directions. I realize that was not your conflict---your conflict was between the timetable and the route guide----but as you get further into this, that is somethng to keep in mind. This might explain it better. Look at the timetable for the Coast Starlight. Check out travel between Glendale and LA. Note northbound it takes only 18 minutes. Note southbound it shows about 37 . This is "padding" to help it get on time into LA, the larger city. It could leave Glendale a few minutes late,southbound, and still be on time in LA. Just getting at how travel times can vary in each direction.

[KevinKorell]

I hope Bill's excellent answer to your question suffices. Let me add that the book you refer to, "USA By Rail", is not published every year, so it does not keep up with the schedule changes, which can take place at least twice a year. As trains have problems with timekeeping thanks to freight interference and other delays, the schedules get fine-tuned to allow more time between the different stations on a segment of the line. At times, your train may be stuck behind a 20 mph freight train with no way to pass it until the next double track segment, which could be miles away. I guess the best thing to do is to simply keep your eyes open in the direction of a particular site mentioned in the guide, and hope you see it either at the specified time or shortly thereafter. And by the way, you ask valid questions and we are happy to have many members who can jump in at any time and answer them. No question is stupid if you could not possibly have known the answer before.

[celticheart47]

Thank you to all of you that have helped to answer my questions. New, but good, wrinkle in the Los Angeles problem. Amtrak has changed the schedules for both the westbound and the eastbound Sunset Limited. Westbound now gets in at 10:10am. If anyone out there is traveling in March they should check out any schedule changes. I think the eastbound has an even bigger change than the westbound. Apparently it will have an impact on connections to other trains. Just thought I would pass this along.