[fineIllregister]

I don't have personal experience, but I've heard it's not viable. The biggest issue is that Amtrak offers the service on a "best effort" basis, which means that if the train you want to hook up to is running late (which this frequently are due to conflicts with cargo traffic), they won't hook your car up, and you have to wait for the next train, which also might not be able to hook you up.

[bombcar]

Part of doing this is knowing the rules and the “real rules” - you have the car attached at an end node (Los Angeles or San Diego, say) even if your group gets on in Burbank.