Need procedural advice re RailNinja, please, no admonishment.

We did buy travel insurance

Will your travel insurance or credit card company cover the cost of the RailNinja tickets if they fail to deliver? If so, I’d probably just wait until closer to the date and buy tickets only if they fail to deliver.

Another possibility would be to buy refundable tickets (from the train operator) if you just want some peace of mind. If Rail Ninja comes through, you could cancel. These will cost more.

Laura, thanks so much for your very helpful suggestion. I so appreciate it.

Well,whether you paid or not has bearing on what process to follow next; it's absolutely pertinent to your request for help. As is the date of travel - it's not that anyone wants to go follow you around. It's that, in order to better respond to the request for assistance that you posted here, it also makes a difference.

Kim, I guess I should have been clearer that by stating that since it was "noncancellable, nonrefundable" that I had paid, and that by saying that "I'm less than 3 weeks away" that those things were apparent...

If you are travelling in 'less than 3 weeks time" then it isn't hard to work out that you are either on the inaugural or second southbound trip of the RDC train, or on one of the final SJ trips.
Looking at the RDC website both the 1 and 3 September currently have tickets available.

If it is an earlier date then you need to book with SJ.

So the advice if you have to make the journey by train is to go ahead and book with RDC or SJ. As Rail Ninja are now in breach of contract then raise a chargeback with your credit card issuer.

The alternative is that Rail Ninja fail to issue tickets, and at that stage the train is booked full, so you have to make alternative travel arrangements.

Now of course you could go back to the bot, tell it you know that tickets are available, and give an ultimatum to issue the tickets within 24 hours, or you will take things further. That way you have an audit trail for the chargeback process.

You have asked for advice, well that is my reasoned advice.

Isn31c, thanks so much for your comment. I appreciate that you understood and kindly took time, I believe, to research the recent purchase of SJ by RDC and what that impact could be on my predicament. Once again, thank you for your kindness and thoughtful measured advice, rare in a world of short fuses, conclusion-jumping and assumption-leaping (all of which I, unfortunately, own and perform, assisted by caffeine and chocolate. ) Your response will help us have a fabulous trip, and that’s exactly what this Forum is about!

I always try to find the easiest way to do things. (It keeps life less complicated).

If I were in our situation, I'd go ahead and buy fully refundable tickets from the train operator. (Not a third party.) And make sure they are fully refundable.

If Rail Ninja comes through, then you can cancel the refundable tickets. If they don't come through, you're covered for the trip so you aren't stranded. You would then request a refund either directly from Rail Ninja or via the credit card you used.

And then chalk the whole thing up to a lesson learned. In the future, buy direct. The fewer people/companies between you and the final product, the less headaches. (It's not admonishing, just a reminder.)

Frank II, my parents used to say "we get too soon old and too late smart". It's an old German proverb. Thank you for your kind advice.

Sorry people can’t let go of the unimportant at this point.

I’m no Traveler, just a dumb old goat farming tourist, so here is a take from a less sophisticated point of view. But to be honest I’m so good with money that had to move to the poorest country in the EU to make ends meet.

Three things could happen in your situation.

1/ you could get a cash refund. Just ain’t going to happen. We both know that.
2/ you could get your tickets tomorrow. Well, those tickets became available a long time ago and you still don’t have them. Miracles do happen, but in my world, just ain’t going to happen.
3/ What’s the third? Okay, two things could happen.

So, if you did get a refund that’s cash in your pocket. If your insurance pays off, that’s cash in your pocket. So, you are going to buy fully refundable, changeable tickets on the hope and prayer that they send you the tickets on time? In my world, it is just not good enough odds to spend twice as much on a new ticket. I didn’t look at where you are going, but if that fully fluffy ticket only costs even 10€ more than the discount use it or lose it ticket, I still buy the discount ticket …… UNLESS, you got something else going on that might cause you to miss the train … even then maybe.