Sleeping car attendants go above and beyond, and are generally willing to help with things outside the scope of their duties if you ask nicely. On a Christmas Eve trip from LA to New Orleans aboard the Sunset Limited, our car attendant allowed us use the attendant break room to wrap gifts for our 10-year-old twin sons while they slept, and found a big red bag that she put the wrapped gifts in before delivering them to our table at breakfast the next morning, which was Christmas day. She told my astonished, wide-eyed kids that Santa had met the train in San Antonio the night before and dropped off their gifts. Patty helped us keep the magic for our kids for another few years, and earned a million thanks from us.
One point I'd add: yes, be courteous to your fellow passengers (especially your seatmate and dining companions, if applicable). But if you're a "chatty Cathy" type, keep in mind that not everyone is. Amtrak likes to push "meeting new friends" on the train, but not everyone is a social butterfly. I'll be nice to you, because I do enjoy a good conversation for a while, but there will come a time when I've had enough -- and I'm sure I speak for many other introverts!
I'm very introverted and would prefer to eat alone at my own table, but the last time I was sat next to other people and I must admit it was delightful. The other people were wonderful and afterwards I was glad that I was sort of forced to be socialable.
@@GroundedLifeTravel Which is the least favored time amongst passengers for meal reservations - is it towards the end of dining hours? Or the beginning times? Sometimes, I still prefer to eat alone and/or at the least inconvenience to the train crew and fellow passengers. Thanks a bunch!
I thought the same thing the first time i took a long distance train. And had the same experience. Many years and train rides later have come to realize thats part of the joy of ld train travel meeting all kinds of different people who are not going anywhere in a hurry
It’s hit or miss. I got seated with an elderly couple who were fine and next to a woman who said she was South African but was from the Carolinas and was talking about the South Africa of old as a good thing. I tuned her out after dashing her stories as BS. She didn’t anticipate someone who knew that her story was so outdated and racist.
My husband and I are both older and a bit on the shy side. We are generally quiet and keep our conversations private when we are sharing a space with others. On our first trip on the Coast Starlight we were really not looking forward to sharing a table with strangers. But, it ended up being a wonderful experience. We encountered everything from a young couple covered in tattoos and piercings to older professionals. We were very fortunate because, to a person, they were all very nice and interesting. I distinctly remember that young couple. When I saw them My hear sank because I just KNEW we would get seated with them. And, we did. They’ve ended up being the most memorable dining guests. Just another lesson to stop judging people on how they look. You would think that at my age I would know better but I guess we all need a refresher course now and then. I no longer fret over sharing a table. I would also have no problem whatsoever asking to be moved or taking my meal to my room if I encountered belligerent, rude, racist or generally nasty dining guests. I might be shy but I don’t tolerate the company of jerks.
Disabled with autism here. I love the train, particularly going cross country. (orlando - seattle). The train is a portable, Self contained little world, like the Starship Enterprise. I like having two seats to myself in the very back 'cause it's like having my own little Crew quarters module. But there's no way I'm going to eat with other people. not only don't I like other people Because they're not interesting, but I have a malfunctioning social interaction interface unit, and so they always find me weird, odd, strange, disturbing, and peculiar. Also my uncomfortableness makes them uncomfortable , and I notice it. From my experiences with them, when I'm with other people I am forced to talk to, I just want to escape. So I refuse to eat In that car unless I can be alone. The hell with the normals. I don't like normal people. I would absolutely love to try one of those Roometts, but I'm not paying $500 for $70 trip. Dat's that's boo shee-yit.
My experience on Amtrak is that the other passengers are better behaved than on an airplane. Maybe it's because they haven't been treated like cattle beforehand, maybe it's because they have a little bit more room, maybe just everything is more relaxed on a train and less stressful. But that's my experience.
Certainly people who take the train in the US are a self selected group. On the Southwest Chief there were a lot of Amish, often in the sightseeing car so I think they were in coach. There were always lots of seats in that car even though the train was sold out, unlike on the California Zephyr.
May be not appropriate for some folks but my avatar is my wife and I , it is good to see a mixed couple on UA-cam. We had 43 years before her death in 2020.
Suggestion for people who get cold easily. In the cafe car, you can buy a sleep pack. Which includes: blanket, earplugs, neck pillow, and a sleep mask that go over the eyes.
Just found you; thank you so much. Fun and informative. I’m a fossil. My first train trip was in 1948 as I recall, Sioux City, Iowa, to Chicago, connecting service to Milwaukee. We were late arriving in Chicago (snowstorm) and had to run for the Milwaukee Road, which was creeping out of station and crammed with Great Lakes sailors on Christmas leave going home. The conductor found us a spot in the bar car. Mother squished between exuberant sailors and I slept on the table top cushioned and covered by damp pea coats. We arrived in Milwaukee sometime near dawn to several feet of new snow. The conductor kept track of mother and me, and helped us off the train and into the station past massive snowdrifts. I loved it all I cannot imagine another mode of public transportation that would have accommodated a diminutive woman with a small child and big bags, especially in that hectic crush. This began a love affair with the rails which has lasted. You’ve made me think that I might still be able to physically manage another rail journey. I will contact Amtrak and inquire. Possibly I can skip sleeping on a table in a lounge car this time. Thank you so much for your channel. I will certainly travel with you in spirit.
As an Aussie having visited the US 6 times now, I have really enjoyed my Amtrak journeys. Comfortable, picturesque views out the windows, great way to meet others. Have met some wonderful US residents. Thx for letting me reminisce. 😊
I want to do do the Indian Pacific through the Nullabor Plain. I think the plain would be cool for about 30 minutes, and then a good time to take a nap.
My wife took Amtrak from Orem, Utah to Denver and it was in the dead of winter. The "station" was more like an old bus stop. There was no place to go inside to get warm. She stood there until 5 a.m. and the train finally showed up. It was over 5 hours late. It's something she'll never forget.
IME many of Amtraks stations - Especially those on lines owned/operated by freight lines (BNSF, UP et-al) - Are generally nothing more than a paved or packed dirt area, possibly with a bus shelter if you're really lucky. Most of the service Amtrak provides on these routes is statutory (We call it „Parliamentary service“ here in the UK) so there's little or no money for station facilities at all. My tips: Expect nothing at the station, and go prepared. Indeed; If the train might arrive in darkness, take a *white* light to signal the driver as they approach - The more advance notice they get of the need to stop, the easier it is for them. (After all; Do *you* know the stopping distance for a 750 ton train in variable weather conditions? 😇)
Been on Amtrak a number of years back. Took the sleeper and knew the food came with the sleeper. Noticed people tipping several different employees. The cook was friendly and social. At one point he just assumed he would get a tip from me and I just wasn't prepared for that. He showed a brief disappointment but went about his normal routine without any dismay. That experience alone enticed me to watch this video. If I knew about the tipping I would've given a grateful amount.
I recently rode the California Capitol Corridor from Sacramento to Davis. $9 and didn't charge me for my bicycle. Yes, a simple 15-minute ride, but so much fun. Was able to hang out with friends, then rode my bicycle the distance home. I LOVE TRAINS. Thanks for your videos. -- I also did a coach round trip from Sac to SLC last summer. Was a blast. Only cost $25 each way to bring my bike. Rode all around SLC.
I've traveled Amtrak just about from Day 1, and these are some things I've learned. 1. Think of your vacation as starting when you get on the train. When you fly, your vacation doesn't start till you get your bags off of the carousel. 2. It helps to be friendly with your seat mate/table mate, etc. Most people seem to like to talk about themselves and hear about others. 3. Please keep an eye on your kids, but remember that they will probably enjoy meeting other kids. My daughter with ADHD loved to travel by train. There isn't much trouble they can get into. Think of the train as a couple of big boxes that the kids are not likely to get lost or get in trouble in. 4. Hold on while you're walking. Also, PLEASE wear footwear when moving about. There are potential hazards that could cost you a toe, or worse. 5. Please be patient, especially when the outside weather is bad. Trains seldom make detours since doing so is a complicated process involving the host railroad as well as their coordination processes and maintenance crews. 6. Bring something to do (books, crafts, games, etc) so that if you get delayed, you will have something with which to occupy yourself. Have a good trip.
I've decided for future travel to book 2 roomettes vs. a larger suite. I think we're too old to climb up into the top bunk, so 2 lower bunks should be better, plus, we can check out the view from both sides of the train. The shared bathroom is larger than the bathroom in the bedroom. That bathroom was almost funny and if my rear end was 2" larger.. IDK if I would have fit. I have to give a big shout out to the crew on the sleeper, though, because I had an emergency and everyone was AWESOME in dealing with it. GO AMTRAK!
I am an occasional AMTRAK passenger. I like to travel first class. My most recent trip was last June, traveled on the California Zephyr McCook NE to Sacramento, then on the Coast Starlight to Seattle, Returned via reverse route. Had a good time, I am a retired locomotive engineer who loves trains, and it is nice having someone else do the driving. Regarding your comments about trying to make up time enroute: Many long-distance trains have to make connections with other trains enroute. Spending too much time enroute could result in a missed connection.
I've combined Amtrak and bicycling. I rode the train with my unboxed, extra fare ($10), bicycle and then ridden home. Or one time I rode to a destination and then taken Amtrak home with my extra fare, unboxed bicycle. Aint nothing free but cheaper than having someone pick you up. These rides have been on The Blue Water in Michigan.
My husband and I have been watching you’re channel for a few months now, and we love it!!! We took our first Amtrak trip on the “Southwest Chief” a week ago. We had a blast!! We already have our second trip on the Empire Builder reserved for November. Your channel has been absolutely invaluable. We stayed in a bedroom, which was perfect. Almost reserved a roomette, but after watching one of your videos we changed to bedroom. Thank God. LoL it would have been too small for us. Please keep the content coming, great work!!! Thank you! ❤
Thanks so much! Glad you really enjoyed your trip! The Empire Builder is one of our favorites! It is such a beautiful route, you should have a great time!
How was your Empire Builder? I need to go from Olympic Peninsula to Spokane. So will be taking it ( only b/c I do not want to drive over Cascades in the winter) before spring.
I took two nieces from Florida to DC roundtrip and on the way home we got delayed in Savannah for over 5 hours because a freight train had a several cars derail up the line. The staff were super nice and kept us up to speed with news about the situation throughout the delay. A few days after the trip, Amtrak Customer Service called me and gave me a $500. voucher. I was thrilled of course but it never even occurred to me to ask for one because the delay was not something Amtrak could control. We had planned our trip to account for possible delays anyway. I mean, if I'm being honest, an excuse to sit and sleep/read for five hours was sort of okay by me! :) We were wiped out from our DC trip anyway. Also, I did see the "overflowing" trash bins in the bathrooms. Now I know to check to see if they are really overflowing or just deceiving me.
I got back from my first ever Amtrak trip last week. I took the Southwest Chief from LA to NM and it was such an amazing experience. I felt prepared thanks to your videos! Thanks so much 😁
As a retired SCA I appreciate your suggestion of not calling the attendant in the late hours of the night. I must say in my 32 years of service I rarely had a problem with this. Also the bag 💼 situation could get pretty bad.
Im booked on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland, Oregon in September so thank you for this advice. Addendum.....well I have now completed my trip and heres my tuppence worth. 1. Tell everyone that you will be incommunicado for the duration because there's zero WiFi. 2. North Dakota is spectacular for its complete nothingness, just mile after mile of flat prairie stretching to infinity for hour after hour. 3. My roomette attendant was noticeable by her absence, not once did she offer to make up my bed, ask if I needed anything etc. Good points...take it upon yourself to talk to anyone and everyone its just amazing who you meet. I didn't have to open any conversations because as soon as everyone heard my suave and dastardly posh British accent I was eagerly sought out for a chat. Strangely an Amish family found me fascinating and their elder basically interviewed me on their behalf. They had some very peculiar ideas about the UK and Europe. The food was actually OK, not bad at all. The bed was very comfy Despite the monotony of some of the landscape there is also a lot of interesting stuff passing by. Would I do it again? On balance yes ,it was a great experience.
Agree with you on #1, just hope the distinction between WiFi and cell tower coverage is clear. I’m seldom on a train but drive the great open spaces they call “flyover” country. Cell coverage is virtually non existent no matter that Verizon coverage map shows. In cities yes, and as more towers are added along interstate highways the situation is improving. Traveling secondary roads you sometimes see a pulloff area with a phone symbol on a signpost. It took me a while to realize you can stop there and get cell coverage from a nearby tower. Maybe non tech folks with unlimited data plans living in populated areas can rely totally on good cellular coverage for all of their online connectivity, and simply think of that as WiFi? To me, WiFi means a fiber optic cable buried to my house, (or a coffee shop / McDonalds or whatever) then to the router on the shelf. My phone then connects to the wireless router to get internet. I live in a rural area and even with cell towers located a few miles away the coverage is spotty, 1-2 bars only. Most often it will allow a text or phone call to go through, maybe enough internet to look something up, but trying to watch a youtube video is impossible. Only way the internet really works for me is to be on the WiFi in my house. I’ve argued with folks saying they get WiFi on trains assuming they are talking about cell coverage, but I’ve learned some of the trains in the east do indeed have an Amtrak WiFi service like I might get at a McDonalds. Trains are NOT hooked up to fiber optic cables, so apparently Amtrak has a good cell phone receiver with unlimited high speed data, connected to a router, to distribute that signal to passengers. The WiFi on that train would be just as dead as my phone is in the middle of North Dakota. It’s not a WiFi problem, it’s a cell coverage problem. The solution is a Starlink satellite system. I eagerly await headlines from Amtrak stating they have installed Starlink receivers on all the cross country trains and high speed internet is now available, on their WiFi system. The only exception being the few minutes spent in tunnels crossing the divides. “Big Rig Travels” on UA-cam was the first I know of to live stream (via Starlink) the view out the front window of his truck as he travels the country, other youtube travel bloggers are catching on. I believe they spend several thousand dollars for rooftop receivers to connect 1 phone, I don’t know if the technology is good enough for a train where 100+ people might want to use it all at once? It works for a trucker, it should work on a train, but might take money. If Amtrak charged me $5 for unlimited internet on a 3 day trip I would take them up on it. I want the view out the train window too, but my inquiring mind wants Google Earth and Wikipedia to explain the rest of the story about what I’m looking at.
I'll be taking my first train trip in April 2023. I've been watching your videos to prepare me. Thank you for creating such an informative platform. I greatly appreciate it.
When I took the Amtrak from San Diego to Los Angeles the attendant put the card over my head. I went to the snack car and when I came back someone was in my seat. I had to ask the guy to move and he was like oh I want this view and I showed him the ticket above, then he moved
That same thing happened to my son and me when we rode the Northeast Corridor between DC and Philly. The lady who took our seats was rather put off because she wanted to sit by herself without a seat mate. She went back to her original seat two rows behind us and spent the next hour talking on her cellphone loudly. We were happy when we got off the train in Philadelphia.
@@georgemcdowell8302 Yep. We had the misfortune of getting on at San Juan Capistrano going south, not realizing there was a Padres game. I ended up standing while all of the people 30 to 40 years younger than I looked at me the whole way. LOL.
I used to ride the train across the state to visit grandparents when I was 12-13ish in the late 70s - parents thought there would be a better class of kooks on the train vs greyhound bus!😀
Two months ago I took my 3rd ride on the Southwest Chief from KC to LA. We had a couple of short scenic bus rides to take us on to Sacramento, which was very enjoyable. I’d like to take the California Zephyr next time. Thanks for the heads up about their observation car. True, the Southwest Chief doesn’t monitor theirs. I love the fact that you two are totally on point and very helpful. Thank you‼️❣️‼️
I was told by an Amtrak employee many years ago that freight trains had the priority over passenger trains, he said that the freight companies own the rails.
@@strqrt70 it's always freight first anymore. In the northeast corridor, we own the rails. Freight is making money hand over fist and they could care less about Amtrak's on time performance. We've adjusted our schedule to help us with delays because of freight.
One of my children is moving her family from Texas to Port Townsend, Washington. I am helping to drive this family of 8 next week. I hate to fly. Found you guys 2 weeks ago. Bless you! I bought my one way ticket from Seattle to Ft. Worth, Texas today! You gave me all I needed to ride this cross county trip. Can't wait. Thank you so, so much! Blessings on your many train travels! Hope to meet you some day.
I love train travel. Mostly the Coast Starlight between Oregon and California. Started in Coach and graduated to Roomettes after a stressful week. I'll never go back! Took the Zephyr to Omaha and it was only 1 hour late. Otherwise, never had a problem with being late Actually, being late into Omaha was OK since it was supposed to arrive at 5 am and it got in at 6am. Made it easier to get a cab and breakfast. I love Amtrak and will always choose it over planes. 😊
Thank you. It's just basic awareness, decency, and common sense. A week ago I took the Coast Starlight from Santa Rosa, Ca (Throughway) to Martinez, Ca to Vancouver, Wa, and back. I chose the bedroom, for the private toilet-shower-sink. The staff was helpful, cheerful, and courteous. I enjoyed the happy and interesting other passengers with whom I ate my meals.
For my weeklong vacation in May 2024, I booked with the notion that long distance trains are going to be late, especially getting to their endpoints. When I take the Coast Starlight and transfer to the Texas Eagle, I factored in a late arriving train, and as a result, booked a 1-night hotel room. I did the same thing when transferring in Chicago from the Texas Eagle to the California Zephyr in that I booked a 1-night hotel in Chicago in factoring in a late arriving Texas Eagle in Chicago.
People need to lock the bathroom doors when they are in use. I’ve walked in one somebody on the train who didn’t lock the door, so it said it was open. I just assumed it was common sense, unless it was a child, to lock the door. Although this was a grown woman. Please lock the door and don’t scream when someone walks in.
I have done many train trips and once the lock didn't engage and the attendant walked in on me, I had thought I locked it and after wards we checked and it was faulty. Luckily I often wear dresses so nothing was at all showing he was far more embarrassed than I was.
Thanks for all your helpful advice. My husband and I are leaving next week on our bucket trip, and we never would have attempted it if I hadn't stumbled across your videos. What I most appreciated was your advise on the closest hotels to various Amtrak stops and tipping suggestions. No matter how delayed the trains may be, we're going to have the time of our lives!
Thanks for the great great tips. Here are a couple of mine as a veteran of long haul Amtrak trips. You said if one's seat or room has a good view, there's no reason to go to the observation car. I respectfully disagree. Meeting new people and exchanging travel stories with them is at least as important as viewing scenery. IMO, it's even a bigger deal. On trains, the observation cars are where that happens. My most valuable train experiences were the people I met in the observation cars. It is the center of social activity on the train. A safety tip: If you are spending time in the observation car, you should always return to your seat prior to the train making a stop in order to prevent someone from walking off with the belongings you left unattended at your seat while the train is in a station.
You two are so personable and fun !!! I wish I could take my California Zephyr trip down to a family reunion with YOU !!! I have always loved taking the train … as my Grandpa was an engineer for the Union Pacific since the 1910’s … he had an immaculate record too … my Mama used to take us down to the LA Union Pacific Station (it was so FUN !!!) … we would wave goodbye to Grandpa as he took his trains out on a run … There’s nothing like a well run train line … I do, however, miss the beautiful mahogany paneling and more spacious restrooms of the 50’s 60’s & 70’s 🚂Union Pacific RR Line🚞… but I still prefer to take the 🚂train when I can …🛤🚉 Love your well presented & informative videos !!! Bon Voyage
What a great video you brought back a memory i'd forgotten. About 20 years ago i took a train called the Carolinian, they had a menu item a Pulled Pork Sandwich in keeping with the theme of the train. It was an awful piece of preesed something on a bun. I wrote a a letter of complaint. A few weeks later got a Letter (not email) stating that they had brought my complaint to the CEO of Amtrak. 'George Warrington is very concerned with your complaint, and he has asked the we enclose the enclosed voucher. ' It was for $50... for a $3 sandwich!!!
I just booked my California Zephyr trip for Oct 2023. Thank you for your videos. They have really helped me pull the trigger and do this trip. It will be my 1st time. Super excited 🎉
Hi @@clairewyndham1971 it was great. I did this as a solo trip and it was wonderful meeting new ppl and seeing all the views. I downloaded movies and brought books to read, I didn’t use any of it cause I just stared out the window. I did get a sleeper cart, which included breakfast, lunch and dinner but they do have a “market” where you can purchase food drinks and snacks. All the workers were so nice. The conductor would tell us fun facts about certain locations. Just note that these trains are very old and it shows in the aesthetic. America needs to put more money in the infrastructure of Amtrak. But I tell everyone to do this. A great way to see the country. I now want to do more long distance train travel.
I can't afford to travel right now, but the info about the temperature control is really helpful. Eek, I'd rather freeze than be sweltering! (That's why I wish trains could have windows that open at least a crack!) Thank you for being considerate about that! Most people wouldn't care that temps were changed for everyone, as long as they were comfortable.
Those open windows, even open just a crack, would be a lot less desirable at 80 miles an hour. One of those undesirable things is the pulsing effect created as air pressure inside the vehicle changes and then airflow at the window repeatedly breaks and gets reestablished. Plus, in the days right up to Amtrak, when there were still daily-use railroad coaches, especially on some commuter lines, which had opening windows, the influx of dust raised by the train was an issue.
@@alonespirit9923 In Belgium until around 1980 all coaches had opening windows, and trains were riding close to 90 miles per hour (in Belgium this is called 140 km/h).
I appreciate your videos. On this one with the unwritten rules I think if you abide by what is called the Golden Rule, things will be just fine. Do unto others as you would like Others to do unto you.
I laughed way too hard at the part when you mentioned a group of kids coming on the train @18:00. I’ve taken only 1 Amtrak ride many many years ago. I had a round trip ticket from NYC to Orlando. On that particular trip there was a large number of children. We had to step over and around those children as we made our way to the dinner car. My experience was so bad I flew back to NYC. I refused to take that ride again. But, here I am watching your videos and taking notes. 😂😂😂
Thank you! I am in the Pacific NW and have been wanting to take my kids and grandkids on an overnight trip down the Columbia Gorge and I really don't know what to expect. I was on a dinner train ride once lol. Great info for a wanna be like me! Next year will be my 60th bd and I think this is what I want to do!
I've traveled Amtrak extensively since 1988. I've been coast to coast, and North to south. For me, it's the BEST way to travel. I love trains, so it's great. I travel with a small service dog. The one thing I wish you would have mentioned though, is to not pet or mess with a service animal on the train as they are on duty and shouldn't be distracted. So many people just think they can freely interact with my dog.
Using Sunset Limited from Texas to LA in July. Y'all's videos are really nice for a first timer (im 25 and going alone) so happy I saw the "plan on being 4hrs late" tip. My end destination is San Diego and i figured one hr would be enough. As soon as I saw that, I immediately went and changed my train to SD back 5hrs Seems like pretty typical rules, i wasnt sure about laying back in coach but this made me feel better about it (36hr ride). Cheers for the tips!
Very valuable info!! Amtrak has always accommodated their passengers as much as possible. If I'm taking long distance trips with connections, I've learned to give myself an entire day at my connection point due to possible extended delays so I wouldn't miss my connecting train. In the '90's, Amtrak did accommodate it's 1st class passengers by providing an overnight stay & breakfast vouchers at a 4 star hotel with a bus ride to & from for missed connections in Chicago. They offered an airline, bus ticket, or coach seat on the connecting train the day after. They would not offer sleeper accommodations on the connecting train the following day which was an inconvenience-but I needed to be in NY, so I chose an airline flight. I've paid my own fare to the airport from the station. I've learned Amtrak no longer books flights for their passengers, so it's crucial to schedule with a time cushion.
This video should be required viewing for all passengers. Really good insights. I booked a round trip on the Zephyr for this November because of the content from this channel. I hope to share a table with anyone in the dining car that watched this video! Happy trails! Thanks and praise!
I love the comment about luggage. They failed to mention that if you are getting on at a non-manned station and you have a lot of bags, you cannot check them.
I had a bid accepted to upgrade my coach ticket to a roommate on the empire builder from Milwaukee to St. Paul. It was such an amazing experience and was very relaxing. And the food was so good. Some of the best of the pasta I’ve ever had and had a great conversation with the people sitting across from me.
I loved riding the train for 3 sections of our trip this Summer...esp. the Empire Builder! My most important suggestion: sleeping in the top bunk, have your feet by the ladder!!! I asked the attendant to re-do my bedding because I never would have been able to get down (though younger, taller people might). Can't wait to take another trip by train!!!
Thanks for the tips. Before I took my trip on the California Zephyr earlier this year, I watched many of your videos and picked up some of the “rules” via those videos. I brought a portable fan because I knew I would get warm. I saved my $1 and $5 bills ahead of time to leave for tips. I was prepared because of your videos. The trip was delightful and I met so many people in both the dining car and the observation car. My next trip is New Orleans to DC in November- I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for your informative videos!
I didn’t have the bedroom, just the roomette. So I don’t know about the exhaust fan for the bathroom in the bedroom. In the roomette, the temperature was actually pretty good. I still used the fan for a little bit of extra cooling and for white noise.
Wish I thought about calling for compensation for late arrivals ... I'd be riding for free "a lot" as those long haul routes are usually many hours behind schedule. I did learn my lesson (the hard way) about planning connections for the day of arrival, usually not gonna happen. I book a room and get a nights rest before moving on the next day. Otherwise, all your info was spot on 👊🏻
If you ride was then less a year old, you can still try and maybe get a vocher for a future trip. If longer that a year ago, I would just wait untill your next trip, and trip was not great make sure you call the next day after getting of the train.
On the Southwest Chief I have found that roomette 1 has been used for storage, sheets etc. the attendant is usually in the crew car at the head of the train. Also if you're wanting a bedroom beware of "A" it is very small with a bathroom/shower door that doesn't fully open. Room "E" is directly above the car entrance on the lower level, when opened overnight the attendant will need to slam the door shut, great at 3AM! Depending on the car direction when the train is made up you may luck out and it is opened just a few times or at a lot of the stops, pot luck on this one.
I’m taking my 1st Amtrak trip in May. The reservation attendant was fabulous and I’m so excited for this adventure. Thanks for answering questions I didn’t know I had.
I haven't taken the train much the past few years, and I enjoyed listening. What the both of you made a lot of sense. I wish that others would follow these "unwritten" rules... such as smoking. I took a train from BWI to FAY and the person that sat next to me got off at every chance to smoke. I got off once to stretch and saw them outside right next to the door. When we got back on, and the person sat down and the stench (from smoking) really bothered me. I am very sensitive to that and my eyes started watering, I got a really bad headache and started having trouble breathing. My next journey on Amtrak is on the Empire Builder in a little less than a month. As far as observation car on California Zephyr, I took this train back in 2016 and there were a few people that were there for many, many hours. They didn't have the courtesy to return to their seat.
That's really helpful let people know what is considered common curiosity . Sometimes we just have to say the quiet part out loud though we'd rather not.
Great comments and observations. I'm an old Amtraker from the 80s and 90s. Last run was 97 on the Chief then down to HUN for a week to visit family. Favourite car: Superliners hands down because they were so quiet. I haven't ridden Viewliner cars as of yet. my first trip on the Supers when they had air suspension. I heard the war stories about them failing but thankfully never experienced road failures. Only once there was an issue when the diner was fishtailing from a bad torque arm bushing. My sleeper was right behind it. Not only was that pulling us back and forth all night-naturally when you're trying to sleep-and the air suspension system was banging against its stops and would make loud noises. Thank of a kid kicking the side panels as hard as he could. But, the ride was much more controlled when they went from air bags to to dual coil springs as primary suspension on the old Waggon Union trucks (Super 1 cars).The Budd "Amfleet" cars, which originally ran as part of the old "Pensy" PRR passenger fleet then Amfleet 1 cars on Amtrak, actually were built and put into service in 1966 first on the Pensy then later of course on Amtrak consists, and in my opinion have stood the test of time, were always comfortable but got very noisy with road noise roar and rumbling when they were overdue for suspension maintenance. The toilets on those trains used to recycle water with the blue stuff and they were disgusting. The Cardinal ran old sleepers that should have been scrapped and were replaced by Superliners but as I understood, could not go into NYC because of the height issues and low bridges there. Incidentally, the Superliners all suffer badly from the all too frequent flat wheels which plague the system. First you hear them then the vibrations get into the car and it flexes at that frequency. It is hard to sleep with your head bouncing constantly off the pillow. The Coast "Starlate" suffers the most for what ever reason. We enjoy our features. Keep them coming, Nice to be retired from that world but the occasional rail trip is still fun, regardless. Rail travel requires you to be come a Gypsy. You just roll with it and relax, enjoy the ride and hey, if you're late, that's more time on the rails to enjoy as I look at it.
I absolutely love you guys! My husband has been suggesting taking a trip on Amtrak and I’ve always said NO EFFING WAY, until now! Your videos have gotten me so excited about booking either a Coast Starlight or California Zephyr trip! I gave him only one condition - a roomette at the bare minimum! Thank you for your very informative input! SUBSCRIBED!
15:50 usually you can move as long as you take your tag to your new seat so they know where you are going. Sometimes when I'm taking a train that's crowded when I get in I'll wait until enough people get off at stops along the way (usually at night) and the car is more clear and switch seats so I can sleep across two seats at night. I just took my tag to the new seat and never had any problems. The only train I didn't do this on was when they assigned seats on the Silver Meteor going to and from Florida.
@@ladygoodday Ok..listen close 😊 1- Don't put kids on shoulders blocking people behind you during fireworks and parades, 2- Don't try to squeeze in at last minute to watch a parade. Get your spot early. 3- Don't stop in the middle of walkway to look at your phone, step aside. 4- Don't recite words of script on rides.. even if you know them by heart. 4- Hang back at least 20 minutes after the fireworks if leaving the parks. You will thank me later. The crowds disappear quickly so let everyone go first. 5- Don't eat at noon and 6 to avoid the longest lines. 6- Don't let your little one blow bubbles all over everyone when waiting for parade and fireworks if you buy them a bubble wand. 7- Don't wait to buy souvenirs at closing. It's a madhouse in the shops. 8- Don't let your kids chase the Disney ducks. It's their home 💗 9- Be kind to the castmembers. They are overworked and underpaid. 10- Hold balloons down low during parades, shows and fireworks, - Be patient, be kind, rest when you get too o overwhelmed, drink plenty of water, bring a poncho, Don't wear brand new shoes and don't over plan and drive yourself nuts trying to do everything..... I could go on and on 😆 But most important..have the time of your life and let the Disney winds direct you 💞
This info was so helpful. You both seem delightful and caring. I am planning an Amtrak trip from Cincinnati to Charleston WV soon. I will be 84 in July and look forward to this brief train ride.
I went coach no dining car. I encountered a man his phone rang late. If he’d have answered I’m on a train got up and moved it wouldn’t have been bad. He spent an hour at least loudly conversing. He was a couple rows behind me. Finally the nice man across from him advised him how loud he was.
My husband and I took the Coast Starlight and when we boarded there weren't two seats together. We both went outside at one of the "smoke breaks" in the morning, and the attendant gave my husbands seat to another passenger boarding. It worked out in our favor, because we were moved to two seats that were together. Definitely wish we would've watched this channel before we went. Thanks for all the great information.
I admit, I'm a lounge lizard. Always be considerate and courteous as possible, invite others to sit with you if you're at a booth/table in there. Never keep bags or personal belongings on the seats. And yes, give up your seat now and then if the train is very full and give others a chance.
Greetings from Nairobi Kenya. I love seeing America by rail every year or two. Have family/friends different parts so have taken a number of overnight mostly western trains. Usually get bedroom or roomette. One lesson I learned the hard way was never walk into the dining car and just go sit down. Always wait to be seated. 99.9% AMTRAK staff super professional and accommodating, but my first AMTRAK trip lesson was lesson learned the hard way. First time on an overnight trip. I just picked a seat and sat down. Was on the Texas Eagle Chicago to Austin. Unfortunately, the lead dining car was super psycho and started screaming at me in front of about 50 other diners. I just got up and left and asked my sleeper car attendant to bring my meal to the bedroom. I told him about what happened and he explained the rules, but also gave a nonverbal communication that he agreed she wasn't quite normal. I was super compliant at lunch next day, but the woman was still screaming at just about everybody. So, I avoided the diner rest of trip. Kind of put a damper on the ride. I had flown 20 hours to get to the USA and didn't look forward to 20 hours on a train with that dynamic going on. But I still think AMTRAK mostly great way to see your beautiful country. (Hope she's retired by now. That was @2014). Guess they can't be fired, since government employees. Obey, and you will be okay.
Very important video! It is very important to know the information that you provided! Thanks very much. You guys are the ONLY videos I watch of this type.
Another unwritten rule is that if you time travel back to the 1990s there were many times when the Northeast Regional between Newport News and Washington, DC was completely empty and you could have an entire car to yourself.
I took my first train ride, encouraged by watching your channel for the last year. It was a short ride so I did coach from Omaha to Denver. It was enjoyable however the bathrooms were filthy and I wasn’t prepared for that. Also, in some ways it reminded of taking greyhound. I’ll definitely get a roomette next time. Im also looking into taking the Rocky Mountaineer next year. 😊
On Amtrak, roomettes on the Superliner (two level) train cars don't have private bathrooms either. They use public bathrooms at the ends of the cars or downstairs...you have to leave your roomette to use them. You would have to get a bedroom on a Superliner train in order to have a private bathroom. On Amtrak trains with Viewliner and Viewliner II cars (used mainly on Eastern US trains), the roomettes DO have a private, enclosed bathroom within the roomette. On Amtrak, it's best to check first to make sure the particular train you are booking has a private bathroom in sleeping accommodations if that's what you are interested in. I don't know anything about the Rocky Mountaineer sleeping accommodation bathrooms. It would be best to make sure about those beforehand as well.
@ C T - You are most candid and informative, but I gave up on Amtrak, years ago, as I just do not understand how they could be so POORLY run. Best Wishes.
Since Amtrak has started assigning seats in coach, I've had bad experiences. I'm too shy to ask to be moved. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but Seattle to Los Angeles is too long to endure body odor, crazy politics, or helping an elderly person to the restroom again and again. Even when there are empty seats, I'm always paired with another person who's travelling a long distance. Like we're expected to bond and become besties.
On your advice I bought a little portable charger for my iPods. (My plan was to record last nights concert from my 2nd row seat but after a few minutes I decided to just enjoy the concert without the stress of focus and the glare of spotlights right in the face.) I have 2 phones and 3 iPods + the laptop, so I brought one of my power strips with me; one outlet becomes eight, no problem. I'm packing up for my return ride now, I should be home before dinner. Thanks for your videos. They're very helpful. Now I have to begin preparing for my long trip next mid-summer. Want to have everything in place when my choice of destinations in announced.
We enjoyed this video which confirmed some items we had already learned. On a recent Auto Train trip from Sanford to Lorton the trip was delayed over 10 hours. Some of the delay as we later learned was from earlier delays on previous runs. Accumulation? The most disappointing aspect of the trip, however, was the poor food service. There was no dining car. Everything was box lunch type food. Also there was no personal service. In fact we never met our attendant nor the conductor nor anyone employed by Amtrak even though we were traveling in a bedroom. Had we received even a welcome we would have recognized that, but at the end of the trip no one was to be found. We were contacted by Amtrak later and given a handsome voucher on a future trip.
Wow, they are supposed to have a dinning car mostly for sleeper passengers but sometimes I heard coach passengers can purchase the dinning if they have supplies left. Also they are also suppose to have at least 1 Amtrak Cafe car which both coach and sleeper passengers can purchase items from, so I do not know what happened with that train.
@raymondcolombo1281 if you decide to ride Amtrak in the future please call 1800- USa Rail and soon as possible and see if they will give you a voucher for not a great experience for the food which is not normal, even only like $200 better than nothing.. Also for tuture reference if you are another Amtrak train and things go wrong called when you get off to the hotel or next morning and tell them what happened and they will give you a voucher for a future trip, it will depend how long the delay was, or other issues, and the price you paid for the trip.
Thanks for the information. I wish they still had the passes for retired Railroad employees like they had in the past. Seems like as soon as I retired 11 years ago they took that away. It was only good for the day you wanted to leave if space was available. I remember each summer vacation Mom and I would take a sleeper from Tucson to Little Rock Ark. two weeks before Dad started his vacation. He worked for the S.P. railroad like me for 45 years. I have always been tight with my money. But like you say it is not about the destination it's about the journey. Most of or large family live in Ark. Have many Cousins many wonderful memories.
I have a trip booked on the Southwest Chief from Barstow to Winslow tomorrow and I have had the worst anxiety. Its my first ride on amtrak ever. I like to feel and be prepared and your videos have definitely helped me feel prepared. THANK YOU!🙌🏼
Thanks for the tips. I have been on the city of New Orleans from Mem to nol many times. It was actually an hour early one time. Had the same experience with a bunch of grade school students getting on in Jackson ms. Thanks
Another unwritten rule that we learned the hard way . . . just because the conductor puts a tab above your seat with the name of the exit station, don't assume they will 100% know/remember that if it's different from what you actually booked. One time we had a change of plans where one traveler needed to depart the train at an intermediate station. Called Amtrak and the agent said no change or fee was necessary since it was a shorter trip. BUT, the intermediate station did not have anyone getting on and the online system the conductors were viewing didn't show our traveler exiting. They didn't look at their own above-seat tabs or even open the doors at that station. My friend had to ride to the next stop and backtrack. SO . . . insist that your plans in the system match your actual plans and/or be extra-vigilant about this possibility.
I have previously rode southwest chief to Los Angeles, on route to Las Vegas. Train was 2 hours late arriving in Los Angeles. Fortunately l had booked my flight late afternoon from Los Angeles, and trip worked out well.
We were heading to Portland from Montana. Before we got to Portland the train just stopped. The PA came on and stated “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are stopped here because of an active shooter situation in the tunnel. For your safety we cannot proceed forward. “ So 3 hrs went by we started again. They came on the PA and said that if we were continuing to Sacramento please go to the Desk to receive instructions because you have missed your connecting train 😳 So I did just that and Amtrak provided me with a Hotel room and meal stipends. I’ve never stayed at such a beautiful Hotel in my life. I was beyond tickled. Great job. Also you might want to say to not drink too much and get stupid on the train. I was by the pass through door and the poor Conductor lady was chasing this totally wasted lady skipping though car after car. So all night long it was “SHHHOOOOP SHHHOOOP” because of her running in and out of cars. 😂
I should have watched your videos before I recently took my first train trip. My husband and I were in a bedroom but we never really saw any of our car attendants. They didn't help carry luggage, or bring us meals or put the beds down/up for us. I didn't even realize that was their job until watching these videos! We tipped because I had read it was the custom but I don't think I would tip again unless they did the things you mention in your videos. (My husband had to seek out the attendant to meet him then tip him.) I did accidentally hit the call button one time but no one ever came. The button stayed lit on my end until we finished the trip the next day. I am so happy that my gross, 10+ hour delayed trip with a wet floor, dry food, and invisible attendants is not the norm on Amtrak. I do know that the people who were in the bedroom after us had a much cleaner room than we did. It took many Clorox wipes covered in mystery brown before I felt comfortable brushing my teeth in the bedroom sink or leaning my head against anything in that bedroom. We got nearly $1k in vouchers because of all the problems on my trip so I guess we'll have to ride the train again or throw away free money. Honestly, it's a toss up because the train was not a good experience for me. I am glad others have better journeys. I know we'll never get the bedroom again. Sure, the bathroom is nice to have but it is so small that I think I'd rather go down the hall. The room was too cold to even think about using the shower. (Texas Eagle from AUS To LAX.)
Good point about the vouchers - if you don't use them, they are actually no compensation at all. And I bet a lot of people don't bother. Here in the UK, we get proper refunds (actual money) if trains are late or cancelled. We don't get the sort of delays you get in the US, as our system prioritises passenger trains over freight, and journeys are usually much shorter, but there are still plenty of delays and cancelations that meet the rules for claiming. We took a trip from our home in SE England to York last year (about a 3-4 hour journey overall), and our train to London was cancelled, which meant that we mised our connection. Then our train from London to York was delayed, but it got there literally 55 minutes late (it has to be over an hour to claim!), so we assumed we wouldn't be able to get refund. But it turned out that it's the whole journey that counts, not just the actual train that was delayed, so we were well over an hour late and got a full refund. Being late wasn't actually much of a problem for us, so we effectively travelled to York for free, for no real inconvenience! It's not always like that, though - a journey home from Scotland a few months later was hell (broken down train, long diversion, home 5 hours late - all with an ill child) and no amount of compensation would have made up for that.
Very informative, thank you! Especially the tipping, many people just wouldn't even think about tipping. Some questions about tipping - (1) sleeper car attendants - do they change daily, or do you leave one tip at the end of a mult-day trip? (2) how do you give the tip to the attendant, just hand it to them or is there a box or a place in the room? (3) do you tip in coach on longer trips, are there attendants for that specific car? (4) for dining attendants do you leave the tip at the table like in a restaurant? Thank you so much for your guidance, love your videos.
For dining attendants we just leave it on the table, but for the room attendant it will be the same one the entire trip so we hand it to them when we get off at the end.
frequently on sale, highly recommend Anker brand phone charger batteries, they come in anything from small cylinders to an absolute brick the size of a hardback book that would probably power a phone (or recharge it) for several days. But the makers of this video sometimes mention they have product promotions and links on their site, not trying to undercut that, but Anker is pretty good stuff.
According to my dad (a career railroad guy), military transport trains have priority over all other trains on the USA rails. I'm prepared to believe this. It's relevant in that if there are rail traffic problems, military transports get priority over freight and passenger rail. If that causes a delay in freight/passenger, so be it. Thanks for showing the path forward. Robert in NYC.
Sleeping car attendants go above and beyond, and are generally willing to help with things outside the scope of their duties if you ask nicely. On a Christmas Eve trip from LA to New Orleans aboard the Sunset Limited, our car attendant allowed us use the attendant break room to wrap gifts for our 10-year-old twin sons while they slept, and found a big red bag that she put the wrapped gifts in before delivering them to our table at breakfast the next morning, which was Christmas day. She told my astonished, wide-eyed kids that Santa had met the train in San Antonio the night before and dropped off their gifts. Patty helped us keep the magic for our kids for another few years, and earned a million thanks from us.
That is soooo sweet. Now I need to go find some kids
That is so cool! Love the story!
@@ediewall6360they found the right cart attendants I couldn't imagine lying to kids
Great story! Thanks for sharing
That’s great unless there were other kids on the train whose parents didn’t have their gifts on the train.
One point I'd add: yes, be courteous to your fellow passengers (especially your seatmate and dining companions, if applicable). But if you're a "chatty Cathy" type, keep in mind that not everyone is. Amtrak likes to push "meeting new friends" on the train, but not everyone is a social butterfly. I'll be nice to you, because I do enjoy a good conversation for a while, but there will come a time when I've had enough -- and I'm sure I speak for many other introverts!
I'm very introverted and would prefer to eat alone at my own table, but the last time I was sat next to other people and I must admit it was delightful. The other people were wonderful and afterwards I was glad that I was sort of forced to be socialable.
Yes, very understandable! We've always been glad afterwards too. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
@@GroundedLifeTravel Which is the least favored time amongst passengers for meal reservations - is it towards the end of dining hours? Or the beginning times?
Sometimes, I still prefer to eat alone and/or at the least inconvenience to the train crew and fellow passengers. Thanks a bunch!
I thought the same thing the first time i took a long distance train. And had the same experience. Many years and train rides later have come to realize thats part of the joy of ld train travel meeting all kinds of different people who are not going anywhere in a hurry
It’s hit or miss. I got seated with an elderly couple who were fine and next to a woman who said she was South African but was from the Carolinas and was talking about the South Africa of old as a good thing. I tuned her out after dashing her stories as BS. She didn’t anticipate someone who knew that her story was so outdated and racist.
My husband and I are both older and a bit on the shy side. We are generally quiet and keep our conversations private when we are sharing a space with others. On our first trip on the Coast Starlight we were really not looking forward to sharing a table with strangers. But, it ended up being a wonderful experience. We encountered everything from a young couple covered in tattoos and piercings to older professionals. We were very fortunate because, to a person, they were all very nice and interesting. I distinctly remember that young couple. When I saw them My hear sank because I just KNEW we would get seated with them. And, we did. They’ve ended up being the most memorable dining guests. Just another lesson to stop judging people on how they look. You would think that at my age I would know better but I guess we all need a refresher course now and then. I no longer fret over sharing a table. I would also have no problem whatsoever asking to be moved or taking my meal to my room if I encountered belligerent, rude, racist or generally nasty dining guests. I might be shy but I don’t tolerate the company of jerks.
It goes to show a picture doesn't tell the whole story. Something my parents taught me
As an autistic person, this video really helped to lower my anxiety. Thank you!
Disabled with autism here. I love the train, particularly going cross country. (orlando - seattle). The train is a portable, Self contained little world, like the Starship Enterprise. I like having two seats to myself in the very back 'cause it's like having my own little Crew quarters module.
But there's no way I'm going to eat with other people. not only don't I like other people Because they're not interesting, but I have a malfunctioning social interaction interface unit, and so they always find me weird, odd, strange, disturbing, and peculiar. Also my uncomfortableness makes them uncomfortable , and I notice it. From my experiences with them, when I'm with other people I am forced to talk to, I just want to escape.
So I refuse to eat In that car unless I can be alone. The hell with the normals. I don't like normal people.
I would absolutely love to try one of those Roometts, but I'm not paying $500 for $70 trip. Dat's that's boo shee-yit.
My experience on Amtrak is that the other passengers are better behaved than on an airplane. Maybe it's because they haven't been treated like cattle beforehand, maybe it's because they have a little bit more room, maybe just everything is more relaxed on a train and less stressful. But that's my experience.
Thanks for sharing
Certainly people who take the train in the US are a self selected group. On the Southwest Chief there were a lot of Amish, often in the sightseeing car so I think they were in coach. There were always lots of seats in that car even though the train was sold out, unlike on the California Zephyr.
May be not appropriate for some folks but my avatar is my wife and I , it is good to see a mixed couple on UA-cam. We had 43 years before her death in 2020.
Im sorry for your loss. 43 years is amazing.
These 2 are great. Really cute together.
Sorry for your loss. Very cute profile picture!
You will see her again on a paradise Earth . Rev 21-4
Suggestion for people who get cold easily. In the cafe car, you can buy a sleep pack. Which includes: blanket, earplugs, neck pillow, and a sleep mask that go over the eyes.
You can also buy most of those things from many Walmarts, and probably at a markedly lower cost than you'd pay on Amtrak... 😇
Just found you; thank you so much. Fun and informative. I’m a fossil. My first train trip was in 1948 as I recall, Sioux City, Iowa, to Chicago, connecting service to Milwaukee. We were late arriving in Chicago (snowstorm) and had to run for the Milwaukee Road, which was creeping out of station and crammed with Great Lakes sailors on Christmas leave going home. The conductor found us a spot in the bar car. Mother squished between exuberant sailors and I slept on the table top cushioned and covered by damp pea coats. We arrived in Milwaukee sometime near dawn to several feet of new snow. The conductor kept track of mother and me, and helped us off the train and into the station past massive snowdrifts. I loved it all I cannot imagine another mode of public transportation that would have accommodated a diminutive woman with a small child and big bags, especially in that hectic crush. This began a love affair with the rails which has lasted. You’ve made me think that I might still be able to physically manage another rail journey. I will contact Amtrak and inquire. Possibly I can skip sleeping on a table in a lounge car this time. Thank you so much for your channel. I will certainly travel with you in spirit.
Do insist, though, on traveling again with exuberant sailors. :)
As an Aussie having visited the US 6 times now, I have really enjoyed my Amtrak journeys. Comfortable, picturesque views out the windows, great way to meet others. Have met some wonderful US residents. Thx for letting me reminisce. 😊
I want to do do the Indian Pacific through the Nullabor Plain. I think the plain would be cool for about 30 minutes, and then a good time to take a nap.
My wife took Amtrak from Orem, Utah to Denver and it was in the dead of winter. The "station" was more like an old bus stop. There was no place to go inside to get warm. She stood there until 5 a.m. and the train finally showed up. It was over 5 hours late. It's something she'll never forget.
IME many of Amtraks stations - Especially those on lines owned/operated by freight lines (BNSF, UP et-al) - Are generally nothing more than a paved or packed dirt area, possibly with a bus shelter if you're really lucky. Most of the service Amtrak provides on these routes is statutory (We call it „Parliamentary service“ here in the UK) so there's little or no money for station facilities at all.
My tips: Expect nothing at the station, and go prepared. Indeed; If the train might arrive in darkness, take a *white* light to signal the driver as they approach - The more advance notice they get of the need to stop, the easier it is for them. (After all; Do *you* know the stopping distance for a 750 ton train in variable weather conditions? 😇)
@@dieseldragon6756 The City of New Orleans surely stops in some rural places in the dead of night.
Haven't been on an overnight train since I was eight (1956) so the information you provide is priceless. Amtrak owes you!
Thanks!
Been on Amtrak a number of years back. Took the sleeper and knew the food came with the sleeper. Noticed people tipping several different employees. The cook was friendly and social. At one point he just assumed he would get a tip from me and I just wasn't prepared for that. He showed a brief disappointment but went about his normal routine without any dismay. That experience alone enticed me to watch this video. If I knew about the tipping I would've given a grateful amount.
I recently rode the California Capitol Corridor from Sacramento to Davis. $9 and didn't charge me for my bicycle. Yes, a simple 15-minute ride, but so much fun. Was able to hang out with friends, then rode my bicycle the distance home. I LOVE TRAINS. Thanks for your videos. -- I also did a coach round trip from Sac to SLC last summer. Was a blast. Only cost $25 each way to bring my bike. Rode all around SLC.
I've learned to add about 15% to my expected trip duration. While it's not always needed, it has saved me some stress in the past.
I've traveled Amtrak just about from Day 1, and these are some things I've learned.
1. Think of your vacation as starting when you get on the train. When you fly, your vacation doesn't start till you get your bags off of the carousel.
2. It helps to be friendly with your seat mate/table mate, etc. Most people seem to like to talk about themselves and hear about others.
3. Please keep an eye on your kids, but remember that they will probably enjoy meeting other kids. My daughter with ADHD loved to travel by train. There isn't much trouble they can get into. Think of the train as a couple of big boxes that the kids are not likely to get lost or get in trouble in.
4. Hold on while you're walking. Also, PLEASE wear footwear when moving about. There are potential hazards that could cost you a toe, or worse.
5. Please be patient, especially when the outside weather is bad. Trains seldom make detours since doing so is a complicated process involving the host railroad as well as their coordination processes and maintenance crews.
6. Bring something to do (books, crafts, games, etc) so that if you get delayed, you will have something with which to occupy yourself.
Have a good trip.
Thanks for sharing your insights!
I've decided for future travel to book 2 roomettes vs. a larger suite. I think we're too old to climb up into the top bunk, so 2 lower bunks should be better, plus, we can check out the view from both sides of the train. The shared bathroom is larger than the bathroom in the bedroom. That bathroom was almost funny and if my rear end was 2" larger.. IDK if I would have fit. I have to give a big shout out to the crew on the sleeper, though, because I had an emergency and everyone was AWESOME in dealing with it. GO AMTRAK!
I am an occasional AMTRAK passenger. I like to travel first class. My most recent trip was last June, traveled on the California Zephyr McCook NE to Sacramento, then on the Coast Starlight to Seattle, Returned via reverse route. Had a good time, I am a retired locomotive engineer who loves trains, and it is nice having someone else do the driving.
Regarding your comments about trying to make up time enroute: Many long-distance trains have to make connections with other trains enroute. Spending too much time enroute could result in a missed connection.
I've combined Amtrak and bicycling. I rode the train with my unboxed, extra fare ($10), bicycle and then ridden home. Or one time I rode to a destination and then taken Amtrak home with my extra fare, unboxed bicycle. Aint nothing free but cheaper than having someone pick you up. These rides have been on The Blue Water in Michigan.
My husband and I have been watching you’re channel for a few months now, and we love it!!! We took our first Amtrak trip on the “Southwest Chief” a week ago. We had a blast!! We already have our second trip on the Empire Builder reserved for November. Your channel has been absolutely invaluable. We stayed in a bedroom, which was perfect. Almost reserved a roomette, but after watching one of your videos we changed to bedroom. Thank God. LoL it would have been too small for us. Please keep the content coming, great work!!! Thank you! ❤
Thanks so much! Glad you really enjoyed your trip! The Empire Builder is one of our favorites! It is such a beautiful route, you should have a great time!
How was your Empire Builder? I need to go from Olympic Peninsula to Spokane. So will be taking it ( only b/c I do not want to drive over Cascades in the winter) before spring.
I second that! We are going on our first auto train ride soon. I’m so thankful to have found this channel.
I took two nieces from Florida to DC roundtrip and on the way home we got delayed in Savannah for over 5 hours because a freight train had a several cars derail up the line. The staff were super nice and kept us up to speed with news about the situation throughout the delay. A few days after the trip, Amtrak Customer Service called me and gave me a $500. voucher. I was thrilled of course but it never even occurred to me to ask for one because the delay was not something Amtrak could control. We had planned our trip to account for possible delays anyway. I mean, if I'm being honest, an excuse to sit and sleep/read for five hours was sort of okay by me! :) We were wiped out from our DC trip anyway. Also, I did see the "overflowing" trash bins in the bathrooms. Now I know to check to see if they are really overflowing or just deceiving me.
I got back from my first ever Amtrak trip last week. I took the Southwest Chief from LA to NM and it was such an amazing experience. I felt prepared thanks to your videos! Thanks so much 😁
Glad you had a great trip!
I've taken that train several times to visit my son at Ft Carson. I loved it both ways.
As a retired SCA I appreciate your suggestion of not calling the attendant in the late hours of the night. I must say in my 32 years of service I rarely had a problem with this. Also the bag 💼 situation could get pretty bad.
Im booked on the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland, Oregon in September so thank you for this advice.
Addendum.....well I have now completed my trip and heres my tuppence worth.
1. Tell everyone that you will be incommunicado for the duration because there's zero WiFi.
2. North Dakota is spectacular for its complete nothingness, just mile after mile of flat prairie stretching to infinity for hour after hour.
3. My roomette attendant was noticeable by her absence, not once did she offer to make up my bed, ask if I needed anything etc.
Good points...take it upon yourself to talk to anyone and everyone its just amazing who you meet. I didn't have to open any conversations because as soon as everyone heard my suave and dastardly posh British accent I was eagerly sought out for a chat. Strangely an Amish family found me fascinating and their elder basically interviewed me on their behalf. They had some very peculiar ideas about the UK and Europe.
The food was actually OK, not bad at all.
The bed was very comfy
Despite the monotony of some of the landscape there is also a lot of interesting stuff passing by.
Would I do it again? On balance yes ,it was a great experience.
Agree with you on #1, just hope the distinction between WiFi and cell tower coverage is clear. I’m seldom on a train but drive the great open spaces they call “flyover” country. Cell coverage is virtually non existent no matter that Verizon coverage map shows. In cities yes, and as more towers are added along interstate highways the situation is improving. Traveling secondary roads you sometimes see a pulloff area with a phone symbol on a signpost. It took me a while to realize you can stop there and get cell coverage from a nearby tower.
Maybe non tech folks with unlimited data plans living in populated areas can rely totally on good cellular coverage for all of their online connectivity, and simply think of that as WiFi? To me, WiFi means a fiber optic cable buried to my house, (or a coffee shop / McDonalds or whatever) then to the router on the shelf. My phone then connects to the wireless router to get internet. I live in a rural area and even with cell towers located a few miles away the coverage is spotty, 1-2 bars only. Most often it will allow a text or phone call to go through, maybe enough internet to look something up, but trying to watch a youtube video is impossible. Only way the internet really works for me is to be on the WiFi in my house.
I’ve argued with folks saying they get WiFi on trains assuming they are talking about cell coverage, but I’ve learned some of the trains in the east do indeed have an Amtrak WiFi service like I might get at a McDonalds. Trains are NOT hooked up to fiber optic cables, so apparently Amtrak has a good cell phone receiver with unlimited high speed data, connected to a router, to distribute that signal to passengers. The WiFi on that train would be just as dead as my phone is in the middle of North Dakota. It’s not a WiFi problem, it’s a cell coverage problem.
The solution is a Starlink satellite system. I eagerly await headlines from Amtrak stating they have installed Starlink receivers on all the cross country trains and high speed internet is now available, on their WiFi system. The only exception being the few minutes spent in tunnels crossing the divides.
“Big Rig Travels” on UA-cam was the first I know of to live stream (via Starlink) the view out the front window of his truck as he travels the country, other youtube travel bloggers are catching on. I believe they spend several thousand dollars for rooftop receivers to connect 1 phone, I don’t know if the technology is good enough for a train where 100+ people might want to use it all at once? It works for a trucker, it should work on a train, but might take money. If Amtrak charged me $5 for unlimited internet on a 3 day trip I would take them up on it. I want the view out the train window too, but my inquiring mind wants Google Earth and Wikipedia to explain the rest of the story about what I’m looking at.
I'll be taking my first train trip in April 2023. I've been watching your videos to prepare me. Thank you for creating such an informative platform. I greatly appreciate it.
Awesome, have a great trip!
How was it??
When I took the Amtrak from San Diego to Los Angeles the attendant put the card over my head. I went to the snack car and when I came back someone was in my seat. I had to ask the guy to move and he was like oh I want this view and I showed him the ticket above, then he moved
The Pacific Surfliner can get to the point where people are standing in the aisles, so guard your seat between L.A. & San Diego.
Thanks for sharing your story, I'm sure that will help someone that reads it!
That same thing happened to my son and me when we rode the Northeast Corridor between DC and Philly. The lady who took our seats was rather put off because she wanted to sit by herself without a seat mate. She went back to her original seat two rows behind us and spent the next hour talking on her cellphone loudly. We were happy when we got off the train in Philadelphia.
@@georgemcdowell8302 Yep. We had the misfortune of getting on at San Juan Capistrano going south, not realizing there was a Padres game. I ended up standing while all of the people 30 to 40 years younger than I looked at me the whole way. LOL.
Last time we rode in the coach car we brought signs saying “reserved” with us and put them on our seats when we got up. Seemed to work well.
I used to ride the train across the state to visit grandparents when I was 12-13ish in the late 70s - parents thought there would be a better class of kooks on the train vs greyhound bus!😀
I have never had an problems with Amtrak. The Amtrak personnel have always been extremely professional!
In my experiences riding Amtrak!
We have found them to be very good also
I love how so many of these are just common courtesy and common sense.
True!
But if you don't have an overview of how it all works, it is hard to know what would strike others as courteous.
@@653j521 no
Two months ago I took my 3rd ride on the Southwest Chief from KC to LA. We had a couple of short scenic bus rides to take us on to Sacramento, which was very enjoyable. I’d like to take the California Zephyr next time. Thanks for the heads up about their observation car. True, the Southwest Chief doesn’t monitor theirs. I love the fact that you two are totally on point and very helpful. Thank you‼️❣️‼️
Thanks so much!
I was told by an Amtrak employee many years ago that freight trains had the priority over passenger trains, he said that the freight companies own the rails.
True
Federal law says that passenger trains have preference over freight, this is often ignored by the freight railroads.
True in Canada as well. VIA is often forced to wait for freight as CN owns the track.
The same thing is true in Canada!
@@strqrt70 it's always freight first anymore. In the northeast corridor, we own the rails. Freight is making money hand over fist and they could care less about Amtrak's on time performance. We've adjusted our schedule to help us with delays because of freight.
One of my children is moving her family from Texas to Port Townsend, Washington. I am helping to drive this family of 8 next week. I hate to fly. Found you guys 2 weeks ago. Bless you! I bought my one way ticket from Seattle to Ft. Worth, Texas today! You gave me all I needed to ride this cross county trip. Can't wait. Thank you so, so much! Blessings on your many train travels! Hope to meet you some day.
Have a great trip!
Hope they enjoy the move! I live in a nearby town. I will be taking the train specifically to avoid driving over the Cascades in the winter.
I love train travel. Mostly the Coast Starlight between Oregon and California. Started in Coach and graduated to Roomettes after a stressful week. I'll never go back! Took the Zephyr to Omaha and it was only 1 hour late. Otherwise, never had a problem with being late
Actually, being late into Omaha was OK since it was supposed to arrive at 5 am and it got in at 6am. Made it easier to get a cab and breakfast. I love Amtrak and will always choose it over planes. 😊
Thank you. It's just basic awareness, decency, and common sense. A week ago I took the Coast Starlight from Santa Rosa, Ca (Throughway) to Martinez, Ca to Vancouver, Wa, and back. I chose the bedroom, for the private toilet-shower-sink. The staff was helpful, cheerful, and courteous. I enjoyed the happy and interesting other passengers with whom I ate my meals.
Glad you had a great trip!
For my weeklong vacation in May 2024, I booked with the notion that long distance trains are going to be late, especially getting to their endpoints. When I take the Coast Starlight and transfer to the Texas Eagle, I factored in a late arriving train, and as a result, booked a 1-night hotel room. I did the same thing when transferring in Chicago from the Texas Eagle to the California Zephyr in that I booked a 1-night hotel in Chicago in factoring in a late arriving Texas Eagle in Chicago.
People need to lock the bathroom doors when they are in use. I’ve walked in one somebody on the train who didn’t lock the door, so it said it was open. I just assumed it was common sense, unless it was a child, to lock the door. Although this was a grown woman. Please lock the door and don’t scream when someone walks in.
And on planes too. So many times I've seen the occupancy light be green and open the door and there was someone in the restroom.
I have done many train trips and once the lock didn't engage and the attendant walked in on me, I had thought I locked it and after wards we checked and it was faulty. Luckily I often wear dresses so nothing was at all showing he was far more embarrassed than I was.
Thanks for all your helpful advice. My husband and I are leaving next week on our bucket trip, and we never would have attempted it if I hadn't stumbled across your videos. What I most appreciated was your advise on the closest hotels to various Amtrak stops and tipping suggestions. No matter how delayed the trains may be, we're going to have the time of our lives!
Have fun! Sounds like a great trip!
How was the trip?
Thanks for the great great tips. Here are a couple of mine as a veteran of long haul Amtrak trips.
You said if one's seat or room has a good view, there's no reason to go to the observation car. I respectfully disagree. Meeting new people and exchanging travel stories with them is at least as important as viewing scenery. IMO, it's even a bigger deal. On trains, the observation cars are where that happens. My most valuable train experiences were the people I met in the observation cars. It is the center of social activity on the train.
A safety tip: If you are spending time in the observation car, you should always return to your seat prior to the train making a stop in order to prevent someone from walking off with the belongings you left unattended at your seat while the train is in a station.
You two are so personable and fun !!! I wish I could take my California Zephyr trip down to a family reunion with YOU !!! I have always loved taking the train … as my Grandpa was an engineer for the Union Pacific since the 1910’s … he had an immaculate record too … my Mama used to take us down to the LA Union Pacific Station (it was so FUN !!!) … we would wave goodbye to Grandpa as he took his trains out on a run …
There’s nothing like a well run train line … I do, however, miss the beautiful mahogany paneling and more spacious restrooms of the 50’s 60’s & 70’s 🚂Union Pacific RR Line🚞… but I still prefer to take the 🚂train when I can …🛤🚉
Love your well presented & informative videos !!!
Bon Voyage
What a great video you brought back a memory i'd forgotten. About 20 years ago i took a train called the Carolinian, they had a menu item a Pulled Pork Sandwich in keeping with the theme of the train. It was an awful piece of preesed something on a bun. I wrote a a letter of complaint. A few weeks later got a Letter (not email) stating that they had brought my complaint to the CEO of Amtrak. 'George Warrington is very concerned with your complaint, and he has asked the we enclose the enclosed voucher. ' It was for $50... for a $3 sandwich!!!
I just booked my California Zephyr trip for Oct 2023. Thank you for your videos. They have really helped me pull the trigger and do this trip. It will be my 1st time. Super excited 🎉
Hi There! How was your trip on the Zephyr? I'm thinking about taking this very train..very excited, but nervous.
Hi @@clairewyndham1971 it was great. I did this as a solo trip and it was wonderful meeting new ppl and seeing all the views. I downloaded movies and brought books to read, I didn’t use any of it cause I just stared out the window. I did get a sleeper cart, which included breakfast, lunch and dinner but they do have a “market” where you can purchase food drinks and snacks. All the workers were so nice. The conductor would tell us fun facts about certain locations. Just note that these trains are very old and it shows in the aesthetic. America needs to put more money in the infrastructure of Amtrak. But I tell everyone to do this. A great way to see the country. I now want to do more long distance train travel.
I can't afford to travel right now, but the info about the temperature control is really helpful. Eek, I'd rather freeze than be sweltering! (That's why I wish trains could have windows that open at least a crack!) Thank you for being considerate about that! Most people wouldn't care that temps were changed for everyone, as long as they were comfortable.
Those open windows, even open just a crack, would be a lot less desirable at 80 miles an hour. One of those undesirable things is the pulsing effect created as air pressure inside the vehicle changes and then airflow at the window repeatedly breaks and gets reestablished. Plus, in the days right up to Amtrak, when there were still daily-use railroad coaches, especially on some commuter lines, which had opening windows, the influx of dust raised by the train was an issue.
@@alonespirit9923 In Belgium until around 1980 all coaches had opening windows, and trains were riding close to 90 miles per hour (in Belgium this is called 140 km/h).
@@thierrypauwels Hmm, interesting.
Always travel with a fan
I hope we are not riding same train b/c I am the opposite on tempreatures.cold = pain for me,
I appreciate your videos. On this one with the unwritten rules I think if you abide by what is called the Golden Rule, things will be just fine. Do unto others as you would like Others to do unto you.
I laughed way too hard at the part when you mentioned a group of kids coming on the train @18:00. I’ve taken only 1 Amtrak ride many many years ago. I had a round trip ticket from NYC to Orlando. On that particular trip there was a large number of children. We had to step over and around those children as we made our way to the dinner car. My experience was so bad I flew back to NYC. I refused to take that ride again. But, here I am watching your videos and taking notes. 😂😂😂
Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you! I am in the Pacific NW and have been wanting to take my kids and grandkids on an overnight trip down the Columbia Gorge and I really don't know what to expect. I was on a dinner train ride once lol. Great info for a wanna be like me! Next year will be my 60th bd and I think this is what I want to do!
I've traveled Amtrak extensively since 1988. I've been coast to coast, and North to south. For me, it's the BEST way to travel. I love trains, so it's great. I travel with a small service dog. The one thing I wish you would have mentioned though, is to not pet or mess with a service animal on the train as they are on duty and shouldn't be distracted. So many people just think they can freely interact with my dog.
A friend with a service dog suggested that we inquire if a dog is "working", and if not, what interactions are appropriate.
I really enjoy this couple's videos. Informative practical advice.
Thank you!
Using Sunset Limited from Texas to LA in July. Y'all's videos are really nice for a first timer (im 25 and going alone) so happy I saw the "plan on being 4hrs late" tip. My end destination is San Diego and i figured one hr would be enough. As soon as I saw that, I immediately went and changed my train to SD back 5hrs
Seems like pretty typical rules, i wasnt sure about laying back in coach but this made me feel better about it (36hr ride). Cheers for the tips!
Her dimples! Just lovely!
Very valuable info!! Amtrak has always accommodated their passengers as much as possible. If I'm taking long distance trips with connections, I've learned to give myself an entire day at my connection point due to possible extended delays so I wouldn't miss my connecting train. In the '90's, Amtrak did accommodate it's 1st class passengers by providing an overnight stay & breakfast vouchers at a 4 star hotel with a bus ride to & from for missed connections in Chicago. They offered an airline, bus ticket, or coach seat on the connecting train the day after. They would not offer sleeper accommodations on the connecting train the following day which was an inconvenience-but I needed to be in NY, so I chose an airline flight. I've paid my own fare to the airport from the station. I've learned Amtrak no longer books flights for their passengers, so it's crucial to schedule with a time cushion.
Thanks for sharing your good advice and insights!
This couldn't have come at a better time for me, as I'm going to be travelling from Seattle to Pittsburgh the day after tomorrow!
This video should be required viewing for all passengers. Really good insights.
I booked a round trip on the Zephyr for this November because of the content from this channel. I hope to share a table with anyone in the dining car that watched this video!
Happy trails!
Thanks and praise!
When in November?
Thanks! Have a great trip!
@@dhawthorne15 east bound on the 10th, west bound on the 15th.
@@skuhskuh6286 you are a couple of weeks before me, I go westbound on November 28th
I love the comment about luggage. They failed to mention that if you are getting on at a non-manned station and you have a lot of bags, you cannot check them.
I had a bid accepted to upgrade my coach ticket to a roommate on the empire builder from Milwaukee to St. Paul. It was such an amazing experience and was very relaxing. And the food was so good. Some of the best of the pasta I’ve ever had and had a great conversation with the people sitting across from me.
That is awesome! We've never had one accepted!
I loved riding the train for 3 sections of our trip this Summer...esp. the Empire Builder! My most important suggestion: sleeping in the top bunk, have your feet by the ladder!!! I asked the attendant to re-do my bedding because I never would have been able to get down (though younger, taller people might). Can't wait to take another trip by train!!!
Thanks for sharing!! Great tip, yes feet by the ladder or you'll have to go head first back down!
Thanks for the tips. Before I took my trip on the California Zephyr earlier this year, I watched many of your videos and picked up some of the “rules” via those videos. I brought a portable fan because I knew I would get warm. I saved my $1 and $5 bills ahead of time to leave for tips. I was prepared because of your videos. The trip was delightful and I met so many people in both the dining car and the observation car. My next trip is New Orleans to DC in November- I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for your informative videos!
How was the temp? What about exhaust fan for bathroom in room?
I didn’t have the bedroom, just the roomette. So I don’t know about the exhaust fan for the bathroom in the bedroom. In the roomette, the temperature was actually pretty good. I still used the fan for a little bit of extra cooling and for white noise.
I've written amtrak a lot and I still learned some great stuff from this video. Thanks so much for the info.
Very welcome! Thanks for watching!
Wish I thought about calling for compensation for late arrivals ... I'd be riding for free "a lot" as those long haul routes are usually many hours behind schedule. I did learn my lesson (the hard way) about planning connections for the day of arrival, usually not gonna happen. I book a room and get a nights rest before moving on the next day. Otherwise, all your info was spot on 👊🏻
If you ride was then less a year old, you can still try and maybe get a vocher for a future trip. If longer that a year ago, I would just wait untill your next trip, and trip was not great make sure you call the next day after getting of the train.
@@chrisdobrowolski2783 Southwest Chief .. 6 hours late, Empire Builder ... 4 hours late ... Zephyr 3 hours late 😳
@@roberts.1400
Cali Zephyr, 16 hours late. Medical emergency in Salt Lake.
@@roberts.1400one of many reasons I don't like train travel.
@@creinicke1000 Late arrivals are now expected and planned for in advance. I don't leave myself at their mercy 👊
Wonderful comments to encourage courteous, respectful behavior. I wish more people considered others while traveling. Thank you ❤
great tips. Sometimes it helps to be reminded of the courtesies which should be - but are not - commonly known.
Thanks!
On the Southwest Chief I have found that roomette 1 has been used for storage, sheets etc. the attendant is usually in the crew car at the head of the train. Also if you're wanting a bedroom beware of "A" it is very small with a bathroom/shower door that doesn't fully open. Room "E" is directly above the car entrance on the lower level, when opened overnight the attendant will need to slam the door shut, great at 3AM! Depending on the car direction when the train is made up you may luck out and it is opened just a few times or at a lot of the stops, pot luck on this one.
Love your channel! When my train is late I just am thankful for more train time without more cost. :)
I’m taking my 1st Amtrak trip in May. The reservation attendant was fabulous and I’m so excited for this adventure. Thanks for answering questions I didn’t know I had.
Have fun!
Very thoughtful "rules." I shall keep them in mind. Hopefully everyone else will, too. Thanks
Pat, in Chicago
I haven't taken the train much the past few years, and I enjoyed listening. What the both of you made a lot of sense. I wish that others would follow these "unwritten" rules... such as smoking. I took a train from BWI to FAY and the person that sat next to me got off at every chance to smoke. I got off once to stretch and saw them outside right next to the door. When we got back on, and the person sat down and the stench (from smoking) really bothered me. I am very sensitive to that and my eyes started watering, I got a really bad headache and started having trouble breathing. My next journey on Amtrak is on the Empire Builder in a little less than a month.
As far as observation car on California Zephyr, I took this train back in 2016 and there were a few people that were there for many, many hours. They didn't have the courtesy to return to their seat.
That's really helpful let people know what is considered common curiosity . Sometimes we just have to say the quiet part out loud though we'd rather not.
Thanks
Extremely helpful and I am a relatively experienced traveler. Reader's Digest version: Be considerate.
Thanks, and yes!
Great comments and observations. I'm an old Amtraker from the 80s and 90s. Last run was 97 on the Chief then down to HUN for a week to visit family. Favourite car: Superliners hands down because they were so quiet. I haven't ridden Viewliner cars as of yet. my first trip on the Supers when they had air suspension. I heard the war stories about them failing but thankfully never experienced road failures. Only once there was an issue when the diner was fishtailing from a bad torque arm bushing. My sleeper was right behind it. Not only was that pulling us back and forth all night-naturally when you're trying to sleep-and the air suspension system was banging against its stops and would make loud noises. Thank of a kid kicking the side panels as hard as he could. But, the ride was much more controlled when they went from air bags to to dual coil springs as primary suspension on the old Waggon Union trucks (Super 1 cars).The Budd "Amfleet" cars, which originally ran as part of the old "Pensy" PRR passenger fleet then Amfleet 1 cars on Amtrak, actually were built and put into service in 1966 first on the Pensy then later of course on Amtrak consists, and in my opinion have stood the test of time, were always comfortable but got very noisy with road noise roar and rumbling when they were overdue for suspension maintenance. The toilets on those trains used to recycle water with the blue stuff and they were disgusting. The Cardinal ran old sleepers that should have been scrapped and were replaced by Superliners but as I understood, could not go into NYC because of the height issues and low bridges there. Incidentally, the Superliners all suffer badly from the all too frequent flat wheels which plague the system. First you hear them then the vibrations get into the car and it flexes at that frequency. It is hard to sleep with your head bouncing constantly off the pillow. The Coast "Starlate" suffers the most for what ever reason. We enjoy our features. Keep them coming, Nice to be retired from that world but the occasional rail trip is still fun, regardless. Rail travel requires you to be come a Gypsy. You just roll with it and relax, enjoy the ride and hey, if you're late, that's more time on the rails to enjoy as I look at it.
You are both so engaging and knowledgable, your videos are a pleasure to watch. Thanks for the good information! :)
Thank you
Most seems to be common sense but there seems to be a shortage of common sense these days so glad you came out and stated these rules. Thanks!
I absolutely love you guys! My husband has been suggesting taking a trip on Amtrak and I’ve always said NO EFFING WAY, until now! Your videos have gotten me so excited about booking either a Coast Starlight or California Zephyr trip! I gave him only one condition - a roomette at the bare minimum! Thank you for your very informative input! SUBSCRIBED!
15:50 usually you can move as long as you take your tag to your new seat so they know where you are going. Sometimes when I'm taking a train that's crowded when I get in I'll wait until enough people get off at stops along the way (usually at night) and the car is more clear and switch seats so I can sleep across two seats at night. I just took my tag to the new seat and never had any problems. The only train I didn't do this on was when they assigned seats on the Silver Meteor going to and from Florida.
What a delightful couple ! VERY helpful, informative videos. THANK you.
I really enjoyed hearing these "rules". Being a Disney passholder I could write a long list for those visiting the parks 😄
Thanks!
Barb Hawkins please list at least 10. I’ll be going in a few weeks lol!
@@ladygoodday Ok..listen close 😊 1- Don't put kids on shoulders blocking people behind you during fireworks and parades, 2- Don't try to squeeze in at last minute to watch a parade. Get your spot early. 3- Don't stop in the middle of walkway to look at your phone, step aside. 4- Don't recite words of script on rides.. even if you know them by heart. 4- Hang back at least 20 minutes after the fireworks if leaving the parks. You will thank me later. The crowds disappear quickly so let everyone go first. 5- Don't eat at noon and 6 to avoid the longest lines. 6- Don't let your little one blow bubbles all over everyone when waiting for parade and fireworks if you buy them a bubble wand. 7- Don't wait to buy souvenirs at closing. It's a madhouse in the shops. 8- Don't let your kids chase the Disney ducks. It's their home 💗 9- Be kind to the castmembers. They are overworked and underpaid. 10- Hold balloons down low during parades, shows and fireworks, - Be patient, be kind, rest when you get too o overwhelmed, drink plenty of water, bring a poncho, Don't wear brand new shoes and don't over plan and drive yourself nuts trying to do everything..... I could go on and on 😆 But most important..have the time of your life and let the Disney winds direct you 💞
This info was so helpful. You both seem delightful and caring. I am planning an Amtrak trip from Cincinnati to Charleston WV soon. I will be 84 in July and look forward to this brief train ride.
I went coach no dining car. I encountered a man his phone rang late. If he’d have answered I’m on a train got up and moved it wouldn’t have been bad. He spent an hour at least loudly conversing. He was a couple rows behind me. Finally the nice man across from him advised him how loud he was.
So.. would head phones that keep it silent be advised?
Thank you for trying to make my first Amtrak trip memorable. Good common sense ideas.
thank you for doing these. I'm planning a trip for me and my disabled daughter in the coming year and this really helps.
Thanks!
thank you, have seen several of your trips well done many times i felt i had a vacation from watching the extended trips you take.
Glad you enjoyed it
My husband and I took the Coast Starlight and when we boarded there weren't two seats together. We both went outside at one of the "smoke breaks" in the morning, and the attendant gave my husbands seat to another passenger boarding. It worked out in our favor, because we were moved to two seats that were together. Definitely wish we would've watched this channel before we went. Thanks for all the great information.
I admit, I'm a lounge lizard. Always be considerate and courteous as possible, invite others to sit with you if you're at a booth/table in there. Never keep bags or personal belongings on the seats. And yes, give up your seat now and then if the train is very full and give others a chance.
Great thoughts!
Greetings from Nairobi Kenya. I love seeing America by rail every year or two. Have family/friends different parts so have taken a number of overnight mostly western trains. Usually get bedroom or roomette. One lesson I learned the hard way was never walk into the dining car and just go sit down. Always wait to be seated. 99.9% AMTRAK staff super professional and accommodating, but my first AMTRAK trip lesson was lesson learned the hard way. First time on an overnight trip. I just picked a seat and sat down. Was on the Texas Eagle Chicago to Austin. Unfortunately, the lead dining car was super psycho and started screaming at me in front of about 50 other diners. I just got up and left and asked my sleeper car attendant to bring my meal to the bedroom. I told him about what happened and he explained the rules, but also gave a nonverbal communication that he agreed she wasn't quite normal.
I was super compliant at lunch next day, but the woman was still screaming at just about everybody. So, I avoided the diner rest of trip. Kind of put a damper on the ride. I had flown 20 hours to get to the USA and didn't look forward to 20 hours on a train with that dynamic going on.
But I still think AMTRAK mostly great way to see your beautiful country. (Hope she's retired by now. That was @2014). Guess they can't be fired, since government employees.
Obey, and you will be okay.
Very important video! It is very important to know the information that you provided! Thanks very much. You guys are the ONLY videos I watch of this type.
Thanks! We appreciate you watching!
Boy you must travel Amtrak a lot like us because you hit the nail on the head with this video.
Another unwritten rule is that if you time travel back to the 1990s there were many times when the Northeast Regional between Newport News and Washington, DC was completely empty and you could have an entire car to yourself.
I took my first train ride, encouraged by watching your channel for the last year. It was a short ride so I did coach from Omaha to Denver. It was enjoyable however the bathrooms were filthy and I wasn’t prepared for that. Also, in some ways it reminded of taking greyhound. I’ll definitely get a roomette next time. Im also looking into taking the Rocky Mountaineer next year. 😊
Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
On Amtrak, roomettes on the Superliner (two level) train cars don't have private bathrooms either. They use public bathrooms at the ends of the cars or downstairs...you have to leave your roomette to use them. You would have to get a bedroom on a Superliner train in order to have a private bathroom. On Amtrak trains with Viewliner and Viewliner II cars (used mainly on Eastern US trains), the roomettes DO have a private, enclosed bathroom within the roomette. On Amtrak, it's best to check first to make sure the particular train you are booking has a private bathroom in sleeping accommodations if that's what you are interested in. I don't know anything about the Rocky Mountaineer sleeping accommodation bathrooms. It would be best to make sure about those beforehand as well.
@ C T - You are most candid and informative, but I gave up on Amtrak, years ago, as I just do not understand how they could be so POORLY run.
Best Wishes.
Since Amtrak has started assigning seats in coach, I've had bad experiences. I'm too shy to ask to be moved. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but Seattle to Los Angeles is too long to endure body odor, crazy politics, or helping an elderly person to the restroom again and again. Even when there are empty seats, I'm always paired with another person who's travelling a long distance. Like we're expected to bond and become besties.
Hello thank you both for all the information.
Thanks for watching!
On your advice I bought a little portable charger for my iPods. (My plan was to record last nights concert from my 2nd row seat but after a few minutes I decided to just enjoy the concert without the stress of focus and the glare of spotlights right in the face.) I have 2 phones and 3 iPods + the laptop, so I brought one of my power strips with me; one outlet becomes eight, no problem. I'm packing up for my return ride now, I should be home before dinner. Thanks for your videos. They're very helpful. Now I have to begin preparing for my long trip next mid-summer. Want to have everything in place when my choice of destinations in announced.
Awesome!
We enjoyed this video which confirmed some items we had already learned. On a recent Auto Train trip from Sanford to Lorton the trip was delayed over 10 hours. Some of the delay as we later learned was from earlier delays on previous runs. Accumulation? The most disappointing aspect of the trip, however, was the poor food service. There was no dining car. Everything was box lunch type food. Also there was no personal service. In fact we never met our attendant nor the conductor nor anyone employed by Amtrak even though we were traveling in a bedroom. Had we received even a welcome we would have recognized that, but at the end of the trip no one was to be found. We were contacted by Amtrak later and given a handsome voucher on a future trip.
How did you find your bedroom? 😬. That makes me nervous
Wow, they are supposed to have a dinning car mostly for sleeper passengers but sometimes I heard coach passengers can purchase the dinning if they have supplies left. Also they are also suppose to have at least 1 Amtrak Cafe car which both coach and sleeper passengers can purchase items from, so I do not know what happened with that train.
@raymondcolombo1281 if you decide to ride Amtrak in the future please call 1800- USa Rail and soon as possible and see if they will give you a voucher for not a great experience for the food which is not normal, even only like $200 better than nothing.. Also for tuture reference if you are another Amtrak train and things go wrong called when you get off to the hotel or next morning and tell them what happened and they will give you a voucher for a future trip, it will depend how long the delay was, or other issues, and the price you paid for the trip.
Thanks for the information. I wish they still had the passes for retired Railroad employees like they had in the past. Seems like as soon as I retired 11 years ago they took that away. It was only good for the day you wanted to leave if space was available. I remember each summer vacation Mom and I would take a sleeper from Tucson to Little Rock Ark. two weeks before Dad started his vacation. He worked for the S.P. railroad like me for 45 years. I have always been tight with my money. But like you say it is not about the destination it's about the journey. Most of or large family live in Ark. Have many Cousins many wonderful memories.
I have a trip booked on the Southwest Chief from Barstow to Winslow tomorrow and I have had the worst anxiety. Its my first ride on amtrak ever. I like to feel and be prepared and your videos have definitely helped me feel prepared. THANK YOU!🙌🏼
How did you like your trip?
@@jerrysullivan8424 It went great! Definitely going to travel on amtrak more often.
I'm taking California Zephyr in just a few days. Thank you for your knowledge. It's been a big help!
Thanks for the tips. I have been on the city of New Orleans from Mem to nol many times. It was actually an hour early one time. Had the same experience with a bunch of grade school students getting on in Jackson ms. Thanks
Thanks for sharing! Glad to hear you got in early!
Another unwritten rule that we learned the hard way . . . just because the conductor puts a tab above your seat with the name of the exit station, don't assume they will 100% know/remember that if it's different from what you actually booked. One time we had a change of plans where one traveler needed to depart the train at an intermediate station. Called Amtrak and the agent said no change or fee was necessary since it was a shorter trip. BUT, the intermediate station did not have anyone getting on and the online system the conductors were viewing didn't show our traveler exiting. They didn't look at their own above-seat tabs or even open the doors at that station. My friend had to ride to the next stop and backtrack. SO . . . insist that your plans in the system match your actual plans and/or be extra-vigilant about this possibility.
🎉😂
I have previously rode southwest chief to Los Angeles, on route to Las Vegas. Train was 2 hours late arriving in Los Angeles. Fortunately l had booked my flight late afternoon from Los Angeles, and trip worked out well.
Glad it worked out!
We were heading to Portland from Montana. Before we got to Portland the train just stopped. The PA came on and stated “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are stopped here because of an active shooter situation in the tunnel. For your safety we cannot proceed forward. “ So 3 hrs went by we started again. They came on the PA and said that if we were continuing to Sacramento please go to the Desk to receive instructions because you have missed your connecting train 😳 So I did just that and Amtrak provided me with a Hotel room and meal stipends. I’ve never stayed at such a beautiful Hotel in my life. I was beyond tickled. Great job. Also you might want to say to not drink too much and get stupid on the train. I was by the pass through door and the poor Conductor lady was chasing this totally wasted lady skipping though car after car. So all night long it was “SHHHOOOOP SHHHOOOP” because of her running in and out of cars. 😂
I should have watched your videos before I recently took my first train trip. My husband and I were in a bedroom but we never really saw any of our car attendants. They didn't help carry luggage, or bring us meals or put the beds down/up for us. I didn't even realize that was their job until watching these videos! We tipped because I had read it was the custom but I don't think I would tip again unless they did the things you mention in your videos. (My husband had to seek out the attendant to meet him then tip him.) I did accidentally hit the call button one time but no one ever came. The button stayed lit on my end until we finished the trip the next day. I am so happy that my gross, 10+ hour delayed trip with a wet floor, dry food, and invisible attendants is not the norm on Amtrak. I do know that the people who were in the bedroom after us had a much cleaner room than we did. It took many Clorox wipes covered in mystery brown before I felt comfortable brushing my teeth in the bedroom sink or leaning my head against anything in that bedroom. We got nearly $1k in vouchers because of all the problems on my trip so I guess we'll have to ride the train again or throw away free money. Honestly, it's a toss up because the train was not a good experience for me. I am glad others have better journeys. I know we'll never get the bedroom again. Sure, the bathroom is nice to have but it is so small that I think I'd rather go down the hall. The room was too cold to even think about using the shower. (Texas Eagle from AUS To LAX.)
Good point about the vouchers - if you don't use them, they are actually no compensation at all. And I bet a lot of people don't bother. Here in the UK, we get proper refunds (actual money) if trains are late or cancelled. We don't get the sort of delays you get in the US, as our system prioritises passenger trains over freight, and journeys are usually much shorter, but there are still plenty of delays and cancelations that meet the rules for claiming.
We took a trip from our home in SE England to York last year (about a 3-4 hour journey overall), and our train to London was cancelled, which meant that we mised our connection. Then our train from London to York was delayed, but it got there literally 55 minutes late (it has to be over an hour to claim!), so we assumed we wouldn't be able to get refund. But it turned out that it's the whole journey that counts, not just the actual train that was delayed, so we were well over an hour late and got a full refund. Being late wasn't actually much of a problem for us, so we effectively travelled to York for free, for no real inconvenience! It's not always like that, though - a journey home from Scotland a few months later was hell (broken down train, long diversion, home 5 hours late - all with an ill child) and no amount of compensation would have made up for that.
Very informative, thank you! Especially the tipping, many people just wouldn't even think about tipping. Some questions about tipping - (1) sleeper car attendants - do they change daily, or do you leave one tip at the end of a mult-day trip? (2) how do you give the tip to the attendant, just hand it to them or is there a box or a place in the room? (3) do you tip in coach on longer trips, are there attendants for that specific car? (4) for dining attendants do you leave the tip at the table like in a restaurant?
Thank you so much for your guidance, love your videos.
For dining attendants we just leave it on the table, but for the room attendant it will be the same one the entire trip so we hand it to them when we get off at the end.
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According to my dad (a career railroad guy), military transport trains have priority over all other trains on the USA rails. I'm prepared to believe this. It's relevant in that if there are rail traffic problems, military transports get priority over freight and passenger rail. If that causes a delay in freight/passenger, so be it. Thanks for showing the path forward. Robert in NYC.