# Do roomette doors lock?



## Teamfour (Oct 18, 2008)

Just wondering if I have to carry my laptop with me when I go to eat, etc?


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## amtrakwolverine (Oct 18, 2008)

they lock from the inside only. so either put it in a backpack with luggage locks and a bike lock to chain it to the bed or take it with you.


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## the_traveler (Oct 18, 2008)

What I do is just cover it up (with something like a pillow, blanket or coat) that make it look like you're messy! 

Also, if you think about it, most people passing through the sleeping cars (except on a couple of trains) are other sleeping car passengers! Besides, even if someone did take it, where would they go? :huh: *Most* people do not get off of a train moving at 79 MPH!


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## JohnF (Oct 18, 2008)

Teamfour said:


> Just wondering if I have to carry my laptop with me when I go to eat, etc?


Train travel today is like everything else. It has changed and so has the clientel. Never leave anything out where someone passing can see it. The crew does not even try and keep coach passengers out of sleepers most of the time. I have been in sleepers where the kids ran amuck throwing stuff in the toilets and clogging them up etc. Close the door when you leave and take camera's and valuables with you. Put the laptop safely in your luggage and lock it. Nowdays, trust no one.


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## Green Maned Lion (Oct 18, 2008)

Trains are theft proof enviroments if you aren't an idiot, practically. Its crowded, yet not crowded enough for the crowd to hide. Nobody is taking anything they have to search for, even if searching is lifting a towel. Just cover the valubles and you got nothing to worry about.


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## AlanB (Oct 19, 2008)

I never leave my laptop out in plain site when I leave the room, usually it's just covered with a pillow. And I've never had a problem. And the crews do try, although they don't always suceed, to keep coach pax out of the sleepers. But in all the miles I've covered on Amtrak, I've only seen two or three occasions where they failed to keep a coach pax out of the sleepers.


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## gswager (Oct 19, 2008)

Close the curtains and close the door. There's no way if the bystanders can tell if that room is occupied or not, except when knocking. Cover it up with pillow or put it in the upper bunk and close it.


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## spacecadet (Oct 19, 2008)

I don't generally worry about stuff getting stolen on a long distance train. It's not really like "everything else", it's basically a closed environment. It's true that people can get on and off at stops, but think about it: a person getting *on* a train just to steal something then has to figure out how to get back to where he came from at the next stop, which could be hundreds of miles away. And that's assuming he doesn't get caught first. It's not worth it. On the other hand, a longer-distance passenger who swipes something on their way out at a stop is going to be pretty easy to track down - Amtrak has a record of everybody who gets off at every stop, and at most stops you're talking about 5-10 people at most.

A coach passenger who comes into a sleeping car to steal something, then goes back to coach with it and sits back down, would have to be exceedingly stupid. They're going to get caught. Theft is a crime on Amtrak like it is anywhere else, and Amtrak will get the police involved if they think the thief is still on the train. I've seen it happen. They will lock down the train at the next stop and bring the police on board.

Granted, it'd be a pain in the butt to try to get your stuff back if it did get stolen, but the point is I don't think even most criminals would be dumb enough to try it. It's about the most difficult environment there is to successfully steal something. Probably the only place harder would be on an airplane.

I see people leave cameras, laptops, backpacks, etc. lying all over the place on the train, and nobody ever touches them. Another part of this is that people get to know who you are on the train, even if they don't know you personally, and they know what belongs to whom. So everybody sort of watches out for everybody. I'm not quite so cavalier with my stuff but I don't have a problem leaving my laptop and camera in my room, just hidden from obvious view. If I know I'll be away from the room for more than one stop, I might take my camera with me.

As long as you are not an idiot about leaving your stuff out in plain sight in common areas (and some people are), then you won't have any problem.

I think when I last rode a Viewliner, I found a little 1" or so space way up near the ceiling where I kept my laptop, but I don't remember exactly where it was now.


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## AlanB (Oct 20, 2008)

spacecadet said:


> I think when I last rode a Viewliner, I found a little 1" or so space way up near the ceiling where I kept my laptop, but I don't remember exactly where it was now.


You should have found far more than 1" of space up near the ceiling. There's an entire cubbyhold large enough to hold a mid-sized suitcase.


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## Tony (Oct 20, 2008)

gswager said:


> Close the curtains and close the door. There's no way if the bystanders can tell if that room is occupied or not, except when knocking.


That's exactly what I do. 

As other have mentioned, just put it away.

Plus, if you aren't in your room for any length of time, you are probably in the dining car. If someone from coach was taking stuff from the sleepers during meals, they would need to walk right by you (and all the other sleeper passengers) to return to the coach cars.

I am pretty paranoid, but I have always felt my stuff was safe enough in my roomette.


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## Tony (Oct 20, 2008)

spacecadet said:


> I think when I last rode a Viewliner, I found a little 1" or so space way up near the ceiling where I kept my laptop, but I don't remember exactly where it was now.


Possibly you meant to type 1 foot, not 1 inch. :lol:


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