# Baggage checking



## moosejunky99 (Aug 24, 2021)

MODERATOR NOTE (7/27/22): There have been numerous threads pertaining to checked baggage posted in the past year. We have attempted to consolidate most of them in this thread. If you have a question about checked baggage, please post it in this thread rather than starting a new thread. Thank you. 



As long as the schedule has checked baggage icon. I should have to worry about my bags going missing and not showing up at my stop right?? lets say EMY to SBA...





Thanks for checking in and answering my question!


This site is great wealth of info

Moosejunky99


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## PVD (Aug 24, 2021)

I've rarely used it, but it doesn't seem like we see a lot of problems with baggage (not counting the lack of availability in so many places) brought up here. Checking bags does require getting to the station earlier to check in, and if you are connecting to a train that doesn't have bag service consider that you have to allow time to pick up your bags, which can be an issue if you are late.. A phone call is always a good idea to make sure nothing has changed.....


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## zephyr17 (Aug 24, 2021)

You have to have the bags in Amtrak's hands a minimum of 45 minutes before departure.

They should not accept bags to a point without checked baggage service.

I don't know if I would trust the old PDF schedules any more for that. There are some services that used to have checked baggage that don't any more. I am thinking the Surfliners, which had checked baggage to all staffed stations pre-pandemic, but don't now despite the stations still being staffed.

If you put your points on the Schedules tab, it will tell you. I just did a test and SEA-KFS it showed checked baggage under amenities, but SEA-CMO it didn't, which is right. Klamath Falls has checked baggage service, Chemult does not.


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## Acela150 (Aug 24, 2021)

I can give you an example of checked bag NOT going missing.  

2 weeks ago before I came out to Chicago for my OBS training, I checked my bags to Chicago. Since I was starting in PHL and going through NYP on the Lake Shore I checked my bags on Friday afternoon. I was told what train they would be put on to NYP and that my bags would be on 49 Saturday and arrive with me on Sunday. My bags were in Amtrak's possession for ab out 36 hours. They made it to Chicago on 49 with me even though I checked them well in advance. 

Bottom line... I don't think you have anything to worry about.


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## PVD (Aug 24, 2021)

Just make the call to verify that the service is available, and you should be ok, be mindful of the early check in...


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## Qapla (Aug 24, 2021)

Also, keep in mind that they may weigh the checked baggage - so make sure they are not too heavy for Amtrak guidelines.


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## BCL (Aug 24, 2021)

zephyr17 said:


> You have to have the bags in Amtrak's hands a minimum of 45 minutes before departure.



Not that I think it's a good idea to rely on it, but the 45 minute requirement can be a soft requirement depending on the station. I've been in a station when I heard last call for baggage check-in, and it could be as late as 10 minutes before scheduled arrival. I was there in plenty of time when I checked on the CS #14, but there was a clear last call about 12 minutes before departure from King St Station. I've also seen the baggage cart being sent just a few minutes before the train arrived.

But in the end there's always the possibility of just carrying it on. So if a passenger isn't maxing out the carry-on limits, it can be carried on in a pinch. I know they have supposed size limits, but I hear that as long as the passenger can handle it, they don't care. I've seen guitars and all sorts of items that didn't seem to have any special handling tags on them.


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## BCL (Aug 24, 2021)

I'll just say that for the most part they make sure to sort the baggage in the baggage car by destination. There's a chance that they miss a bag and it ends up at the end of the line, but I think they will try to make it right when a bag is lost.

Also - there's no guarantee of the actual route that the baggage takes. If you check it in early, it may actually arrive on a different train. I know that some of the complex trips with checked baggage and multiple trains can often end up on different trains depending on how they route them. They don't always guarantee that the check-in baggage will ride on the same train as the passenger. But if it's a single train and not checked in too early, that's probably a safe bet.

I've experienced it once and seen it a few times, where baggage was placed on a utility cart and the passengers were asked to claim them. When I rode on the Coast Starlight, they took it right to the thruway bus where they could load bags destined for SFC, while those waiting for their EMY tagged bags showed claim checks. But if it arrives early on a different train, it might need to be claimed at the ticket window or baggage claim.


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## neroden (Aug 25, 2021)

My favorite theoretical example: book the LSL from Boston to Chicago, the CZ from Chicago to Sacramento, and the CS from Sacramento to LA. 

Check your bag from Boston to LA. It will go on #65/67 to DC, on the Capitol Limited from DC to Chicago, and on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA. Should arrive the same day as you do, actually... haven't tried it though.


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## moosejunky99 (Aug 25, 2021)

Ya i did check bags with Capital Limited.. Was simple and fine.. they had a guy asking for tickets when we got in too..

I got multi train ticket this trip..

first trip CZ (check bags on that train) -- Stay in Emeryville for a night

second leg is EMY to SBA... (i'll probably just carry on since i'm in business class that trip) should have room to store bags right?

third leg is SBA to OSD... (can't check bag because it is a surf liner which is fine too)

then back the same way..

OSD to SBA

SBA to EMY via Amtrak Bus (that will be a first haha (overnight to EMY)

EMY to CHI

Let's hope for a smooth trip and all... with everything going on lately lol...


OKAY FOLKS,

Thanks for the replies.. It is much appreciated...

Moosejunky99


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## Danib62 (Aug 25, 2021)

If you're really curious to see where your bag goes after you drop it off you can stick an Apple AirTag or a tile in it. I did this on my last trip. Nothing too exciting.


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## basketmaker (Aug 25, 2021)

Visited family on Boston like 20 years ago. Well a Nor'easter was heading in so we took a corridor train from Boston to New York. Checked 2 large bags but were failed to be notified that we would have to transfer them from Penn Station to Grand Central to catch the LSL there instead of Boston. Well they didn't arrive at Chicago. That was when I was advised that somebody slipped up and failed to brief me on the transfer in New York. Apparently someone else had the same thought of getting out of Boston before the storm. And they too were not advised. Well, Amtrak stepped up and said they would deliver the bags to my home. I explained one of the bags contained frozen seafood packed in wet ice. Well they came through and the bags were delivered to my door in Nashville the next morning. They had even packed some dry-ice in the bag. Only one package of seafood was iffy. I still wonder if Amtrak (or their baggage recovery/delivery service) reported the dry ice to the airline (I think it was US Air) when they shipped the bags. Being in the air industry I know dry-ice is considered haz-mat. Though it was minimal and probably not enough to be declared. Overall I commend Amtrak on excellent customer service. Oh BTW, glad we left when we did as my uncle said the storm was a nasty one. Couldn't get out of the house and down the hill for almost week. Also, the Boston-Albany leg of the LSL hit a car stuck on the tracks in the snow somewhere along the way killing 3 young people trying to beat the train. We sat in Albany for about 4 hours until it arrived and was switched to us. Oh just remembered did meet and chat with Maureen Stapleton on this trip too.


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## moosejunky99 (Aug 25, 2021)

Danib62 said:


> If you're really curious to see where your bag goes after you drop it off you can stick an Apple AirTag or a tile in it. I did this on my last trip. Nothing too exciting.



That is a fun way to do it..


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## BCL (Aug 25, 2021)

I wonder what happens if one misses last call for baggage, but they allow it anyways.

I've been to airports where I was bringing someone late and they still had check-in because it was too big to carry on (i.e. not Amtrak). They ended up with a "late check-in" tag placed on the handle and if it didn't make in on time, it would be transported on the next plane to the same destination. I wonder if Amtrak might do it that way.


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## Cal (Aug 25, 2021)

basketmaker said:


> Visited family on Boston like 20 years ago. Well a Nor'easter was heading in so we took a corridor train from Boston to New York. Checked 2 large bags but were failed to be notified that we would have to transfer them from Penn Station to Grand Central to catch the LSL there instead of Boston. Well they didn't arrive at Chicago. That was when I was advised that somebody slipped up and failed to brief me on the transfer in New York. Apparently someone else had the same thought of getting out of Boston before the storm. And they too were not advised. Well, Amtrak stepped up and said they would deliver the bags to my home. I explained one of the bags contained frozen seafood packed in wet ice. Well they came through and the bags were delivered to my door in Nashville the next morning. They had even packed some dry-ice in the bag. Only one package of seafood was iffy. I still wonder if Amtrak (or their baggage recovery/delivery service) reported the dry ice to the airline (I think it was US Air) when they shipped the bags. Being in the air industry I know dry-ice is considered haz-mat. Though it was minimal and probably not enough to be declared. Overall I commend Amtrak on excellent customer service. Oh BTW, glad we left when we did as my uncle said the storm was a nasty one. Couldn't get out of the house and down the hill for almost week. Also, the Boston-Albany leg of the LSL hit a car stuck on the tracks in the snow somewhere along the way killing 3 young people trying to beat the train. We sat in Albany for about 4 hours until it arrived and was switched to us. Oh just remembered did meet and chat with Maureen Stapleton on this trip too.


I wonder if Amtrak would still do that today...



BCL said:


> I've been to airports where I was bringing someone late and they still had check-in because it was too big to carry on (i.e. not Amtrak). They ended up with a "late check-in" tag placed on the handle and if it didn't make in on time, it would be transported on the next plane to the same destination. I wonder if Amtrak might do it that way.


If you're on a western LD train that means it might not arrive till 24 hours later! Or on a tri-weekly train it could be 2-3 days!


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## BCL (Aug 25, 2021)

Cal said:


> If you're on a western LD train that means it might not arrive till 24 hours later! Or on a tri-weekly train it could be 2-3 days!


It was my in-laws flying OAK-SEA on Southwest. The tag was just to make sure that they ignored the flight number and just got it to the destination ASAP. I recall that they had to wait at the airport for it to show up and I think they might have even needed to show their claim tag, which most bags don't require these days.

Not sure it really matters for Amtrak. I've only checked in baggage once, and I don't remember how much info there was written on the tag. I do recall the destination station (EMY) was preprinted but I guess some stations may need to be hand written.


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## me_little_me (Aug 26, 2021)

I have had 3 noticeable experiences with Amtrak baggage:

Trip to Wilmington. We got off and went to get our bags. Clerk with an attitude said there were no bags for Wilmington on our train. I showed them the claim tags and they were very embarrassed. Bags were pulled off at PHL and put on next return train. We got them delivered to our hotel a few hours later. Because our train was many hours late, we had to stay at local hotel because rental car place was closed and we could not get to our reserved room (money down the drain) in NJ shore. Email to Amtrk documenting both lateness and baggage problem got me a nice voucher.
Trip to ABQ from Portland, Or via Los Angeles. Got off train. Went to pick up bags. They were not there. Showed them our claim checks. Portland office had put ALB (Albany) instead of ABQ (Albuquerque) tags on bags, but had specified routing through Los Angeles (or they would have gone direct to CHI on Empire Builder). Clerk rushed to train which hadn't left yet and pulled off the bags.
Trip to ELP with overnight in NOL. While we were on the Crescent to NOL, I realized I had put something important in my bag checked through from ATL to ELP. When we arrived in NOL, I saw the handler with bag cart and told him the problem. He stopped, pulled off my bag and waited for me to remove the item, then put bag back on cart and drove on. Great service.
Other than those, I have never had baggage issues other than slow service in NYP. I have no hesitation about checking bags. Lots of trips with checked bags.


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## Qapla (Aug 26, 2021)

Here are two experiences I had with checked baggage:

I was traveling to NY from Florida to do some volunteer work. I had booked a few months in advance with a "value Fare" on a Silver to NWK (Newark) where I was to be picked up. My pickup plans got changed and I needed to stay on the train till NYP. I called to see about changing my destination and was told that, if I made the change, I would have to cancel and rebook at the current rate - she then suggested that I just ask the conductor if I could simply stay on the train to NYP and not to check any bags. I did this and the conductor told me that, since both destinations cost the same from JAX it would not be a problem if I didn't check my bags. All went well
On the return trip of this trip my tickets were NWK-JAX. My ride let me off at a PATH station in NYC and I rode to NWK. This was around 9AM and my train home was not till 3:30PM. I went to check my baggage for the trip home and asked the man there what I could do with my carry-on since I wanted to ride PATH back to NYC to do a few things before catching the 3:30PM train without having to lug my bag with me and there are no longer lockers in the stations. He told me I could leave them with him and he would "Red Cap Tag" them so there would be no charge for the bags to stay with him and I could just pick them up when I got back. That all worked worked well and I picked up my bag to carry-on and my checked baggage made it to JAX with me. Of course, the clerk did get a nice tip.


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## moosejunky99 (Aug 26, 2021)

sounds like most things seems to work out on the baggage on trains... thanks for all the inside info on your trips...


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## ja5151 (Oct 1, 2021)

Anyone know if sleeping bags are acceptable as a checked baggage item? (Ours would either be in their own sleeves or simply tied up in a roll.)


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## me_little_me (Oct 3, 2021)

We will be arriving one day on the Cardinal and staying overnight in Chicago before heading on to Colorado. To avoid lugging one big bag to/from the station, I'm hoping baggage service will accept checking one bag a day early and we'll carry the rest. Now, I know their rules say 24 hours ahead is acceptable, this would be a day and a half. 
If it goes out on that day's Zephyr, it will sit at our destination for a day. We don't mind. If they hold it in CHI overnight for our train, that's fine too. But will they take it early?

I'm thinking about just not saying anything and just handing in the bag hoping they don't notice the day of travel being a day later.

Any better suggestions?


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## MARC Rider (Oct 3, 2021)

I don't know how they do it on Chicago, but I advance-check my bags from Baltimore all the time with no problem.


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## me_little_me (Oct 3, 2021)

MARC Rider said:


> I don't know how they do it on Chicago, but I advance-check my bags from Baltimore all the time with no problem.


How far in advance? I have done it the night before but I'm talking about 10AM one day, not for that evening's train but for the following evening's train.


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## MARC Rider (Oct 3, 2021)

When I was doing my ski trips to Boston, I would check my stuff on Tuesday so that I would be sure it was there on Thursday. Train 67 with the baggage car leaves Wendesday night for a Thursday morning arrival. I started doing that during the last days of the Heritage baggage cars, when there was a good chance of there not being a baggage car on 67.

I also took a couuple of trips out west through Chicago, including a couple where i stayed overnight to ensure my connection. No problem with checking all the way through in advance.


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## me_little_me (Oct 3, 2021)

MARC Rider said:


> When I was doing my ski trips to Boston, I would check my stuff on Tuesday so that I would be sure it was there on Thursday. Train 67 with the baggage car leaves Wendesday night for a Thursday morning arrival. I started doing that during the last days of the Heritage baggage cars, when there was a good chance of there not being a baggage car on 67.
> 
> I also took a couuple of trips out west through Chicago, including a couple where i stayed overnight to ensure my connection. No problem with checking all the way through in advance.


The problem is I can't check it all the way through. The Cardinal has no checked baggage at my boarding point so it's carry-on to Chicago then either lug it to hotel and back or check it early.

In the way back, I'm hoping I can just not pick it up in Chicago until the day after I arrive from Colorado so I again can avoid another double lug. I think Amtrak will hold it for a day without charging a fee.


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## John Santos (Oct 3, 2021)

I wonder if it is possible to check luggage at a later point in the trip? If you are boarding at a smaller station with no checked baggage, but another station en-route does have checked baggage, if you could arrange to hand off your bag at that station to the baggage attendant and check it the rest of the way?

Unless it was somewhere like San Antonio or Spokane with a multi-hour stop, you wouldn't be able to meet the 45 minutes before departure deadline, but maybe this would be a service Amtrak could offer; you board and put your bag on the storage rack, then arrange with the attendant to tag the bag through to your destination. At the next checked baggage stop, either they move it for you or you grab your bag and take it up to the baggage car and hand it to the attendant who is loading the car, tears off your half of the tag, and loads it. Then you get back on the train. (Any station that handles checked baggage has to have a stop that is long enough to load and unload it, so you should have time.) Or maybe hand it off to a Red Cap if the station has Red Cap service.


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## AmtrakBlue (Oct 3, 2021)

John Santos said:


> I wonder if it is possible to check luggage at a later point in the trip? If you are boarding at a smaller station with no checked baggage, but another station en-route does have checked baggage, if you could arrange to hand off your bag at that station to the baggage attendant and check it the rest of the way?
> 
> Unless it was somewhere like San Antonio or Spokane with a multi-hour stop, you wouldn't be able to meet the 45 minutes before departure deadline, but maybe this would be a service Amtrak could offer; you board and put your bag on the storage rack, then arrange with the attendant to tag the bag through to your destination. At the next checked baggage stop, either they move it for you or you grab your bag and take it up to the baggage car and hand it to the attendant who is loading the car, tears off your half of the tag, and loads it. Then you get back on the train. (Any station that handles checked baggage has to have a stop that is long enough to load and unload it, so you should have time.) Or maybe hand it off to a Red Cap if the station has Red Cap service.


Cardinal doesn't have luggage racks


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## me_little_me (Oct 4, 2021)

John Santos said:


> I wonder if it is possible to check luggage at a later point in the trip? If you are boarding at a smaller station with no checked baggage, but another station en-route does have checked baggage, if you could arrange to hand off your bag at that station to the baggage attendant and check it the rest of the way?
> 
> Unless it was somewhere like San Antonio or Spokane with a multi-hour stop, you wouldn't be able to meet the 45 minutes before departure deadline, but maybe this would be a service Amtrak could offer; you board and put your bag on the storage rack, then arrange with the attendant to tag the bag through to your destination. At the next checked baggage stop, either they move it for you or you grab your bag and take it up to the baggage car and hand it to the attendant who is loading the car, tears off your half of the tag, and loads it. Then you get back on the train. (Any station that handles checked baggage has to have a stop that is long enough to load and unload it, so you should have time.) Or maybe hand it off to a Red Cap if the station has Red Cap service.


Better yet, they have a remote kiosk in the building with a video connection.

You press a button
An agent's face appears on screen
The agent tells you to hold up your ticket to scanner
You hold up ticket so scanner and agent see and record your reservation and arrival city
The agent tells you to put one bag on the scale
The agent sees the weight remotely and sees that the bag meets requirements
If your bag qualifies, the agent presses a button and a baggage ticket is printed with your name, date, time, city pair and a receipt for you to hold. Picture of bag is also recorded.
The agent does this with your other bags
The agent then tells you a specific location to place your bag. That location is monitored to insure nobody picks up bags before train arrival.
The agent signs off
Your bag is loaded when the train arrives.

That agent can serve many stations and prioritize those with least time before train arrives.

Voila! No need for agent all day to service one train. Few agents. Many more stations with baggage loading service.

Something like what I described would solve my problem but I still have it because Amtrak doesn't have the brains to even test out such a system.


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## GAT (Feb 23, 2022)

I am boarding Train #1 in New Iberia, which doesn’t have baggage services. I am transferring to Train #14 at LAUS. I have four questions about baggage handling alternatives:

Is there a baggage car on #1? If not, no need to read any further.
If yes, can an OBS check my bag through to EMY and put it in the baggage car once I board at NIB?
If not, is there a stop along the #1 route long enough for me to take my bag into the station and check it through to EMY?
If yes, would this be allowed at an interim station?
My objective is to not have to deal with my bag during my 4-hour layover at LAUS.

Thanks.


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## TinCan782 (Feb 23, 2022)

As for baggage car, sometimes yes, sometimes no. There is usually a coach/baggage car if no full baggage car.
Houston is typically a longer stop where you might have time to check your bag. Beaumont is also a possibility but shorter than Houston. I don't know if it would be allowed.


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## jebr (Feb 23, 2022)

George said:


> My objective is to not have to deal with my bag during my 4-hour layover at LAUS.



Given that policy requires checked bags to be tagged 45 minutes before departure, the only stations with that long of a layover are San Antonio (2.5 hours or so) and just barely Tucson (50 minutes.) San Antonio is the middle of the night and you'd likely be stuck in the station for a while (iirc they let people off, do some switching, then close to departure let people on.) If you stay on the train you wouldn't have to worry about that.

Your best bet would be to check your bag upon arrival at LAUS. Yes, that does mean you'd have to deal with it at least a bit in LA, but it should be fairly quick and you wouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of the layover. I don't know if there's a place to store bags in the lounge, but that might be another option if you have access and are fine with leaving it in the lounge and picking it up before departure. The other options all have much larger caveats that, imo, don't make it worthwhile.

By the way, I'm not aware of a way that OBS can check a bag into the baggage car - afaik they don't have the baggage slips necessary to do so, and the baggage cars are treated as though they aren't accessible during the trip except at the designated station stops in my experience.


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## Bob Dylan (Feb 23, 2022)

George said:


> I am boarding Train #1 in New Iberia, which doesn’t have baggage services. I am transferring to Train #14 at LAUS. I have four questions about baggage handling alternatives:
> 
> Is there a baggage car on #1? If not, no need to read any further.
> If yes, can an OBS check my bag through to EMY and put it in the baggage car once I board at NIB?
> ...


I would carry my bags on when boarding, put your Biggest Bag in the downstairs Rack and only take what you need upstairs. ( you didn't indicate whether you were in a Sleeper or Coach)

When you get to San Antonio, around Midnight, the Station is Open, and staffed, and you can check your Bags thru to Emeryville there.

The Station is Small, has really Bright Lights and is often Crowded, not a place to hang out for several Hours, so I would ask the Attendant if you have time to reboard before the Switching of the #421 Thru Cars starts.

Otherwise, check you bags and head over to the Dennys on East Commerce ( West under the I37 Tunnel towards Downtown, only a couple of blocks, or walk a couple of more blocks to the River Walk ( San Antonio's Bourbon Street) and the Alamo( closed but worth a Look, it's lit @ night) and walk around.

Depenending on the Day and what's happening in San Antonio, it'll be busy or dead, but it's a Big Tourist town with lots of Hotels, Clubs and Eating Joints along the River.

Then return to the Station (#1 departs for LAX @ 245am if on time ) and reboard your Car.


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## GAT (Feb 23, 2022)

jebr said:


> By the way, I'm not aware of a way that OBS can check a bag into the baggage car - afaik they don't have the baggage slips necessary to do so, and the baggage cars are treated as though they aren't accessible during the trip except at the designated station stops in my experience.


Thanks, all, for this info. It's too bad that OBS can't check bags trainside. That would be a great way to mitigate not having baggage services at the smaller, shorter-stop stations. Amtrak should consider implementing this, although I suppose it would require negotiating new union agreements. And there may be other factors affecting this.


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## dadonatrain (Feb 23, 2022)

Jebr, in your reply to the OP you said you’re not sure if there’s a place to store bags “in the lounge”. I assume from the context you mean the sleeper psgr lounge at LAUS. My experience there is several years old, but I do recall quite a stack of large bags in the corner behind the checkin desk, where anyone eligible to cool your heels there could stash stuff while using the lounge, even if we left and went downstairs for food, etc. perhaps this helps the OP.


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## TinCan782 (Feb 23, 2022)

dadonatrain said:


> Jebr, in your reply to the OP you said you’re not sure if there’s a place to store bags “in the lounge”. I assume from the context you mean the sleeper psgr lounge at LAUS. My experience there is several years old, but I do recall quite a stack of large bags in the corner behind the checkin desk, where anyone eligible to cool your heels there could stash stuff while using the lounge, even if we left and went downstairs for food, etc. perhaps this helps the OP.


They also use the conference room in the lounge at LAUS for baggage. The door is kept closed and locked and the lounge attendant has the key.


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## MARC Rider (Feb 23, 2022)

Bob Dylan said:


> I would carry my bags on when boarding, put your Biggest Bag in the downstairs Rack and only take what you need upstairs. ( you didn't indicate whether you were in a Sleeper or Coach)



This is what I always do when I'm riding a Superliner, even if I have a downstairs roomette.


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## GAT (Feb 23, 2022)

Are there many incidents of theft or damage to bags left on the downstairs rack on LD trains?


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## Cal (Feb 23, 2022)

George said:


> Are there many incidents of theft or damage to bags left on the downstairs rack on LD trains?


Not that I (and seemingly pretty much everyone on here) have noticed. 


TinCan782 said:


> As for baggage car, sometimes yes, sometimes no. There is usually a coach/baggage car if no full baggage car.
> Houston is typically a longer stop where you might have time to check your bag. Beaumont is also a possibility but shorter than Houston. I don't know if it would be allowed.


To be clear, even if there isn't a full car dedicated for baggage, there will always be a place for checked bags.


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## WWW (Feb 23, 2022)

It is an awkward situation for Amtrak and its customers - - -
You should have checked your baggage at a minimum 45 minutes before scheduled departure -
You arrive LATE trackside boarding in the middle of a consist of 9 cars -
The baggage car is behind 2-3 locomotives at the front of the train -
How the heck are you going to be sure that your baggage is loaded into the baggage car at the front/rear of the train -
Better to have it with you than suffer the delay in getting it returned to you -
Bedrooms and Roomettes best to have it to keep an eye on it -
Coach cars not a lot of wiggle room to keep it close by - especially with a crowded full train -

Lions tigers and bears - apples oranges mangos pineapples - what to do -
Amtrak is not staffed like the airlines to handle luggage/baggage - - -

One thing for sure - your baggage best have wheels (wheelies) - no one wants to carry baggage anymore -
That is for a bygone era when customer service was golden !


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## OBS (Feb 23, 2022)

jebr said:


> By the way, I'm not aware of a way that OBS can check a bag into the baggage car - afaik they don't have the baggage slips necessary to do so, and the baggage cars are treated as though they aren't accessible during the trip except at the designated station stops in my experience.


You are right, OBS would be of no help. However, a "good" Conductor would have baggage tags with them and able to assist on checking bags


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## Lonnie (Mar 21, 2022)

I've been gifted a 100-year-old Singer sewing machine while visiting on the west coast. In a few days taking the CZ and LSL with that change in Chicago. If I check the two boxes it will be in (one for machine, one for case) in CA, will they make it all the way to MA without my carrying them anywhere in Chicago?


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## zephyr17 (Mar 21, 2022)

Checked baggage is transferred to the connecting train by Amtrak. If checked through to destination, it will be transferred by Amtrak.

There are two problems, however.

First, you said you are going to Massachusetts. The Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited no longer offers checked baggage service.

Second, Amtrak checked baggage policy would appear to prohibit handling your 100 year old Singer sewing machine as checked baggage:

*Prohibited Items in Baggage*
*Household and automotive items*, including but not limited to antiques, appliances, artwork, furniture, machinery and car parts, powered tools, silverware, tires, and tow bars

Your sewing machine may qualify both as an antique and as an appliance.









Items Prohibited in Baggage Onboard Amtrak Trains


Plan ahead before you arrive at the station. Many items many not be transported on Amtrak trains.




www.amtrak.com


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## joelkfla (Mar 25, 2022)

Is there a time limit on how long I have to retrieve checked baggage? At a major station, WUS specifically, can I just ignore it & retrieve it later in the day?

Where baggage is set out on a carousel or just on carts in a hallway, is unclaimed baggage removed to a secure room after a period of time?

Thx.


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## tgstubbs1 (Mar 25, 2022)

"Storage charges apply to baggage not claimed within 24 hours of arrival."

....from Amtrak Travel Information. 

I have found some stations that will hold your bags for a fee, others did it for free ( for a few hours).


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## neroden (Mar 25, 2022)

You can in fact pick them up the next day.

Sometimes your bag arrives a day or two ahead of you. (For instance if you take the Coast Starlight and California Zephyr from LA to Chicago, your bag may take the Southwest Chief.) I have found that Amtrak will not charge you for bag storage when this happens. You do have to ask them to dig the bag out of the back room, of course.

So yes, it will be taken off the carousel and put in a back room. Unlike airlines, Amtrak typically will not let anyone claim bags from the carousel without showing their matching claim check. (At least this was my experience in Syracuse, Chicago, LA, and San Diego.) So there is very little chance of checked bags being stolen.


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## jebr (Mar 25, 2022)

neroden said:


> So yes, it will be taken off the carousel and put in a back room. Unlike airlines, Amtrak typically will not let anyone claim bags from the carousel without showing their matching claim check. (At least this was my experience in Syracuse, Chicago, LA, and San Diego.) So there is very little chance of checked bags being stolen.



At MSP I was able to grab my bag from the carousel without any sort of claim check matching. Not sure if that's normal (I've only done it once) but worth noting that at least in some cases they don't check.


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## TinCan782 (Mar 25, 2022)

jebr said:


> At MSP I was able to grab my bag from the carousel without any sort of claim check matching. Not sure if that's normal (I've only done it once) but worth noting that at least in some cases they don't check.


That was my experience at MSP last August (Train #7)


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## joelkfla (Mar 25, 2022)

neroden said:


> So yes, it will be taken off the carousel and put in a back room. Unlike airlines, Amtrak typically will not let anyone claim bags from the carousel without showing their matching claim check. (At least this was my experience in Syracuse, Chicago, LA, and San Diego.) So there is very little chance of checked bags being stolen.


I don't remember where, but I do remember that at one station bags were just put out on carts in a hallway, and people just helped themselves.


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## niemi24s (Apr 1, 2022)

Please note that there is no checked baggage service available in Boston. The farthest East you can check them is Albany.


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## Fenway (Apr 2, 2022)

niemi24s said:


> Please note that there is no checked baggage service available in Boston. The farthest East you can check them is Albany.



I never understood why Amtrak stooped baggage service on 448/449 3 years ago since South Station still had a baggage room for 65,66 and 67. 

Granted since those trains have been 'suspended' I have no idea if the room is even staffed now.


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## AmtrakMaineiac (Apr 2, 2022)

Fenway said:


> I never understood why Amtrak stooped baggage service on 448/449 3 years ago since South Station still had a baggage room for 65,66 and 67.
> 
> Granted since those trains have been 'suspended' I have no idea if the room is even staffed now.


Especially since, unlike the Superliner sleepers, the Viewliners have no designated baggage storage area. Usually on 448/449 there is a spare roomette used by the SCA to put any baggage to big to fit in one's compartment.


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## PaTrainFan (May 22, 2022)

Do you see the eventual elimination of checked baggage by Amtrak? Or, at minimum, free checked baggage? It seems those gleaming new baggage cars are being removed from more and more trains of late. It would not be surprising if Amtrak salivates about the revenue airlines take from checked (and even carry on) baggage fees and recoils at the "cost" of providing a free service. I admit that the few times I have been able to take a glimpse into a baggage car there seems to be little baggage. I hope I am wrong but I am not sure the future looks good here.


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## John Bobinyec (May 22, 2022)

PaTrainFan said:


> Do you see the eventual elimination of checked baggage by Amtrak? Or, at minimum, free checked baggage? It seems those gleaming new baggage cars are being removed from more and more trains of late. It would not be surprising if Amtrak salivates about the revenue airlines take from checked (and even carry on) baggage fees and recoils at the "cost" of providing a free service. I admit that the few times I have been able to take a glimpse into a baggage car there seems to be little baggage. I hope I am wrong but I am not sure the future looks good here.


Which trains have had their baggage cars removed?

The Carolinian lost its baggage car for a year or so during the pandemic, but it has one now.

jb


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## PVD (May 22, 2022)

Pennsylvanian added one, but the Boston leg of the LSL lost theirs...


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## jis (May 22, 2022)

There are a few Superliner trains in which baggage service is being provided in Coach-Baggage cars instead of a separate Baggage Car. Only Superliner trains carrying Baggage Cars at present appear to be the California Zephyr and the Empire Builder. Rumor has it that the Southwest Chief will get its Baggage Car back starting 5/23/22.

All Single Level trains have Baggage or Bag-Dorm cars, except the Boston section of the LSL, and of course, currently the non-operating Meteor and 65/66/67 too. But the non operating ones will return.

As for why Amtrak thinks that 12 to 14 Baggage Cars must be kept in Mothballs for ever is explainable only by the people who can also explain why upto 7 Viewliner Diners must be kept in Mothballs perpetually. The other mystery is why a significant number of Viewliner-I Sleepers need to be maintained in Mothballs (there are no Viewliner-II Sleepers in mothballs at present). Nobody can ever claim that what Amtrak Management does always makes a great deal of sense. One would imagine if and when they emerge from their staff shortage some of these will emerge from Mothballs, if the explanation is that there are not enough people to keep them mechanically fit for operation. Same is possibly true of Trans-Dorms too.


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## Cal (May 22, 2022)

Surfliner checked baggage came back recently IIRC, and when railfanning in years past I have seen it being used frequently at Fullerton.


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## JP1822 (May 22, 2022)

Clearly it has been proved that Amtrak can even be creative enough to use a Superliner Trans/Dorm Sleeper as a make-shift baggage car (as seen with the Portland section of the Empire Builder this past winter). The future of baggage service and the baggage cars remain utmost mystery. There’s too many of the cars. 

If CAF was reliable and a good manufacturer, I’d say send the baggage cars back (Viewliner shells) and make them into sleepers and a LD cafe/lounge (to replace the Amfleet II Diner Lite cars). This presumes the labor market will improve and capacity on trains returns to pre-pandemic levels. Demand has returned, but Amtrak can’t keep up with capacity across its LD system. 

Boardman’s intentions were good at the time of ordering (to bolster M&E and try to make money off of checked baggage). But there’s better revenue channels that have since emerged it seems. 

I still can’t figure out why Amtrak didn’t fully deploy all Viewliner II Sleepers. If anything were to be mothballed on the single level sleeper fleet - mothball the worst of the Viewliner I’s. VIewliner I’s and II’s should be treated the same as Superliner Sleeper I’s and II’s. The Viewliner I’s could be the shop reserve, bad-order reserve, and any other reserve for the Viewliner II’s. Overall the Viewliner II’s have one less roomette than the Viewliner I’s. Not that hard to block out as needed, or substitute in if needed since they hold the greater capacity. 

Likewise, could there have been better options to deploy the Viewliner II Diners rather than mothballing some of those too. Amtrak’s been trying to get a combined diner/lounge out of them - especially for the Cardinal. I think they could have found a way with these cars, or at least done something with them (viewing/lounge car) to keep the fleet active or offer an added amenity that didn’t necessarily mean providing “staff” directly to the car if not providing food service. No reason why the Cardinal and Crescent couldn’t have had a Viewliner II Diner. If short on staff, treat it like the upper level of a Superliner Sightseer Lounge with the galley locked off (yes it can lock). 

In general, Amtrak has the demand right now, but is lacking capacity to handle it. The leisure and travel industry has been trying to bolster up and be prepared for the summer. Amtrak is trailing behind. Yes, I realize a lot has to do with Amtrak lack of labor. But they’ve not advanced that far in trying to add capacity since it was initially taken away. They got some re-arranging of the deck chairs coming it seems, but no influx of capacity addItion.


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## Explore (May 22, 2022)

I'm a skeptic by nature, but Amtrak baggage service is a great deal. Generous for carry-ons, and two free checked bags plus two additional at $20 each. It's the only way I can transport a 12' x 12', 1.5-inch thick wrestling mat in pieces, cost-effectively between Northern and Southern California....


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## tricia (May 23, 2022)

In recent years, Amtrak has eliminated checked baggage service at many stations. Which might have something to do with the under-utilized baggage car OP noticed.

Sounds like a self-reinforcing death spiral to me: Reduce the number of passengers who can exercise the checked-baggage option (which needs to be available at BOTH ends of the trip). Fewer people use the baggage cars. Management sees that the baggage cars are less full. Decision made to eliminate under-utilized baggage car, making checked baggage available to even fewer passengers....


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## JP1822 (May 23, 2022)

OK - so if checked baggage use is reduced - either due to the passenger’s option/trend OR Amtrak eliminates “checked baggage” at a particular station stop - then WHY order 70+ baggage cars??? It’s not like these cars are old! Amtrak just retired the Heritage Baggage cars a few years ago to put these NEW cars in place. I understand that Boardman ordered them, and he had a different vision, but that came at a BIG cost.


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## Karl1459 (May 23, 2022)

The big question is what level of baggage service is part of Amtrak's passenger service mandate that the taxpayers are funding? Of course that answer is at best murky due to the poor definition of Amtrak's mission by Congress.

1. Should full baggage service be provided at all stations for all trains? (Staffing$ and Station infrastructure$)
2. Should full baggage service only be provided at major stations and strategic intermediate points?
3. Should "gate check" baggage service be provided at unstaffed stations?
4. Should checked baggage service be abandoned, and extra storage space allotted in coach/sleeper cars for the excess baggage that is checked now. Excess baggage space might have to be reserved similar to how bicycles are reserved on some trains.

The level of service defined will predict the need for specialized cars based on the number of passengers.


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## PaTrainFan (May 23, 2022)

JP1822 said:


> OK - so if checked baggage use is reduced - either due to the passenger’s option/trend OR Amtrak eliminates “checked baggage” at a particular station stop - then WHY order 70+ baggage cars??? It’s not like these cars are old! Amtrak just retired the Heritage Baggage cars a few years ago to put these NEW cars in place. I understand that Boardman ordered them, and he had a different vision, but that came at a BIG cost.



These baggage cars were ordered many years ago under a much different Amtrak management.


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## PaTrainFan (May 23, 2022)

tricia said:


> In recent years, Amtrak has eliminated checked baggage service at many stations. Which might have something to do with the under-utilized baggage car OP noticed.
> 
> Sounds like a self-reinforcing death spiral to me: Reduce the number of passengers who can exercise the checked-baggage option (which needs to be available at BOTH ends of the trip). Fewer people use the baggage cars. Management sees that the baggage cars are less full. Decision made to eliminate under-utilized baggage car, making checked baggage available to even fewer passengers....



Yes, this was part of my thinking but not articuated as you have done.


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## tricia (May 23, 2022)

Karl1459 said:


> The big question is what level of baggage service is part of Amtrak's passenger service mandate that the taxpayers are funding? Of course that answer is at best murky due to the poor definition of Amtrak's mission by Congress.
> 
> 1. Should full baggage service be provided at all stations for all trains? (Staffing$ and Station infrastructure$)
> 2. Should full baggage service only be provided at major stations and strategic intermediate points?
> ...



Travelers are going to carry baggage regardless of how you define "level of service." The question is whether all the bags take up space in the passenger cars, or at least some of the baggage goes into baggage cars.


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## amtrakpass (May 23, 2022)

A simple question of would you like to check your bags? either in person, station or app and then having the question answered would probably increase usage of the baggage car quite a bit in my view. I have seen many people bring large bags on that were unaware checking it was an option. And it is too bad it is not available at more stations. You could even have a baggage man ride the train and offer it at most every station in the system if you really wanted too. But I would settle for getting some common sense actions like baggage service back on the Lake shore to Boston for the time being.


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## jebr (May 23, 2022)

I think part of the issue as well is the 45-minute hard cutoff for checking in luggage. I don't see a need to arrive at most stations an hour ahead of time (if not more) to ensure that I have it checked in 45 minutes before departure. At MSP, my home station, there's little need to arrive more than 15 minutes before departure unless you're checking a bag, and there's not really a good way to productively use that time, even to grab breakfast or something. I rarely check a bag leaving MSP because of this - I'd rather have the extra half-hour and just throw it on the luggage rack downstairs.


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## Amtrakfflyer (May 23, 2022)

Exactly the 45 minute rule needs some flexibility and common sense from employees. Case in point we checked bags on our last SWC trip from Fullerton to Galesburg. Walk into Fullerton depot 50 mins prior to departure. As we’re walking in both agents put up signs back in 15 mins and walk out to service a Surfliner train. When they return 15 minutes later us and everyone else in line gets chastised for not having our bags checked in 45 prior. They of course check them in but tell us don’t expect this exception next time. The train was 30 mins late as it turned out so everyone including the agents sat around another hour… 

You have to have flexibility. Common sense would dictate if the trains 2 hours late your not going to arrive 2:45 early to check a bag. Unfortunately most but not all agents see that logic.


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## Dakota 400 (May 23, 2022)

Karl1459 said:


> Should full baggage service be provided at all stations for all trains? (Staffing$ and Station infrastructure$)



Yes, within reason. At small "stations", i.e. Cumberland, MD, there aren't the facilities to or personnel to provide that service.



Karl1459 said:


> Should full baggage service only be provided at major stations and strategic intermediate points?



There would be no debate about what a "major" station was, but, a "strategic station"? I suspect that would cause a debate.

Amtrak's management would be more foolish than they sometimes are if baggage service was eliminated. Their baggage service may attract ridership as compared to flying. 

The amount of luggage that I have seen on the luggage carts in stations like Chicago tells me that lots of luggage gets checked.


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## zephyr17 (May 23, 2022)

On VIA's Canadian they can handle baggage at every stop. It is handled by onboard personnel, since there are very, very few staffed stations, Vancouver, Jasper, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto are all. But you can check bags at Ottermere, ON.


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## joelkfla (May 23, 2022)

Dakota 400 said:


> Yes, within reason. At small "stations", i.e. Cumberland, MD, there aren't the facilities to or personnel to provide that service.


Why can't the conductor just hand out bags to detraining passengers and accept and tag bags for boarding customers at the baggage car door?


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## Cal (May 23, 2022)

I believe Amtrak is going to be staffing all stations that had a certain load factor within the next few years. Not sure if it was part of the infrastructure bill or not, but still.


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## zephyr17 (May 23, 2022)

Cal said:


> I believe Amtrak is going to be staffing all stations that had a certain load factor within the next few years. Not sure if it was part of the infrastructure bill or not, but still.


They were mandated to restaff all stations that had been staffed in like 2016 (I am unsure of the base year) by Congress in response to Anderson's massive cutbacks in station staffing. They still have not gotten there.

Anderson + COVID was an absolutely lethal one two punch for Amtrak.


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## Explore (May 24, 2022)

My local Amtrak station allows checked bags to be dropped off up to 24 hours before train departure time, and picked up to 24 hours after train arrival without a storage fee. This is very convenient if you have bulky items that require a special trip to or from the station.

Is this Amtrak’s policy nationally? If other stations have more restrictive policies, what do they tend to be?


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## toddinde (May 24, 2022)

As part of the effort to kill the national network, Amtrak got rid of many station agents which of course reduced the use of checked baggage service. They also got rid of Amtrak Express which was a well used service that served communities with economical express shipping by train and literally did nothing but bring in revenue at zero cost to Amtrak. It was just misguided economy by a company seeking to get rid of long distance trains in favor of stub corridors connected by busses. So dumb.


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## MARC Rider (May 24, 2022)

Explore said:


> My local Amtrak station allows checked bags to be dropped off up to 24 hours before train departure time, and picked up to 24 hours after train arrival without a storage fee. This is very convenient if you have bulky items that require a special trip to or from the station.
> 
> Is this Amtrak’s policy nationally? If other stations have more restrictive policies, what do they tend to be?


I've checked bags 48 hours before departure, but that was a few years ago, and I was taking an Acela and needed to send my bags to Boston on the overnight train. That was back right before they got the new baggage cars, and sometimes the old baggage cars were bad-ordered, and there was no baggage service. I also checked early for a trip from Baltimore to Havre, including an overnight layover in Chicago, and the bags were in Havre waiting for me. Then I checked early for a trip from Baltimore to Lamy, and there was an issue with a snowstorm messing up the Cap Limited that evening, but they sent it on the Cardinal the next day, but I had to pick up the bags in Chicago and re-check them to Lamy. They came into Chicago a day early, so they moved them to storage, and I got a tour of the baggage room in the underground level of Union Station. But there was no charge for the storage. Again, I did an overnight layover in Chicago, and the bags were waiting for me in Lamy.


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## Barb Stout (May 24, 2022)

On the not-so-many trains I have been on, the luggage racks in the passenger cars were often close to full and sometimes there was already no space on the bottom shelf where I have to put my luggage due to my height and strength, so I can't see how checked baggage/baggage car could be eliminated. I do wish that checked baggage was available at all stations for sake of consistency if nothing else. For the unstaffed stations, couldn't someone on the train check baggage and put it in/take it out of the baggage car?


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## amtrakpass (May 24, 2022)

I have been making it a habit of checking baggage more often if I get a viewliner sleeper since they don't have the common area luggage rack the superliners do. Sometimes the attendant will let you store an extra bag in a vacant room but if the car is sold out that is not an option and space is a little bit limited for storage in a roomette. I certainly wouldn't expect them too but one time the sleeping car attendant even went back and got my checked suitcase for me out of the baggage car as we were pulling in the station to help me make a connection quicker since the next train did not have checked bags. That was above and beyond but it does show some simple things can really help the service.


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## Bob Dylan (May 24, 2022)

amtrakpass said:


> I have been making it a habit of checking baggage more often if I get a viewliner sleeper since they don't have the common area luggage rack the superliners do. Sometimes the attendant will let you store an extra bag in a vacant room but if the car is sold out that is not an option and space is a little bit limited for storage in a roomette. I certainly wouldn't expect them too but one time the sleeping car attendant even went back and got my checked suitcase for me out of the baggage car as we were pulling in the station to help me make a connection quicker since the next train did not have checked bags. That was above and beyond but it does show some simple things can really help the service.


Before weapons were allowed to be checked on Amtrak, the Bag Cars were accesible to the Crew( some even took their " Smoke Breaks" there) and several times I was allowed to put my Bag into the Bag Car without checking it since storage space was so limited on Viewliners.


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## Dakota 400 (May 24, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Why can't the conductor just hand out bags to detraining passengers and accept and tag bags for boarding customers at the baggage car door?



That could be done, but, it will take time for that to happen and would impact the train's schedule. If the train's original schedule would be adjusted to accommodate that service, I don't see an issue.


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## Bob Dylan (May 24, 2022)

It depends on the Conduxtor(s) involved and the Load on the Train.

Ive seen Conductors handle Baggage Loading and Unloading, ( especially wheres theres a Coach/Bag Car) but usually the Station Agents handle the Bags, often utilizing a Cart.

The Conductors Job #1 is the Safe Operation of the Train , and ensuring that the Passengees are Boarded and Detrained and that their Tickets are Scanned.


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## Explore (May 24, 2022)

Great...any other first-hand experience outside of irregular operations?


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## joelkfla (May 24, 2022)

Bob Dylan said:


> It depends on the Conduxtor(s) involved and the Load on the Train.
> 
> Ive seen Conductors handle Baggage Loading and Unloading, ( especially wheres theres a Coach/Bag Car) but usually the Station Agents handle the Bags, often utilizing a Cart.
> 
> The Conductors Job #1 is the Safe Operation of the Train , and ensuring that the Passengees are Boarded and Detrained and that their Tickets are Scanned.


The station agent ferries the bags to and from the train, but isn't there also somebody in the baggage car to hand them out and stow them? I don't know whether it's a conductor or some OBS person, but it seems to me that they could deal directly with the passenger, as they do for trainside bicycle checking.


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## railiner (May 25, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> The station agent ferries the bags to and from the train, but isn't there also somebody in the baggage car to hand them out and stow them? I don't know whether it's a conductor or some OBS person, but it seems to me that they could deal directly with the passenger, as they do for trainside bicycle checking.


Many years ago, there were “Train Baggageman” positions on some trains. The SWC was one of them. At the time, you could check bags to virtually any staffed station on the route. This was a Trainman’s (UTU) Union covered job.


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## cirdan (May 25, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Why can't the conductor just hand out bags to detraining passengers and accept and tag bags for boarding customers at the baggage car door?


Or how about a Greyhound type system where baggage is delivered bus-side


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## jebr (May 25, 2022)

cirdan said:


> Or how about a Greyhound type system where baggage is delivered bus-side



Part of the issue for Amtrak is that many platforms are too short to hold the passenger consist + baggage car. Some of them require two stops already if there's both coach and sleeper passengers at the station. In those cases, it'd likely be impossible to have the baggage car plus all relevant passenger cars at the same time. They also wouldn't want to unload passenger baggage first and then the passengers - if there's any unclaimed baggage, now it has to get back onto the train which would add quite a bit of additional workload at an already busy time for the crew. Perhaps the baggage car could be added to the rear of the train so that passengers get off first and then baggage is loaded/unloaded, but that may impact baggage operations at other stations, plus now you've lost that buffer between the engines and passenger cars. Either way, you'd need two crew members involved at any station like that because you'd need one person handling the unattended bags and one person in the baggage car.

As a general note, I'd also consider that many (most?) high-speed lines, even going long distances, don't offer checked baggage service. All baggage is either brought on board or, for particularly large luggage or for more luggage than someone can reasonably carry, shipped ahead. While checked baggage is nice, I'm not convinced that it needs to be a priority for investment, especially if Amtrak can make some modifications to allow a limited number of larger/bulkier items to be stored on board (bikes, skis, etc.)


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## jebr (May 25, 2022)

Explore said:


> My local Amtrak station allows checked bags to be dropped off up to 24 hours before train departure time, and picked up to 24 hours after train arrival without a storage fee. This is very convenient if you have bulky items that require a special trip to or from the station.
> 
> Is this Amtrak’s policy nationally? If other stations have more restrictive policies, what do they tend to be?



I've found this to generally be the case as well. There's been times where it's just been easier to drop off my bag the night before at the station, or pick it up the next day, and it's never been a problem. I guess I haven't stress tested the limits of it, but I would have no hesitation in relying on being able to check in baggage early (as long as it's within 24 hours of departure.)


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## west point (May 25, 2022)

FYI: There has been several job openings listed for station's Baggage master on the NEC. The ones I remember are BOS, BAL, PVD. NHV.


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## AmtrakMaineiac (May 26, 2022)

west point said:


> FYI: There has been several job openings listed for station's Baggage master on the NEC. The ones I remember are BOS, BAL, PVD. NHV.


Good news as that implies a return of 65/66/67 since that would be the only train requiring baggage handling at BOS, PVD, and NHV.


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## Barb Stout (May 26, 2022)

amtrakpass said:


> I have been making it a habit of checking baggage more often if I get a viewliner sleeper since they don't have the common area luggage rack the superliners do. Sometimes the attendant will let you store an extra bag in a vacant room but if the car is sold out that is not an option and space is a little bit limited for storage in a roomette. I certainly wouldn't expect them too but one time the sleeping car attendant even went back and got my checked suitcase for me out of the baggage car as we were pulling in the station to help me make a connection quicker since the next train did not have checked bags. That was above and beyond but it does show some simple things can really help the service.


Gosh, I had forgotten that the eastern trains have a lot (most?) of their luggage space above my head and therefore inaccessible to me. I'm glad you reminded me about that. I have forgotten the ratio of space in common area luggage rack to above the head luggage space on those eastern trains. Also, is it different between coach and sleeper cars? I will be going coach from Chicago to one of the Ohio stations on either the LSL or the one that goes to/through Cincinnati (Is that the Cardinal? I always get the C trains mixed up).


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## Barb Stout (May 26, 2022)

jebr said:


> As a general note, I'd also consider that many (most?) high-speed lines, even going long distances, don't offer checked baggage service. All baggage is either brought on board or, for particularly large luggage or for more luggage than someone can reasonably carry, shipped ahead. While checked baggage is nice, I'm not convinced that it needs to be a priority for investment, especially if Amtrak can make some modifications to allow a limited number of larger/bulkier items to be stored on board (bikes, skis, etc.)


As a small person, I am convinced that checked luggage needs to be a priority for investment. I strongly resent the airlines charging extra for checking luggage I consider it discrimination and is one of the reasons I don't like to fly.


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## jebr (May 26, 2022)

Barb Stout said:


> As a small person, I am convinced that checked luggage needs to be a priority for investment. I strongly resent the airlines charging extra for checking luggage I consider it discrimination and is one of the reasons I don't like to fly.



Why is checked luggage in particular the priority? My spouse (who's fairly short) prefers to carry-on her luggage onto a plane or train due to concerns about checked luggage getting lost - so for her, I would imagine that having more-accessible onboard storage areas and level boarding (so that luggage wouldn't have to be lifted from platform to train height) would be more useful.


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## zephyr17 (May 26, 2022)

jebr said:


> Why is checked luggage in particular the priority? My spouse (who's fairly short) prefers to carry-on her luggage onto a plane or train due to concerns about checked luggage getting lost - so for her, I would imagine that having more-accessible onboard storage areas and level boarding (so that luggage wouldn't have to be lifted from platform to train height) would be more useful.


Well, personally I mostly carry on onboard Amtrak, but I think checked luggage service should be available and I have used it on Amtrak on occasion. There is a lot to be said for not having to wrestle stuff around you do not need onboard.

When flying I almost always check bags. The reason is primarily I always travel with a CPAP and, while I know they are medical exceptions to carry on allowances, I do not want to get into hassles with airline gate dragons (who generally make Amtrak gate dragons look like gate puppies) about it. Plus for longer trips I like to have 7 days worth of clothes before I have to do laundry. I, too, resent the checked baggage fee, although when I fly I tend to use airlines I get free checked bags on (either SWA or ones where I have their credit card which lets me have a free checked bag).

I do not think having an amenity that has long been offered to travelers needs extensive justification. I think, rather, the burden of proof should be on those intent on removing it.


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## jebr (May 26, 2022)

zephyr17 said:


> I do not think having an amenity that has long been offered to travelers needs extensive justification. I think, rather, the burden of proof should be on those intent on removing it.



There's a difference between keeping the amenity as-is (particularly when any additional capital cost is a ways out) and building out significant new infrastructure and/or staffing to expand the service, or when large investments to keep the service come up to question its need at that time. I wouldn't advocate for removing it tomorrow, but I'm also not convinced that long-term it should be a place where capital investment is expended, and as new passenger cars are ordered there should be a focus on making sure luggage storage is available in-car (and not require checking in luggage.) At minimum, the costs should be compared to see what (if any) savings would be found by building train cars with full luggage storage on-board (including additional cars to make up for lost seat capacity as needed) versus operating checked baggage service at different levels of stations having baggage service (including what the current cost is and what the cost would be if we allowed trainside checked baggage at all stations without staffed checked baggage service.) Maybe the cost is more negligible than I think, or the cost difference favors checked luggage options.

There's also a lot of Amtrak trains that currently don't have checked baggage service, especially when you narrow that down to just count trains where checked baggage is carried with the passenger on the train. The NEC has very few trains that carry checked baggage, and none currently go north of NYC, and it's not such a critical feature that Amtrak is obviously hurting because of it. Same with a decent chunk of the state-supported trains. Maybe some of it is self-sorting, and some of those passengers do have the option to check it on a separate train, but I would suspect that having to either drop off luggage many hours in advance or have to head back to the destination station many hours (or even a day) later to pick up luggage would rule it out for everyone but the most adamant users of checked luggage.

All that said, a lot of this is just me rambling and speculating on the internet. It's not something that outside of a rail forum I'd advocate for one way or the other, as I'd rather focus my public efforts on items more important to me like increased frequencies, new routes, or even on-board wifi on the western LD trains (yes, to me that's more important than checked baggage, and I've seen more complaints about that on non-train sites that I frequent than I would've expected.)


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## saxpower (May 26, 2022)

More years ago than I wish to remember (or admit), I was riding the Silver Star from Richmond, VA back home to Wilmington, DE for a school break when I was in grad school. The station, was of course packed. A customer service person let people know about the checked bag option, noting the train would be packed and checking bags would make things easier. I don't know how many people took the option, but I was glad not to have to deal with my duffel bag on a crowded train. Just letting people know of the option made the difference.


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## amtrakpass (May 26, 2022)

I find as I get a little older it is nice to be able to check bags. Yes I know a few stations have red caps/assistance to the train etc.... I don't happen to need that kind of help at present but to just check a large suitcase makes it much easier for me and I would imagine it might be helpful for many folks older than me or those with any sort of physical reason carrying on large luggage is difficult to have the option to check baggage.


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## joelkfla (May 27, 2022)

saxpower said:


> More years ago than I wish to remember (or admit), I was riding the Silver Star from Richmond, VA back home to Wilmington, DE for a school break when I was in grad school. The station, was of course packed. A customer service person let people know about the checked bag option, noting the train would be packed and checking bags would make things easier. I don't know how many people took the option, but I was glad not to have to deal with my duffel bag on a crowded train. Just letting people know of the option made the difference.


Nowadays, with Amtrak's ridiculous 45-minute to an hour rule, by the time people start showing up at the station, it would be too late to advertise it.


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## Mailliw (May 27, 2022)

I just checked a bag for the first time just because I'm not in the mood to schlep it around Penn Station during a 3 hour layover.


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## joelkfla (May 27, 2022)

Mailliw said:


> I just checked a bag for the first time just because I'm not in the mood to schlep it around Penn Station during a 3 hour layover.


Yeah, layovers are a good motivator for checking baggage.


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## Bonser (May 27, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Yeah, layovers are a good motivator for checking baggage.


I'm traveling on the Zephyr and LSL first starting on the bus from San Francisco. Will. there be enough time in Emeryville to check our bags? It's under the 45 minute limit. One used to be able to check in San Francisco when the Temporary Transbay was operating. Now it's just a Mission ST bus stop.


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## glensfallsse (Jun 24, 2022)

Can someone confirm for me that there is checked luggage on the Sunset Limited (LAX to New Orleans). And if so, how early can I drop off my bag? The hotel boots me at noon, and ideally, I'd like to drop the bag at the station to lighten the load for the afternoon and evening.


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## zephyr17 (Jun 24, 2022)

Yes, the Sunset handles checked baggage between LA and New Orleans. At most stations, Amtrak will accept checked baggage up to 24 hours in advance. LA will not having a problem accepting checked baggage for the Sunset around noon or even earlier the same day.

Note you will not have access to any checked bags during the the trip. If you want to lighten yourself of any carry ons and you are in a sleeper, you can leave your carry ons with the staff at LA's Metropolitan Lounge. They will either keep it behind the desk or put it in conference room they have. If you aren't in a sleeper you can day check your carry ons with the baggage room for $10/bag.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jun 24, 2022)

Or, if your hotel is not too far from the station, they will most llkely hold your bags for you till you’re ready to pick them up.


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## glensfallsse (Jun 24, 2022)

Thanks for the replies. This information is helpful.
I've used the hotel bag-drop option before, but if you google-map the Hilton Garden Inn on the last Green Line stop in Redondo Beach, I think you can see why it wouldn't work for me this time.


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## TinCan782 (Jun 24, 2022)

BTW, it is the individual stations (rather than the route) that determine the availability of checked baggage. In your case, both Los Angeles and New Oleans have checked baggage availability. If you look up stations on the website or the app that will be indicated.


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## Eric in East County (Jul 26, 2022)

WWW said:


> Presume you had baggage in hand so no worry about transfer of checked luggage - - -
> always a concern with tight connections be it by train or plane


The possibility of situations like this is why we no longer have any checked luggage.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 26, 2022)

I'm taking the Cardinal train from Chicago to Washington because i already been on the Capitol limited. Does the sleeper cars have room to store luggage like by the stairs?


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## zephyr17 (Jul 26, 2022)

moosejunky99 said:


> I'm taking the Cardinal train from Chicago to Washington because i already been on the Capitol limited. Does the sleeper cars have room to store luggage like by the stairs?


No stairs on the Card and no common luggage racks, the sleepers are single level Viewliners.

Viewliners have a luggage cubby over the sink that occupies space over the aisle. It can hold a good size, but not huge piece of luggage. It can be a struggle to wrestle a heavy-ish bag up there. Best method I have found is to lower the upper berth, put my bag on it, raise the berth to the middle detent, then slide the bag from the berth over to the cubby (the berth middle detent is on the same level). I understand from reports here that the cubby on the Viewliner IIs, now in service on the Card, are somewhat shallower than the Is.


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## joelkfla (Jul 26, 2022)

moosejunky99 said:


> I'm taking the Cardinal train from Chicago to Washington because i already been on the Capitol limited. Does the sleeper cars have room to store luggage like by the stairs?


It's a single-level train: no stairs, and no luggage rack in the sleepers.

You probably want to check anything bigger than a carry-on, or any more than 1.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 26, 2022)

has anybody had a problem with check bags not showing up? since i'm only going to Washington. I don't really want my bag to go to NYC lol..


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## PVD (Jul 26, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> It's a single-level train: no stairs, and no luggage rack in the sleepers.
> 
> You probably want to check anything bigger than a carry-on, or any more than 1.


The OP indicated that their boarding point on the Cardinal does not have checked baggage.


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## zephyr17 (Jul 26, 2022)

PVD said:


> The OP indicated that their boarding point on the Cardinal does not have checked baggage.


But @moosejunky99, who resurrected this 2021 thread, is boarding in Chicago, and checking is most certainly an option for him. That is who we are responding to now.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 26, 2022)

Sorry lol.. i didn't mean to reboot a thread but i though it was better then making a new one


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## PVD (Jul 26, 2022)

ahh, that makes a big difference..


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## joelkfla (Jul 26, 2022)

moosejunky99 said:


> has anybody had a problem with check bags not showing up? since i'm only going to Washington. I don't really want my bag to go to NYC lol..


Not personally. On my recent trip on the Silver Star, there was some chatter on the scanner about a missing bag shortly after leaving a smaller station. The conductor said he found it, and arrangements were made on the spot to send it back on the next train in the opposite direction. So it happens, but nothing near to the current lost luggage epidemic on the airlines.


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## MARC Rider (Jul 27, 2022)

Eric in East County said:


> The possibility of situations like this is why we no longer have any checked luggage.


If you live near the departure station, you can also check baggage a day ahead of your departure, which should greatly increase the chances that the bags will make the connecting train.


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## saxpower (Jul 27, 2022)

moosejunky99 said:


> has anybody had a problem with check bags not showing up? since i'm only going to Washington. I don't really want my bag to go to NYC lol..


I have. Checked bag in Chicago 7/16. Not on train when I got to destination (Wilmington, DE). Long story short, Amtrak said I needed to fill out a "lost and found" form - the same one I'd fill out if I left it on a bench on Chicago instead of left it at baggage check. I don't have much confidence finding it will be a priority. Have e-mailed Office of Customer Relations, only recieved the "we recieved your e-mail and will get back to you in the order emails are recieved." Tried to call my local station to see if it showed up- only number available is the general 800 number. Putting info together for claim and have letter to congressperson/senators in draft.


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## Eric in East County (Jul 27, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> If you live near the departure station, you can also check baggage a day ahead of your departure, which should greatly increase the chances that the bags will make the connecting train.


When we first started traveling by train, we took full advantage of Amtrak’s liberal luggage allowance and packed like movie stars or visiting royalty, with two or more large suitcases that needed to be checked. We eventually got this down to a single large suitcase, but even this proved an inconvenience on last year’s trip when the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego wasn’t accepting checked baggage. We ended up having to lug that large suitcase with us onboard the Pacific Surfliner and check it in LA.

The Toledo train station is now only open at night and is closed during the day. If our SWC No. 4 train had arrived in Chicago too late for our checked suitcase to have made it on board our CL No. 30 to Toledo, we’d have been obligated to wait around the station until 4:00 a.m. in the morning for it to arrive on the next scheduled train.

Also on last year’s trip, our SWC No. 3 train was running 7 hours late and we detrained in Fullerton and caught the next southbound Pacific Surfliner there. Had not an obliging conductor helped us to retrieve our large suitcase from the baggage car in Albuquerque, we would have had to continue on to LAUS to retrieve it (and would have arrived back in San Diego hours later than we did.)

By not having any checked luggage, we’ll be able to detrain at the Old Town Transit Center (which is closer to where our car will be parked) rather than having to continue on to downtown San Diego in order to retrieve our checked suitcase.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 27, 2022)

Thanks you all for responding.


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## StanJazz (Jul 27, 2022)

moosejunky99 said:


> has anybody had a problem with check bags not showing up? since i'm only going to Washington. I don't really want my bag to go to NYC lol..


In June I took the Cardinal to Washington and my checked bag beat me to DC. It went on the Capitol Limited.


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## Qapla (Jul 27, 2022)

I have checked baggage on the Silvers from Florida to NY (and back) without any problems ... but then, that is a "same train" trip and when leaving JAX or PAK you can see them putting your bags on the train.

I did take one trip that was ticketed to NWK and asked the conductor if I could stay on to NYP since someone was picking me up at that location. She asked me if I had any checked baggage. When I told her I did not - she said it was fine to stay one since the ticket price is the same for either destination coming from Florida.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 27, 2022)

StanJazz said:


> In June I took the Cardinal to Washington and my checked bag beat me to DC. It went on the Capitol Limited.


That is crazy... because I'm doing that. I bet my bags will ride that way (i guess i could put in a GPS in my bag and track it LOL) Maybe i'll give it a go again. I know it was fine on the Capitol Limited and i did not check my bags in on the California Zephyr since i wanted to catch a metra train back home and if i had to wait. I would have been screwed lol..


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## zephyr17 (Jul 27, 2022)

It really isn't crazy, Amtrak routes bags on the most direct route to the city they are tagged for, unless a specific route is marked on the tag. With just a WAS tag and no other information, a bag in Chicago is routed via the most direct route, which is the Cap. Unless noted on the tag, the baggage handler has no way if knowing whether the passenger is on the Cap, the Card, or the Lake Shore and a regional.

Just before COVID, I traveled from NYP to SEA via the SW Chief and the Starlight. I checked a bag. It went direct on the Builder and arrived the day before I did (which I expected, BTW).


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 27, 2022)

zephyr17 said:


> It really isn't crazy, Amtrak routes bags on the most direct route to the city they are tagged for, unless a specific route is marked on the tag. With just a WAS tag and no other information, a bag in Chicago is routed via the most direct route, which is the Cap. Unless noted on the tag, the baggage handler has no way if knowing whether the passenger is on the Cap, the Card, or the Lake Shore and a regional.
> 
> Just before COVID, I traveled from NYP to SEA via the SW Chief and the Starlight. I checked a bag. It went direct on the Builder and arrived the day before I did (which I expected, BTW).


That does make senese though when your talking about bags where they route to the most easy way to get to final dest.. unless your bags train has some sorta delay.. then you will maybe be in trouble.


Man.. this site has such great information on it and great people that are willing to respond to an old thread LOL 

thank you all for the information!


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## Bonser (Jul 27, 2022)

BCL said:


> Not that I think it's a good idea to rely on it, but the 45 minute requirement can be a soft requirement depending on the station. I've been in a station when I heard last call for baggage check-in, and it could be as late as 10 minutes before scheduled arrival. I was there in plenty of time when I checked on the CS #14, but there was a clear last call about 12 minutes before departure from King St Station. I've also seen the baggage cart being sent just a few minutes before the train arrived.
> 
> But in the end there's always the possibility of just carrying it on. So if a passenger isn't maxing out the carry-on limits, it can be carried on in a pinch. I know they have supposed size limits, but I hear that as long as the passenger can handle it, they don't care. I've seen guitars and all sorts of items that didn't seem to have any special handling tags on them.


Same here. Last month I checked bags in Emeryville 20 minutes before departure. No problem.


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## zephyr17 (Jul 27, 2022)

Tom Booth said:


> Same here. Last month I checked bags in Emeryville 20 minutes before departure. No problem.


That isn't something to count on. The staff at Everett, WA has always been strict about the cutoff.


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## Bonser (Jul 27, 2022)

zephyr17 said:


> That isn't something to count on. The staff at Everett, WA has always been strict about the cutoff.


Maybe not. But I've done it many times although never in a small city.


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## MccfamschoolMom (Jul 28, 2022)

Our local station doesn't have staff, let alone baggage check-in, so any train journeys we make starting from there will be with carry-ons only. I remember when our daughter would come home from library school in the Chicago suburbs on breaks, she'd have just a backpack and a rolling duffel at most, and would ride coach on a Lincoln Service train.


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## saxpower (Jul 28, 2022)

StanJazz said:


> In June I took the Cardinal to Washington and my checked bag beat me to DC. It went on the Capitol Limited.





zephyr17 said:


> It really isn't crazy, Amtrak routes bags on the most direct route to the city they are tagged for, unless a specific route is marked on the tag. With just a WAS tag and no other information, a bag in Chicago is routed via the most direct route, which is the Cap. Unless noted on the tag, the baggage handler has no way if knowing whether the passenger is on the Cap, the Card, or the Lake Shore and a regional.
> 
> Just before COVID, I traveled from NYP to SEA via the SW Chief and the Starlight. I checked a bag. It went direct on the Builder and arrived the day before I did (which I expected, BTW).




How is that handled at the destination station when the passenger is ready to claim their bag? I assume for stations where passengers walk up to a "baggage" counter, the passenger just presents the claim check and is given the luggage not even knowing it was on a different train. I'm curious about what happens in someplace like Chicago which uses those conveyer carousels like in the airports- a train comes in and its baggage goes on the carousel. If a bag gets their before the passenger, it would just keep circulating on the carousel (hopefully someone in baggage would eventually grab it and secure it), but its not going to be on the carousel when the customer arrives. (Baggage staff won't know if the bag not claimed was forgotten by the passsenger or if the passenger's train has not arrived yet).


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## StanJazz (Jul 28, 2022)

saxpower said:


> How is that handled at the destination station when the passenger is ready to claim their bag? I assume for stations where passengers walk up to a "baggage" counter, the passenger just presents the claim check and is given the luggage not even knowing it was on a different train. I'm curious about what happens in someplace like Chicago which uses those conveyer carousels like in the airports- a train comes in and its baggage goes on the carousel. If a bag gets their before the passenger, it would just keep circulating on the carousel (hopefully someone in baggage would eventually grab it and secure it), but its not going to be on the carousel when the customer arrives. (Baggage staff won't know if the bag not claimed was forgotten by the passsenger or if the passenger's train has not arrived yet).


My bag was in the back, and I had to have someone go get it.


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## Chatter163 (Jul 28, 2022)

StanJazz said:


> In June I took the Cardinal to Washington and my checked bag beat me to DC. It went on the Capitol Limited.


So much for what so many of us have been told, that the bag must travel on the same train as the passenger.


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## dlagrua (Jul 28, 2022)

We've had largely good experiences checking luggage at PHL, PGH, WAS, WFH, NOL, CHI, SEA, DEN, KCY, and OMA. No loss of luggage but one time we arrived in PHL and our baggage came in before we did. It was on a Cardinal trip from CHI on an a connecting SWC. The luggage didn't come out on the conveyer so we asked a redcap if he had seen it. He said it came up from WAS earlier in the day. Apparently the baggage was placed on the Capitol by accident and was sent up on the NER or another train to PHL. We would recommend checking baggage but just make sure that it meets the size requirements.


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## zephyr17 (Jul 28, 2022)

saxpower said:


> How is that handled at the destination station when the passenger is ready to claim their bag? I assume for stations where passengers walk up to a "baggage" counter, the passenger just presents the claim check and is given the luggage not even knowing it was on a different train. I'm curious about what happens in someplace like Chicago which uses those conveyer carousels like in the airports- a train comes in and its baggage goes on the carousel


They hold it and you ask for it. Just like the airlines, if a bag goes unclaimed on the carousel for those stations that have it, the staff pulls it and stores it.

At Seattle, which has a carousel, when I arrived I knocked on the baggage room door and was asked to wait until they finished handling the bags that came off the Starlight. I did that, so although my bag arrived the day before on the Builder, I was the last person arriving on the Starlight to get their bag.


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## moosejunky99 (Jul 28, 2022)

dlagrua said:


> We've had largely good experiences checking luggage at PHL, PGH, WAS, WFH, NOL, CHI, SEA, DEN, KCY, and OMA. No loss of luggage but one time we arrived in PHL and our baggage came in before we did. It was on a Cardinal trip from CHI on an a connecting SWC. The luggage didn't come out on the conveyer so we asked a redcap if he had seen it. He said it came up from WAS earlier in the day. Apparently the baggage was placed on the Capitol by accident and was sent up on the NER or another train to PHL. We would recommend checking baggage but just make sure that it meets the size requirements.


Glad i restarted this thread.

Great responses from everyone!


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## Joe from PA (Jul 29, 2022)

Since my wife and I always have our own roomette, there is enough room for our luggage. If our 2 suitcases were in the baggage car, we would need 2 carry-ons. For air travel, we check all the bags.


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## AEWells (Jul 29, 2022)

niemi24s said:


> Please note that there is no checked baggage service available in Boston. The farthest East you can check them is Albany.


I am so confused & now panicking! When I scheduled my Boston South Station to Orlando trip, it said I had 2 free checked bags each. But now it says there is no checked luggage in Boston & our transfer is only 37 min in Washington. What do we do with our luggage & how on Earth are we supposed to get it to be checked in Washington 2 hrs before departure?? It is only me & my 11yr old with a broken arm


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## zephyr17 (Jul 29, 2022)

AEWells said:


> I am so confused & now panicking! When I scheduled my Boston South Station to Orlando trip, it said I had 2 free checked bags each. But now it says there is no checked luggage in Boston & our transfer is only 37 min in Washington. What do we do with our luggage & how on Earth are we supposed to get it to be checked in Washington 2 hrs before departure?? It is only me & my 11yr old with a broken arm


Well, you can have 2 checked bags for free at stations with checked baggage service. BOS hasn't had checked baggage in at least a couple years with the withdrawal of baggage from 448/449, (which wouldn't apply to you, since you are not going to Chicago), and the suspension of 65/66/67, the overnight Regional and the only one that carried a baggage car.

65/66/67 is back, but I don't think the bag is on it yet. Even if it was, you'd either have to check any luggage a day before, or pick it up the next day in Orlando. It never would have traveled on the same train as you, baggage was never carried on your Regional.

Your situation really has not changed from the moment you booked the tickets, you just were not aware of it until now.

You will be carrying everything on, pack accordingly. The answer at BOS and WAS is to use Red Caps to help you and your daughter with your bags.

You don't "check in" in Washington (you don't "check in" almost anywhere, it isn't an airline. Conductors will check in passengers before boarding at a few stations, mostly they scan tickets onboard). You just change trains. You probably won't make the 45 minute baggage check cutoff there. I don't know where you got the "2 hours".


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## saxpower (Aug 1, 2022)

saxpower said:


> I have. Checked bag in Chicago 7/16. Not on train when I got to destination (Wilmington, DE). Long story short, Amtrak said I needed to fill out a "lost and found" form - the same one I'd fill out if I left it on a bench on Chicago instead of left it at baggage check. I don't have much confidence finding it will be a priority. Have e-mailed Office of Customer Relations, only recieved the "we recieved your e-mail and will get back to you in the order emails are recieved." Tried to call my local station to see if it showed up- only number available is the general 800 number. Putting info together for claim and have letter to congressperson/senators in draft.



Have my bag back. Someone in another thread suggested checking at the station to see if it showed up. Unfortunately, there is no way to call the station (only number I could find was the general Amtrak number) and I had to wait 'til the weekend to avoid parking issues (I come into my office on Saturdays, so I was already in town). Gave them my claim check, got the bag. 
One does wonder though- Bag had an Amtrak baggage tag with my e-mail/phone number on it- I'd have think they'd get in touch with me once the bag went unclaimed for a few days. Also you'd think checking the destination station would be high on the list when i reported the issue to Amtrak. 
Not sure when it actually showed up- the trains it would likely have gone on without me would have arrived before me.


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## Mo_74 (Aug 1, 2022)

I am confused reading this thread. We are taking the silver star, and that's the only train that goes between the two stops. So would they put my luggage on the next silver star? Or is there only an issue if there are train changes?


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## pennyk (Aug 1, 2022)

Mo_74 said:


> I am confused reading this thread. We are taking the silver star, and that's the only train that goes between the two stops. So would they put my luggage on the next silver star? Or is there only an issue if there are train changes?


Do you plan to check baggage? Between which two stations? Do the stations offer checked baggage? 

There is a baggage car on the Silver Star.


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## joelkfla (Aug 1, 2022)

Mo_74 said:


> I am confused reading this thread. We are taking the silver star, and that's the only train that goes between the two stops. So would they put my luggage on the next silver star? Or is there only an issue if there are train changes?


You didn't say what is your destination. If it's not the last stop, the most likely of the unlikely situations is that your bag would have been left on the train and discovered at a later stop. They would probably put it on a train going back to your destination, which could be the SS or some other train, depending upon your destination and where the bag ended up. For example, if you got off at WAS and the bag went to NYP, it might come back on the Cardinal.


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## Mo_74 (Aug 1, 2022)

It's Richmond to Orlando, which only has the silver star.


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## joelkfla (Aug 1, 2022)

Mo_74 said:


> It's Richmond to Orlando, which only has the silver star.


So if your bag was overlooked at Orlando and was discovered at Tampa, for example, it would probably come back to Orlando on that evening's northbound Star.

If it accidentally went to Washington on the return trip, it could come back to Richmond the next day on any of several trains.


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## Widfara (Aug 20, 2022)

Back in 2017 my friend Frank and I took a rather comprehensive 28-day trip. Texas Eagle Austin to Chicago, hotel overnight, California Zephyr Chicago to Sacramento, hotel overnight, California State Railroad Museum, then Amtrak California to Oakland, several days there at Jack London Square, then Coast Starlight to Seattle, several days there, then Empire Builder back to Chicago, hotel overnight, Capitol Limited to DC, NE Regional to Baltimore, hotel overnight, B&O Railway Museum, NE Regional again to Philadelphia, hotel overnight, Battleship New Jersey, NE Regional still again to NY Penn, a few days there, Empire Service to Albany/Rensselaer, hotel overnight, back the next day to NY Penn, NE Regional to Boston, taxi to N Station, Downeaster to Portland ME, hotel two nights, laundry, sightseeing. Then Downeaster (Upwester?) back to Boston, taxi to S Station, Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, hotel overnight, Texas Eagle back to Austin. Whew!
In Seattle, we tried to check our second bags through to Washington DC, but the guy there wouldn't do it because of our overnight hotel stop. Said we had to be on the same train as our bags. So, we kept them with us, wrestled them back to and from the hotel, and made it work. Still.
In Boston, we decided to try to check our bags to Austin, so we found the baggage room and asked, and a good ole railroad guy said, "Sure, why not?", got the AUS tags, and we just had our backpacks for the two days.
Got to Austin, they didn't come off the train, but the stationmaster saw our interest, and asked if we were the Boston to Austin bag people, and went and got them for us. They came down the day before.
Policy seemed to be made up on the spot, up to the person on the scene.


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## zephyr17 (Aug 20, 2022)

Widfara said:


> Back in 2017 my friend Frank and I took a rather comprehensive 28-day trip. Texas Eagle Austin to Chicago, hotel overnight, California Zephyr Chicago to Sacramento, hotel overnight, California State Railroad Museum, then Amtrak California to Oakland, several days there at Jack London Square, then Coast Starlight to Seattle, several days there, then Empire Builder back to Chicago, hotel overnight, Capitol Limited to DC, NE Regional to Baltimore, hotel overnight, B&O Railway Museum, NE Regional again to Philadelphia, hotel overnight, Battleship New Jersey, NE Regional still again to NY Penn, a few days there, Empire Service to Albany/Rensselaer, hotel overnight, back the next day to NY Penn, NE Regional to Boston, taxi to N Station, Downeaster to Portland ME, hotel two nights, laundry, sightseeing. Then Downeaster (Upwester?) back to Boston, taxi to S Station, Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, hotel overnight, Texas Eagle back to Austin. Whew!
> In Seattle, we tried to check our second bags through to Washington DC, but the guy there wouldn't do it because of our overnight hotel stop. Said we had to be on the same train as our bags. So, we kept them with us, wrestled them back to and from the hotel, and made it work. Still.
> In Boston, we decided to try to check our bags to Austin, so we found the baggage room and asked, and a good ole railroad guy said, "Sure, why not?", got the AUS tags, and we just had our backpacks for the two days.
> Got to Austin, they didn't come off the train, but the stationmaster saw our interest, and asked if we were the Boston to Austin bag people, and went and got them for us. They came down the day before.
> Policy seemed to be made up on the spot, up to the person on the scene.


Also, in 2017, I checked a bag NYP-SEA when I was going NYP-CHI-LAX-SEA. Baggage guy at Penn Station had no problem with it, and it arrived in Seattle the day before I did. Reading your post, I wonder if that upset the Seattle baggage agent.

It's Amtrak, and, yes, that is pretty much how it all operates.


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## Willbridge (Aug 21, 2022)

zephyr17 said:


> Also, in 2017, I checked a bag NYP-SEA when I was going NYP-CHI-LAX-SEA. Baggage guy at Penn Station had no problem with it, and it arrived in Seattle the day before I did. Reading your post, I wonder if that upset the Seattle baggage agent.
> 
> It's Amtrak, and, yes, that is pretty much how it all operates.


The same inconsistency applied prior to Amtrak. Sometimes a bag took the shortest route. However, when I rode from St. Louis to Portland via Edmonton in 1967 my suitcase of dirty laundry followed me through Canada. When I picked it up in Portland the next day I had to arrange for a customs agent to walk over to Union Station and inspect it. Luckily I only lived a couple of miles from the station, on the direct Broadway bus. Had I and my baggage been going to a smaller city it could have been a miserable experience.

Amtrak and VIA Rail solve this by not having interline checked baggage service.


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## Widfara (Aug 21, 2022)

Now I make it with a rolly, a small duffel which by means of an ingenious device rides on the rolly, and a back pack. I can get all of that stowed in a roomette and still have room for me, so I don't check stuff anymore.


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## Chatter163 (Aug 22, 2022)

Last year I was taking a circuitous route from NYP to ATL, which included an overnight stop in Utica, before going on to Chicago and DC before ATL. ATL had a problem with their freight elevator, and had temporarily stopped checking baggage. Since one of my transfers was in DC, I wanted to check my bag there, but the NYP attendant wouldn’t, citing the same bag must travel with the passenger policy, even though I had done so previously.


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 22, 2022)

Chatter163 said:


> Last year I was taking a circuitous route from NYP to ATL, which included an overnight stop in Utica, before going on to Chicago and DC before ATL. ATL had a problem with their freight elevator, and had temporarily stopped checking baggage. Since one of my transfers was in DC, I wanted to check my bag there, but the NYP attendant wouldn’t, citing the same bag must travel with the passenger policy, even though I had done so previously.


I've quit checking Baggage on Amtrak, but was never refused before( except for Canada) when checking a Bag for a Multi Train Journey in my 50+ Years of riding the Pointless Arrow.


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## daybeers (Aug 22, 2022)

I'm thinking of taking a new e-bike I got from New Haven to Wilmington. Frustrating 65/66/67 no longer has a baggage car. I can't get down for the 6:02 Palmetto before the 45 minute cutoff without driving to the end of the subway, and I guess the Carolinian uses the crappy amfleet racks for bikes instead of the baggage car. The e-bike is heavy and I cannot lift it up and into that bad rack. Don't trust it there anyway and the disc brakes make it difficult to take the front wheel on and off.

What should I do? Is there a way to request they use the baggage car? Trying to connect with DART 301. NJT & SEPTA is an option but takes forever and the connection to Wilmington is bad.

Edit: bike is about 55 pounds, over the 50 lb limit and the tires are 2.3" instead of the 2" limit. Will that be an issue?


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## saxpower (Aug 23, 2022)

If your reference to DART 301 is to the bus operated by the Delaware Transit Authority between Wilmington and Dover, you may want to double check with them. DART busses have exterior racks for bikes mounted on the front of busses. There is only room for two bikes. Riders are responsible for getting their bike on the rack, so any lifting issues will still be present. The other question is whether the weight/tire size will fit on the rack (you mentioned they are beyond Amtrak's limit).

Here are two links to DART's website regarding bike racks and the directions for putting bikes on them









Biking and Riding DART


Biking and Riding DART, Dart First State, Delaware . Welcome to the Dartfirststate.com (DART) website. Here you will find bus and schedules, DART's Trip Planner, DART's system map, how to ride guides, information on paratransit services, ridesharing, public workshops community conversations, as...




dartfirststate.com







https://dartfirststate.com/Programs/Bike/pdfs/bikeracks.pdf



As to the effect of the bike being larger than Amtrak guidelines upon being able to Amtrak bike racks, the question is whether the guidelines reflect the physical capabilities of the racks.


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## rs9 (Sep 21, 2022)

This is vague, but FYI for people who are traveling on these routes this fall. While I am not one to pile on Amtrak, I am a bit mystified as to what could possibly be holding up the availability of baggage cars, which would seem to need much less maintenance than passenger cars.


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## zephyr17 (Sep 21, 2022)

Well, we seem to be going backwards here...


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## Rasputin (Sep 21, 2022)

Another great reason not to travel by train.

We will see a boxcar with folding chairs yet.


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## Joe (Sep 21, 2022)

The Pennsylvanian is a state supported train. The state is paying for that baggage car. The Pennsylvanian did not have a baggage car until the state said they will pay for it.


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## joelkfla (Sep 21, 2022)

I'm on Cap Ltd next week. Nice of Amtrak to let me know -- not. No email. Nothing on the app. Only place I could find it on the website is on the Destinations page, which I'm sure I check daily -- not.


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## AmtrakBlue (Sep 21, 2022)

Interesting. 80(20) just passed me without a baggage car. 80(19) also didn’t have one.


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## rs9 (Sep 21, 2022)

Given the lack of communication about this, what does Amtrak do if people show up with luggage larger than the carry-on size allowances?

I'm supposed to take the Chief home after Christmas with a pair of cross country skis, which I would have checked as they are bigger than the carry on size allowance.


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## chrsjrcj (Sep 21, 2022)

I take it to mean they are prioritizing maintenance on revenue cars with the presumably limited labor they have?


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## MccfamschoolMom (Sep 22, 2022)

Most of the stations local to us (the hubby & me) don't have checked baggage service at all, so we'd be limiting ourselves to carry-ons and personal items in any case. The one exception would be if we were to drive down to Bloomington/Normal (IL) and catch the Lincoln Service or Texas Eagle there -- which would be good for last-minute shopping or eating out before boarding, but not so convenient otherwise.


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

chrsjrcj said:


> I take it to mean they are prioritizing maintenance on revenue cars with the presumably limited labor they have?


That's what I would suspect. And more cars may be coming due for overhaul. They may be storing them and focusing the shops on revenue and food service cars - I suspect baggage cars are at the bottom of the priority list. The other thing is the Silver Meteor is returning October 3rd which is the same day the baggage cars come off the Carolinian and Pennsylvanian - that train will require 4 baggage cars. The cut from those two trains is likely to ensure that they have baggage for the Meteor when it comes back as it will be in peak season for Florida service. For the Cap and Chief they're more saying it "may" not have it on certain trips (Though it's not suspended outright.) Likely they can't guarantee that they'll have a coach bag available in every consist and may need to sub in a regular coach (which would mean no baggage.)


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## jis (Sep 22, 2022)

While I can understand the operational issues, what is a hapless customer supposed to do with the helpful information that they may or may not have checked baggage service? For planning purposes that pretty much amounts to they won't have baggage service.

But then again, they have been on the verge of saying that a customer may or may not have Sleeper service too 

It is a good thing that American travelers are a pretty docile lot. I had asked my cousin, who was eventually a member of the Indian Railway Board, how they would handle a situation where they could not be sure that a train would have all the cars of the right type for which tickets have been sold. His answer was that they would notify a few days in advance for any deviation offering alternative arrangements or full refund. If that did not work out, they would arrange to have riot police on hand.


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

jis said:


> While I can understand the operational issues, what is a hapless customer supposed to do with the helpful information that they may or may not have checked baggage service? For planning purposes that pretty much amounts to they won;t have baggage service.
> 
> But then again, they have been on the verge of saying that a customer may or may not have Sleeper service too
> 
> It is a good thing that American travelers are a pretty docile lot. I had asked my cousin, who was eventually a member of the Indian Railway Board, how they would handle a situation where they could not be sure that a train would have all the cars of the right type for which tickets have been sold. His answer was that they would notify a few days in advance for any deviation offering alternative arrangements or full refund. If that did not work out, they would arrange to have riot police on hand.


Very good point - they might just be better off suspending it so as not to confuse people.


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## AmtrakFlyer (Sep 22, 2022)

The pandemic and inept management have put Amtrak in a situation that may be hard to recover from. 

The “uncertainty” in the official press release above sums up the situation at Amtrak these days. “We may or may not be able to accommodate you”. 

No way to run a company.


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## F900ElCapitan (Sep 22, 2022)

What? A service cut that doesn’t affect the Texas Eagle?? Say it isn’t so!!


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## John Bobinyec (Sep 22, 2022)

lordsigma said:


> That's what I would suspect. And more cars may be coming due for overhaul. They may be storing them and focusing the shops on revenue and food service cars - I suspect baggage cars are at the bottom of the priority list. The other thing is the Silver Meteor is returning October 3rd which is the same day the baggage cars come off the Carolinian and Pennsylvanian - that train will require 4 baggage cars. The cut from those two trains is likely to ensure that they have baggage for the Meteor when it comes back as it will be in peak season for Florida service. For the Cap and Chief they're more saying it "may" not have it on certain trips (Though it's not suspended outright.) Likely they can't guarantee that they'll have a coach bag available in every consist and may need to sub in a regular coach (which would mean no baggage.)


Although the notice says the baggage cars will come off the Carolinian on October 3, they actually came off on 9/12/2022. I see the train everyday and was warned in advance about it, so I was watching for it.

jb


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## AmtrakFlyer (Sep 22, 2022)

lordsigma said:


> Very good point - they might just be better off suspending it so as not to confuse people.


If we’re just talking baggage service on a few days here and there when they don’t have a true baggage car on hand how about a coach/bag car or any car that is available for axle count that day. To me that’s an easy workaround. God knows they are willing to use anything as an axle count, why not get some value out of it while using it.

The memo should have never got sent out with that wording, it shows a complete disregard for customers.


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## PaTrainFan (Sep 22, 2022)

One of these days I'm expecting an announcement from Amtrak, "Due to apathy on our part, we are canceling all service effective Tuesday. However, we will continue to accept large government subsides and issue executive bonuses. We will not be offering alternative transportation. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for riding America's Railroad." /s


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

AmtrakFlyer said:


> If we’re just talking baggage service on a few days here and there when they don’t have a true baggage car on hand how about a coach/bag car or any car that is available for axle count that day. To me that’s an easy workaround. God knows they are willing to use anything as an axle count, why not get some value out of it while using it.
> 
> The memo should have never got sent out with that wording, it shows a complete disregard for customers.


Those trains aren't running with a full baggage car at the moment. A coach/bag is what they are running with. I suspect what it means is they may have days where it's a coach instead of coach bag due to equipment shortages. Unsure of the exact details on the ground whether its one of the rotating consists doesn't have a coach bag so its whenever that consist is running or if they all do but there's no contingency if they have a bad ordered car (it would be replaced by a regular coach for example). Not defending the wording or announcement simply offering a possible operational explanation for what may be going on in the field. I certainly agree that this "maybe" thing is not a way to communicate with customers. If there is indeed an unsurmountable operational crunch preventing consistent baggage service on these trains for the next couple months there are better ways of which they could handle it then putting out a "maybe we'll have it" announcement.


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

John Bobinyec said:


> Although the notice says the baggage cars will come off the Carolinian on October 3, they actually came off on 9/12/2022. I see the train everyday and was warned in advance about it, so I was watching for it.
> 
> jb


Thanks for that correction. I would still suspect the Meteor's return could be a contributing factor (due to its need for 4 bag cars.)


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 22, 2022)

F900ElCapitan said:


> What? A service cut that doesn’t affect the Texas Eagle?? Say it isn’t so!!


Amazing!


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## jis (Sep 22, 2022)

Considering how amateurish they have been repeatedly, it is becoming harder and harder to trust any of their official prognostications.


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

Was just on the advisories site. Any mention of the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief baggage has been removed from the advisory as of today. It now just reads that checked baggage is suspended on the Carolinian and Pennsylvanian. Unsure of what this means or if they posted something in error (either the original posting or this updated posting)...worth continuing to watch for sure.


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## zephyr17 (Sep 22, 2022)

In the immortal words of Emily Latella: "Never mind."

More demonstration of Amtrak management's legendary competence.


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## lordsigma (Sep 22, 2022)

Would be curious if the warning has disappeared from anyone who was getting it who may have a reservation.


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## joelkfla (Sep 22, 2022)

lordsigma said:


> Was just on the advisories site. Any mention of the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief baggage has been removed from the advisory as of today. It now just reads that checked baggage is suspended on the Carolinian and Pennsylvanian. Unsure of what this means or if they posted something in error (either the original posting or this updated posting)...worth continuing to watch for sure.


On the Destinations page for Cap Ltd, there's this:


Then click the link and get this:




They can't even get it right on their own website.


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## pennyk (Sep 22, 2022)

MODERATOR NOTE: posts unrelated to baggage but discussed management issues were moved to the following thread:






Amtrak management issues


Good articles. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/options-exist-to-ease-amtrak-capacity-issues-special-report/




www.amtraktrains.com


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## joelkfla (Sep 22, 2022)

lordsigma said:


> Would be curious if the warning has disappeared from anyone who was getting it who may have a reservation.


I never got any warning or notice for the Cap Ltd., booked before this was announced. Did folks booked on the Carolinian or Pennsylvanian get one?


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## zephyr17 (Sep 22, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> They can't even get it right on their own website.


I am so very surprised.


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## west point (Sep 23, 2022)

As posted wlsewhere it may be lack of the required replacemets of some of the V-2 baggage cars. The andatory 5 year brake overhaul may e a choke point. Maybe lack of spare parts.


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## Amtrak25 (Sep 23, 2022)

lordsigma said:


> Was just on the advisories site. Any mention of the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief baggage has been removed from the advisory as of today. It now just reads that checked baggage is suspended on the Carolinian and Pennsylvanian. Unsure of what this means or if they posted something in error (either the original posting or this updated posting)...worth continuing to watch for sure.



If that is still true, that means the 2 Superliner trains will not have this problem. Maybe somebody forgot there is such as thing as 31xxx Superliner coaches with a secure baggage room when they originally wrote it and only looked at where VL-II baggage car lines were being withdrawn.

Of course Amtrak Express remains "temporarily" suspended since Sep 15, 2020 to prepare for tri-weekly operation.


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## joelkfla (Sep 23, 2022)

Amtrak25 said:


> Of course Amtrak Express remains "temporarily" suspended since Sep 15, 2020 to prepare for tri-weekly operation.


Much like Sunset Ltd service to FL. Probably has about the same chance of reappearing.


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## jpakala (Sep 25, 2022)

For what it's worth, I've noticed more than one great-looking baggage cars on the Missouri RIver Runner trains.


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## rs9 (Sep 27, 2022)

It appears the checked baggage suspension notice was in error. There is no alert posted anymore for the CL or the SW Chief. Not sure about the two single-level trains out of NYP, though.


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## Rasputin (Sep 27, 2022)

rs9 said:


> It appears the checked baggage suspension notice was in error. There is no alert posted anymore for the CL or the SW Chief. Not sure about the two single-level trains out of NYP, though.


I am not sure what went on but my understanding is that Amtrak reconsidered the suspension of baggage on the CL and Southwest Chief and suspended baggage on some other trains instead. However, maybe it was an error and was never intended to apply to the CL and the Chief. Amtrak is often short on explanations.


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## zephyr17 (Sep 27, 2022)

Rasputin said:


> Amtrak is often short on explanations.



Not the only thing they're "short" on.


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## PaTrainFan (Sep 27, 2022)

From Trains...









Checked baggage dropped from two Amtrak trains (corrected) - Trains


WASHINGTON — Amtrak says checked baggage service is being dropped this fall from two state-supported routes “due to equipment shortages” — even though the company received 70 new baggage cars as part of its 125-car Viewliner II equipment order from CAF USA in 2014-15. The company now says...




www.trains.com


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## AmtrakMaineiac (Sep 28, 2022)

Since Pennsylvania pays extra to have a baggage car on the Pennsylvanian, will Amtrak refund the Commonwealth for the days the baggage car does not run?


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## John Bobinyec (Sep 28, 2022)

This morning 92(27) had three (3) baggage cars. Don't see why the extras couldn't be used on the Carolinian.
jb


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## enviro5609 (Sep 28, 2022)

John Bobinyec said:


> This morning 92(27) had three (3) baggage cars. Don't see why the extras couldn't be used on the Carolinian.
> jb


Likely being deadheaded for service.


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## Railroad Bill (Sep 28, 2022)

We traveled on 448/449 over the past two weeks. These trains do not have checked baggage service, but our car attendant placed our larger bags in #10 and if the H room is not in use, it has been used for bag storage as well. Coach passengers on Superliners have an option to store larger bags downstairs, but unless you are leaving from end points (Chicago, LA, etc) there may be limited space boarding intransit. 
Those bag coaches have a lot of room but unless you are lucky enough to board at a station offering checked luggage (Cleveland for us), that may not work either. All those nice bag cars that came out a few years ago need maintenance and unfortunately the labor shortages are becoming a serious problem for Amtrak.


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## Rasputin (Sep 28, 2022)

Railroad Bill said:


> We traveled on 448/449 over the past two weeks. These trains do not have checked baggage service, but our car attendant placed our larger bags in #10 and if the H room is not in use, it has been used for bag storage as well. Coach passengers on Superliners have an option to store larger bags downstairs, but unless you are leaving from end points (Chicago, LA, etc) there may be limited space boarding intransit.
> Those bag coaches have a lot of room but unless you are lucky enough to board at a station offering checked luggage (Cleveland for us), that may not work either. All those nice bag cars that came out a few years ago need maintenance and unfortunately the labor shortages are becoming a serious problem for Amtrak.


Thanks for the update. 

Just to make it clear the discontinuance of checked baggage service on the Boston section of the Lake Shore, trains 448 and 449, took place around 2017 or 2018 and is not related to the pandemic. 448 and 449 used to have one of the brand new baggage cars until the discontinuance.


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## baseballfan (Nov 23, 2022)

Hi. I will be travelling on The Cardinal out of NYC Penn in February. Please can anyone confirm that I can drop off Checked Baggage the evening before please around 19:00. Thanks.


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## Bonser (Nov 24, 2022)

baseballfan said:


> Hi. I will be travelling on The Cardinal out of NYC Penn in February. Please can anyone confirm that I can drop off Checked Baggage the evening before please around 19:00. Thanks.


I'm pretty sure you can check baggage 24 hrs in advance of train departure. I've done it 12 hours before train. Worse case scenario would be paying for overnight storage which might still be better than schlepping them to Penn St at 6 AM


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## zephyr17 (Nov 24, 2022)

baseballfan said:


> Hi. I will be travelling on The Cardinal out of NYC Penn in February. Please can anyone confirm that I can drop off Checked Baggage the evening before please around 19:00. Thanks.


Generally Amtrak allows baggage checking up to 24 hours in advance. Cannot speak specifically to NYP.


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## baseballfan (Nov 29, 2022)

Many thanks


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