# Worst Passenger Rail Experience Ever?



## Devil's Advocate (Jan 10, 2012)

I used to believe that some of my personal Amtrak experiences were pretty bad. Rude staff, late arrivals, bad food, and obnoxious passengers have peppered many of my travels. However, over the course of reading trip reports and talking with other riders it's clear I've had relatively minor problems compared to everything else that can possibly go wrong. I often wonder who has the worst story of them all and what happened.

So let's hear it, what was your *worst ever* passenger rail experience and what happened*?*


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## TimePeace (Jan 10, 2012)

I'd rather look at the brighter side myself - nothing I have ever experienced on an Amtrak train has been bad enough to be characterized as horrible - inconvenient, yes, annoying, yes - but I will reserve my "worst" categories for - umm, years in the military, current tv shows, media in general, and what passes for music these days - oh, and the state of politics in the USA... Amtrak, I find to be a pleasant break from all that crap... sorry.

I'll follow this thread though, to see what others chose to whine about...


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## guest (Jan 10, 2012)

This happened in 1999 but still rankles...

We dropped our daughter off at LA Union Station to catch the (then) San Diegan (now Pacific Surfliner) back to San Diego and college after Xmas vacation.

About an hour later, she called us to say:

The train left without almost any of the passengers waiting in the LAUS lobby for the announcement. Because Amtrak NEVER MADE an announcement.

The train arrived from Santa Barbara and the passengers savvy enough to be waiting on the platform (rather than lining up like sheep in the tunnel door gate area) got on. The conductor(s)assumed everyone had boarded when time came to depart, and so the train departed.

There were so many angry people in the waiting room by the time we got back down to the station that there were police officers standing by.

Lucky for Amtrak that it wasn't the last train of the night or one or more idiotic Amtrak employees would have received "Old West justice."

Whenever I read on this forum about screw-ups in the diner or whatever, I think back to the failure to even announce the train departure!!!


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## Henry Kisor (Jan 10, 2012)

Second remark perhaps lacks empathy.

Mine was a conductor on the Lake Shore Limited in the early 1980s who insisted on putting a large sign "DEAF" above my seat in coach. He would not accept my arguments that such a sign was not only condescending but also might invite rough trade during the night, and also threatened to put me off the train if I took the sign down. Fortunately at the next crew change the new conductor agreed with me and tore up the sign. (The coach attendant apologized for the first conductor's behavior.)


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## Exiled in Express (Jan 10, 2012)

The full house on the 807 car and the seat mate that loudly chewed the same piece of gum from boarding to Columbus was bad. Not being able to buy an upgrade away from it due to a lazy conductor topped the cake. Peanuts compared to some of the stories I am expecting to see involving Dinty Moore and CBP.


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## TimePeace (Jan 10, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> Previous remark perhaps lacks empathy.
> 
> Mine was a conductor on the Lake Shore Limited in the early 1980s who insisted on putting a large sign "DEAF" above my seat in coach. He would not accept my arguments that such a sign was not only condescending but also might invite rough trade during the night, and also threatened to put me off the train if I took the sign down. Fortunately at the next crew change the new conductor agreed with me and tore up the sign. (The coach attendant apologized for the first conductor's behavior.)


Yes I do lack empathy with the culture of complaint, which, sadly, is who we are today.

"Oh God, loud chewing gum! What could be worse!?!?!"


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## Montanan (Jan 10, 2012)

I've ridden roughly three-fourths of Amtrak's long-distance routes so far, and honestly ... despite a few late trains and some occasionally mediocre food, none of the experiences were even close to what I'd consider awful. But maybe I just don't enjoy complaining as much as some people do.

By the usual standards, the worst train I've probably ridden was the _Bucharest-Istanbul Express,_ in the early spring of 1988. We were stuck at the Turkish frontier for hours in the middle of the night in a blizzard, and there was no heat in the rear half of the train. And the toilet on a Bulgarian railway car is unquestionably the most terrifying thing in the world.

But would I do the trip again? In a second, as with all of my other train trips.


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## jb64 (Jan 10, 2012)

Maine Rider said:


> I'd rather look at the brighter side myself - nothing I have ever experienced on an Amtrak train has been bad enough to be characterized as horrible - inconvenient, yes, annoying, yes - but I will reserve my "worst" categories for - umm, years in the military, current tv shows, media in general, and what passes for music these days - oh, and the state of politics in the USA... Amtrak, I find to be a pleasant break from all that crap... sorry.
> 
> I'll follow this thread though, to see what others chose to whine about...



Me too, except the years in military (I never did but thank you for your service). One of the things I like about Amtrak is that you get away from all that stuff!


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## Michael061282 (Jan 10, 2012)

Hmm Worst experience... I've been riding Amtrak all over the place since 1987ish, over 75,000 miles, so I've seen almost everything. 18 hours late trains, missed connections, passenger death in the middle of nowhere (east of Fort Morgan), rude staff, power trippers, passengers on a different kind of trip then a train ride. Two stand out but even those aren't all that bad when you look at the big picture. The last time I was on the eastbound Empire Builder, 3 years ago, we had probably the worst sleeping car attendant on Amtrak. He was lazy, unhelpful, had so many "rules" that you couldn't enjoy your trip at all. It was a last minute trip, so my son and I got a roomette in the Trans Dorm. I wasn't overly thrilled, but it's better then being downstairs. (I really dislike downstairs rooms, I know some people love them, and they're welcome to them.) The trans dorm was definitely better then being downstairs. It was right about Midnight when the train (running almost 3 hours late) left Minot, he had a bunch of rooms open up in his sleeper so he INSISTED we get out of our room in the dorm and move to a downstairs room his sleeper. My son was who was almost 8 at the time had gotten the flu, I wasn't feeling all the hot, the last thing I wanted to do was drag the luggage and my whiny nearly inanimate second grader through 2 cars and down a flight of stairs. The SCA threatened to "put us off at the next town" if I didn't move. I invited him to call the conductor and discuss the problem. That was literally the last time I saw him. He didn't come by to make up our beds the next day, didn't come help us with the luggage, or asked if we needed a red cap in Chicago(I did). Nothing. Needless to say I saved the $20 I was going to tip him and sent Amtrak a letter. I got a voucher for the high bucket cost of the roomette.

The other thing happened in 2001 and was pure Amtrak at its George Warrington worst. We were on the Three Rivers into Chicago. The train was dead on time the entire way, actually we sort of arrived 50 minutes early. However instead of taking us into Union Station, we sat in the Yard while they switched out the 4 or 5 Express cars. We ended up over 90 minutes late. And yes I know that wasn't all THAT bad.. just very very frustrating to sit there dead on the tracks with Union Station in sight for almost 2 hours. #treatedlikecattle in todays Twitterverse.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 10, 2012)

Maine Rider said:


> Yes I do lack empathy with the culture of complaint, which, sadly, is who we are today. "Oh God, loud chewing gum! What could be worse!?!?!"


Main Rider, I understand your position and I love the social commentary, but please keep in mind that I am specifically _welcoming_ folks to express their dissatisfaction here in this thread. I don't think anyone is really trying to say this or that trip is the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone in their whole lives. Just sayin' is all.


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 10, 2012)

As a person of a certain age (60 is the new 40!!! :lol: )I have travelled many moons over many routes since Amtrak came into being 40 years ago!! Ive experienced almost everything one can experience while riding the Rails, both Wonderful and even what some call "the Trip from Hell!"

In all honesty, none of these experiences compare in the Least to the really Crazy,Crappy,and Insane things that Ive experienced while riding Busses, Planes and Driving! :excl: :excl: :excl: Amtrak has lots of room for improvement, we all agree on this, but as for me, in every case I can, I choose to take a Train!!! :wub:


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## Michael061282 (Jan 10, 2012)

jimhudson said:


> As a person of a certain age (60 is the new 40!!! :lol: )I have travelled many moons over many routes since Amtrak came into being 40 years ago!! Ive experienced almost everything one can experience while riding the Rails, both Wonderful and even what some call "the Trip from Hell!"
> 
> In all honesty, none of these experiences compare in the Least to the really Crazy,Crappy,and Insane things that Ive experienced while riding Busses, Planes and Driving! :excl: :excl: :excl: Amtrak has lots of room for improvement, we all agree on this, but as for me, in every case I can, I choose to take a Train!!! :wub:


Ditto. I'll fly if I HAVE to. If I'm not rushed, I take a train.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2012)

My worst experiance is boarding the Carolinian at WAS. I had a BC ticket so I was supposed to be able to board in the first group. Of course when they called out for families with young childern, elderly, and BC suddenly everyone over 50 was elderly and anyone with a dependent had a young child. It was just a mess and I was getting pushed around by the crowd; not really what one expects when paying for a premium ticket. They didn't do anything to settle the crowd or get rid of the people who were abusing the vauge categories.


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## pennyk (Jan 10, 2012)

jimhudson said:


> As a person of a certain age (60 is the new 40!!! :lol: )I have travelled many moons over many routes since Amtrak came into being 40 years ago!! Ive experienced almost everything one can experience while riding the Rails, both Wonderful and even what some call "the Trip from Hell!"
> 
> In all honesty, none of these experiences compare in the Least to the really Crazy,Crappy,and Insane things that Ive experienced while riding Busses, Planes and Driving! :excl: :excl: :excl: Amtrak has lots of room for improvement, we all agree on this, but as for me, in every case I can, I choose to take a Train!!! :wub:


Although i am not quite as old as Jim, I pretty much ditto everything he has said, except I have never had a trip from hell.


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## Ryan (Jan 10, 2012)

The end of every trip?

Seriously, I wouldn't have any experiences that would make such a list - I guess that I've been lucky in my ~20,000 miles.


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## NAVYBLUE (Jan 10, 2012)

As wife and I are close to completing our first round trip LD (in Gallup, NM 1 1/2 hrs late) LAX-CHI-BAL-CHI-LAX on the SWC/CARD/CL and SWC, my worst LD trip will be when I am physically unable to ride anymore. Things could be worse, I could be DEAD. My glass is ALWAYS half full. I met a 103 year old LD rider yesterday full of **** and vinegar.

I want that to be ME !!!!

NAVYBLUE


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## Phil S (Jan 10, 2012)

I have no idea if the following is my best train experience or worst. But it's certainly my most memorable.

In 1976, after overland travel by train and boat from Sweden down through the eastern European countries all the way to Istanbul, then west to Tunis, I decided to try to get back to Europe overland by train through Algeria. Tunis to Constantine was a beautiful trip but in Constantine I discovered the reality that westerners are not welcome in any except the tourist hotels, which were exceedingly expensive and, to my taste, quite unpleasant. I spent the first night on a bench in the police station, then gave up and spent a night in an expensive hotel. Next day I went on to Algiers -- again a beautiful trip. In Algiers the hotel story repeated so after one night in a large hotel I got the bright idea to book myself a first-class sleeper overnight Algiers-Oran - way cheaper than a fancy hotel room! Went down to the train station, paid my money, got my ticket. Scheduled departure 9 PM. So after dinner I trekked on down to the station only to find everything boarded up with several hundred people massed at the station doors. Asked around, never really figured out what the problem was, but people assured me that I could forget about a sleeper car but if I hung around long enough I could probably get on a train along with everyone else. A lot of the folks were army, everone seemed to be having a good time, so I decided to stick around, see what happened. Some of the army guys found some wood and stated a fire. I pulled up a storm grate to use as a grill and we even cooked some food!

On toward midnight word came that there'd be a train leaving in a few hours. About 4 AM, still dark out, the station doors still shut, some folks got restless and pried open the door. In we all went, through the station, and out onto the tracks. Amidst madly scurring throngs of people I finally got two opinions that coincided as to which train was going to Oran, found an open door, and sat myself down by the window in one of the 6-person compartments. We gradually filled up with army folks, who started smoking, so I opened the window. Bad idea as immediately people started to try to climb in through the open window. Two of the army guys managed to close it again. Soon after, police showed up and pushed the crowds away with billy cubs raised (though not swinging).

The rest was uneventful. About 6 AM the train got moving and we could open the window. The trip was beautiful with what I assume were the Atlas mountains off to the east. I talked with the guys as best I could with our very limited French and English. Got to Oran, which is more Spanish than French, found a lovely hotel. Dinner was fun too -- tried speaking Spanish with the waiter but he would only speak French at me. Finally someone came over (I assume the owner) and said to the waiter in perefct Spanish "For god's sake, just speak Spanish with him!". The dinner was delicious.

As I said, it was memorable - but bad or good?


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## sechs (Jan 10, 2012)

Train was many hours late into Chicago due to some mechanical issue. My connecting train wasn't held, even though many others were for hours. Missed it by five seconds.

Long story short: Ended up arriving at destination after the train.

Moral of the story: Don't fly Southwest.


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## Montanan (Jan 10, 2012)

phil-s said:


> As I said, it was memorable - but bad or good?


I don't know, but it's my kind of story.


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## saxman (Jan 11, 2012)

I've missed several connections, but back in 2002, I was coming back from Grand Forks to Fort Worth from college. I overnighted in Chicago with a friend because the lack of same day connection. The second day I went down to the station only to find that the Texas Eagle had been cancelled past St. Louis due to flooding in Arkansas. I had a sleeper booked and really wanted to take my sleeper. So they offered to either let me stay until the next day or fly home. I also really wanted to get home as I hadn't been home in month. But I had all summer to stay home, so I decided to stay another night in Chicago. They put me in a hotel and then I caught the next days Eagle in my sleeper. Life was good.

Well I awoke in Arkansas about 40 miles outside Little Rock and we were stopped. Due to all the flooding, freight trains were backed up everywhere. Crews for those trains had timed out and many could not move. We sat for hours. Finally we arrived into Little Rock at about 4 PM, twelve hours late. By this time I was so ready to get home, so I decided to buy a ticket on Southwest and just fly to Dallas. It was about $99. My dad was glad I took the flight to get me home at a decent hour. When I checked the arrival time into FTW the next day, it didn't lose any time after leaving LRK. It arrived FTW still 12 hours late at about 2 AM.

I'm pretty laid back, and really don't care how attendants treat me, as long as they're not mean. I usually have just made my own bed if they don't offer.

But there was one coach car attendant I had back in October that irked me. Actually I laugh about now, and wish I had pushed his buttons more.  It was on the way to Seattle on the Empire Builder for the AU gathering. About 30 to 40 minutes prior to arrival, the coach attendant made the usual announcement to make sure we have everything and start cleaning up. Like a good passenger, I'm always willing to throw away my trash, and leave everything neat with my seat back and tray table up. He asked everyone to bring their seats up and stow the tray tables. Again no big deal to me still. I still am doing a few things on the table, and have a timetable or two out on it. Since we're still 30 mins out, I figure there is no point in sitting straight up. Well a few mins later, he comes by and tells me I need to put my stuff away. I say sure, I will. But then about 5 mins later, I still haven't done any of that, he comes and physically moves my papers off the table and folds it up for me, and also helps me move up my seat. Well just as he walks off, I move my seat back again, and then he get really agitated. In order not to create anymore conflict, I just sit up. I don't know why. I should have done it anyway just to see what he would do, and now wish I had! He was really being a &$%. What was going to do. Kick me off at the next stop?!  Tell the conductor on me?


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## Donctor (Jan 11, 2012)

Riding in a Talgo sleeper was pretty uncomfortable, but I'd take it any day over flying. 

My actual worst train experience:

On a train from Warsaw to Lublin, I got up to use the bathroom and forgot that my earphones—the ones I had saved for two months to afford—were in the pocket of my oversized shorts. After figuring out how to open the restroom door (it was remarkably difficult on this Soviet-era carriage), I entered and the train went into emergency stop (or something similar). I immediately grabbed the only handle I saw: that of the door. I couldn't get the door open again, but that wasn't my primary concern; I really needed to use the facility. As the train started to move again, I loosened my shorts and felt something run down my leg. I looked down in time to see my earphones and all my European currency fall out through my shorts and drop through the hole in the floor that I hadn't previously noticed. Not pleasing.

When I tried to flush the toilet, part of the rusted handle broke off. The sink water was very cold and very brown. It took eight kicks to get the door open, and I'm pretty sure I broke it, as it wouldn't shut again. Not pleasing.

I was looking forward to seeing Lublin, which was supposed to be an interesting and historic city. I figured I wouldn't let my experience on the train sour my day.

Got to Lublin, got in a cab, my uncle said something to the driver in broken Polish, and we were driven through a decent-looking neighborhood to a large park. The cab stopped, the driver said something to my uncle, and we got out. The park seemed to be a large, empty field with a monument and a few buildings at one end. Intrigued, I walked closer to the buildings, and upon inspection determined that they were barracks of some sort, and that one building seemed to have a small chimney. From history classes and a horrible conversation during a seder, I knew my rail trip to this place had been significantly more comfortable (and survivable) than many others', but a concentration camp is still no way to impress tourists.

After walking around other parts of Lublin, we headed toward the train station because we figured there'd be food nearby. Went into a restaurant, my uncle said something to the waitperson, received bowls of what looked (and, I believe, tasted like) blood. I ate/drank mine, assuming it was simply salty beet soup. Then we got pierogies. Took a bite of one, and whatever mammal was inside was not fully cooked.

The train on the way back was a little bit better, and it had a diner. Figuring the food couldn't be worse than a bloody dumpling, I ordered what I thought was fried chicken. I was brought a large piece of fried processed cheese with a side of mayonnaise. Amtrak food really is quite good.

Lesson: Don't use the bathroom on a s***** local train in Eastern Europe. Better yet, don't visit Eastern Europe.


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## haolerider (Jan 11, 2012)

Texas Sunset said:


> I used to believe that some of my personal Amtrak experiences were pretty bad. Rude staff, late arrivals, bad food, and obnoxious passengers have peppered many of my travels. However, over the course of reading trip reports and talking with other riders it's clear I've had relatively minor problems compared to everything else that can possibly go wrong. I often wonder who has the worst story of them all and what happened.
> 
> So let's hear it, what was your *worst ever* passenger rail experience and what happened*?*


I boarded in Vienna, heading for Germany & was traveling third class. Immediately after boarding I went to the dining car and had a great meal and several beers. Returning to my car, I was shocked to walk through the next coach and see the end of the train........and not my coach. I had been skiing and had left skis, sweaters, coat, gloves & gear in my coach. I had not noticed that the coach I had boarded was destined for a stop well before my destination in Germany and was left with nothing, but the light sweater I was wearing. I spoke pretty good German, but my gear was long gone with no easy solution. Fortunately, one of the guys in my group figured out what had happened & got off when the coach was disconnected - with all his equipment and mine and took the next train to Germany. I arrived in bitterly cold weather, made a few phone calls (this was years before cell phones) and found a place to have a few more beers & tried to figure out what to do. I was surprised and thrilled to see my buddy, loaded with all our gear appear in the bar a few hours later. It certainly taught me the lesson of clearly identifying the destination of coaches, especially in Europe and the middle east, where this is common practice.


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## VentureForth (Jan 11, 2012)

My worst and most enjoyable dining companion last June on the Capitol Limited:



VentureForth said:


> Dinner comedy is on this train, too.
> 
> Lady across from me is having a heck of a time. From the South side of Chicago, she comes to the diner lamenting the loss of $200 in the vestibule.
> 
> She peers through the menu asking what the cheapest meal is. I pointed out the cafe car was one car behind. After asking about EVERY SINGLE ITEM on the menu, she selects the flat iron steak. And a root beer. And an ice cream. Total bill was $29ish. After freaking out about buying the must expensive menu item, she then asks if the SCA takes debit cards. And if he needs to see ID. She hands him a card with the activate this card sticker still intact then asks if she needs to sign the ticket. I don't think she tipped, but the rest of us more than covered. Other than that, she was pretty quiet the rest of the meal. Through all of this the SCA was extremely pleasant and patient.


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## fillyjonk (Jan 11, 2012)

Two "worst" experiences, though I guess neither was truly the fault of the onboard staff but rather the weather.

Christmas 2000: ice storm slows the Texas Eagle greatly, I can't remember how many hours late I was getting on. At one point we had to stop outside of (I think it was) Walnut Ridge and wait for many hours on a new crew being shipped in as the old crew (engineers) "timed out." I was in coach for that trip and it was before the alcohol restrictions. The two guys in the seat behind me disposed of an entire large bottle of Southern Comfort in a few hours between them. (I wound up sitting in the lounge car b/c I got tired of them trying to chat me up). We were 12 hours late reaching my destination.

January 2010: Apparently hit an icy patch on the rails in STL, the engine and first sleeper (which I was in) derailed. Sleeper pax moved to the diner, sat there for a while while the conductor tried to figure out what to do. First he tried for spaces in the transdorm but there weren't any. Then conductor thought he got permission to leave an empty coach car on the rear and he moved us back there, with the explanation that "While it's not a sleeper, at least you'll have more space and privacy." About an hour or two later (we still had not left STL), someone else came back and told us we had to leave, Amtrak was insisting that coach came off. The "worst" part was, for the first sleeper-to-coach move, there was someone to help us carry our hand luggage and stuff (I get off at an unmanned station so I have to carry everything in two carry ons). For this second move, they just handed us seat checks and said, "Go into coach and try to find a seat." Yeah, at 2 am, when people would have to be awakened. If a young mother hadn't seen me trucking down the car and moved her kids (which she had put in the seat ahead of her), I would not have found a seat. We were 9 hours late reaching our destination.. And trying to deal with getting a refund for the sleeper turned out to be a giant hassle. My biggest complaint about that trip was that when they moved us out of the empty coach, there was no assistance, we were told to "go-go-go" (like, if we weren't out in five minutes there'd be big problems) and there was no help getting a place in the coach cars. It went really fast from "We're so sorry this happened to you" to "you're not our problem any more."


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## AlanB (Jan 11, 2012)

saxman said:


> But there was one coach car attendant I had back in October that irked me. Actually I laugh about now, and wish I had pushed his buttons more.  It was on the way to Seattle on the Empire Builder for the AU gathering. About 30 to 40 minutes prior to arrival, the coach attendant made the usual announcement to make sure we have everything and start cleaning up. Like a good passenger, I'm always willing to throw away my trash, and leave everything neat with my seat back and tray table up. He asked everyone to bring their seats up and stow the tray tables. Again no big deal to me still. I still am doing a few things on the table, and have a timetable or two out on it. Since we're still 30 mins out, I figure there is no point in sitting straight up. Well a few mins later, he comes by and tells me I need to put my stuff away. I say sure, I will. But then about 5 mins later, I still haven't done any of that, he comes and physically moves my papers off the table and folds it up for me, and also helps me move up my seat. Well just as he walks off, I move my seat back again, and then he get really agitated. In order not to create anymore conflict, I just sit up. I don't know why. I should have done it anyway just to see what he would do, and now wish I had! He was really being a &$%. What was going to do. Kick me off at the next stop?!  Tell the conductor on me?


Did he think that the train was coming in for a landing? :unsure:

Maybe you should have pulled out your wings and in your best pilot's voice made the announcement for him. :lol:

I know why he did it, but he was wrong! Trying to get the beds all made up and temporarily asking someone to move to an empty room while the beds are done is one thing. There is a lot work involved there. Making everyone put their seats upright 30 minutes out, just so that he doesn't have to do it and can off the train 5 minutes earlier, is nonsense.


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## buck1108 (Jan 11, 2012)

Well, my 'bad' experience would probably be when my roomette door locked me out. It puzzled the crew, as it was the "first time that ever happened"! After the Sleeping Car Attendant tried using a nail file to no avail, the Conductor arrived, and then finally at the next stop, someone found a sledgehammer and a large pick. The Conductor had to enter the room across from mine to get enough room to swing the hammer. Finally he and his assistant were able to knock my door off its track and allow me in the room. I got in the room, but unfortunately, I was unable to have privacy beyond a curtain all night.

In addition to this, on the same trip, previous train, all of the in-room toilets ceased to function, and my previous car occupants left their calling cards in mine (and on the outside as well)!

To top it off, on the third train, I had the anal crew in coach who were waiting for that big bunch of boarders that never showed.

All said, I would take another train trip like a shot, if not in a hurry and if not really caring about things. That's the thing really, you just have to not care and let it happen sometimes, unless it goes beyond the personal boundaries into areas of security, theft, etc. Now, when Jack Benny took the Superchief, he lost his room due to some meddling by the ticket seller, and then he had to serenade the seller's daughter (a newlywed) on the violin, accompanied by his prize turkey. Seeing that as an option, my trips haven't been *that* bad.



Okie doke...that's it.


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## JackieTakestheTrain (Jan 11, 2012)

jimhudson said:


> As a person of a certain age (60 is the new 40!!! :lol: )I have travelled many moons over many routes since Amtrak came into being 40 years ago!! Ive experienced almost everything one can experience while riding the Rails, both Wonderful and even what some call "the Trip from Hell!"
> 
> In all honesty, none of these experiences compare in the Least to the really Crazy,Crappy,and Insane things that Ive experienced while riding Busses, Planes and Driving! :excl: :excl: :excl: Amtrak has lots of room for improvement, we all agree on this, but as for me, in every case I can, I choose to take a Train!!! :wub:



I have to add a "ditto" to this. My worse experiences ever traveling were on buses and planes and driving.

My worse experience however was a bus. The driver got into a verbal fight with a passenger who had problem with walking. I can't remember all the details but it started innocently enough with the passenger asking a question and the driver responding and the passenger not liking the answer. So, when the bus finally stopped, they literally took it off the bus and into the parking lot. Fists. A lot of screaming and profanity.

Btw: Did I mention these were both women?

Who needs WWF smackdown when you have Greyhound Friday Night fights??

That was my last Greyhound bus ride.

-- jg


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## dlagrua (Jan 11, 2012)

OVERALL our experiences on Amtrak trains have generally been good but what amazes me is the competancy of some of the SCA's and the incompetantcy of others. Some have been extremely helpful and cheerful while others are grumpy, rude, disinterested and just plain obnoxious. Same with the dining car crews. My wife and myself are pretty easy going and not at all hard to deal so we don't understand why this is. Its obvious that Amtrak needs to put their employees through sensitivity training in order to gain some consistency in how passengers are treated. However,onboard an Amtrak train, its still better than the filthy,crowded,unhealthy,dehumanizing,degrading conditions at airports and the blatantly poor attitudes of the TSA airport personel. They can keep that mode of travel.


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 11, 2012)

This one wasnt Amtraks fault, in fact the agent I called about the problem @ Midnight on a Cold,Wet, Lonely night @ KCY's Union Station was Commended for Service "Above and Beyond"! 

Rode the Missouri River Runner to KCY from STL(great trip in BC), spent a great day visiting the Jazz HOF/Black Baseball Museum,checking out the WWI Monument, eating Arthur Bryant Bar-B-Q etc.Arrived @ Union Station about 11PM, not looking forward to the Busride between KCY and OKC on Jefferson Lines, but really looking forward to the ride on the Heartland Flyer from OKC-FTW, my first! A Cold, Wet Norther had blown in, it was warm and snug inside the beautiful Old Station which is basically closed down after the SWC departs around 10:30PM.

There were four of us waiting on the Bus, the Night watchman came around every thirty minutes or so checking things, finally he told us that the Bus had bveen showing up "Late", when 1 AM came and went, I called Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL) and talked with a most helpful Agent named Susan who said said she'd call me back ASAP with Info.

About 15 minutes later my phone rang, and Susan told me that Jefferson Lines had "Quit" running this route that very day!  She told me that a Taxi was on the way to take us to the Greyhound Station where we'd catch a Bus for Tulsa (that was being held for us on Amtraks Nickel!!!  ), the other folks would change to a Bus for OKC , I would have a ticket for Dallas from Tulsa, that I should be able to catch the Eagle for Austin in Dallas! Everything went as she said it would, even though the Bus was crowded, smelled and took forever to get to Tulsa @ 6AM! A lot better Bus was waiting in Tulsa for Dallas, but it was a "Local", took 12 hours to get to Dallas,went through every burg in Eastern Oklahoma, so I had missed connections with the Eagle in Dallas! The only bus with seats for Austin was "Americanos", a Mexican Bus, which was a great ride down I35, I finally arrived @ 8PM, beating the Eagle to Austin by 2 hours! (broken down UP freight between TPL and AUS) I received a nice voucher from Amtrak which I used for a Summer California trip on the TE/CZ/CS/SSL, but still havent ridden the Heartland Flyer, which is on my Bucket List for this year! Moral: Dont take the Bus or fly or Drive, trust Amtrak to get you where you're going!! ^_^ ^_^ ^_^


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## buck1108 (Jan 11, 2012)

Yes, I'd much rather have a train than plane or bus, with the 'uber' crowded conditions. That bus topic got me to thinking about my first train trip, which included a leg from OKC to KC, overnight. Between the pervading odors (ranging from b.o. to Oscar Meyer Bologna), cramped legroom, and loud phone conversations all around (a pregnant lady behind me shouting "I'm getting real fat! You ought to see me!"), there wasn't much time to sleep. ;-)

After Tulsa, the crowd thinned considerably, and there were only about 15 on the bus to Kansas City.


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## Shanghai (Jan 11, 2012)

My worse trip on Amtrak was in the middle of July on the Cardinal when the air conditioning broke

followed by the toilets not working from Charlottesville to Indianapolis. We had to walk from

the sleeper car to the coach whenever we needed a bathroom!! It could have been worse.


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## Cho Cho Charlie (Jan 11, 2012)

My worse experience was being stuck not moving on a Silver for 24+ hours. Matter of fact, both northbound Silvers sat motionless.

While I know from past discussions here, that it is quickly pointed out that this was caused by a freight train derailment, and those are out of Amtrak's direct control, there are still many things which Amtrak did wrong (words like "incompetent" seem so inadequate).

I do have to separate Amtrak from the employees on the train. The employees certain did their best in a bad situation. When Amtrak would not provide info, the Conductor called his friends back at the office to get info. The LSA made sure that every passenger in the sleepers was well fed. The sleeper attendants kept the Viewliners working.

Back to Amtrak itself, Amtrak ...

... didn't seem to understand that the engineer and the crew would "time out". This is so evident by the complete lack of a relief crew being made available to the trains. After 24 hours, the derailment was cleared, and we started to move again, only to stop in the middle of swamp 1 hour later because the crew "timed out". And we sat for several more, completely unnecessary, hours.

... could have sent food. The passengers in coach ran out of food. Most only brought enough for an overnight trip, not enough for an adventure spanning three days. Amtrak didn't care.

... could have bussed us or offered some other alternative. But nope. "Sit, wait, and shutup" is Amtrak.


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## pismobum (Jan 11, 2012)

bunch of pikers! been awhile, but top THIS! http://trainweb.org/web_lurker/swiss2/


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## haolerider (Jan 11, 2012)

pismobum said:


> bunch of pikers! been awhile, but top THIS! http://trainweb.org/web_lurker/swiss2/


so now we need "the rest of the story". what finally happened? did you ever hear from anyone in middle/senior management or get an apology from Amtrak?


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## pismobum (Jan 11, 2012)

got a $500 voucher from Chicago,and a $1500 voucher from Amtrak headquarters. Also got the double charge from Amtrak credited back. No apologys. Took a NARP Amtrak/Via trip (better) soon afterward, but still had a lot of problems. Link to that trip is at the end of the previous report


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## A.J. (Jan 11, 2012)

my worst was not at all amtrak's fault, or the fault of any staff. nevertheless, it was my worst trip, rail or otherwise, ever. my grandmother and i were traveling to florida and we opted to take the auto train. as we were planning on being in florida for nearly two weeks, it seemed like a good idea and we could visit relatives near lorton. anyway, my grandmother has never spent the night on the train and if I have any say in the matter she never will again. she couldn't sleep and her confusion was wildly exacerbated by not getting any sleep. she was awake all night long, asking me questions like, "where are we?" "why is the boat moving so much?" she was in the lower bed of a bedroom and i was in the upper. early in the night she panicked and didn't know where i was, so i ended up getting into the lower bed with her. and there we lay, all night long, her asking questions and me answering them. it was a long, almost endless night. i wouldn't do it again if you paid me! 

i would like to say to the fellow who was so dismissive of this thread: life is not all sunshine and roses. sometimes bad things happen, sometimes annoying things happen. sometimes you have the trip of your life and sometimes you don't. that's life. this thread wasn't started to whine, or complain or curse amtrak. to me it is the equivalent of a bunch of friends getting together to share stories. if you don't like it, don't read it and better yet, don't bother commenting on it.


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## Michael061282 (Jan 12, 2012)

A.J. said:


> my worst was not at all amtrak's fault, or the fault of any staff. nevertheless, it was my worst trip, rail or otherwise, ever. my grandmother and i were traveling to florida and we opted to take the auto train. as we were planning on being in florida for nearly two weeks, it seemed like a good idea and we could visit relatives near lorton. anyway, my grandmother has never spent the night on the train and if I have any say in the matter she never will again. she couldn't sleep and her confusion was wildly exacerbated by not getting any sleep. she was awake all night long, asking me questions like, "where are we?" "why is the boat moving so much?" she was in the lower bed of a bedroom and i was in the upper. early in the night she panicked and didn't know where i was, so i ended up getting into the lower bed with her. and there we lay, all night long, her asking questions and me answering them. it was a long, almost endless night. i wouldn't do it again if you paid me!
> 
> i would like to say to the fellow who was so dismissive of this thread: life is not all sunshine and roses. sometimes bad things happen, sometimes annoying things happen. sometimes you have the trip of your life and sometimes you don't. that's life. this thread wasn't started to whine, or complain or curse amtrak. to me it is the equivalent of a bunch of friends getting together to share stories. if you don't like it, don't read it and better yet, don't bother commenting on it.


A.J. trust me.. I know where you're coming from. I used to take trips to get away from a situation that sounds very similar to that.


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## MARC Rider (Jan 12, 2012)

Worst Amtrak, or worst passenger rail in general?

My worst Amtrak experience was about 9 or 10 years ago when they still has some unreserved Northeast Regionals. I had an unreserved ticket and accidentally boarded a train that required reservations. The conductor treated me like I was some criminal turnstile-hopper an unceremoniously dumped me off at New Carrolton. Fortunately, I was able to take a later train.

Actually, the cattle lines at the boarding gates at WUS that they introduced after 9/11 also detract from the experience. I also think that the crowds are a security vulnerability, and I don't know why they don't use the inner departure lounges to disperse the crowds. Everybody thinks that security is all about cops and dogs and guys with guns and badges, but sometimes rearrangement of the physical environment can make a big difference.

Another fine trip was the summer before last, we took the Vermonter home from Essex Junction, 12 hours in an Amfleet I coach packed to capacity (at least between White River Junction and New Haven). After a while, the aroma from the toilets wafted in to the rest of the car. I had heard about such things in traveler's descriptions of various third world and eastern European trains, but I had never experienced it first hand, not even in the days when I used the ride the Penn Central.

As to non-Amtrak, experiences, I gues my worst was last summer after the earthquake in DC, I got to WUS to ride the Marc TRAIN home, and it was a mess, my normal Penn Line train was indefinitely delayed, but a amden ine train was just leaving, so I said, what the heck, I can take light rail back to my car. What I didn't count on was good old CSX being ultra cautious about their track conditions. As we were pulling out (when it was too late to get off), the conducter informed us that we were going to be speed-restricted to 15 mph the whole way up. I did get home before dark, but that's only because it was summer. I suppose I could have ridden from DC to Baltimore on a bicycle just as fast.

The ultimate bad train story in our family is that of my sister, who had to get back to college in the Chicago area from Philly back circa 1970 during an air traffic controller's strike. She rode the Penn Central (not the Broadway Limited), on a train that was late, ran out of food in the "snack bar coach" (which was the only food service), had the toilets back up, and I believe they lost heat, too.

But nothing I've had on Amtrak beats my experience with the Frank Lorennzo Continental Airlines back in 1967, where they cancelled our flight about 20 minutes after we took off, returned us to the airport, and didn't book us out until the next day.


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## The Davy Crockett (Jan 12, 2012)

My worst experience is always watching the train I was just on roll down the track. :wub:


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## MARC Rider (Jan 12, 2012)

How could I have forgotten my real worst exerience? It was just last year (almost exactly a year ago) when the HHP-8 pulling #67 flipped a breaker and stranded us without power on a 10 degree night between Route 128 and and Providence. I was sitting in the cafe car as the cold started seeping in, listening to the conductor radio to wake up the technician with the "Million dollar laptop" that contained the super top-secret proprietary software they needed to reset the breaker. The tech finally arrived, but he wasn't having much luck fixing the engine, and the cold was starting to seep in. Finally, they decided to transfer us to a northbound train and return us to South Station. That was actually pretty cool, with the little gangplanks they has so we could move from train to train without having to climb down to the roadbed. (which I once had to do on a crippled Empire Service train south of Albany.)

We ended up getting back to South Station at about 1 AM (we had originally left about 9:30 PM), the place was deserted, and we had to sit in those uncomfotable metal chairs they have in the waiting room. The eventually rescued the crippled train, brought it back to Boston, put on a new locomotive, and we left at about 4 AM. After that, the trip was uneventful, but it got light about when we hot New Haven, so I didn't get the sleep I was expecting to get. Well, at least I got a $100 voucher from Amtrak for my trouble.


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## VentureForth (Jan 12, 2012)

Any one here on Amtrak during either A)9/11 or B)Katrina; Post Katrina Evac?


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## Henry Kisor (Jan 12, 2012)

There so far have been 40 replies in this "Worst Experience" thread to the 22 in the "Best Experience" thread. What does this mean? That we are a bunch of bellyaching crybabies—or smart consumers who expect value for their dollar and when they don't get it, speak out?


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## VentureForth (Jan 12, 2012)

I think it actually reflects a philosophy that we pretty much tend to gravitate towards in this forum. If everything goes as planned, it's boring.

No one would ever sell a novel, or a story without having an element of unexpected thrill.

There's no doubt that probably most of us really prefer the good trips over the bad. But it's the bad trips that we continue to enjoy talking about - the sensationalism, the mystery, the adventure, the unexpected and when everything goes downhill, the Monday morning quarterbacking discussing the what ifs...

When we talk about a great trip, its... well... it's nice.


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## CHamilton (Jan 12, 2012)

I think VentureForth is right. We like to talk about _memorable_ trips, which can often be the ones where something went wrong. And yet, when I think of my first long Amtrak trip, back in 1973, it's what got me hooked on trains, even though many things didn't go well. It seems that AUers are into _adventure_: the old "getting there is half the fun" mindset.


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## MikeM (Jan 12, 2012)

I'll toss out my worst experience...

It was about 10 years ago. The four of us (wife, two kids, and myself) were returning from Chicago to Hutchinson KS on the SWC. Arrival time of the SWC is around 3am or thereabouts. We were in two economy sleepers on the lower floor. Knowing it takes a bit of time to get kids ready, asked the car attendant if we could be woken up at the Newton stop or shortly later, so we could get dressed.

You can guess where this is going.

3am in the morning, wild banging on my sleeper door (Sally and Amy were in one room, Cliff and me in the other). "Wake up, we're here!". Huh, what to you mean we're here. I look out the window. Boy, Newton looks a LOT like Hutchinson. Same types of mills, etc. "No Mike, we're HERE!. Get UP!". Open the door, and the Conductor is moving bags, saying we need to hurry, don't make the train late, etc. No apologies. Sally is wearing a sleep top and her levis, I'm pulled into as many clothes as I could assemble in under a minute, both kids in pajamas, and we're hopping off the train. As the train pulls away from the station, my wife looks at me, hair standing all over the place, kids clutching blankets, and says she's never stepping foot on a train again with me.

Have to admit, it really was quite the experience. We laugh about it now, but she has never ridden Amtrak again, sad to say.


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## MikeM (Jan 12, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> There so far have been 40 replies in this "Worst Experience" thread to the 22 in the "Best Experience" thread. What does this mean? That we are a bunch of bellyaching crybabies—or smart consumers who expect value for their dollar and when they don't get it, speak out?


I think it means we're the fools that keep coming back and experience the good and the bad. However, the bad is what sticks. Nobody remembers the on time arrival (unless your train is on the UP, in which case, an on time arrival has yet to happen...). But everyone remembers the AC breakdown, toilets flushing up rather than down, etc.


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## Henry Kisor (Jan 12, 2012)

It's the same with literature. Evil characters and terrible events are the ones that fascinate us, not the angels and sweet happenings.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 12, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> There so far have been 40 replies in this "Worst Experience" thread to the 22 in the "Best Experience" thread. What does this mean? That we are a bunch of bellyaching crybabies—or smart consumers who expect value for their dollar and when they don't get it, speak out?


Believe it or not, my original idea included posting a "Best Experience" thread as well. Then I started wondering just how good it could possibly get. The train could be on-time, the food could be good, the staff could be responsive, and the passengers could be friendly. That's great and all, but is it really all that _noteworthy?_ Maybe some people would tell the story of their first ever rail trip as an impressionable youth and that could be interesting to read. In exceptional circumstances maybe we would get a story of how someone met their future wife or husband on the train or was witness to some courageous or heartwarming experience that changed their life _forever_. But, the more I thought about it the more convinced I was that _statistically_ there was a much better chance of average passengers suffering _and remembering_ a noteworthy negative experience over a positive one. I was still mulling over the idea of a 'best experience' thread when I noticed that _CHamilton_ had already beat me to it with nearly identical wording. ^_^


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## OBS (Jan 12, 2012)

VentureForth said:


> Any one here on Amtrak during either A)9/11 or B)Katrina; Post Katrina Evac?



On 9/11, I was working train #56, the Vermonter NB. Somewhere around Trenton, peoples' cell phones started ringing, and the info about what happened, as well as a lot of misinformation started to circulate. The train went as far as Newark NJ, Where it was held and eventually terminated. Eventually, about 2-3 hours later, they ran the engine around and we operated live back to Wash. DC. From the Newark area you could see a plume of black smoke rising in the East...


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## debmep (Jan 12, 2012)

Worst experience on the train. Amtrak Pere Marquette about 10 years ago. It was a overnight trip to Chicago from Grand Rapids. We stayed in one of the big hotels on Michigan near Grant Park. Our last meal in Chicago was lunch at a Irish restaurant inside the hotel. I remember that I had a grilled chicken sandwich and toss salad. I know by the time we arrived at Union Station I wasnt feeling so well. I remember sitting in the general boarding area feeling like S**t. We asked for and got early boarding, I must have really looked sick<smile> I spent most of the return trip vomiting in the handicapped bathroom just behind the seats we had chosen. I know that I threw up at least 6 different times. I didnt stop throwing up until past the Bangor exit. I have no idea what if anything other passengers could hear. We didnt get any special consideration from any of the train staff, I dont remember if anyone was even aware of how I felt. I was never so glad to get back home.

I felt then and still feel that it was food poisoning from the restuarant. We did write a letter to the hotel and did recieve a free nights stay. It turned out really great as we booked our next stay on a night which happened to be a Bears home game day. We were upgraded to the actual floor that the visiting team was staying on. We ran into the quarteback of the other team right outside our room, hubby shook his hand. I remember that we ordered evening room service and that the meal was outstanding. Looking forward to our big trip in March on the SWC to Albuquerque.


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## gswager (Jan 12, 2012)

debmep said:


> Worst experience on the train. Amtrak Pere Marquette about 10 years ago. It was a overnight trip to Chicago from Grand Rapids. We stayed in one of the big hotels on Michigan near Grant Park. Our last meal in Chicago was lunch at a Irish restaurant inside the hotel. I remember that I had a grilled chicken sandwich and toss salad. I know by the time we arrived at Union Station I wasnt feeling so well. I remember sitting in the general boarding area feeling like S**t. We asked for and got early boarding, I must have really looked sick<smile> I spent most of the return trip vomiting in the handicapped bathroom just behind the seats we had chosen. I know that I threw up at least 6 different times. I didnt stop throwing up until past the Bangor exit. I have no idea what if anything other passengers could hear. We didnt get any special consideration from any of the train staff, I dont remember if anyone was even aware of how I felt. I was never so glad to get back home.
> 
> I felt then and still feel that it was food poisoning from the restuarant. We did write a letter to the hotel and did recieve a free nights stay. It turned out really great as we booked our next stay on a night which happened to be a Bears home game day. We were upgraded to the actual floor that the visiting team was staying on. We ran into the quarteback of the other team right outside our room, hubby shook his hand. I remember that we ordered evening room service and that the meal was outstanding. Looking forward to our big trip in March on the SWC to Albuquerque.


That sounds like it's the worst one on "Worst Passenger Rail Experience Ever" category it ever happened on a train trip despite I had a flu on Coast Starlight in 1990's. Good thing that Amtrak crew are attentive to me, providing saline crackers and I think 7-Up.


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## TimePeace (Jan 12, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> There so far have been 40 replies in this "Worst Experience" thread to the 22 in the "Best Experience" thread. What does this mean? That we are a bunch of bellyaching crybabies—or smart consumers who expect value for their dollar and when they don't get it, speak out?


Mr. Kisor:

Both, I think. With the crybabies winning.

I like both threads though, and it is good to have a way to express what we like _and_ don't like - freedom of speech, etc.


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## CHamilton (Jan 12, 2012)

Texas Sunset said:


> I was still mulling over the idea of a 'best experience' thread when I noticed that _CHamilton_ had already beat me to it with nearly identical wording. ^_^


Well, the wording was yours originally, so thank you for the idea!  And I wonder what would be posted in a "Most _Memorable_ Passenger Rail Experience Ever" thread?


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## me_little_me (Jan 12, 2012)

Here's mine (posted in September):

In the late '70s, we decided to take a train trip with our two young (sub 5 year old) boys from El Paso to Disneyland. We were taking a sleeper to LA, then renting a car to drive to Aneheim. Now remember, this was in the days long before cell phones and internet.

I dreaded the long drive from LA to Anaheim so, while looking at a map, I saw that I could get off in Pomona, rent a car there, and drive a much shorter distance. So I called Amtrak (no online booking) and changed our destination to Pomona. Then I called the (?) rental car company to have a car there when we arrived. No problem.

The whole trip started out wrong. A friend was taking us to the El Paso station. I had called ahead and Amtrak said the train would be a few hours late. No big deal. We stayed at the friend's house until it was time to go - about 40 minutes before it was due in. When we arrived, there was the train and it looked like just about everyone had boarded. We had the two kids plus luggage and ran as fast as we could to it. Just as we were out of steam (pun intended), we got close enough to reach a car attendant. He told us that the train was the eastbound - on time - and our late westbound wasn't due for 30 minutes as we had thought. On the train ride (Amtrak had really badly maintained equipment in those days), we lost air conditioning, then all power in the car. In the dark, my oldest got sick and threw up on the bed so the next morning we were tired and irritable. Upon arrival in Pomona, we got off. She had the kids while I unloaded the luggage with the help of the SCA and we had plenty with two kids, one in diapers.

As the train left, I looked around the station. It was all boarded up; the only phone was ripped off the wall; the area was desolate and run down and there was no rental car. I noticed an open combination Trailways station/ travel agency across the street so we dragged all the stuff and went there. I explained the situation to the guy there and he let us use the phone to call the car company. No answer. Apparently the nearest office was closed on Sunday and they had forgotten to tell me that. Agghh! So we called Hertz and they agreed to come pick us up, take us to their office and rent us a car. However, they closed at 5:30PM so we'd have to return it 2 hours before our return train arrived.

While we were waiting, I looked around the area of the station and decided this was not a place to be waiting for a train at 7:30PM in the dark (not DST time). I asked the agent if the area was safe. He said "I am the only one here who does not carry a gun". Then he reached under the counter and pulled out the biggest pistol I ever saw. He said "I keep mine under the counter!"

Needless to say, as soon as we got to the hotel, I arranged to return the car at the LA station and called Amtrak and arranged to return home from LA. Good thing! The train was 2 hours late out of LA and we would have been waiting in the dark with no communication for 2 extra hours not knowing when or if a train was coming. Other than the start, it was a wonderful trip. And returning the car to LA was a breeze. Hertz had a drop-box and special parking spots at the station. It was well-lighted and the kids could run around in safety. Amtrak sent me a check for a few hundred dollars in compensation for the hot, dark sleeper.

http://discuss.amtra...post__p__319371


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## surfgeek (Jan 12, 2012)

MARC Rider said:


> But nothing I've had on Amtrak beats my experience with the Frank Lorennzo Continental Airlines back in 1967, where they cancelled our flight about 20 minutes after we took off, returned us to the airport, and didn't book us out until the next day.


Which is remarkable, since Texas Air (controlled by Mr. Lorenzo) didn't buy CO until 1981.

I'm not sure how people replying to a thread titled "Worst Passenger Rail Experience Ever" can be considered whining; it at least helps balance the cheerleaders who've never ever had anything unpleasant happen on a train ever. I guess if there were a thread about "Most Memorable" and people told stories of memorably bad trips, they'd be labelled whiners too...but not by me. There's extra-good and extra-bad in most worlds. Tell it like it is.


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## RailFanLNK (Jan 12, 2012)

My memory is the "first" trip I did with my wife and two stepdaughters. We weren't married at the time and had only dated less than a year. We left Lincoln NE to go to Glenwood Springs CO. The #5's crew was great, it was on time and Reggie Howard our SCA treated us like we were special. Everyone thought Amtrak was GREAT and was looking forward to the return trip home "on the train". Well that's when things got crappy. We had the LSA from hell. We were riding in coach and was in the lower level of coach. I was worried we would be "forgotten" but that wasn't going to happen. The RUDE LSA came down and asked, "what time do you want to go to dinner" and I replied, "5:30!" and she replied, "its full!" So I said, "6:30pm" and she replies, "its full!" So I look at my family scrunch up the eyebrows and then say "7PM?" and she replies, "its full!" The and I said, "8pm" and she says "its full the only time we have an opening for 4 is at 8:30pm"! Now why in heck wouldn't she just say, "we only have a dinner reservation for 4 at 8:30pm, take it or leave it" instead of having us play, "name that time". Then we go at 8:30pm and we get a guy (waiter) that is the last remnants of the Hitler Youth as our waiter...just rude from the get go. Jackass, jerk you name it. Just a bad, bad person. So, we eat, have dinner and Jackass #2 (the waiter) comes up to us and barks, "the diner needs to close, this isn't a place to just hang out at". I said, "I'm hanging out so I can pay my bill, is the dinner free for the 4 of us in coach?" I mean...I was mad by now. So he comes back and slams down my Amtrak Guest Rewards CC, (and I'm wearing my Amtrak polo shirt) and we tip nothing and walk out. Soon (like 15 minutes later) Jackass #2 (the waiter) comes down to the lower level in coach and opens the door, motions to my family and says, "thank you so much for having dinner with us tonight, I hope you have a great trip!" and the door closes, my family all looks at each other and burst out into gut wrenching laughter. WE think he might have thought over the AGR CC and the Amtrak polo shirt and was thinking, "oh gosh, maybe this is an Amtrak employee and his family." We never laughed so hard after being treated so rudely by Jackass #1 and #2.


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## A.J. (Jan 12, 2012)

surfgeek said:


> I'm not sure how people replying to a thread titled "Worst Passenger Rail Experience Ever" can be considered whining; it at least helps balance the cheerleaders who've never ever had anything unpleasant happen on a train ever. I guess if there were a thread about "Most Memorable" and people told stories of memorably bad trips, they'd be labelled whiners too...but not by me. There's extra-good and extra-bad in most worlds. Tell it like it is.


well, i honestly think some people just need to find some way to tell everyone that they're better than the rest of us. I have a relative like that, so I'm familiar with the signs.


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## Thunder Road (Jan 12, 2012)

My worst is a trip that never happened.

After a concert in Hershey, PA, I decided I would take the Keystone home to PHL from HAR while the rest of the people I was with enjoyed the day at Hershey Park (I'm not one for amusement parks and such). We asked our Garmin to find the train station, which first took us to a neighborhood, and then to an overpass over the freight yard about 1/2 mile from the station. We finally found it (after getting lost at least one more time) and by this point I knew I was cutting it close, so I got out of the car and literally ran for the station. I got inside to find it desolate. No passengers, no Amtrak Amployees. I wandered around for about 5 minutes until somebody who worked from Amtrak (maybe a conductor, I don't know) showed up out of nowhere and told me that the train had left. I looked at my watch and it was still 2 minutes until the scheduled departure time, which I told him. He laughed and said something like "yeah sometimes they leave early on the weekends."

By this point it had started to rain, and we had wasted a decent amount of time, so we all decided to skip Hershey Park and drive back home. I got my $22 back for the ticket, and now I know why they say to be at the station 30 minutes prior to departure.


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## Trainmans daughter (Jan 12, 2012)

My worst experience was last June on the first segment of our coast-to-coast trip. Due to flooding, the SAC-CHI portion was cancelled and we had to FLY! :blink:

On the bright side, it was my granddaughter's first flight (her mom finally backed off from her "you absolutely can't fly till you're 18" position, thank God!), and I got to sit there and see the awe and wonder on her face as she experienced leaving the earth, flying above the clouds, and returning to earth in Chicago. (Also, the crazy taxi ride from Midway to CUS to catch the CL!)


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## Ryan (Jan 12, 2012)

A.J. said:


> surfgeek said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not sure how people replying to a thread titled "Worst Passenger Rail Experience Ever" can be considered whining; it at least helps balance the cheerleaders who've never ever had anything unpleasant happen on a train ever. I guess if there were a thread about "Most Memorable" and people told stories of memorably bad trips, they'd be labelled whiners too...but not by me. There's extra-good and extra-bad in most worlds. Tell it like it is.
> ...


Not only am I better than you, but I'm better than your relative too!


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## EMDF9A (Jan 12, 2012)

As a paying passenger, I have two memorable non-positive experiences. The first was about 1995 aboard the eastbound Empire Builder between MSP & MKE. I had taken the builder east from Seattle to the Twin Cities, and then headed north to near Duluth to visit relatives. After a week in the north woods I headed bask to the cities and continued east to visit a boarding school friend in Milwaukee. We were having lunch as teh builder sped through the Wisconsin countryside. I was a coach passenger for this leg of the trip and was seated in the diner with a very nice Presbyterian minister, his wife and son who were sleeper passengers. I dont remember what I ordered for lunch but I did order ice cream for dessert.

We finished our entrees and the attendant removed the dishes and all the flatware. Dessert came. I had no spoon with which to eat my ice cream. I politely asked the attendant who said he'd bring me a spoon. The minister and his family were being very polite and didnt want to eat their dessert while I waited, so they sat for a few minutes while we waited... and conversed. I finally convinced them to start their pie (I think thats what it was) while I kept trying to flag a crewmember to get a spoon. By this time my ice cream was half melted (before the time of the Haagen Dazs cups). When I finally get the attention of the server, he cam & very brusquely said "You folks need to hurry up and get out so we can set the table for the next group of passengers." At that point I very politely looked up & said to him "I will be happy to, if you would bring me the spoon I asked for 20 minutes ago." This infuriated the server, who did go get a spoon, brought it to the table & dropped it into my half-melted bowl of ice cream, splattering it all over my shirt.

I very quickly consumed what was left of my ice cream, said my pleasntries to the minister and his family, who had graciously remained with me until I had finished, and got up from the table and left my tip. Two pennies. Its all he deserved.

I hadnt made it 30 feet... abut half way through the service area of the diner when I felt something strike my back. It was the pennise... the waiter had thrown them at me... and yelled "Take that back I dont need your Sh*t. I deserve more respect that that." Fortunately for me, the COB just happened to be coming up the stairs from the kitchen and heard and saw the entire episode. He apologized right away and escorted me back to my seat "I'm Sorries" all the way. He gave me information to file a formal complaint, and I did. Received a voucher fot the cost of the ticket AND the sleeper accomodation, even though I wasnt in a sleeper on this leg.

Number two:

Northbound Coast Starlight. EMY-SEA. This was about 2003.

I had taken the CS down to SF for some cultural stimulation & visit some friends. Had a great trip down. I took the AmBus from Fisherman's Terminal to EMY. Checked in, checked the luggage I wasnt taking to the room, and was told that the train was about 30 minutes late. Great, I can go watch the AMTRAK California trains come & go. Well thirty minutes turned into an hour, turned into 2 hours, four hours. I was hungry and tired and wanted to go to bed. I asked the station attendant what was happening, and was told that #14 had struck a vehicle on the track between San Jose & Jack London. There would be more delays. NINE hours after scheduled departure, after spending the night on the very uncomfortable seats of the EMY station, the train arrived. I made my way out to the assigned car. I showed the Assistant Conductor in the vestibule my ticket, and she directed me upstairs to my assigned roomette. Upon arival at the door I found the bed down and occupied.

It took several minutes to get the attention of the SCA, and the train was already leaving the station. He told me that they had given my room to someone else because I was late boarding (Well YEAH... the train hadnt reached my station yet) and I was re-assigned to a lower level roomette. I was not amused. I DO NOT travel in the lower level rooms. I get motion sickness there, and I specifically make it clear when I reserve my roomettes that it must be an upper level room. The SCA told me that I was basically SOL. They had given my room away and this was the only room available. I asked if there were roomettes on the upper level in other cars. He didnt know. I insisted that I had a valaid ticket for my room and that he needed to move the woman who was in my room to the lower level. He refused. I asked for the conductor. He said he was about to get her as he was getting tired of my attitude and would have her deal with me.

When the conductor arrived I showed her my tickets. I explained why I wasnt on the train as expected (It hadnt made it to my station yet), and why I could not accept the lower level roomette. I am very thankful that this lady understood customer service. She checked the manifest. There were no other upper level roomettes open. She was also hesitant to disturb the woman occupying my space, as this woman had no idea how bad AMTRAK had screwed up. BUT... Bedroom "E" in another car was available. I gladly accepted her hospitality, followed her down the corridor and delivered to the bedroom. The SCA for tha car was there right away, made up the bed, even though it was early morning and asked me if I wanted to be awakened for lunch. I asked if breakfast was still beign served. He said yes & asked if I wanted to go to the diner or should he bring me a meal. I ordered the French Toast and scrambled eggs, and he was back with breakfast in under 10 minutes. I ate, crawled into bed & asked to be awakened for the last call at lunch.

This tale, unfortunately doesnt end there. Number 14 continued to lose time. It was dinner time and we hadnt even made Kalamath Falls. There was talk about the train being annulled in Portland and turned there as we werre now 14 hours late. The staff said not to worry, go to bed & get a good rest, they would let us know early inthe evening if that was going to happen. I enjoyed the wine tasting in the PPC and a delicious dinner (I didnt make the last call for lunch. I was too tired) and retired about 10:30.

The next thing I know I am hearing pounding on my door and yelling "EVERYBODY UP! You have 10 minutes to get off this train!" It was 5:30 AM. We were in Portland, and they indeed annulled

the train. I poked my head out the door and asked what was going on. I told the conductor that I could not possibly shower & dress & be off the train in 10 minutes, but would hurry. He then replied "IDont give a flyingF**K. Get the hell off my train NOW!" Fortunatley the other passengers heard this too.

I did not shower. I got dressed & brushed my teeth and then had to go clami my checked luggage and place it in the lower compartment of a bus for the 5 hour all stops trip to Seattle. They didnt have the courtesy to offer coffee to the frst class passengers, and I suffered the next 5 hours of a 3 year old kicking the back of my seat.

Epilogue: After getting names and address of other passengers who heard/saw/experienced the same rude treatment, as well as the SCAs Conductors & station attendants, I wrote a very polite but firm letter to I THINK it was George Warrington. I received a personal reply, not a form letter and a voucher for the entire trip PLUS the bedroom (which I really hadnt paid for). Years later I am riding the PPC southbound, just crossing the Columbia and was talking to a great attendant and relaying this story. As I got to the end she gasped 'That was YOU!? You dont know how long we'd been trying to get that guy fired because of the way he treats the passengers. It was yours and the other passengers letters that finally did it. (I had free wine the rest of the trip)


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## Ryan (Jan 12, 2012)

And people say customer complaints never make a difference.


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## guest (Jan 12, 2012)

EMDF9A said:


> As a paying passenger, I have two memorable non-positive experiences. The first was about 1995 aboard the eastbound Empire Builder between MSP & MKE. I had taken the builder east from Seattle to the Twin Cities, and then headed north to near Duluth to visit relatives. After a week in the north woods I headed bask to the cities and continued east to visit a boarding school friend in Milwaukee. We were having lunch as teh builder sped through the Wisconsin countryside. I was a coach passenger for this leg of the trip and was seated in the diner with a very nice Presbyterian minister, his wife and son who were sleeper passengers. I dont remember what I ordered for lunch but I did order ice cream for dessert.
> 
> We finished our entrees and the attendant removed the dishes and all the flatware. Dessert came. I had no spoon with which to eat my ice cream. I politely asked the attendant who said he'd bring me a spoon. The minister and his family were being very polite and didnt want to eat their dessert while I waited, so they sat for a few minutes while we waited... and conversed. I finally convinced them to start their pie (I think thats what it was) while I kept trying to flag a crewmember to get a spoon. By this time my ice cream was half melted (before the time of the Haagen Dazs cups). When I finally get the attention of the server, he cam & very brusquely said "You folks need to hurry up and get out so we can set the table for the next group of passengers." At that point I very politely looked up & said to him "I will be happy to, if you would bring me the spoon I asked for 20 minutes ago." This infuriated the server, who did go get a spoon, brought it to the table & dropped it into my half-melted bowl of ice cream, splattering it all over my shirt.
> 
> ...


Just seems odd that you "can't" travel in the lower level because you get motion sickness...after all, there is LESS motion on the lower level, and most people who are subject to it prefer rooms down there (I'm a TA, which people on this board constantly and erroneously refer to as "SCA"'s...)


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 12, 2012)

:hi: As the saying goes, "Alls well that ends well"! Great stories, talk about turning a Pig's Ear into a Silk Purse!!Amtrak Customer Relations does first rate work in most cases!!


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## EMDF9A (Jan 12, 2012)

guest said:


> EMDF9A said:
> 
> 
> > As a paying passenger, I have two memorable non-positive experiences. The first was about 1995 aboard the eastbound Empire Builder between MSP & MKE. I had taken the builder east from Seattle to the Twin Cities, and then headed north to near Duluth to visit relatives. After a week in the north woods I headed bask to the cities and continued east to visit a boarding school friend in Milwaukee. We were having lunch as teh builder sped through the Wisconsin countryside. I was a coach passenger for this leg of the trip and was seated in the diner with a very nice Presbyterian minister, his wife and son who were sleeper passengers. I dont remember what I ordered for lunch but I did order ice cream for dessert.
> ...


Its not the motion of the train I am on, it is the view out the window when other trains pass. I get very sick seeing wheels roll by at track speed.


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## ColdRain&Snow (Jan 13, 2012)

guest said:


> I'm a TA, which people on this board constantly and erroneously refer to as "SCA"'s...


So help me understand this then. The term "Sleeping Car Attendant" is used by Amtrak itself -- just look at the Welcome Aboard section of every route guide that Amtrak publishes. If your employer uses the term Sleeping Car Attendant (SCA) in documentation that it provides to its passengers, why then would it be "erroneous" for us to adopt its use here?


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## henry kisor (Jan 13, 2012)

ColdRain&Snow said:


> guest said:
> 
> 
> > I'm a TA, which people on this board constantly and erroneously refer to as "SCA"'s...
> ...



What soes TA stand for? Train Attendant? How is it distinguished from the attendant responsible for coaches?


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## henry kisor (Jan 13, 2012)

As of 5:20 am CST, Worst is leading Best, 65 to 31. I'm proud of my fellow bellyachers.


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## guest OBS employee (Jan 13, 2012)

The distinction is TA-Sleeper or TA-Coach. SA stands for Service Attendant, which is the OTHER kind of attendant, AKA server in the diner. All OBS employees working physically on board the train are some kind of "attendant". Sleeping car attendant is not the official term used by Amtrak (at least not for 10 years or more), any more than "steward" or "porter". TA and SA used to be separate jobs, though now they are combined for all new hires.


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## AmtrakBlue (Jan 13, 2012)

henry kisor said:


> As of 5:20 am CST, Worst is leading Best, 65 to 31. I'm proud of my fellow bellyachers.


No wonder. You keep making these kinds of posts to pad the thread.


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## Ryan (Jan 13, 2012)

guest OBS employee said:


> Sleeping car attendant is not the official term used by Amtrak (at least not for 10 years or more), any more than "steward" or "porter".


TA might be your job title, but Amtrak uses the term SCA quite a lot:






(from Amtrak's official Empire Builder route guide)


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## EMDF9A (Jan 14, 2012)

> Just seems odd that you "can't" travel in the lower level because you get motion sickness...after all, there is LESS motion on the lower level, and most people who are subject to it prefer rooms down there (I'm a TA, which people on this board constantly and erroneously refer to as "SCA"'s...)


Please forgive me if I misunderstand the tenor and meaning of your response, but the impression I get from reading your response, especially since you put "cant" in quotes actually demonstrates what is wrong with the customer service attitude of AMTRAK employees today. You assume that I do not have a valid reason for requiring the accomodations I requested and paid for, but rather believe that I should be satisfied in receiving something less than I had agreed to.

Many people like to bring out the old adage "The Customer is always right." Well, NO, the customer is NOT always right (though in this case he was) but the customer is STILL THE CUSTOMER, and it is your job to make the customer comfortable. The customer pays a fare for transportation and a premium for the expectation of certain accomodations, and when they make it clear what their requirements are (in my case, an upper room) and the company agrees (in the form of issuing me a ticket with a specific upper room designated) then it is incumbant upon the company's representative (in ths case you and your co-workers) to honor that committment, even if it means you have to do more than the minimally expected actions needed to maintain and keep your job.

This is my biggest complaint with AMTRAK OBS crews today. Many look upon the customer as a nusiance and hinderance to them "completing their trip" rather than the reason they have a trip at all to complete.


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## Henry Kisor (Jan 14, 2012)

Perhaps TA-Sleeper, TA-Coach, SA and LSA are internal (corporate) terms, while Coach Attendant and Sleeping Car Attendant are marketing terms? Maybe Amtrak believes the latter are easier for passengers to understand. What do we care, really, so long as the crew members do their jobs well and the passengers respond in kind?

(72-37. Someone has to keep score.)


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## johnny.menhennet (Jan 14, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> Perhaps TA-Sleeper, TA-Coach, SA and LSA are internal (corporate) terms, while Coach Attendant and Sleeping Car Attendant are marketing terms? Maybe Amtrak believes the latter are easier for passengers to understand. What do we care, really, so long as the crew members do their jobs well and the passengers respond in kind?
> 
> (72-37. Someone has to keep score.)


OK this is getting a little annoying. The two discussions are for people to share their memorable experiences with train travel, whether good or bad. If bad ones are the more memorable, then their stories will be more vivid and interesting to read. I do not believe that this says much about our "bellyaching" members, I just think that "keeping score is not useful whatsoever.

My worst experience was not being able to ride a train any time I wanted to.


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## Henry Kisor (Jan 14, 2012)

Alas, irony closes on Saturday night. It was not meant to annoy you, Mr. Menhennet. It was a dig at someone else.

While we are on the subject of job nomenclature, are the TA-Coaches, TA-Sleepers and Service Attendants all cross-qualified in their jobs? In other words, could a TA-Coach bid on a SA job and vice versa?


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## johnny.menhennet (Jan 14, 2012)

I think Amtrak would have them go through at least some form of retraining first. Although not overly complicated, the tasks for both are so substantially different that Amtrak would have them trained a little bit more.


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## ColdRain&Snow (Jan 14, 2012)

guest OBS employee said:


> Sleeping car attendant is not the official term used by Amtrak (at least not for 10 years or more), any more than "steward" or "porter".


Just another vacuous comment proffered by a disappearing guest who will shamelessly slink back under their cloak of anonymity while they reassure themselves of their righteousness. Weak.


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## daveyb99 (Jan 14, 2012)

My worst experience was watching someone trying to do an "end run" around the conductor an onboard upgrade.


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## EB_OBS (Jan 14, 2012)

Henry Kisor said:


> While we are on the subject of job nomenclature, are the TA-Coaches, TA-Sleepers and Service Attendants all cross-qualified in their jobs? In other words, could a TA-Coach bid on a SA job and vice versa?


When a new TA is hired they are trained in both crafts, Train Attendant and Service Attendant. The Extra Boards were separate until around 2003 when Amtrak combined them. A TA can bid on any job opening they want. The employee with the highest seniority will get the job. In general the jobs are held by seniority in this order; SA, TAS, TAC.

On the Empire Builder, if you work out of Seattle, it takes about 2-4 years seniority to hold a coach attendant job, 5-8 years seniority to hold a sleeping car attendants job and around 13 years minimum to hold in the dining car as a Service Attendant.


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## EB_OBS (Jan 14, 2012)

EMDF9A said:


> > Just seems odd that you "can't" travel in the lower level because you get motion sickness...after all, there is LESS motion on the lower level, and most people who are subject to it prefer rooms down there (I'm a TA, which people on this board constantly and erroneously refer to as "SCA"'s...)
> 
> 
> Please forgive me if I misunderstand the tenor and meaning of your response, but the impression I get from reading your response, especially since you put "cant" in quotes actually demonstrates what is wrong with the customer service attitude of AMTRAK employees today. You assume that I do not have a valid reason for requiring the accomodations I requested and paid for, but rather believe that I should be satisfied in receiving something less than I had agreed to.
> ...


In my experience and research on the subject, it is as EMDF9A has stated, it's not the motion of the train itself but the view of the motion or ground out the window. If traveling in the lower level the passing scenery or another train, going in the opposite direction, are passing by very very fast. On the upper level the speed is of course the same but due to the distance from the ground, it visually appears to be slower and the effect is lessened.


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## ColdRain&Snow (Jan 14, 2012)

EB_OBS -- Can you clarify whether or not it is incorrect to use the term SCA or Sleeping Car Attendant? Many of us on this board use the term SCA. Amtrak uses it too. However, if it would be more accurate and appropriate to use TA-S moving forward, that would be helpful to know. I'd prefer to use the correct terminology and put this petty argument to rest. Many thanks.


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## EB_OBS (Jan 15, 2012)

SCA is simply an acronym for Sleeping Car Attendant. The acronym itself seems to be most commonly used on forums such as Amtrak Unlimited simply to not write Sleeping Car Attendant out every time.

Amtrak uses sleeping car attendant all the time although I don't believe I've ever seen it abbreviated SCA.

If you see a job posting or job description it is TAS for Train Attendant Sleeper.


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## ColdRain&Snow (Jan 15, 2012)

EB_OBS said:


> SCA is simply an acronym for Sleeping Car Attendant. It seems to be most commonly used on forums such as Amtrak Unlimited simply to not write Sleeping Car Attendant out every time.
> 
> Amtrak uses sleeping car attendant all the time although I don't believe I've ever seen it abbreviated SCA. If you see a job posting or job description it is TAS for Train Attendant Sleeper.


Thank you. The acronym is just shorthand as I meant to imply that SCA and Sleeping Car Attendant are used interchangeably. I tend to use acronyms as much as possible as do many here. My query was mostly to address the "guest OBS" poster who claimed that SCA/Sleeping Car Attendant was as obsolete as steward/porter and had not been used by Amtrak at any point in recent times. Dunno why people speak as if they're in command of the facts when they don't appear to be. :wacko:


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## EB_OBS (Jan 15, 2012)

Yeah, Steward, in the dining car and Porter, were actual _official_ titles at Amtrak and the railroads before Amtrak. Amtrak retired both those titles in the 90s. As far as I know, "Sleeping Car Attendant" was never an official or unofficial title. It's more of a description and more of a commonly used way of speaking rather than my "Train Attendant Sleeper" as it's awkward both to say and hear.

It's semantics really. I've never seen either term used improperly here on this forum. If you could even use it improperly. It's three words for god sakes. It makes no sense to me why someone would feel the need to question it's use.


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## AlanB (Jan 15, 2012)

EB_OBS said:


> Henry Kisor said:
> 
> 
> > While we are on the subject of job nomenclature, are the TA-Coaches, TA-Sleepers and Service Attendants all cross-qualified in their jobs? In other words, could a TA-Coach bid on a SA job and vice versa?
> ...


Interesting that a job in the dining car is more coveted than a job in the sleeper. I would have figured that the sleeper would be the hardest job to hold down without seniority.

One other side note, on the Auto Train their contract is different from the rest of Amtrak and an employee can be called to work in any position. It should also be noted that having seniority at the Auto Train does not carry over to the rest of Amtrak and vice versa. You could be a 20 year employee with Amtrak working say the Silvers all that time. Transfer to the Auto Train and you become the new kid on the block as it were and you'll be working the extra board.


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## EB_OBS (Jan 15, 2012)

Generally, the service attendants in the dining car make more in tips than a sleeping car attendant would. There are still plenty of 20 - 30 year seniority employees though who prefer the sleeper for whatever reason.

I mentioned it takes around 13 years seniority to HOLD an SA job on the Empire Builder, if you work from Seattle, last I knew you'd need around 20 years seniority to HOLD an SA job on any train based in Chicago.

Yep, the Auto Train is different. You have to be qualified and proficient in every craft on that train. The jobs on the Auto Train are also protected from bumping. You have to apply to work that train and can be denied.


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## MARC Rider (Jan 17, 2012)

surfgeek said:


> MARC Rider said:
> 
> 
> > But nothing I've had on Amtrak beats my experience with the Frank Lorennzo Continental Airlines back in 1967, where they cancelled our flight about 20 minutes after we took off, returned us to the airport, and didn't book us out until the next day.
> ...


Whoops. That was supposed to be 1987.

Sorry.


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## fillyjonk (Jan 17, 2012)

I have to also add that most of my "disheartening" or "not-fun" experiences on Amtrak - other than the couple of weather-related ones - were all the fault of other passengers, not Amtrak crew. I've had a few crew members who were brusque or curt, but I figured they were busy and were as tired of dealing with the clueless/rude people as I was.


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## BCL (Nov 20, 2012)

I once traveled overnight from Sydney to Melbourne in a first class car in the Australian winter (late May to early June). It wasn't so bad except that the heat wasn't working in our car. We found out that the other first class cars did have heat and tried moving to empty seats. Then the conductor came in and informed us that we had to return to our assigned seats. We protested about the lack of heat, but he didn't care. We just sucked it up and did the best we could. Most passengers had checked luggage, so we made do with whatever clothing we had. It was pretty cold.

We managed to fall asleep when someone woke us up. The conductor was relieved in the middle of the night, and the new conductor started waking passengers up and telling us to move to another car that had heat. He couldn't figure out why the guy he relieved didn't let us move to another car given all the empty seats.

The strange thing was that for my entire trip I found Australians to be exceedingly friendly and hospitable - except for that one train conductor. The waiter in the dining car was really fun.


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## Twin Star Rocket (Nov 21, 2012)

I truly have never had a horrendous Amtrak experience. I know they happen though.

I've experienced air conditioning failures on the SUNSET and NATIONAL LIMITED in the August heat. I had a manic dining car steward left over from Penn Central days on the NL.

Probably my worst experience was riding the NIGHT OWL in coach northbound. The crew kept the lights on all night. Somewhere north of NYC, a conductor demanded to see my ticket. I had already given my ticket to another conductor earlier in the night. We were headed for words with each other until I produced my USA Railpass. In those days (1976) you still had to get a ticket for each segment you rode. Mine had been lifted by the conductor before NYC and that fact had not been relayed to the new conductor after a crew change.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Nov 22, 2012)

Twin Star Rocket said:


> I truly have never had a horrendous Amtrak experience. I know they happen though.
> 
> I've experienced air conditioning failures on the SUNSET and NATIONAL LIMITED in the August heat. I had a manic dining car steward left over from Penn Central days on the NL.
> 
> Probably my worst experience was riding the NIGHT OWL in coach northbound. The crew kept the lights on all night. Somewhere north of NYC, a conductor demanded to see my ticket. I had already given my ticket to another conductor earlier in the night. We were headed for words with each other until I produced my USA Railpass. In those days (1976) you still had to get a ticket for each segment you rode. Mine had been lifted by the conductor before NYC and that fact had not been relayed to the new conductor after a crew change.


Wait, if you still had to get a ticket for each segment you rode then how did the USA Rail Pass solve the problem when the other conductor already took your ticket?


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## Twin Star Rocket (Nov 22, 2012)

"Wait, if you still had to get a ticket for each segment you rode then how did the USA Rail Pass solve the problem when the other conductor already took your ticket?"

The fact that I could produce a Railpass backed up my story that I had had a ticket earlier in the trip. I was not freeloading. The new conductor wrote up a new ticket or did something to straighten out his paperwork. There was obviously an incomplete hand-off of information between crews.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Nov 22, 2012)

Twin Star Rocket said:


> "Wait, if you still had to get a ticket for each segment you rode then how did the USA Rail Pass solve the problem when the other conductor already took your ticket?"
> 
> The fact that I could produce a Railpass backed up my story that I had had a ticket earlier in the trip. I was not freeloading. The new conductor wrote up a new ticket or did something to straighten out his paperwork. There was obviously an incomplete hand-off of information between crews.


Would like to have seen the look on his face!


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## June the Coach Rider (Nov 23, 2012)

I have two stories, not that they were "trains from hell" but both were very memorable.

The first one was my trip on the Northeast Direct from Worcester to Baltimore in 1999, it was right after the Columbine shooting, I mean the very next day. We were traveling into Penn Station and an announcement was made "If you are not getting off here, DO NOT GET OFF THE TRAIN" My husband asked why and the coach attendant said because of the crime and to never get off in Penn station unless it is your destination. Needless to say we were very nervous about the people joining us at NYP.

The second was the rude SCA that my M-I-L and I had on our TE to Fort Worth. We saw him maybe once the whole trip, we had to run him down to have the upper berth made up, we had to track him down to get a red hat at FT Worth. Both times when we found him, he said, "I am busy, I will get to you when I can" he was sitting in his room reading. So needless to say, he got no tip and when we did get off, he was standing by the door and my M-I-L said "We are going back on Tuesday, you aren't going to be on that train are you" He said no he was off for two weeks, she said "Thank God" Gotta love 84 year olds.

On the same trip on the LSL, we had the dining car mate from hell, she complained about every tiny little thing, the water was not cold enough, with ice, her beer was flat, there was not enough room for her in the booth, her knees were hitting the post, the lamb shank was cold, it was to dry, the mashed potatoes did not fluff up, but she ate every bite of her food and then asked for two desserts. The complained that the ice cream was melting before she could eat it, she ate her pie first. My M-I-L were glad when this meal was over. but we laughed about her the rest of the trip.

BUT, neither of these were trips from hell, and I am going to travel as opten as possible on Amtrak and I know that everything will not be perfect, but Train travel is the best, you are in a world away from the stress and drama of regular life.


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## jmbgeg (Nov 23, 2012)

Depends on definition of "worst". One was an LSL sleeper to NYP with all bathrooms frozen up (the connecting EB had exit doors frozen that connecting trip that required a sledge hammer to open). Another was a business trip to Las Vegas,where the CS was delayed 10 hours because of a derailment on a bridge. Then, when I got to Bakersfield, the name brand hotel had no elevator and I was on an upper floor. The A/C did not work and the room was an oven. Amtrak paid for the room and meals, but it was crap.


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## Amtrak Cajun (Nov 23, 2012)

The worst experience for me was recently on the LSL from Syracuse to Chicago.

I was in coach on 449, and the train was booked solid, They kept turning on and off the AC all night, the packed car was already hot from all of the people on it. This one guy wouldnt shut the hell up. The conductor told him that it was past 11pm, and that he would have to take his convo to the lounge car if he wanted to continue. He actually tried to argue with her. So needless to say, with the heat issue, and this guy talking all night, *he continued talking after he was told to quiet down some*, and lack of sleep. I was feeling pretty bad when I hit Chicago. I was glad that I had a sleeper on the CONO because I ate supper that night, and crashed hard.


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## rtabern (Nov 25, 2012)

I think the worst trip I had had to be on the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle combo... I think this was December 2007? Anyway, I was doing the whole #421 from CHI to LAX. The beginning of the trip went well... there was actually a major ice and snow storm out of Chicago and trains were the only thing getting out. For the first part of the trip, the tracks parallel I-55, and we were literally sitting in the Sightseer Lounge watching cars and even trucks veer off the freeway and crash into each other. The train ran on-time all the way down to St Louis and beyond.

Anyway, outside of San Antonio, probably around Austin, I noticed that #1 (which #421 joins after SAS) was showing a "service disruption"... I called the 800 number... and the agent didn't seem to know anything about it and said there was going to be no problems with #1 or #421 west of SAS.

I stayed up most of the night in SAS going to the Alamo and Rivewalk, and heard from a fellow passenger/railfan that there was a derailment of hazardous material somewhere between Tucson and LAX and we'd probably not be getting through. I and this other passenger pondered renting a car in SAS and driving through to LAX, but the cost was over $500 with drop fees and it seemed like quite the drive across TX, NM, AZ, and CA.

So, we decided to stay on the train and see what happened. The next day out of SAS, the conductors kept updating everyone, and saying that it looked like things would be cleared up by the time we got through and there would be no problems... the train kept marching west... and with the lack of eastbound freights coming through... we actually arrived everywhere early.

I went to bed early that night... but was awoken 20 minutes outside of Tucson with the sleeping car attendant turning on the lights and knocking on everyone's doors... saying that the train was going to be terminated in Tucson (around 10PM or 11PM)... and we had 15-20 minutes to get our stuff together and get on buses into LAX. Quite the rude awakening!!!

I asked the conductor if we could just stay on the train with the crew... as it was going to be sitting in Tucson all night... but was denied the option. I was hoping just to sleep in my room overnight in Tucson and then rent a car the next day and drive to LAX.

Anyway, it was one of the worst nights.... the bus driver got lost due to construction on I-10 around Tucson... I had my GPS and actually had to help the driver get on the right on-ramp. Then, the dude kept stopping all night long. There were atleast 2-3 smoke breaks for smokers at various rest-stops on I-10 in AZ and CA. Then, there was some un-necessary 2:15AM stop for a meal at a 24 hour McDonalds... and of course because of all the screwing around and stops... we hit the morning rush coming into Los Angeles and sat in 2 hours of traffic.

I guess if I was a heavy sleeper the bus thing would have been okay... but I need quiet, dark, a flat surface, etc. to sleep... so it was quite a crappy trip.

But, egh, Amtrak and AGR was very nice about it and I got a complete 30,000 refund for the bedroom.


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## SanDiegan (Dec 31, 2020)

me_little_me said:


> Here's mine (posted in September):
> 
> In the late '70s, we decided to take a train trip with our two young (sub 5 year old) boys from El Paso to Disneyland. We were taking a sleeper to LA, then renting a car to drive to Aneheim. Now remember, this was in the days long before cell phones and internet.
> 
> ...



Nothing much has changed in Pomona ...


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## Bob Dylan (Dec 31, 2020)

An 8 year old thread returns, probably been lots of bad trips during the past few years by lots of us!


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## tricia (Jan 1, 2021)

Bob Dylan said:


> An 8 year old thread returns, probably been lots of bad trips during the past few years by lots of us!



Do unscheduled bustitutions count?


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## PaTrainFan (Jan 1, 2021)

I am old enough to remember riding on Penn Central as a child. Too many stories to mention here not to mention some details are lost by this time.


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## John Santos (Jan 1, 2021)

Not Amtrak, but on the NEC, heading home on the last Saturday afternoon commuter train (about 6PM) in the summer of 1974, the train slowed to a stop a few hundred yards north of Canton Junction and the (very historic) Neponset Viaduct*. The engineer and conductors were standing around looking puzzled and scratching their heads. Eventually most of the passengers got off too, wanting to know what was going on. Picture about 50 of us standing on the tracks. Fortunately, this was the last commuter train until Monday, and NYC trains were few and far between. I think the next and only scheduled train until Monday morning was the same train returning from Providence later in the evening, but they might have parked it there instead of dead-heading it back to Boston.
Eventually one of the conductors removed the cap from the diesel tank and was peering in side, and trying to poke a long thin stick in to check the fuel level. He eventually convinced the engineer they must have run out. Apparently the engine didn't have a fuel gauge, or if it did, it had been broken for years. In about an hour, another engine arrived from Boston and pushed us the rest of the way.

It could have been much worse... it was a beautiful warm but not hot, quiet sunny summer afternoon. But I was late for dinner and getting hungry.

[*] The viaduct was designed and built in 1834-5 by William Gibbs McNeil and his assistant George Whistler. Whistler married McNeil's sister, who is the 3rd most famous woman in a Paris museum, after Lisa Gherardini and Aphrodite. Their son James McNeil Whistler painted a well-known portrait of her.


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## neroden (Jan 1, 2021)

Devil's Advocate said:


> I used to believe that some of my personal Amtrak experiences were pretty bad. Rude staff, late arrivals, bad food, and obnoxious passengers have peppered many of my travels. However, over the course of reading trip reports and talking with other riders it's clear I've had relatively minor problems compared to everything else that can possibly go wrong. I often wonder who has the worst story of them all and what happened.
> 
> So let's hear it, what was your *worst ever* passenger rail experience and what happened*?*



Suicide of a track worker on the Empire Service line. That wasn't the worst part; Amtrak's complete and utter incompetent mismanagement of communications with the passengers was the worst part. I've described it elsewhere, but after making us sit for hours, then transferring us to another train at a LOW PLATFORM station, they dumped us at Penn and then told us that someone would follow up with us about our connecting reservations.... which they didn't. After several hours and repeatedly demanding help from Amtrak employees who kept claiming that someone would show up to help us (which did not happen), I had to walk out, get food and a hotel myself, and call in the morning. Customer Relations was actually shocked at how badly we'd been mistreated, and paid for the hotel I'd had to book myself, paid for my meals, refunded my original ticket price, and got us free tickets back home. That's how badly Penn Station mishandled the passengers off that train.

People should have been sacked for that.


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## Palmland (Jan 1, 2021)

It was the early 2000's when the Silver Palm was running so the Silver Star's schedule was earlier than it is now. I was scheduled to leave Jacksonville at about 7:40pm and arrive my SC station at 1:20am. I thought, ' I can save a few bucks and ride coach, have a nice dinner, then enjoy the ride and be home later than I like but still in time for a good nights sleep'. Wrong! 

The coach was packed, not an empty seat and included the usual howling babies and a few loud mouths, plus a radio or two. I could have dealt with that but shortly after Savannah, the train stopped, lights went out, and the storm raged outside. You guessed it. We had hit a tree, and derailed the lead trucks on the engine. We sat forever with sleep impossible and passengers grumbling. Eventually I saw some workers with flashlights moving outside. After a while we started. And stopped, and started and stopped. The storm had taken out the ancient signal system on the old Seaboard line and we moved at restricted speed throughout the night and into the next day. 

The train pulled into my station at 2:30PM, about 13 hours late. Never again will I ride coach at night.


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## Saddleshoes (Jan 1, 2021)

My worst experience was by choice!

My sister and I attended the same university in down state Illinois. Our family was in Pennsylvania. To get home one year meant flying out of Chicago. A winter blizzard rolled in and the only option was the train which was running 2-3 hours late. BUT IT WAS RUNNING! We bought tickets but were told no seats where available. OK fine BUT IT WAS RUNNING. We got on board with 100 others and no seats. BUT IT WAS RUNNING. We sat on our suit cases for the whole trip. BUT WE WERE MOVING. We arrived at the station 6 hours late at 1:00 AM. BUT WE MADE IT.


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## caravanman (Jan 1, 2021)

Well, it was not a major problem for me, but my train from Los Angeles to Orlando arrived a whole 24 HOURS behind schedule!


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## Everydaymatters (Jan 1, 2021)

In 1987 I hadn't been on a train in ages, so it was almost like my first trip. An unruly passenger started threatening people in the seat in front of him. I mean, he was talking killing them! After the police removed him, the TA came walking up the aisle from the car ahead wondering out loud if anyone had noticed that he got out of our car. He "wasn't gonna get" himself hurt. That made me realize how vulnerable we are when there's danger on an Amtrak trip.


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## crescent-zephyr (Jan 1, 2021)

Being question and having my luggage searched by Amtrak police because I was “suspiciously” traveling from Chicago to Salt Lake City.

“If you’re traveling for work why are you taking the train and not flying” - Amtrak police.


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## IndyLions (Jan 1, 2021)

My worst was 2019. It was really just disappointing - nothing I couldn’t deal with.

In October of 2019 I caught the Cardinal for the first leg of a trip to Oakland CA on the California Zephyr. I had my bike with me, and was planning not only a cycling trip around the SF Bay area, but I had purchased a ticket to attend the Lions/Raiders game in Oakland.

Despite originating in NY more than 24 hours earlier, the Cardinal left Crawfordsville IN for CHI right on time. Somewhere around Rensselaer the crew made some sort of egregious error - and the host railroad stopped the train and suspended them right on the spot.

By the time the replacement crew arrived - we were 5 hours late and the Zephyr was long gone. Amtrak was fair. They fully refunded my ticket and paid for my return back to Indy on the Cardinal in a sleeper.

Of course, the turnaround on the Cardinal was terribly delayed, and I arrived back home at 3am instead of 10pm.

I probably have taken either the Hoosier State or the Cardinal to Chicago 20 or 30 times, and it has never been more than a couple of hours late. I guess I was overdue.


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## Seaboard92 (Jan 1, 2021)

Palmland said:


> It was the early 2000's when the Silver Palm was running so the Silver Star's schedule was earlier than it is now. I was scheduled to leave Jacksonville at about 7:40pm and arrive my SC station at 1:20am. I thought, ' I can save a few bucks and ride coach, have a nice dinner, then enjoy the ride and be home later than I like but still in time for a good nights sleep'. Wrong!
> 
> The coach was packed, not an empty seat and included the usual howling babies and a few loud mouths, plus a radio or two. I could have dealt with that but shortly after Savannah, the train stopped, lights went out, and the storm raged outside. You guessed it. We had hit a tree, and derailed the lead trucks on the engine. We sat forever with sleep impossible and passengers grumbling. Eventually I saw some workers with flashlights moving outside. After a while we started. And stopped, and started and stopped. The storm had taken out the ancient signal system on the old Seaboard line and we moved at restricted speed throughout the night and into the next day.
> 
> The train pulled into my station at 2:30PM, about 13 hours late. Never again will I ride coach at night.



I would be willing to bet to you I waved to your train on that trip. There are very few times Amtrak slips by me that late on the Seaboard line without me out to greet it somewhere in the Greater Columbia area. I remember one time in 2004 on Election Day I saw a mega Amtrak in Columbia. Due to track work they had combined the Silver Meteor and Silver Star into one train. That monster had four P42s, 2 baggage cars, a crew dorm (Pacific or Pine Series), 4 Viewliner Sleepers, 2 Diners, 1 Cafe, and 6 Coaches. That was the longest Amtrak I have ever seen on the Seaboard line. The sad thing is I caught it by accident and had an obstructed view due to development along two notch.


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## Seaboard92 (Jan 2, 2021)

My worst experience as a passenger was very recent. 

The station agent at Charlotte called me a terrorist almost at a yell because I was taking photos of the Piedmont under the skyline from the parking lot of the station. I had a ticket on the train anyway and the conductor didn't seam to care one way or the other about taking photos on the platform. When I returned the same deal on the platform from the agent about being a terrorist for taking a photo of the train. 

The sad thing is for my entire life I have come to the Charlotte Station from a young age to photograph trains under the skyline or to see trains as a reward for good behavior in the shopping mall. It has never been a problem with the Amtrak agents before, or the Norfolk Southern employees who also park in the same parking lot. There are no "No Trespassing" signs to tell you that you can't watch trains there. I've even taken photos there literally within a year and no one has cared one way or the other about taking photos of trains under the Charlotte skyline. 

I honestly don't care one way or another about the incident because I have several other photos of the Piedmont, Crescent, Carolinian, and Norfolk Southern from that location that it doesn't really matter to me. What does matter to me is say another family is coming to take their little boy to see the train depart because of good behavior and he yells at them for it. Or if a first time rider wants to take a cool photo of their train under the skyline before getting on gets yelled at for it. It could make a horrible first impression for Amtrak and that is what worries me about the behavior. The agent needs to remember he is representing the Amtrak Brand whenever he opens his mouth in uniform to the public and not everyone is going to be as nice about being called a terrorist for nothing. Amtrak in the south is a weird brand somehow the North Carolina services do really well but it's still not so entrenched that there is a high potential for a first time rider in the area. 

For instance here are a few file photos of mine from the spot I got called a terrorist for when I took a first time rider friend to try the train. 



The faded sign at one point said Amtrak customer parking if I remember right. That's me and my friend Sammie from France in 2014



Here is a photo from the same location in 2010



And here is a better overview of the whole area from 2013. 

My point being it's long been an acceptable area to photograph the train, and its in a publicly accessible place there shouldn't be an issue. I can understand some curiosity on his part but not full out yelling at a person about terrorism.


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## tim49424 (Jan 2, 2021)

My worst was the winter of 2019 when I took the Zephyr to California. It had nothing to do with the service itself as on board it was great but weather put us behind 12 hours in Colorado. I wanted to get off at Colorado Junction to stop by Dave’s Depot but unfortunately we got there in the middle of the night due to the delay. It would be my last chance as it’s now closed permanently. I’m glad I took the opportunity back in 2014 to visit and got a really cool t-shirt, my very first one, there. I actually wore that shirt today.


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## jebr (Jan 2, 2021)

My worst experience was on the Capitol Limited back in October 2018. When we got into our room, the AC was not working well at all - and with a 90 degree day throughout, it was blisteringly hot in our room. We went through a storm overnight which cooled off the outside, and thus our room, but also led to a mudslide which gave our train a pretty long delay. With some additional delays the next day, we pull into Chicago Union Station at around 2:12 PM - and our car attendant decides to make everyone wait in their room while he puts luggage on the platform! We were connecting to the Empire Builder, which leaves at 2:15 PM, and when we finally got off there was still someone with a sign on the platform that said "Connections to Train 7/27" and said that we should get down the platform to our train. However, by the time we got there (I think it was 2:18 or 2:20 - no more than 5 minutes late) the train had already left.

On the plus side, Greyhound was willing to cross-honor our ticket to MSP and let us get on at the Chicago Greyhound station at the 3:40 PM bus - but that bus took much longer than the train would've, and also only stopped in Minneapolis, not St. Paul. Thus, instead of getting into St. Paul around 10 PM, we weren't home until after 3 AM. We could've stayed the night, but that would've set us back 24 hours and we were wanting to get back into our own bed.

The whole experience soured me on doing connections Amtrak-to-Amtrak, which usually results in me either just not worrying about doing the train, or being absolutely sure we're okay with missing our connection and getting stuck in Chicago for a day if something goes wrong. Eastbound connections can be a bit easier if I want to do Amtrak part of the way (at least pre-COVID): I can always take an overnight Megabus trip to Chicago, and that has more than enough buffer to connect to any of the Amtrak trains without concern. Two Megabus tickets (again, pre-COVID) are usually around $30 if booked decently well in advance, and that includes the cost to reserve two seats next to each other so I can spread out across them. On a westbound trip, it's probably safer to simply fly home on the last flight of the night versus connecting to a 2:15 train, or at minimum have that in my back pocket in case of a long delay (maybe a Southwest points booking that is fully cancellable with points redeposited in my account.) At least then I can have Amtrak refund my Empire Builder segment if I can still make the plane, or fall back on the Amtrak ticket and connection if I'm so late that both the Builder and the plane are busts in terms of connections. Of course, if I'm having to do all of this additional connecting and transferring anyways, I might as well just take the plane the whole way instead...


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## greatwestern (Jan 2, 2021)

My worse experience was in June 2018 on a Toronto – Vancouver (BC) – Seattle – Chicago – Washington DC rail trip.

As itemised in a different thread, the whole trip seemed to be jinxed but it was the experience on the Lake Shore in point 5 that really "hurt".

1. Left Toronto 12 hours late having been put up overnight in a hotel near Pearson airport at Via's expense.

2. Arrived Edmonton 17 hours late where, anticipating more serious delays, I decided to bail out and (at my expense) just managed to catch the Friday 11:45 pm Greyhound bus to Vancouver (with change at Kamloops). Arrived Vancouver at 5 pm Saturday - I later ascertained that Via got in about 10 pm so I would have been ok staying on board.

3. Caught the 6:35 am Cascades service to Seattle the next morning which was delayed for an hour at Bellingham due to freight blocking the line because a coupling had failed. Despite this arrived in Seattle in plenty of time.

4. Left Seattle for Chicago on the Empire Builder on time but arrived Spokane over 3 hours late due to sanders failing on our loco with us then needing to "borrow" a freight loco to ensure we got up the grades.

5. No time made up on the journey towards Chicago resulting in my connection to the Capitol Ltd (in a bedroom) being missed. At Chicago I was offered hotel accommodation and coach booking on the next day's Capitol to Washington DC (due pm of the day of my flight home meaning I would then risk missing my flight back to Dublin). I was then offered a seat in coach on the just about to depart Lake Shore Ltd. changing at Albany to New York Central, then from New York Penn to Washington DC.

I took this option and on the Lake Shore Ltd I encountered an elderly gentlemen (even older than me) occupying seats opposite who was obviously not competent enough (both mentally and physically) to be travelling unaided. He spent the whole night and next day stumbling in and out of his seat. He wandered aimlessly and very unsteadily through the coach talking to himself asking anyone he could what was happening and where was he going (his final destination was apparently Boston).

My concern over his situation together with my being totally unprepared for coach travel (and therefore being both very uncomfortable and cold) ended up with me getting virtually no sleep. To add to my discomfort during the night, when it was raining heavily, I had to go to the bathroom in the adjoining coach and ended up getting totally soaked from the waterfall that gushed into the vestibule between the coaches. I eventually got to my hotel and a bed in DC at 11:30pm – 26 hours after leaving Chicago having had very little to eat or drink.

6. Next afternoon took off from Dulles about 45 minutes behind schedule towards Dublin but with very strong tail winds we were due in ahead of schedule.

7. Nearly half way across the pond a medical emergency resulted in us turning round and landing at St Johns Newfoundland (I have nothing but praise for the aircrew and the passenger doctor). We refuelled and continued onto Dublin where I had now missed my connection to the UK, but I did get put on the next available flight.

8. Arrived at my home airport only to find my checked bag had not arrived. My bag was traced and returned to me 3 days later - it was damaged !!!!

All in all a pretty eventful (but not stress free) vacation, but I had gained a few new experiences such as over-night in coach on the train and on a Greyhound bus and a nightmare walk getting from NY Central to NY Penn station (even the police managed to give me wrong information).


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## lonewolfette9847 (Jan 2, 2021)

Two experiences come to mind, though they pale in comparison to others:

1. Late 1990s-ish we took a trip from NY to TX. I don’t recall what train but it had gone through Little Rock, AR. My parents & I were split up on the full train. A woman sitting by my dad kept insisting someone was hanging outside the train in her window. We couldn’t wait for her to get off. We figured it was probably my dad’s reflection that she saw.

2. ALB to NYP in 2013 which is generally 2.5 hours took over 4 hours because the breaks got stuck on outside Rhinecliff (1h 45m delay). I missed my original connection with 173, barely. I had to scramble to the ticket counter & get a new connection. After this experience, I try to get a 3 hour layover in NYP just so I don’t have that headache again. Plus it was my second time traveling alone down to PHL. It was freaky.


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## tgstubbs1 (Jan 2, 2021)

Does anyone have any experience with travel insurance? The type that's supposed to help with sanfus.


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## Sauve850 (Jan 2, 2021)

I use travel insurance mainly for the cost of my summer rental house. 2-3 months. I dont include cost of air, train or car rental cost. If for some reason I got sick and couldnt travel my car rental could be cancelled with 24 hr notice, plane and train could be rescheduled ( at a cost). Im still covered if bags get lost, I get sick and need medical attention on the trip or have car issue and much more. So I insure some and self insure the rest.


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## Sidney (Jan 2, 2021)

I never minded late trains or missed connections at Amtrak's expense. My worst experience was riding Coach from Chicago to Pittsburgh several years ago. A grossly overweight person was seated next to me. He got off the second stop in Indiana. One stop later another grossly overweight person was placed next to me. Unfortunately he was going all the way to DC. He also had extreme body odor and appeared inebriated. It was a sold out train and I couldn't move. I haven't done Coach overnight until Covid hit where you are guaranteed the seat next to you will be vacant.

Nothing is more uncomfortable than sharing a seat with a stranger in very close proximity. I'll do Coach overnight until the both seats to yourself guarantee is gone. I only wish the sleeper prices weren't so steep.


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 2, 2021)

Oh my! To this day I remember an attendant on the EB... we all must respect those who may be a bit smelly and who have very very long girlish hair that they're supposed to wear up... but don't. This guy had a real attitude problem as well... and rolled his eyes when I asked to be served in my room H. He frequently yelled at me... complaining that if I was well enough to travel then I should get the meals myself. I remember the yelling... and don't know what about my communication with him caused such an uproar. But with his physical presentation and personalty mannerisms I was clearly in a very uncomfortable place.

So when the train finally arrived in Seattle 3 hours late the conductor announced a further delay to allow a local Cascades train to pull in ahead of us. As I was waiting at the door I remarked... "It sure would have been nice if they could let us in first as I have a long drive ahead of me."

Boom! He started yelling at me that I was being selfish and inconsiderate... bla bla bla... He was just yelling on and on. There was actually no actual reason for this behavior other than he must have personal problems. So as the train pulled in he gave me a smirk. My had was in my pocked with a $20 tip for the trip. As he started to yell at me again my hand remained in my pocket as i walked away and didn't look back. 

Obviously this guy had some deep seeded problems. My only regret was that I didn't make a point of launching a formal complaint after the trip... or at least tell the conductor


saxman said:


> I've missed several connections, but back in 2002, I was coming back from Grand Forks to Fort Worth from college. I overnighted in Chicago with a friend because the lack of same day connection. The second day I went down to the station only to find that the Texas Eagle had been cancelled past St. Louis due to flooding in Arkansas. I had a sleeper booked and really wanted to take my sleeper. So they offered to either let me stay until the next day or fly home. I also really wanted to get home as I hadn't been home in month. But I had all summer to stay home, so I decided to stay another night in Chicago. They put me in a hotel and then I caught the next days Eagle in my sleeper. Life was good.
> 
> Well I awoke in Arkansas about 40 miles outside Little Rock and we were stopped. Due to all the flooding, freight trains were backed up everywhere. Crews for those trains had timed out and many could not move. We sat for hours. Finally we arrived into Little Rock at about 4 PM, twelve hours late. By this time I was so ready to get home, so I decided to buy a ticket on Southwest and just fly to Dallas. It was about $99. My dad was glad I took the flight to get me home at a decent hour. When I checked the arrival time into FTW the next day, it didn't lose any time after leaving LRK. It arrived FTW still 12 hours late at about 2 AM.
> 
> ...



Wonder if it's the same basket case Amtrak employee I had.
. Abuse by an Amtrak employee... or anyone else... whether it be for a personal problem... etc. is just not acceptable. To this day I regret not making a formal complaint.


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 2, 2021)

saxman said:


> I've missed several connections, but back in 2002, I was coming back from Grand Forks to Fort Worth from college. I overnighted in Chicago with a friend because the lack of same day connection. The second day I went down to the station only to find that the Texas Eagle had been cancelled past St. Louis due to flooding in Arkansas. I had a sleeper booked and really wanted to take my sleeper. So they offered to either let me stay until the next day or fly home. I also really wanted to get home as I hadn't been home in month. But I had all summer to stay home, so I decided to stay another night in Chicago. They put me in a hotel and then I caught the next days Eagle in my sleeper. Life was good.
> 
> Well I awoke in Arkansas about 40 miles outside Little Rock and we were stopped. Due to all the flooding, freight trains were backed up everywhere. Crews for those trains had timed out and many could not move. We sat for hours. Finally we arrived into Little Rock at about 4 PM, twelve hours late. By this time I was so ready to get home, so I decided to buy a ticket on Southwest and just fly to Dallas. It was about $99. My dad was glad I took the flight to get me home at a decent hour. When I checked the arrival time into FTW the next day, it didn't lose any time after leaving LRK. It arrived FTW still 12 hours late at about 2 AM.
> 
> ...



Wonder if he was the same attendant I had on the EB that was 'over the top' really obnoxious and downright bad... just posted that account. The EB sure has some of the worst but it also has some of the best.


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## MARC Rider (Jan 3, 2021)

The latest Amtrak train was a Capitol Limited from Chicago that arrived in Washington 10 hours late due to weather and all sorts of freight trains being stranded on the NS main line because they had no legal crew. They had to reroute us through Detroit. But that wasn't really a bad trip because the train was working fine, so I was in a nice snug roomette, and all meals were served, plus an extra lunch and an emergency Amstew dinner. Plus I got to see the scenery all through Ohio into Pittsburgh that's usually done in the dark.

My next latest Amtrak trip was a Northeast Regional from Baltimore to New York that got hung up when somebody took down catenary in New Jersey, and, starting in Philadelphia, we spent the evening stopped for a while, then creep up a few miles, then stop again while all the NJT trains passed us, then stopped again, etc. We were about 8 hours late (this is normally a 2:40 ride), got in around 3 AM, but there were lots of cabs about, so we had no problem getting to our hotel, where we got the last room, er, closet available. That was a little more annoying, because it did mess up a short weekend trip a bit. The funniest thing was that there was an off-duty conductor aboard who got enough of a rest break from the delay that they put him back on the job when the original conductor timed out. It was sort of amusing to see this off-duty guy in shorts and a t-shirt running around with a radio on his belt acting all conductorish. The other thing they did was, after a while, give out free stuff from the snack bar.

I would say that my worst train ride experience on Amtrak was a ride on the Carolinian from Raleigh a year and a half ago. It went fine until a storm in northern Virginia dropped a tree on the tracks and gummed up the works for a while. What was annoying was that it seemed that every other train on the East Coast had priority over us. When we got to Washington, Northeast Regional 66 was across the platform from us. You might think that they would let us go out first, because the Carolinian makes no stops between Washington and Baltimore, whereas #66 stops at New Carrolton and BWI. But no, they sent 66 out first, and we crept up the tracks to Baltimore, where we arrived after midnight. (The Carolinian is supposed to discharge in Baltimore at 6 PM or so.) That one was particularly bad because I was coming down with one of those 24 hour viruses and was a little under the weather.

But the absolute worst tale of train travel I ever heard about from anyone I knew was from my sister, who was forced to ride a Penn Central train from Philly to Chicago to get back to college during an air traffic controllers' strike, circa 1970. This was not the Broadway Limited, this was one of the other trains that actually served 30th St. Station. I believe the consist was coaches, sleepers, and a "snack bar coach." Being a poor college student, she went by coach. I was a cold winter night, and, by her account, the heat was marginal, the restrooms froze up, and they ran out of food. I don't now remember her saying whether or not the train was late, but if it were, I wouldn't be surprised.


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## CameraObscura76 (Jan 3, 2021)

Henry Kisor said:


> Second remark perhaps lacks empathy.
> 
> Mine was a conductor on the Lake Shore Limited in the early 1980s who insisted on putting a large sign "DEAF" above my seat in coach. He would not accept my arguments that such a sign was not only condescending but also might invite rough trade during the night, and also threatened to put me off the train if I took the sign down. Fortunately at the next crew change the new conductor agreed with me and tore up the sign. (The coach attendant apologized for the first conductor's behavior.)





Henry Kisor said:


> Second remark perhaps lacks empathy
> _I’m deaf myself and I find that condescending. _


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## jiml (Jan 3, 2021)

tgstubbs1 said:


> Does anyone have any experience with travel insurance? The type that's supposed to help with sanfus.


Once a good idea, travel insurance has grown progressively more porous over the years culminating in this past year's debacle where most insurers invoked a _force majeure_ clause with regard to the pandemic. Events such as some of those described so far in this thread, e.g. mudslides, forest fires, have often been excluded under "Act of God" provisions. My one major experience with purchased trip-interruption coverage involved a 3-day weather delay in Chicago, that was actually handled far better by the airline than my insurer. All I managed to get from insurance was a refund of the premium paid.


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## jimmrl (Jan 3, 2021)

My worst experience on Amtrak was having to fly Spirt Airlines.......

I was traveling from Williamsburg VA to Houston TX. Regional from WBG to Washington DC, then the Crescent to New Orleans and the Sunset to Houston. When I hit about Atlanta I got the text that the SSL was cancelled so I had to fly Spirit from NO to Houston.


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 3, 2021)

jimmrl said:


> My worst experience on Amtrak was having to fly Spirt Airlines.......
> 
> I was traveling from Williamsburg VA to Houston TX. Regional from WBG to Washington DC, then the Crescent to New Orleans and the Sunset to Houston. When I hit about Atlanta I got the text that the SSL was cancelled so I had to fly Spirit from NO to Houston.



That certainly qualifies!


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## Siegmund (Jan 3, 2021)

I've been lucky, and never had a train more than about 6 hours late - and that was the last leg of a trip and just got me some new scenery. If I don't have a connection, being very late on an overnight train isn't so bad (food and climate control permitting.)

My two worst onboard experiences were both, I'm happy to say, quite a long time ago. 

One was on the San Diegan in 1986 with my parents going to Disneyland: we had come in on the Coast Starlight and transferred to the last San Diegan of the night. At Fullerton, all was well, doors opened on every car, conductor poking his head in and saying "everybody out for Fullerton," etc etc. At Anaheim we got up from our seats, moved to the vestibule, waited for the attendant to show up and open the door... nothing happened... about 30 seconds later we thought maybe we'd walk into the next car to see if its door was open, and the train started moving. We looked down the aisle of the car for a crew member and my dad was shouting "Stop the train!"... one person in a uniform at the other end of the car didn't give any visible reaction. Not wanting to sort it out at the next stop down the line on the last train of the day with no way back to Anaheim, my dad pulled the emergency brake. We were only going about 15 miles an hour, so it wasn't violent, but lots of screeching of wheels, and I remember being pushed gently backward against my dad standing behind me by the deceleration. The conductor suddenly materialized and took an interest in us: his opening line was "you're arrested, buddy!", waving his finger in my dad's face. (While standing in front of me and pointing over my head - the finger was about 6 inches above my forehead.)

Once they heard that we were tourists and not drunk idiots, and the door really had not been opened and there really had been no announcement what doors would open, nobody got arrested, they just opened the door, let us jump off the steps onto the ballast, and walk the hundred yard back to the platform and try to grab the last taxicab before it disappeared into the night.

The other unpleasant onboard experience was about an early-90s westbound Cardinal somewhere in Indiana. The crew was using one of the Amlounge booths as their office - and the conductor was smoking, with a "no smoking" sign about 2 feet above his head. Not being the shy type, I walked over and asked him to put out his cigarette; he didn't say a word, just glared at me; his assistant said "he makes the rules and can do what he likes." (The no smoking signs were behind little sliding metal panels, so they could change whether half of the car was a smoking zone or not - but this sign was still in the no-smoking position, and they didn't move it when called out.) I didn't see the conductor again between there and Chicago; asked our car attendant what the conductor's name was and didn't get an answer, and got weird looks from the crew every time one walked past. I sent a letter to headquarters about it but don't recall getting a response.

I was very happy to see the trains go all-non-smoking not too many years later. And I can't help but wonder if these two experiences are an extra factor in why I hate the very sight of Amfleet cars, not just the tiny windows and cramped (compared to Superliners or the 46-seat Heritage coaches) seats.


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## sttom (Jan 3, 2021)

I have 3 "fun" experiences with Amtrak over the years.

The first one was when a train left slightly early for once. My grandpa and I were taking a Capitol Corridor train from Sacramento to the East Bay and the train we were going to take home left 2 minutes early by his watch. We were on the platform as the doors closed and the train pulled away. 

The second fun time on the Capitol Corridor was when my grandpa and I were going to Sacramento. The train we were going to take was so late (it came from San Jose) was more late than the train out of Oakland that was scheduled to show up an hour later than the one from San Jose. The one from Oakland was also about 10 minutes late, and the train before it showed up 15 minutes after it. 

My worst experience with Amtrak was when I was taking the Zephyr from Reno to the Bay Area and the train was at least 5 hours late, it might have been more. I just remember that we got on it at 1pm and it was supposed to have arrived in the morning at some time. 

My 3 worst experiences on public transit were actually not on Amtrak. My worst experience flying was taking British Airways and getting a "lactose lite" meal which consisted of a salad, plain noodles with steamed bell peppers with bread that had butter on it and a brownie/cookie thing that was also made with butter. This was a 14 hour flight and I basically didn't have much to eat because they think a dairy intolerance exists on a spectrum that isn't unpleasant for me or the people around me. 

My worst experience on a bus was taking Megabus from Reno to San Francisco. This was the second or third time using them instead of Amtrak to get to the East Bay. This trip started with the bus loading in Sparks at our departure time, which made us 20 minutes late at the start. We stopped in Reno and left almost an hour late. Got stuck in Sacramento rush hour traffic which made us over 2 hours late getting into Sacramento. We were so late that traffic on I80 actually had time to clear. The new driver managed to drive the rest of the way to get us into San Francisco 1 hour late, to the minute. Kudos to that guy for actually managing to make up time even though we were unacceptably late. I filed a complaint with Megabus, which they never followed up on. A year or two later, the service east of Sacramento was cancelled. 

My third non rail related worst travel moment is traveling through any transit center that thought improving itself meant making itself into a mall. Looking right at the San Francisco Ferry Building, Denver Union Station, Denver International and Heathrow which I have found out later is one of the origin points of what would be my personal fifth ring of hell.


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## flitcraft (Jan 3, 2021)

jiml said:


> Once a good idea, travel insurance has grown progressively more porous over the years culminating in this past year's debacle where most insurers invoked a _force majeure_ clause with regard to the pandemic. Events such as some of those described so far in this thread, e.g. mudslides, forest fires, have often been excluded under "Act of God" provisions.



Also, some of the providers insist that you have receipts for items in lost/damaged luggage. Yeah, right, I keep receipts for everything I ever buy and have them right to hand.  A fair number of credit cards already include insurance of some sort for lost luggage, trip delays, etc., though I think those are disappearing fast, too. Plus, travel insurance availability may be limited for residents of states with aggressive insurance commissioners--like mine! (Though, honestly, mainly they refuse to allow policies with so many exclusions and qualifications that the policies are pretty useless, so I suppose not being able to buy them in Washington is a feature, not a bug.) If you are paying upfront for a trip where you are worried that the provider may go bankrupt or have terrible reimbursement policies, such as a cruise or the Rocky Mountaineer, I'd buy the trip cancellation insurance for sure. 

The one kind of insurance I do buy, on an annual basis--except during Pandemica--is medical insurance, including medivac coverage. Many US health insurance plans don't pay for international health emergencies, and Medicare certainly doesn't. I broke my ankle very severely in Portugal, and luckily Lufthansa didn't know about its severity or they would have refused to fly me home--and Medivac back from Europe to Seattle would have run several hundred thousands of dollars. (Actually they would have medivac'ed me back to the East Coast, and then hospitalized me there for surgery--which my health plan might or might not have covered!) On arriving home, I had two surgeries and a nearly eight month recovery. But at least I hadn't been bankrupted in the process. (And I still have a bonus rod, two plates, and 13 screws holding my leg together as a souvenir!) So, medical travel insurance is worth the money, in my opinion.


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## AFS1970 (Jan 3, 2021)

I may have written about this in another thread but for me my worst trip would have been a trip to Canada a few years ago, maybe 2014. The train was my idea and my wife won't let me forget it. We live in CT so in order to get the early morning train out on NY Penn we took MNRR down and crossed over by Taxi. Got on the Train to Niagara Falls. The train was long and slow but this leg went off mostly without a hitch. Got off in Niagara Falls, quick customs check and off to our hotel. We were there for 3 days then heading to Toronto for a week. 

So we arrive at the tiny Niagara Falls station, which is in a fairly desolate area to find that the N/B train is estimated 3 hours late and they are estimating an hour long customs stop after that. The Via Rail staff offer us three options. 1) Stay and wait for the Amtrak/VIA train that will be at least 4 hours late to Toronto. 2) Go across the street and take a bus to Toronto, I don't remember the line but it was described as a Greyhoud like line. We were told they would cross honor our tickets. 3) Also across the street, take a GO Commuter bus to some midpoint and transfer to a GO commuter train into Toronto. This would be longer than #2 but would also cross honor tickets and get us to the same train station we were due at.

About a dozen of us head across the street luggage in tow to take option #2. Get there, the agent tells us he has never heard of this deal and will only cross honor the tickets if the VIA staff from across the street come over personally and verify that all of us were offered this deal. Sine the single VIA staff member couldn't close the train station to take this walk that wouldn't work. About 6 of us ended up on the GO commuter bus. It was a double decker, long distance bus, somewhat comfortable but no place for luggage so the driver had us stuffing it on wheel humps and empty seats. This trip took a couple of hours with stops in rural commuter lots and a couple of mall parking lots. Then we got to the train station. I have to say the Go staff were phenomenal, the driver pointed out to all of us were to go and what track to head to. The conductor on the train had already been told about our troubles and got us all set on the train. We got to Toronto with no other trouble, ended up about an hour or so late.

Now the trip back to NYC. Early morning train out of Toronto, around 7am, We figured we could grab a quick breakfast at the station, but found out due to renovations there were no shops open. Asked on the train and was told Amtrak café couldn't operate in Canada but would open after Niagara Falls. We got there, had to get off for the customs stop, K9 found something and a family got taken off the train. That took close to an hour. Now we get back on, I ask about the café and get a very rude response from the Amtrak conductor that I should know better than to ask that, it takes them time to do inventory. The café finally opened up around Albany by this time it was after 1pm. So 5 hours without even a bottle of water. We got into NYC and headed home. 

There have been other minor glitches over the years, but this was the most consistently bad train trip I have ever had.


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## zephyr17 (Jan 3, 2021)

AFS1970 said:


> ...Now the trip back to NYC. Early morning train out of Toronto, around 7am, We figured we could grab a quick breakfast at the station, but found out due to renovations there were no shops open. Asked on the train and was told Amtrak café couldn't operate in Canada but would open after Niagara Falls. We got there, had to get off for the customs stop, K9 found something and a family got taken off the train. That took close to an hour. Now we get back on, I ask about the café and get a very rude response from the Amtrak conductor that I should know better than to ask that, it takes them time to do inventory. The café finally opened up around Albany by this time it was after 1pm. So 5 hours without even a bottle of water. We got into NYC and headed home.
> 
> There have been other minor glitches over the years, but this was the most consistently bad train trip I have ever had.


I rode the Maple Leaf every year for about 3 years 2015-2018 and on every one of those trips VIA staffed and stocked the cafe car out of Toronto and it was open on departure from Toronto. The attendant stopped service sometime after Hamilton so he could pack up his VIA stock to take it off at Niagara Falls. The Amtrak cafe attendant boarded with Amtrak stock at Niagara Falls, but usually didn't reopen until we were near or beyond Buffalo Exchange Street. Albany is long, long after 1pm, btw. It is more like 7 pm. 1 pm is more like Buffalo and that is consistent with my experience with Amtrak reopening the cafe.

The last year I rode it in 2019, it was bustituted from Toronto to Niagara Falls, NY due to bridge work on the Whirlpool Bridge. Even then the VIA Service Manager, who rode with us on the bus, handed out free granola bars and bottled water to everyone.


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## jiml (Jan 3, 2021)

AFS1970 said:


> I may have written about this in another thread but for me my worst trip would have been a trip to Canada a few years ago, maybe 2014. The train was my idea and my wife won't let me forget it. We live in CT so in order to get the early morning train out on NY Penn we took MNRR down and crossed over by Taxi. Got on the Train to Niagara Falls. The train was long and slow but this leg went off mostly without a hitch. Got off in Niagara Falls, quick customs check and off to our hotel. We were there for 3 days then heading to Toronto for a week.
> 
> So we arrive at the tiny Niagara Falls station, which is in a fairly desolate area to find that the N/B train is estimated 3 hours late and they are estimating an hour long customs stop after that. The Via Rail staff offer us three options. 1) Stay and wait for the Amtrak/VIA train that will be at least 4 hours late to Toronto. 2) Go across the street and take a bus to Toronto, I don't remember the line but it was described as a Greyhoud like line. We were told they would cross honor our tickets. 3) Also across the street, take a GO Commuter bus to some midpoint and transfer to a GO commuter train into Toronto. This would be longer than #2 but would also cross honor tickets and get us to the same train station we were due at.
> 
> ...


This is a report that deserves more attention, given the mixed reviews regarding the Maple Leaf - the train you took from Toronto to NYC. Experiences seem to vary wildly on that train, and as a former frequent traveller on that route I have to say mine are very close to yours. Twice we have been herded into the one and only US-bound coach at Toronto, despite having business class tickets on one of those trips. The cafe was indeed closed until Niagara Falls, NY, a few times for no apparent reason - a 2-hour period - and one time that it was open passengers in the US coach were not permitted to leave to access it. Neither VIA nor Amtrak seem to want to accept responsibility for the services on this train. Add in a lengthy on-platform wait for customs processing (in freezing March weather) and I now avoid this train.


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## Willbridge (Jan 3, 2021)

Most of my bad experiences have been trivial for me but may have created severe problems for others. For example, due to slides in both the Rockies and the Sierras some of us were bus bridged DEN>SLC on Gray Line of Denver and then SLC>SAC on Lewis Brothers Stages. Even so there were some bright spots. The Gray Line driver knew mountain driving and lots of bus driver jokes and there were enough empty seats to permit singles to have two seats. An Amtrak staffer from the Bay Area turned up in SLC and was able to set me up for a nap in a RNO hotel room that they had booked. And two little boys from CHI woke us up when we stopped in Winnemucca sure that we were in Las Vegas! They had seen a casino!

Aside from the downgraded sleeping car passengers the worst impact was on the Capitol Corridor bus passengers who were left behind in RNO because Train 5 did not show up and the following bus overloaded.

My worst bus trip was through an ice storm in the Blue Mountains from PDX to DEN. The passengers applauded the driver for his skill when we arrived in BOI. However, the heat on the bus had failed and there was no spare at BOI. Eventually we proceeded on a chartered Northwestern Stages bus to SLC where the segment from there to DEN was annulled. I went over to Amtrak and booked Train 6 to DEN. It was marked up on time and then after I bought the coach seat it was re-marked up to be an hour late. Never mind, I slept well in the Superliner coach seat.

That bus schedule replicated the _Portland Rose _(two nights, one business day PDX<>DEN). It was discontinued before the pandemic. Since then they are down to one trip a day replicating the _Pioneer _(one night, two business days). When the Pioneer was axed in 1997 there were three GL trips a day on that route.

Breakfast in Baker City... and below, off to the mountains from DEN.


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## Swadian Hardcore (Jan 3, 2021)

China. 24 hours in a bench seat with the coach overloaded to 160 passengers (the stated capacity was 118 even with bench seats). Would take any Greyhound over that train again. Yes, probably even a D4505.


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## fdaley (Jan 4, 2021)

I've been on my share of bus substitutions and absurdly late trains (in one case, 23 hours tardy), but this one trip stands out in my memory as the most needlessly stressful:

In the holiday season of 2010, I booked a cross-country trip with my wife and son using USA rail passes. For the first leg of our trip from upstate New York, the only remaining sleeper rooms on the Lake Shore were at the highest bucket prices, but I found a bedroom on the Capitol Limited that was a comparative bargain. At the time, Amtrak listed in its timetable a connection to the Capitol leaving New York at 11:35 a.m., arriving in WAS at 3 p.m., so we booked three seats on that train. The routing through Washington added about 11 hours to our travel time, but we felt we effectively were saving a few hundred dollars in sleeper charges, and as it was the beginning of our trip, we thought we had a higher tolerance for adventure.

About two days before our departure, a storm dumped a foot of snow on New York City. Our train from Albany arrived at Penn Station exactly on time, but the train to Washington left New York late and got later as it headed south. Somewhere north of Baltimore, the conductor found us and told us not to worry -- that the Capitol would be held for our arrival, as there were at least 30 other passengers on our train who were making the same connection. We pulled into Union Station at 3:55 p.m., just 10 minutes before the Capitol's scheduled departure, and I could see it boarding several platforms over. A huge crowd of passengers swarmed both ends of our car and waited -- and waited -- because the stairs were jammed with snow and ice. (We had pulled in at one of the low-level platforms, which required opening the stairwells for the first time since we'd left New York.) By the time we and our luggage made it onto the platform, there were no red caps in sight, so we trundled our stuff into the station and along to the track where we'd been told the Capitol would be waiting -- only to find it gone.

We headed to the Amtrak station services office, where we encountered about 25 other grumpy people from our train who'd also been left behind by the Capitol. Eventually we were all advised that Amtrak would bus us to Pittsburgh to meet the train. I had a long talk with one of the Amtrak staff who assured me that our bedroom would be held open for us -- and who typed a lengthy note into the reservation system that he said would protect it for us. We were taken to a seating area in a remote corner of the station and told to wait there for the bus to be announced. We had saved our appetites for dinner in the dining car, but as it was now clear that wouldn't be happening, I thought of wandering into the station to find food. But I didn't want to have the bus arrive while I was gone, and no one seemed to be able to tell us even approximately when the bus would appear, and one of the Amtrak staff specifically warned me that the bus could leave without me if I wasn't there. Finally the bus showed up, just before 7 p.m. Amazingly, it delivered us to Pittsburgh ahead of the Capitol. As my wife pointed out more than once, the bus was nearly three hours faster than the train -- and it even had time to stop for 15 minutes at a highway rest area where we bought snacks from a vending machine in lieu of dinner. Kind of sad, but at least we'd soon be in our room and off to bed.

We'd been at the Pittsburgh station for 10 or 15 minutes when the Capitol was announced, and we made our way upstairs to our sleeping car and presented our tickets to the attendant, who said: "Bedroom E? Oh, we sold Bedroom E. I thought you were a no-show." I explained, I'm afraid rather testily, that I'd been promised that this wouldn't happen by the Amtrak station staff in Washington before they bused us to Pittsburgh.

To which the sleeping car attendant responded: "There was a bus?! There was a bus?! Jesus, why doesn't anyone tell us anything?"

As it was Christmastime, the train was heavily booked, and I had visions of us sitting up all night in the lounge car. But the family bedroom in the next sleeper hadn't sold, so the SCA made that up for us. And the next day, Amtrak refunded us the full cost of the room for that portion of our trip. But the next time we went west, we took the Lake Shore.


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## brianpmcdonnell17 (Jan 4, 2021)

My worst experience was in January 2018 at the end of my first cross-country trip. I had started in Orlando, with overnight stops in Denver, Glenwood Springs, San Francisco, Seattle, and Whitefish. The final segment was Whitefish to Tampa with transfers in Chicago and Washington. Almost everything was fine until the arrival in Washington. 

However, there was one constantly drunk woman aboard who was seated near us and was traveling from Wisconsin Dells to Miami. She got in multiple arguments with the employees as she wanted to get out to smoke at every stop. Even after being given extra chances above the standard stops, the bathrooms had clearly been smoked in and the employees knew it was her. Despite this and her continuously obnoxious behavior, she somehow was not thrown off and was still aboard when I detrained in Tampa. She even met a boyfriend for the portion of the trip after Washington.

The entire way back from Whitefish occurred in much below normal temperatures. On the first morning, I woke up in Staples, Minnesota to a temperature of -21 degrees F, and the high in Chicago that day was around 10. The following day, I woke up in Pittsburgh to a temperature of 0, with the high in DC being about 20. While there was no snow in DC, the ground was covered in the Carolinas with there even being a trace in Savannah. 

While in the station in DC, the fire alarm went off, forcing the entire station to immediate evacuate onto the street for an extended period of time. Around the same time, I found out the train had been delayed departing New York, apparently due to the doors freezing shut. The other LDs departing New York that day were also impacted, but the SS was the most delayed as it was scheduled out first. It was over 6 hours late departing NYP and maintained that lateness until I boarded in DC. 

Shortly after exiting the tunnel leaving the station, there was apparently an electrical fire in one of the other coaches, and we came to a stop at the L'Enfant Plaza VRE station. The DC Fire Department had to be called to assist. We lost nearly 2 more hours with that incident, although we were allowed to get some fresh air on the platform during that time. 

The train continued about 8 hours late through Virginia and North Carolina and I woke up around the South Carolina border. At this point, there was a mechanical issue which resulted in all of the coach bathrooms being unusable. Also around this time, everyone was given water and snacks, although the general mood was not good given the delays and bathroom situation. Both the stops at Columbia and Savannah had to be extended to over an hour to allow everyone off the train to use the bathrooms in the station. After that point, the issues were fixed so the bathrooms on the train were finally functioning again. 

Normally during this part of the route it would be sunrise, but it was already getting dark. While it was interesting seeing the parts of the route that were usually traversed at night, especially with the extremely rare snowfall, it was hard to enjoy with all the chaos. I also struggled to sleep that night given that the coach was very hot, and I was exhausted having spent much of the past 3 weeks sleeping on the train in coach. Even today, I travel almost exclusively in coach, but that was 9 nights in coach over 16 total nights, and I had yet to do more than a single night so would have been tired even without the delays.

At Jacksonville, pizza was brought onto the train to give to everyone for dinner. We lost some additional time due to more typical delays in Florida, pushing the delay to around 11.5 hours. Rather than arriving in Tampa just after noon, we arrived just before midnight. As the bus we were planning on taking to Pinellas County had stopped running hours earlier, we had to arrange for an Uber, which I was unfamiliar with. Given the station was supposed to close in the early evening, we were essentially pushed onto the street as soon as we arrived. This left us wandering the parking lot trying to find the driver, who was clearly in a bad mood. We finally arrived home around 1 AM, about 90 hours after departing the hotel in Whitefish. 

By the end, I actually found the experience more entertaining than anything else. I had to miss school the next day, but it was certainly a unique trip and I got a substantial voucher because of it. Although there were certainly many "never again" passengers, there were also others who seemed to find the trip to be an adventure as well.


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## bms (Jan 5, 2021)

Great question. I'm trying to get to Springfield, Mass., at the station in Erie, PA, and the guy working at the station isn't authorized to sell tickets. I already had to prove to my credit card company who I am. I had to buy the ticket through an app that doesn't work. I have my credit card and ID and the guy working at the station can't sell me a ticket, I handed him my phone, credit card and ID and he couldn't make it work. I tried to get an Uber clear out to Buffalo to buy a ticket there. Uber didn't believe my story and won't take me that far. Let's hope and pray that I'll actually be on the train. I'm praying to God that I can get on it.


It's going to be easier at this point to open up my own railroad than to figure out the app, I'm not even 40. I'll work until the end of my life to get to Springfield if I have to open up my own railroad to do it. I need $80 million in funding so just waiting for the train.

Update, still waiting. I had to read all my credit card information out loud outside to buy a ticket over the phone and got criticized on the phone for not having a pen to take down my reservation number. Idk how any passenger here with less resources than me might get on the train. I'll post later either from my hotel or from my train, just so fed up with Amtrak nonsense.

Ok guys I got on the train somehow, I'll ttyl. I'm an experienced Senior Tax Analyst in Ohio and would sooner do everyone's taxes for free than have to explain to my credit card company why I'm going to Springfield. Had to pray to God to get on this train.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 7, 2021)

flitcraft said:


> The one kind of insurance I do buy, on an annual basis--except during Pandemica--is medical insurance, including medivac coverage. Many US health insurance plans don't pay for international health emergencies, and Medicare certainly doesn't. I broke my ankle very severely in Portugal, and luckily Lufthansa didn't know about its severity or they would have refused to fly me home--and Medivac back from Europe to Seattle would have run several hundred thousands of dollars.


I wouldn't want to be rushed back to the world's most expensive healthcare market for most medical care. My stingy health insurance would just bide their time before denying half my bills anyway. I would much rather use short term disability insurance to cover the loss of income while I get the expensive stuff done in another country and only come back when it's recovery time. That's not to say I disagree with travel insurance, just the emergency medivac part.


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## flitcraft (Jan 7, 2021)

Devil's Advocate said:


> wouldn't want to be rushed back to the world's most expensive healthcare market for most medical care.


 Me neither. But luckily, my health care plan was Group Health Cooperative. As long as I stayed in-plan, I got all of my medical expenses covered for a $20 co-pay. So I paid $20 for the pre-surgery consultation that morning, another $20 co-pay for the surgery, and more $20 co-pays for post surgery visits and physical therapy. My monthly fees were higher than Blue Cross, and a lot of my co-workers opted for the cheaper coverage, but when you really need treatment, Group Health was by far the better option.

One problem with getting medical care abroad is if you don't speak the language--and my Portuguese would have been pretty limited. I recently had another medical incident--in China a year and a half ago. I got run down as a pedestrian by a motorbike and ended up with a fractured skull, concussion, and needed stitches to close a large cut over my eye. Although I have some basic Chinese language competence, it turned out that it was completely inadequate for dealing with the doctors there. Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific refused to fly me home--I admit my face was severely bruised and bandaged, so I looked a sight! In the end, my Chinese doctors did a fine job of emergency care, but I would certainly have preferred to have been about the communicate with them and follow what was going on!


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## me_little_me (Jan 7, 2021)

flitcraft said:


> Me neither. But luckily, my health care plan was Group Health Cooperative. As long as I stayed in-plan, I got all of my medical expenses covered for a $20 co-pay. So I paid $20 for the pre-surgery consultation that morning, another $20 co-pay for the surgery, and more $20 co-pays for post surgery visits and physical therapy. My monthly fees were higher than Blue Cross, and a lot of my co-workers opted for the cheaper coverage, but when you really need treatment, Group Health was by far the better option.
> 
> One problem with getting medical care abroad is if you don't speak the language--and my Portuguese would have been pretty limited. I recently had another medical incident--in China a year and a half ago. I got run down as a pedestrian by a motorbike and ended up with a fractured skull, concussion, and needed stitches to close a large cut over my eye. Although I have some basic Chinese language competence, it turned out that it was completely inadequate for dealing with the doctors there. Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific refused to fly me home--I admit my face was severely bruised and bandaged, so I looked a sight! In the end, my Chinese doctors did a fine job of emergency care, but I would certainly have preferred to have been about the communicate with them and follow what was going on!


Google translate?

Not having used it more than a minuscule amount, it might be like those product instructions used by Chinese companies too cheap to hire a real English speaking person to edit the translation. On the other hand, your Chinese doctors would likely be rolling on the floor laughing and you might be trying to put the pills in your nose that are meant to be taken by mouth for your nose after hearing or reading the translations.


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 7, 2021)

Absolute worst of the worst Amtrak experience for me was when the EB arrived in CHI 12 hours late. The worst of the troubles happened after arrival. Upon entering the station there was chaos at the check in line for rescheduling and etc. and to get sleeping accommodations for the night.

They couldn't find me on the passenger manifest and told me to go to the back of the line... at 2:30am! I pulled out my ticket [H room accommodations all the way through... $2200 ticket.] Because I missed my connection in CHI all ongoing reservations had been cancelled and that's why my name had disappeared from the manifest!

They finally gave me a voucher for transfer and hotel and a box meal and told me to report to the reservations desk the next day. Didn't get to the hotel until 4:30am.

Upon arrival at the hotel I asked if I could have a late checkout. I was informed that after 11am I would be charged for an extra day... which was not on the Amtrak voucher. I was also informed that bottled water was advised; he gave me a bottle and demanded $5. I told him that I was a distressed passenger entitled to water. Then they said... "Ok, just this time only."

Arriving back at the station next day I went to the Metropolitan Lounge and was smart enough to call customer service. They were apologetic and rerouted me... I also worked with the hotels and they cancelled a missed res due to the delay. I learned that the using term 'distressed passenger' seems to work when help is needed... and I was indeed a distressed passenger!

Upon finally returning Amtrak sent an apology and a TCV for $750. Throughout the ordeal I remembered that at no time should one raise their voice or show disrespect. The agents didn't cause the problem... but they sure did help me!

BTW: traveling light with just a backpack sure 'lightened my load!"


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 7, 2021)

flitcraft said:


> So I paid $20 for the pre-surgery consultation that morning, another $20 co-pay for the surgery, and more $20 co-pays for post surgery visits and physical therapy.


That sounds amazingly good. I'm always on the broadest and most expensive plan my employer offers but I only get one "free" (copay) checkup visit per year. Any other visit starts at a few hundred dollars and goes up from there. After paying several grand out of pocket eventually some sort of benefit starts to kick in but I rarely see it. I don't know how these people sleep at night but I've never heard anyone complain about feelings of guilt or complicity.



flitcraft said:


> I got run down as a pedestrian by a motorbike and ended up with a fractured skull, concussion, and needed stitches to close a large cut over my eye. Although I have some basic Chinese language competence, it turned out that it was completely inadequate for dealing with the doctors there.


I've never visited Portugal or China (other than HK) but communication didn't seem to be a problem. I would explain the issue in basic English, sometimes writing/drawing instead speaking, and they would respond in basic English. If it was a city hospital they usually had someone on staff who could serve as an interpreter and if it was a town clinic they would call someone to help translate over the phone. Even resorts in remote places often have access to an English speaking nurse. I suppose if it was something really nuanced that required a second or third opinion it would become untenable but by that point you'd probably be in a large city with some Western trained doctors and interpreters.


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## flitcraft (Jan 7, 2021)

Apparently English speaking doctors are thin on the ground in Dalian, as I found to my surprise! I would guess that in cities or resorts with more Western visitors, that would likely be different, though.


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## sttom (Jan 7, 2021)

I personally would buy travel insurance when going outside the US on the off chance I have medical issues while outside the US. I sure did when I was in Poland. I didn't expect anything to happen, but you never know when you are going to get hit by a car or something. I nearly got run over by a guy on a bike my first day in Warsaw, nothing happened, but I did learn to stay of the red side of the sidewalk. But if something were to happen, I would want to have some coverage to pay the bills. Since my US insurance at the time would have laughed if I tried to claim something outside the US. Hell they barely liked paying for things in the US.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 7, 2021)

flitcraft said:


> Apparently English speaking doctors are thin on the ground in Dalian, as I found to my surprise! I would guess that in cities or resorts with more Western visitors, that would likely be different, though.


Nearly everywhere I go seems to have English speakers in one capacity or another. Maybe not the rank and file, and I probably can't discuss anyone's thoughts on the Drake Equation or the Fermi Paradox, but for many things it's enough to get the job done. Even in relatively remote places like Khao Lak they had English speaking staff for medical needs. I was in the area a few days before the big tsunami, and that could have ended very badly for me, but they've since installed a warning system that should give enough time to reach safety. I asked about the warning and they said "It's very simple, if you hear a siren run that  way. If you try to pack you'll join your luggage in the sea." 



sttom said:


> But if something were to happen, I would want to have some coverage to pay the bills. Since my US insurance at the time would have laughed if I tried to claim something outside the US. Hell they barely liked paying for things in the US.


I'm starting to get to the point where having foreign insurance is going to be more important and I'm wondering how to find reasonable terms for a service that doesn't try to disqualify me the moment I need actually something.


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## me_little_me (Jan 7, 2021)

Golly, I didn't know that Amtrak went to all those foreign countries and so many of its passengers had such terrible medical injury problems on Amtrak trains there!


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## Barb Stout (Jan 8, 2021)

flitcraft said:


> Me neither. But luckily, my health care plan was Group Health Cooperative. As long as I stayed in-plan, I got all of my medical expenses covered for a $20 co-pay. So I paid $20 for the pre-surgery consultation that morning, another $20 co-pay for the surgery, and more $20 co-pays for post surgery visits and physical therapy. My monthly fees were higher than Blue Cross, and a lot of my co-workers opted for the cheaper coverage, but when you really need treatment, Group Health was by far the better option.
> 
> One problem with getting medical care abroad is if you don't speak the language--and my Portuguese would have been pretty limited. I recently had another medical incident--in China a year and a half ago. I got run down as a pedestrian by a motorbike and ended up with a fractured skull, concussion, and needed stitches to close a large cut over my eye. Although I have some basic Chinese language competence, it turned out that it was completely inadequate for dealing with the doctors there. Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific refused to fly me home--I admit my face was severely bruised and bandaged, so I looked a sight! In the end, my Chinese doctors did a fine job of emergency care, but I would certainly have preferred to have been about the communicate with them and follow what was going on!


GHC was the best medical insurance I have ever had. I had it when I lived in Madison, WI.


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## AM_ROAD (Jan 8, 2021)

2009 Took the Zephyr from Denver to Chicago and a connection to Memphis on the City of new Orleans. Zephyr ran over 7 hours late and I was going to miss my connection. I was stressing the entire time, however luckily extreme cold in Chicago delayed the City for 4 hours. I made my train and the made up two hours by the time I made Memphis. Love CN vs. UP then.


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## The Commissioner (Jan 12, 2021)

My worst experience on Amtrak was in the spring of 1975. Amtrak wasn't at fault though so that should be known.

Trip started out in Houghton, MI (Upper Peninsula) when four (4) of us squeezed into a Volkswagen Beetle after completing classes and starting spring break. We embarked on an overnight drive to Buffalo, NY. Of course, that was no fun. No sleep. No leg room. The driver dropped two of us off at the old Amtrak Station in Buffalo at sunrise where we would catch the first train out to NYC.

The Empire Service train ride was uneventful and I was able to catch some shuteye, albeit briefly and intermittently. We arrived at GCT at rush hour of course and raced to catch a cab to get us to Penn Station. The cab seemed barely faster than walking and I was beginning to seriously doubt I'd catch my train to Philly. That was probably the most nerve wracking part of the entire journey.

My friend and I parted company at Penn Station because he was headed for the North Jersey shore. I boarded my train and actually got a seat. The coach was packed. Standing room only. The aisle was filled with people. IIRC, we left on time.

The trouble started when we were south of New Brunswick and north of Princeton Jct. We were running at very slow speed. Then we stopped. Stopped for quite awhile and then we'd move slowly. And then stop again. The cycle kept repeating Finally word came from the Conductor that there had been a large trackside warehouse fire in North Philadelphia and the fire was so hot that the catenary was sagging. In effect, the Northeast Corridor in Philly was shut down to all trains. There would be no arrival at 30th St. Station where I wanted off to change to a local to Paoli.

Once this information spread through the crowd, people started abandoning the train. I will never forget the sight of people in business clothes, some carrying suitcases, walking in lines along the NEC tracks, heading for the next station. It was even crazier when the train would start moving again and we'd pass all the former passengers, now pedestrians, walking south.

After many hours, the train reached Trenton and then the rare mileage event began. We were diverted on to the former PRR freight-only Trenton Cutoff. I distinctly remember the tracks being so bad in places that it sounded like ballast hitting the bottom of the coach. I was convinced we were derailing! 

Eventually we reached Thorndale on the Harrisburg line and just sat there for the longest time. I think they had to uncouple the power and move it to the other end since we facing west. People got off the train and walked across the highway to get food and use pay phones. No cell phones in those days.

Once we started moving east toward Philly, I asked the Conductor if he would have the train stop at Paoli to let me off. By some miracle, he agreed and this long train halted at Paoli just long enough for me to jump off. The stop wasn't even announced to the rest of the passengers. I think some got off because they figured out what was happening and took advantage of it.

By the time I finally made it home, it was midnight the day after the trip started. Hardly any sleep. But being college aged helped!


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## Bob Dylan (Jan 12, 2021)

Proof that Trips from Hell can end Well!


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## Steve4031 (Jan 13, 2021)

The worst trip is the one that I did not get to go on. Last spring I had a trip planned to go to San Francisco. I would fly out on Sunday, meet a friend, and we would spend Monday riding transit around San Francisco. Then take the California Zephyr back to Chicago. About a month before my trip I discovered that the Coast Starlight would be doing the Techapi detour on the Saturday before my buddy would get to San Francisco on Sunday. So I changed my flight to do the ride on the Starlight. Then Covid happened. Then all of this got canceled. Not going on this trip really messed with my mind for a month or so.


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## Tlcooper93 (Jan 13, 2021)

This isn't an Amtrak experience (I've been lucky I guess), but I took the SBB HSR from Zurich to Milan for a gig once.
I had a first class ticket, but due to who knows why (age, racism, dislike of foreigners), the passengers around me tried to convince me that I had bought a second class ticket instead of a first class ticket.
I had to go to the clerk and she confirmed my class. They claimed I could not read german, and used that as an excuse to get me to leave the car.


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## Steve4031 (Jan 13, 2021)

Tlcooper93 said:


> This isn't an Amtrak experience (I've been lucky I guess), but I took the SBB HSR from Zurich to Milan for a gig once.
> I had a first class ticket, but due to who knows why (age, racism, dislike of foreigners), the passengers around me tried to convince me that I had bought a second class ticket instead of a first class ticket.
> I had to go to the clerk and she confirmed my class. They claimed I could not read german, and used that as an excuse to get me to leave the car.



What a bunch of idiots. Your ticket would have clearly stated seat and car number. End of story. I have had two similar experiences in Germany and eastern Europe. The first was on a train from Prague to Vienna. Dad and I had gone to the diner for lunch, and when we returned some eastern European males had occupied our seats which were clearly marked as reserved. Additionally, our luggage was above the seats. I told them to move now, or I would get the guard. They moved. One said I was "gross". I told the idiot that he was ignorant and gross because he could not read and knowingly sat in seats that were occupied. When the conductor passed through, I had a word with him, and he had a word with them. They were not smirking after that. 

On another trip I had paid for a seat reservation on an intercity train from Karlesruhe to Cologne. When I boarded there was german person sitting in my reserved seat. Once again the seat was clearly marked as reserved. I told him to move. He asked what the big deal was. I told him the big deal was that I had paid for the reservation for THAT SEAT and that he needed to move his ass immediately before I got the conductor. He moved. I sat down and put my headphones on and played rap music. I stared at him until he got up and moved to another compartment. 

On a humorous note, I was once accused of being in the wrong seat on a train in Sweden while traveling from Malmo to Stockholm. The train arrived at an intermediate stop. I was sitting there and this guy walked up to me and told me I was in his seat. He was not happy. I pulled out my reservation slip to double check because I thought that I had made a mistake. Then the conductor announced over the PA that this train was headed to Stockholm. The guy had an "oh ****" look on his face and he dashed off the train. I looked out the window as he dashed towards the train on the other side of the platform. Unfortunately for him, the doors had closed and as he approached it started to move. He had a nice hour wait for the next train.


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## jiml (Jan 13, 2021)

"Self-upgraders" are a problem on DB ICE trains, since tickets (in FC at least) are seldom checked and when they are it is by the car attendant/waiter. I always have mine ready to show, but usually get waved off, followed by "What would you like to drink?" I usually go for the large Bitburger draft and my wife likes the Riesling served on-board.


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## Trollopian (Jan 14, 2021)

Steve4031 said:


> The worst trip is the one that I did not get to go on.



Like Steve, my worst trip was the one not taken. My very dear cat Sidney died last February. So in 2020 I was going to make my dream loop around the U.S. by train: Capitol Limited to Chicago, then California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Capitol Limited. Or maybe take the coast train south to Los Angeles, then Southwest Chief, and Capitol Limited. Then, wham.

At least I was with Sid at the end. Even a month later, vets were banning (and still ban) owners from entering clinics, instead asking that pets be handed off outside the entrance with "consultation" by phone.

Still a dream loop.


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## Shortline (Jan 14, 2021)

I guess if I'm honest, I haven't had too many TERRIBLE trips. I have had a dozen or so where we stopped and got bustituted. As I really dislike the bus, especially when you have to wait for them to show up hours later, then travel on one overnight. So, I have always just left the train, took a taxi or Uber to the airport, and flown to wherever I needed to be. Expensive, and inconvenient, but usually it means getting home (or where I'm going) a day or two early. And, not going into the whole 3 day a week stuff or the dining, or lounge use thing, which is unfortunate, but hopefully temporary. If nothing else, the cars will be open again for use. I miss being able to use the cafe tables. But I digress.....

My biggest issue, is the complete and utter lack of consistency. Amtrak is all over the board. And while it may not make something unbearable, it does contribute to my overall disappointment in their service. When I get on a flight, I know how it's going to go. Service is almost unfailingly great, attentive, and pleasant. On the train, it can go either way. Some on board service people are great, some are terrible, with the vast majority being somewhere in between in what can best be described as apathetic, or mediocre. I don't even mind the price, for sleeper service. I do expect a higher level of experience from them, for the high price they expect of me.

It's frustrating to have such wide disparity. Frankly, one thing I expected when Boardman came on, is an increase in the level of service and attentiveness from the onboard service folks. Flight attendants and other front line service folks at airlines tend to be positive, upbeat, helpful, unobtrusive, and attentive. And maybe it's improved a bit, at least. Maybe it's due to the personnel cutbacks, leaving the high seniority folks on, while cutting the less experienced, newer folks off, or maybe it really is an effort by Amtrak to improve their frontline image, I don't know. 

On a train, most of the time, all you get is a basic absolute minimum level of service, with the bare minimum of decency. And while it's probably petty, it drives me crazy seeing 2-3 tables in a cafe car on a regional train taken up by crew, who spend most of their time complaining to each other about the railroad, or spread out over half the dining car on a long distance train kicked back playing with their phones. I just find it unprofessional, and tacky. Do they need breaks? Sure. That's what the transition car, or crew car is for, in my opinion.

Delays happen. Cancellations happen. but for goodness sakes, when they DO manage to run a train, do it with a customer first, service mindset. That shouldn't be too much to ask for.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 14, 2021)

Shortline said:


> Flight attendants and other front line service folks at airlines tend to be positive, upbeat, helpful, unobtrusive, and attentive. On a train, most of the time, all you get is a basic absolute minimum level of service, with the bare minimum of decency.


In another thread you said you mainly fly Southwest, which is a good airline, but with decades of WN flights under my belt I can't remember a single trip when service involved more than a drink or two and some peanuts. In my view most of what makes WN so good revolves around maintenance and operations while the bubbly onboard personalities can overdo it sometimes. When they try to get the passengers to sing and play games I generally want off. Cost and duration wise Amtrak sleeper service is closer to flying TATL/TPAC on American/United, and feels the same to me.


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## Shortline (Jan 14, 2021)

I hear you on that. Southwest seems to have cut a lot of that out, been a while since I've seen a sing along kind of attendant. They do still have a lot who think they need to be comedians, during the safety briefing, and arrival brief which is a bit annoying. But I agree, that was pretty absurd. 

And while the service is just a drink (or 6) at least they're smiling, gracious, and willing. Seems they've gotten a lot more business travel oriented in the past few years, where as before, I think they were more leisure oriented, where that kind of thing keeps the Ma and Pa Kettle's on vacation entertained. And I totally agree, the biggest draw for me, is the operations, and flexibility. I love the ability to change, or cancel at the last minute, without a penalty. That, and the Companion Pass was the primary reason for switching. True, it's not AA first class, which is admittedly better, but I love the flexibility it gives me, and I much prefer the smaller airports they tend to fly from. Dallas Love VS DFW, Houston Hobby VS Bush Intl, Midway VS O'Hare, etc. The pleasant attendants are just icing on the cake. Can't recall the last surly, disinterested or obnoxious attendant on WN.

And maybe it's just that I just fly so much, that many of the flight attendants remember me, and tend to pay a little extra attention to those on Business Select fares, and who have status. The fact that Southwest sends their top tier fliers those employee recognition coupons we can give them to turn in, for exceptional service. I'm sure that doesn't hurt. I assume they turn them in for some kind of reward or something. They really seem to dig it when we give them one. Come to think of it, that would be a good program for Amtrak to consider, just a handful of little coupons to give to those crews who do great, to reward positive experience.

I tend to see many of them repeatedly, sometimes more than once per week. That's changed a little, also lately, I think they've changed their crew scheduling or something, used to be I could almost guess who would be on the Birmingham-Dallas flight on a Wed AM. Not so much anymore, maybe it's just because they got bigger, there is a lot more staff now than when I originally switched to them, I don't know. But I still see several familiar faces, and more than a few know what my beverage of choice is, in the AM, and in the afternoons. 

They've also tightened up a bit on the drinks, I almost always fly Business Select fares, which comes with that one drink coupon. Used to be they rarely even took it, and rarely charged for the others. Past year or so, they're more likely to want the coupon, and actually charge for the drinks after that. Which is fine, as long as they keep coming. 

On the train, seems like the cafe attendant is glued to a table, and only begrudgingly gets up to take your order. Almost like it's an inconvenience. Sure, there are exceptions, I've also had very nice on board attendants, in the sleeper and cafe. My impression however, is that those are the exception, and most seem to display the attitude that their job would be great, if it wasn't for all the passengers. That said, there is no way I could be happy and positive for 2-3 days straight either, on 6 hours of sleep or less, so I guess there is that. Basically, just saying it would be nice to have some consistency in how things work, and what level of service we'll be getting on a train. Some do great, some seem to make things up as they go, doing whatever makes their life easier. Just my observation.


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## flitcraft (Jan 14, 2021)

I think my worst passenger train experiences were in China in the mid 1980's. One in particular, where the toilets weren't working--and they were the squatties anyway, which on a swaying train tend to get disgusting fast. Nor was there any air conditioning, and it was mid summer. But you couldn't put the windows down because male passengers were peeing out the window...Good times!

I've been pretty lucky on Amtrak--though bustitution at the end of a long trip is never much fun. We got bustituted from Portland to Seattle on the CS on what turned out to be what would have been our last ever dinner in the Pacific Parlour Car--I was really looking forward to the lamb shanks. Instead, no dinner, a long wait in Portland, then arriving late to King Street Station. Yeah, first world problems...Like I said, I've been pretty lucky with Amtrak.


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 14, 2021)

Ranking up there with some really bad rail experiences... the CS pulls up in EUG at 6pm. I get on all ready to order the famous steak and fish cake meal with baked potato, sour cream, --- you know... the works. 

So the attendant knocks on the door and asks me if I have any questions. I show him my ticket... then ask if now is a good time to order dinner. He tells me he's busy and doesn't bring meals to rooms... tells me to get it myself. So I go to the diner and noticed most roomettes were empty... no luggage, no nothing, doors open, lights on. Upon returning to go downstairs to my compartment, there he is in room 1 playing card games on his computer!


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## 20th Century Rider (Jan 14, 2021)

20th Century Rider said:


> Ranking up there with some really bad rail experiences... the CS pulls up in EUG at 6pm. I get on all ready to order the famous steak and fish cake meal with baked potato, sour cream, --- you know... the works.
> 
> So the attendant knocks on the door and asks me if I have any questions. I show him my ticket... then ask if now is a good time to order dinner. He tells me he's busy and doesn't bring meals to rooms... tells me to get it myself. So I go to the diner and noticed most roomettes were empty... no luggage, no nothing, doors open, lights on. Upon returning to go downstairs to my compartment, there he is in room 1 playing card games on his computer!



No... I didn't tip him.


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## AFS1970 (Jan 14, 2021)

Hearing of bustitutions, makes me think of a bad bus trip I had because a friend convinced me not to take the train. I used to visit a friend who lives in South NJ, and regularly too Amtrak from home in CT to Philly. He convinced me to take Greyhound because he didn;t want to come into the city and there was a bus station near him in Mt. Laurel, NJ. 
Due to being so close to NYC (a bus hub) taking the bus from CT to Philly involves a long layover, so I opted to take MNRR into the city and cross over to Port Authority. I get there, follow the signs to Greyhound and then stop seeing signs. go back find signs again, and still manage to get lost. A custodian saw me looking for signs, asked where I was headed then brought me to a lower level in a freight elevator and pointed me to the right area. Where I found two lines marked for Mt. Laurel, busses leaving from adjoining gates. Except one was for Mt. Laurel NJ and the other for Mt. Laurel MD. I wonder how many people get on the wrong bus?
So the trip down there was uneventful, but then came the trip back. My friends car broke down, so he was going to borrow his mother's car to get me to the bus station but she had to go to work so she offered to drive me, but had to go early. So I get to the bus station a little over an hour early for the bus. Tiny crappy place, with broken vending machines. I sit in the plastic chair and wait. 
About half an hour later I see people lining up for the bus, which isn't here yet. I get on line and find out that there are people on line from two busses ago and from the previous bus. Apparently Greyhound lets you take any bus to your destination regardless of your ticked time. So early arrivals have bumped ticketed passengers because they got on line first. The bus gets there, the ticket clerk comes out to board people and does the same thing. The driver is counting heads and realizes he is almost full and there are probably about 30 of us still on line. he fills up and says he has to leave. 
Myrna, the ticket clerk, yells at everyone that they should have stood on line earlier. The guy behind me has now had this happen 3 times. She then tells us that due to the overcrowding, they are sending another bus out of Philly and it should be here in 20 minutes. Every few minutes someone gets up to ask the ETA on this phantom bus, she keeps saying it will be there in a few minutes. Over an hour later and it has not arrived, probably because it didn't exist. An hour and a half after my bus left, the next scheduled bus arrives and most of us made sure we were on line, we all got seats and that bus was only about 3/4 full. The driver told us they don't send extra busses line that. 
I got back, e-Mailed Greyhound and got an apology and a full refund for my return trip. 
As an aside, all the time we were waiting for the bus Myrna was lying about. The other ticket clerk was dealing with a bus due into Mt. Laurel that the driver got lost. However she was fielding phone calls from passengers who somehow got calls directly there. They were trying to give the driver directions or get the clerk to do so, but the driver had stopped talking to them and was behind a plexiglass barrier. I feel bad for them, but at least we had some entertainment.


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## flitcraft (Jan 14, 2021)

Once upon a time--back around 1980--if a bus filled up, they immediately put another bus on the route and as soon as the remaining passengers got on, off it went! When I took a mammoth 6000 miles Greyhound bus tour on the Ameripass back then, I quickly learned that the smart thing to do when it looked like there were more passengers than seats was actually head for the back of the line, to get aboard the back-up bus. There'd be plenty of empty seats, and it was routine to get two seats to oneself--a boon on an overnighter. (Though that was how I lost my luggage in Houston, halfway through the trip--they loaded it by mistake onto Bus 1 and I got onto Bus 2! I did get it back eventually, but not till my final destination in Seattle.)


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## Seaboard92 (Jan 15, 2021)

Tlcooper93 said:


> This isn't an Amtrak experience (I've been lucky I guess), but I took the SBB HSR from Zurich to Milan for a gig once.
> I had a first class ticket, but due to who knows why (age, racism, dislike of foreigners), the passengers around me tried to convince me that I had bought a second class ticket instead of a first class ticket.
> I had to go to the clerk and she confirmed my class. They claimed I could not read german, and used that as an excuse to get me to leave the car.



Someone tried that with my family in Germany once. Saying we didn't understand German. Then I talked to him in fluent Berlin accented German. He shut up after that. I thought it was really funny. For the record everyone in my family speaks fluent German except my dad. And I speak most of the Slavic language family as well with an emphasis on Russian.


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