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This is completely normal. It is clean, potable water. When the train brakes, the water moves toward the front of the tank. Once the train stops, the water is now free to rush back the other way and often times this means it'll go right back up and out the inlet ports.

There are various iPhone models being used. We are using a dedicated app, but inside that app it launches the camera view so you can see where it is pointed. It recognizes QR codes from pretty much any angle/direction immediately. It's the (very few left) paper tickets and station docs that...

Conductors are indeed being issued iPhones without the scanning sled. The sleds are quite expensive and apparently Amtrak is trying to cut that cost out. I've tried camera scanning and while it does work fairly well, it's just too slow when sweeping a full train. QR code recognition is great...

Have you been on a Regional train lately? They are packed as well. Certainly no difficulty filling the seats from my perspective.

The new ADA compliant platform in Cumberland, MD is very weird and only partly unusable, too.

To the best of my knowledge, no one in mechanical was furloughed. Amtrak parked the "excess" cars, literally let them bake in the sun with no preventative maintenance for months while all the mechanical folks spread the remaining work around. Not surprisingly, the stuff still running didn't get...

Public Service Advisory When changing rooms, Arrow will reprice the reservation to the current fare, which is often more than originally paid. Most Amtrak agents will insist on charging the higher fare. Do not let them. They have to manually reprice the reservation to the original fare, but it...

L'Enfant is in a gray area. It is not a regular stop. It is not a flag stop. As mentioned, it shows up no where in any Amtrak publications. It isn't on Arrow manifests. The station code for arrival/departure/delay reporting purposes is an X-point, XVE, not a normal three letter station code. We...

Back in the day, station agents would manually input the arrival and departure times into ARROW, as provided by the conductors. For several years now, that functionality has been automated with NTAMS (National Train Activity Monitoring System). Agents are actively discouraged from inputting...

Fun fact. The station printed documents with the PDF417 barcode are E-Ticket Travel Documents. If it has a plain old barcode, it's a value bearing document, i.e. a paper ticket. Don't lose it!

Once your purchase is completed, you have a ticket. It's electronic and stored in the computer. No need to print the PDF or even show it on a phone to the conductor. Yes, it speeds up the conductor's job, but they can also look up the ticket by name very quickly. You could also visit the ticket...

Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, there was a volunteer effort that put Amtrak's timetables online. It ended about 15 years ago. They just used a simple formatted text version that was very lightweight and loaded quickly. The last copy released is still available here.

Watering is only available in the yard at Miami, not the station proper. The connections are there but out of service as they haven’t been tested in a long time. No watering facilities are available at Tampa or Orlando unless it’s bottled water. 😁

Running brake tests are required any time a new engineer takes charge of the train to confirm they are working as intended and to get a feel for how that particular train is braking. Running brake tests also occur enroute after striking anything in the way such as an animal or vegetation that...

Delta Airlines uses A, B, C, D for their narrow body First Class seats and most of their widebody aircraft. I believe the A330s are the only ones conforming to A, C, G, J for the forward cabin. Probably a legacy holdover from Northwest Airlines.

“This is the Quiet Car. In the Quiet Car we maintain a Quiet, Library-like atmosphere. There is no talking on cell phones here in the Quiet Car and please keep any personal conversations to a low whisper.” I’ve shushed loud headphones in both the quiet car and regular coaches. People five rows...

The logistics off the train is what many people seem to forget. This isn't at all like a normal restaurant. Generally, everything is delivered to the train just before departure and upon arrival everything is taken off. EVERYTHING. If it isn't bolted to the car it comes and goes. Can't really...

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The freight elevator is out of service until it is no longer out of service. Until then, no checked baggage.

Greyhound is the only intercity bus company in Roanoke. It picks up across the parking lot from the Amtrak platform. Unfortunately, it appears the only northbound bus towards Washington/Philadelphia/New York leaves at 5:25am and goes to Richmond for a transfer. We're expecting a second daily...