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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...

I am tempted to say that all 24 or so (I lost count some time ago) trips on the California Zephyr were the best travel experiences I ever had (and I'm taking another one in March), because every one of them was a different kind of adventure. One was in the kitchen of the dining car, another was...

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...

I've also heard "crowdsourcing" called "consulting Peoplepedia." Whatever the term, forums like this do contain a valuable collective intelligence.

I'm doing a little "crowdsourcing" (as they call asking for help from the public) for the upcoming revised e-book version of my 1994 book "Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America." Specifically I'm looking for crew members, present or former, who were in the book almost 20 years ago, to update...

To these sensible answers I'd just add that it's always a good idea to record all serial numbers on the equipment in case of theft. I do that with all my lenses and bodies and other costly items. Sometimes that will help recover stolen items. Also it and a copy of the rental agreement (which may...

Just curious: Are all Amtrak OBS personnel certified (or otherwise trained) in CPR? I believe that the old train chiefs were, but not the rest of the crew. Has that changed?

Just had an interesting exchange about Amtrak dining cars with a recently retired Amtrak executive high in the Washington hierarchy. It turns out that *some* precooked and packaged items ARE served in the Empire Builder diners, although most entrees indeed are cooked to order, especially...

I'm looking for photographs (donated, I'm afraid; I have no dough to spare) of specific scenes along the route of the Zephyr for the upcoming e-book edition of my 1994 book ZEPHYR: TRACKING A DREAM ACROSS AMERICA and hope some of the users of this forum can help. Full credit will be given...

A female friend of mine who, like me, is totally deaf, told me how she rode a Cascades down from Vancouver while watching on her video player a very sexy R-rated (borderline X) film with lots of heavy-duty combat sounds. She could not understand why people kept turning around and looking at her...

Thanks to all for their inclusive and interesting answers. I can draw one conclusion: Food service aboard Amtrak's LD trains is constantly evolving, if not exactly improving in leaps and bounds. In my opinion, even mediocre meals taste a lot better when served on genuine china and napery.

Thank you for the terse answers. Now, if I might venture another question: Exactly how does the dining car operation on the EB differ from those on the other LD trains?

Judging from stray comments, it seems to me that Simplified Dining Service is now used on the Empire Builder. Is that so?

Dictionary.com's definition of "collide": 1. to strike one another or one against the other with a forceful impact; come into violent contact; crash: The two cars collided with an ear-splitting crash. 2. to clash; conflict: Their views on the matter collided. Seems to be that there is an...

On my last two 2011 train trips, the outlet in my roomette was inoperative. I had to recharge in the Superliner lounge car. On one of those trips some kind (and brilliant) soul brought aboard a 6-outlet power strip and plugged that into the double AC socket at the unused bar enclosure in the...

As an e-book consumer and as an author who has republished his mystery novels as e-books, I can tell you that I'm not looking back! The Traveler is right about the ease of carrying a dozen (or more) e-books on a trip and saving bulk and weight. Also, slightly older (three years or so) popular...

It's my dream to take No. 3 from Chicago to Los Angeles, then No. 11 from Los Angeles to Seattle, all in one trip, no layovers. Would this be considered a two-zone trip? If so, could I persuade Amtrak that 30,000 AGR points would get me CHI-LAX-SEA in a bedroom (not a roomette)?

From Media Relations today: FULL AMTRAK CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR SERVICE RESTORED Trains 5 & 6 to operate between San Francisco Bay and Chicago, including Omaha CHICAGO - Full service by the Amtrak California Zephyr between San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago will resume this week, effective with the...

If Queen Elizabeth were reading this thread, she'd probably say that for the Zephyr this year has been an annus horribilis.

I carry cheap ($10) screw-in rubber lens hoods designed for 50mm lenses (on full frame 35mm cameras) to fit my two traveling zoom lenses (17-70mm, 55-300mm), used with APS-C sized DSLRs (Pentax K20D and K-5). Holding the rubber hood on the window locks out reflections from the rear, and the...