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In my opinion, the temperature controls are more like decorations than functional. But if you wait long enough...4-6 HOURS...the room will be about the temperature you want. And the airflow/vent control in the ceiling, sort of works. I carry gaffers tape and some thin cardboard like a cereal...

In 2018 & 2019, I found that the quiet car on the Acela was almost always at the WAS end of the train, but ONLY on those going to/from BOS. On the other hand, it's 50/50 as to which end it will be on if the train starts or terminates in NYP as they simply loop the train in Sunnyside and send it...

Perhaps the most likely reason for no Silver Service trains to BOS is the lack of equipment (cars) as well as adequate facilities to properly 'turn' the train in BOS. Throw in OBS time-on-duty and rest cycles, to add to the limitations that need to be addressed. Also, would said train be...

I've never seen anyone take water from the water dispenser in the Superliner lounge car. It may not even be functional these days as Amtrak would much rather sell you bottled water downstairs. As for the lounge car on the Lakeshore Ltd, I don't recall ever seeing any kind of self-service water...

On the surface, more hubs may seem like a good option. But the first question that comes to my mind is: WHERE are you going to put them? 1. Cleveland? On it's one-track station with no room to put more tracks account the light rail line between the Amtrak track and the station? 2. Columbus...

When I used to make 1-3 business trips in the '70s and '80s, of course I had to fly mostly, and packed 'on the fly'. Almost all those trips were garment bag and briefcase...no checked luggage. My record was to finish packing about 1 hour before the flight and make it! I lived about 15 minutes...

When the Viewliners Is were built in the mid '90s, they duplicated the Superliner II 'open area' with a stainless steel U-shaped tube and a strap to secure all hanging clothing. Back when I used a garment bag, I've hung it full of clothing (sometimes I put the empty garment bag on the top bunk)...

If my experience riding LAX-SAN maybe 5 years ago is any measure, not all Business Class on that route are the same. In particular, 'real' Surfliner trains have not only free beverages and free snacks (on a table in the car) but are also given a box of more treats like a granola bar + apple +...

Generally speaking, unless you want to spend some time 'joyriding' Metro (I have covered all routes end-to-end between trains through the years) and take #178 @4:02 or #148 @5:05 (per my old TT valid through 3/22/20), I think I'd go for #94 at ALX to minimize the number of 'shleps' of your...

I'd surmise that Amtrak has had mass layoffs at the employee-run and/or contractor call centers. When I had Select status about 5-6 years ago, I never waited more than perhaps 10 minutes for a live agent. Whether it was layoffs to better match passenger counts during the pandemic, or simply...

Call 'em up! You have the reservation number, so they should be able to figure out how you've been 'reaccommodated'.

A couple of years ago, when I was a very regular Amtrak passenger, I carried a tape measure with me to measure the 'legroom' between seats on different equipment that I rode. I measured legroom, the distance from the front of my seat cushion to the back of the seat ahead (tray table arms) when...

Whenever I've been in the 421 or 422 sleeper (about once per year) in the past 15 years or so, the add-on STL coach was always the last car of the train, to make for simple removal/addition at STL. The same was true with the MSP coach, the few times I've gone through there in the summer.

Maybe about 10 years ago, Trains Magazine had a lengthy article about passenger train scheduling. The author had much input from the Amtrak 'schedule guru', who was near retirement at that time. I got two major takeaways from the article: 1. Going back to early Amtrak, passengers much prefer...

That was then, this is now... Historically, whenever they add a coach CHI-STL, it would show as train #321, in addition to tr 21 & 421 (3x/wk). Checking mid July, it does not show up across several days. The same with a CHI-MSP coach. It would show up as train #37, IIRC. It's not there this...

I'd be VERY nervous about checked luggage making a 60 minute connection, IF we were on time. Checking it through will get it through to Houston, but it may arrive there 3 days after YOU do. 40 years ago, when I regularly flew 'out' on business and took Amtrak back home, I learned the hard...

In my opinion, there are 4 significant problems that result in extended station dwell times. #1 is 'street car-ing'. I want to scream every time I ride the Lakeshore Ltd when I see the conductor scanning every boarding passenger's tickets on the ground! It happens on other trains, too, but on...

That's typical of all the post-trip surveys I've received from Amtrak through the years. They only ask about one segment. Usually, (maybe always? My memory isn't completely clear these days), they only ask about a non-LD train segment. So, like you, nearly all my surveys concern a segment of...

I pretty much kicked the coffee habit about 20 years ago for a variety of reasons. But I still like that 'early cup' just down the hall (or up the stairs) when I'm in a roomette. Unfortunately, what I noticed from my pre-Covid roomette mornings in the past 2 years or so is that 'they' went...

Perhaps the 'secret' to your success is bidding between two non-endpoint cities. On the EB, I know from experience there's a good number of sleeper accomodations that are vacant MSP-CHI in both directions. So, they're happy to fill a space with a 'short'. As an aside, I know the rooms flip...