Amenities difference on Southwest Chief 2014 vs 2016??

[KmH]

I'm an avid reader.

But on a train I'm to busy looking out the windows to read - even at night.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I too am an avid reader and have yet to finish a book I took with me on a Long Distance trip!

Even boring places like the Western Deserts,Oklahoma(), the Delta,Florida () and the Plains can be fascinating while on a train! ( not to mention the interesting people you meet.)

I agree with Anderson's, kick back and leave the driving to Amtrak!

 

[CoachSlumber]

I still have my old Amtrak Broadway Limited folder which they used to give each Sleeper passenger. It contained envelopes and letterhead paper, two Broadway Limited picture postcards, a pen and sometimes assorted other goodies. There used to be a wine and cheese spread neatly laid out on the table in each compartment as you boarded at New York Penn Station. Ah! Those were the days! ....

Yeah, I have that somewhere too.

 

[IndyRacingNut]

I remember my grandmother telling me about some train rides she used to take as a young adult, and how she would write postcards/letters along the way, and how the conductors would drop off people's mail at certain stops. If you asked them to these days, would they still do this for you at some of their longer scheduled stops?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I remember my grandmother telling me about some train rides she used to take as a young adult, and how she would write postcards/letters along the way, and how the conductors would drop off people's mail at certain stops. If you asked them to these days, would they still do this for you at some of their longer scheduled stops?

If you were an attractive young woman or a tired old grandmother they might.

 

[neroden]

It was easier when there was a mailbox at *every single train station*. Nowadays, I'd only try it if I knew there was a mailbox in the train station.

 

[CCC1007]

It was easier when there was a mailbox at *every single train station*. Nowadays, I'd only try it if I knew there was a mailbox in the train station.

it was probably also back in the days when mail traveled in the same train as people did, making it easier, as a railroad post office is still a post office with a post mark, allowing them to originate mail traffic from onboard if need be.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It was easier when there was a mailbox at *every single train station*. Nowadays, I'd only try it if I knew there was a mailbox in the train station.

it was probably also back in the days when mail traveled in the same train as people did, making it easier, as a railroad post office is still a post office with a post mark, allowing them to originate mail traffic from onboard if need be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv14tiiULwc

 

[jphjaxfl]

It was easier when there was a mailbox at *every single train station*. Nowadays, I'd only try it if I knew there was a mailbox in the train station.

it was probably also back in the days when mail traveled in the same train as people did, making it easier, as a railroad post office is still a post office with a post mark, allowing them to originate mail traffic from onboard if need be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv14tiiULwc

Thanks for posting. I worked for the Post Office from 1966-68 while going to college. We still received mail from RPOs and HPOs and dispatched also, but we knew they were on their way out. Zip codes were taking over the RPO schemes.

 

[NW cannonball]

2014 a crew washed the windows at ABQ

They still do that?

That's an amenity for me - no kidding!

 

[willem]

On two trips through Albuquerque in late 2015, I do not recall the windows being washed (but the memory does not function as well as it used to do). And I never doubted that you were not kidding.

Edit: changed 2016 to 2015.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Small bottle of wine or sparkling wine upon departure was quite regular on all First Class sleeper service on Amtrak many moons ago, when the service was touted as First Class. Some of the regular participants here were probably not born yet, or were too young to worry about Amtrak back then.

Or too young to worry about wine yet!

 

[Eric S]

On two trips through Albuquerque in late 2016, I do not recall the windows being washed (but the memory does not function as well as it used to do). And I never doubted that you were not kidding.

2016?

On my recent trip (CHI-LAX in Feb 2016 and LAX-CHI in Mar 2016) windows were washed at ABQ - at least sort of washed, as it seemed they didn't make it to my car one of the times.

 

[IndyRacingNut]

Small bottle of wine or sparkling wine upon departure was quite regular on all First Class sleeper service on Amtrak many moons ago, when the service was touted as First Class. Some of the regular participants here were probably not born yet, or were too young to worry about Amtrak back then.

Or too young to worry about wine yet!

Hahaha....speak for yourself. I'm 3nd generation Italian. I've been given wine to drink at special occasions since I can first remember. You're never too young to worry about wine if you're born into a family that makes it for a living. But speaking of the wine...Do they usually carry different ones, or just your garden variety red & whites?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Small bottle of wine or sparkling wine upon departure was quite regular on all First Class sleeper service on Amtrak many moons ago, when the service was touted as First Class. Some of the regular participants here were probably not born yet, or were too young to worry about Amtrak back then.

Or too young to worry about wine yet!

Hahaha....speak for yourself. I'm 3nd generation Italian. I've been given wine to drink at special occasions since I can first remember. You're never too young to worry about wine if you're born into a family that makes it for a living. But speaking of the wine...Do they usually carry different ones, or just your garden variety red & whites?

I asked for a taste of wine as a young kid and was given some, probably just to see what would happen. I naturally hated it and thought it tasted like spoiled juice. I still feel the same way to this very day. I have never found a traditional wine I truly enjoyed. I've found a few Champagnes I like but none of them are priced for routine consumption.

 

[RSG]

Or too young to worry about wine yet!

Hahaha....speak for yourself. I'm 3nd generation Italian. I've been given wine to drink at special occasions since I can first remember. You're never too young to worry about wine if you're born into a family that makes it for a living. But speaking of the wine...Do they usually carry different ones, or just your garden variety red & whites?

Um, "garden variety reds & whites"? LOL
Try one brand: Woodbridge. (It happens to be a brand I like, so it's okay. ) On the LD trains there has been, in recent years, at least a choice of Merlot or Cabernet, plus a Chardonnay (sometimes a Moscato). In my recent Western LD trips, it's been reduced to a single red, a single white, and maybe--just maybe--a blush (wihite zin). Even on the Northeast Regional in January, there were only three selections in the cafe car. (Though sometimes there's an additional selection in the 375ml bottles.)

Seriously, there's a better wine selection at my local Olive Garden or Outback Steakhouse, and I live in a liquor control state. Sometimes Amtrak reminds me of the alcohol availability in parts of the country where consumption is frowned upon and the only reason places are allowed to carry it at all is because not doing so drives away too many of those pesky tourists.

 

[RSG]

I hope I get a SCA who does that....My cellphone data limit is.....limited. Maybe I should just bring a few extra novels to read? lol

Or, if being connected is important, you might try my solution: a prepaid wireless hotspot. The best deal I have found is the StraightTalk-branded version of Tracfone's service (proprietary to Walmart). For a $49.94 purchase, you get the hotspot + a 1 GB access card (refill cards are 1GB/$15, 2GB/$25, 4GB/$40). Once activated, service is good for a 30-day continuous period (60-days for 4GB & up cards). There are two different units, the GSM version (marked on the outside of the box), which uses AT&T's network; and the LTE-V version, which uses Verizon's network. For LD train use, you want the latter, noted by the coverage map which covers Nebraska. [i have the GSM version and I can testify that it usually doesn't work in much of the midwest, even though AT&T has upgraded its network in many places west of the Mississippi.]
Aside from other passengers who have a mobile hotspot which shows up on my connection lists, I have yet to be on an LD train where Wi-Fi was an 'amenity'. I overheard an SCA respond to a passenger inquiry last year that the plan was for LD trains to be covered in 2017, but I'm guessing that won't quite happen; if for no other reason than cellular service is so spotty in the interior West that a continuous solution would be difficult to achieve. Most AU regulars are aware of the dings Amtrak has received in the past for their Wi-Fi service on the NEC, in an area of the country with ample (if congested) connectivity.

 

[willem]

On two trips through Albuquerque in late 2016, I do not recall the windows being washed (but the memory does not function as well as it used to do). And I never doubted that you were not kidding.

2016?

On my recent trip (CHI-LAX in Feb 2016 and LAX-CHI in Mar 2016) windows were washed at ABQ - at least sort of washed, as it seemed they didn't make it to my car one of the times.

I corrected it to 2015. For once, I was ahead of my time!

 

[JayPea]

2014 a crew washed the windows at ABQ

They still do that?

That's an amenity for me - no kidding!

Yesterday our car attendant on #11 (21) was washing the lower level windows of the car during the stop at San Luis Obispo. Never seen that before.