Are Dining Cars Open During Non-Meal Hours?

[ScouseAndy]

Im stuggling to see the sanitary difference between sitting at a table in the lounge or sitting at a table in the restuarant car? Surely they dont leave cutlery on tables between servings do they?

You are going to a large number of air born and pest (such as flies) carried germs (which are far more potentially serious then human carried germs) if cutlery and plates are left on tables overnight. From some one who has run restaurants and bars in the past I know it takes less than 2 minutes to quickly set a table up for a customer as they arrive and ensure their tableware & cutlery is 100% spotless and freshly washed/or has been stored in air tight containers.

.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Even if the practice on other trains may not be the same, the fact remains that the dining room is a bad place to conduct activities that could potentially compromise the integrity of the diner's sanitation during the night or between seatings. If I'm going to eat at a table anywhere (train, restaurant, home, or what have you), I don't want people having their kids walk on the table or sit on the table with soiled diapers. Think it doesn't happen? Think again. If the crew isn't there to stop it, it's going to happen.

I would hope that it is not Amtrak's SOP to assume that after 12 hours, the tables are still clean in an open access area (a dining car). If they need to be wiped off with a disinfectant, I would think that ServSafe practices would require them to be done just prior to customers using the table.

 

[Seaboard92]

I'm actually going to take former obs's stand point. As a person who works OBS on excursions. Really more like an OBS Chief. I think the crew should have some place where they can unwind a bit and relax. We use the bottom of the full domes. And it's not uncommon to see us joking around, eating, and relaxing down there. Most of us don't get but maybe ten minutes sitting time during a shift. But different people are always down there on break on a run. Or we are using the break room l as an extra kitchen space. Especially for plating meals. So we try to discourage passage thru the bottom of the full domes.

 

[FormerOBS]

Cho Cho Charlie:

I said the set tables are covered for sanitary reasons.

Tom

 

[Manny T]

Would you like to sit in a restaurant when it is closed? I admit I am a little mystified by this discussion.

Maybe it's a trend. We also have "Spending All Night in an Amtrak Station."

Next up: Can I sit on a train that is not scheduled to depart anytime soon?

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Would you like to sit in a restaurant when it is closed? I admit I am a little mystified by this discussion.

Maybe it's a trend. We also have "Spending All Night in an Amtrak Station."

Next up: Can I sit on a train that is not scheduled to depart anytime soon?

I did get to walk through an Acela one time at NYP. The train was parked with all of the doors open. The crew were all in the cafe car, I think they saw us but didn't say anything.

 

[railiner]

I have toured equipment parked at NYP also, but it was when it opened for early boarding. That was how I got to see NJT and LIRR's bilevel cars, when they were new.

One time in Halifax, I got an end-to-end tour of the Ocean Limited, over an hour prior to departure, but that was due to the hospitality of one of the station agents, who accompanied me aboard. That was my first viewing of The Renaissance cars...

I have done many others, in various locations thru the years, simply by asking...including other modes of transport.

 

[A Voice]

Would you like to sit in a restaurant when it is closed? I admit I am a little mystified by this discussion.

Maybe it's a trend. We also have "Spending All Night in an Amtrak Station."

Next up: Can I sit on a train that is not scheduled to depart anytime soon?

But the dining car isn't "closed off". While a shuttered restaurant would have its doors closed and locked, the diner remains open and accessible to passengers - they just aren't serving meals at the time, and you aren't supposed to sit or stay there.

 

[zepherdude]

I think this is a non issue as the tables are set and re-set all day and staff is present, staff is there until 10pm or later and I have never seen anyone there late at night. All LD trains have the Observation Car and Snack Car. I would at least ask if its OK to use it late at night and I suspect you will be asked not too.

 

[Maglev]

One night on the Coast Starlight, I sat with the train crew for a while in the dining car. I think they usually have a pot of coffee going there for the night crew. All the lights in the car were out except the light over our table. We were mostly talking about train stuff, with a RR radio in the background. I commented that I wanted to see the moon rising over Mount Shasta, and lo and behold right at that time we were passing Mount Shasta. I reached up and turned out the lights, and the crew and I watched in awe as a full moon drifted through misty clouds at the top of Mount Shasta.

Cost of deluxe room? $800. Cost of turning out the lights on the conductor and leaving him speechless? Priceless.

 

[Seaboard92]

That reminds me of a time I was on the Silver Star when it had its diner. The Auto Train had an engine go down. So we gave them one of our three engines. But in order to do that we had to take our engines off to set it out. So once the room got too hot my sister and I went down to the diner which also has no power. And we spent time joining with the dining car crew playing cards. And they gave us an extra desert they had taken out for some odd reason. It was lovely.

 

[ehbowen]

I weigh in on the side of the "special circumstances" exception. When we made our Big Family Trip HOS-LAX and return in 2006 (5 adults and 6 kids, all in sleeper) the Sightseer Lounge was out of service with a Coach/Cafe substituting. The kids (and some of the adults) wanted to have a place to play cards and dominoes. The diner staff let us use a table in the far end of the diner pretty much whenever we wanted. Of course it helped that, due to staffing, only one end of the diner was being used for serving.