Attire in the Dining Car...

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I don't quite understand what is wrong with flip-flops. I have ridden many trains before and I don't see how they are any more dangerous on trains than anywhere else. I am always conscious of stepping over the gap between cars.
I think that it is due, in part at least, to the average age of most of the users here. Many may have come from an era where flip-flops were only used as shower wear to prevent the dreaded athlete's foot :ph34r: and not as a comfortable alternative to shoes.

I wore them last year on my maiden Amtrak LD voyage (e/b CZ) and had no problems stepping over the sliding floor plates between cars (thus saving my toes from being savagely severed from my feet :rolleyes: ) . I did, however, almost end up in someone's lap in the dining car when a sudden lurch caught me off-guard and also caught the edge of my flip-flop on the carpet. :eek:

In future travels, I will not be wearing them again when I travel between cars. But not because of anyone else's 'fashion-sense' or the fear that I may lose toes between cars. I just don't want to become anyone's unexpected lap-mate. :lol:

Oh yeah...

Khaki shorts and a decent t-shirt or polo is how I roll in the dinning car. It ain't "The Captain's Dinner"... ;)
 
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The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!! When you are in public, you should be well dressed.

It doesn't take much effort to put on a clean shirt, pressed pants and proper shoes.

It also helps if you comb your hair and have a smile on your face!!

Happy Traveling.
 
I have seen people come to breakfast in pajamas. Although not risque, it was inappropriate in my opinion.
Our public schools here have "pajama" days for students, including some faculty and staff joining in. I am not a prude, but it never seems quite right to me.
I agree - pajamas are not appropriate for the dining car or schools. As for footwear, closed toes for moving between cars, please. :)
 
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!!
Some folks have enough self confidence that their clothes are irrelevant. Spend the money on clothes and bags to try and fluff your image or spend that money doing things for self improvement and on experiences so you don't need the clothes as a facade.
 
The degree of casualness in clothing might be an East Coast/West Coast thing as well as an age thing. When I used to travel on business I saw a generally higher degree of formality in East Coast offices than is usual here in Seattle.
 
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!!
Some folks have enough self confidence that their clothes are irrelevant. Spend the money on clothes and bags to try and fluff your image or spend that money doing things for self improvement and on experiences so you don't need the clothes as a facade.
PERFECTLY SAID! I always dress casual and comfortable on board, usually wearing a railroad themed T-shirt (Chessie seems to always draw lots of attention).
 
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!!
Some folks have enough self confidence that their clothes are irrelevant. Spend the money on clothes and bags to try and fluff your image or spend that money doing things for self improvement and on experiences so you don't need the clothes as a facade.
PERFECTLY SAID! I always dress casual and comfortable on board, usually wearing a railroad themed T-shirt (Chessie seems to always draw lots of attention).
Exactly!!! :)

I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy anyway so why should I play "dress-up" especially for something that I view as a relaxing get-away from the day-to-day?

What you see is what you get... :p
 
I live in flip-flops on the train. Traverse car-to-car with caution and you will be very comfortable.
Amtrak's stated policy dictates safe shoes when moving between cars. Don't be surprised if a crew member requests that you change your flip flops for something more suitable before crossing over moving steel plates that can shear a toe, or worse yet, a foot right off. You may want to consider packing a real pair of shoes or sneakers~ you might wind up without getting to the diner or lounge car :huh:
 
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!!
Some folks have enough self confidence that their clothes are irrelevant. Spend the money on clothes and bags to try and fluff your image or spend that money doing things for self improvement and on experiences so you don't need the clothes as a facade.
PERFECTLY SAID! I always dress casual and comfortable on board, usually wearing a railroad themed T-shirt (Chessie seems to always draw lots of attention).
Exactly!!! :)

I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy anyway so why should I play "dress-up" especially for something that I view as a relaxing get-away from the day-to-day?

What you see is what you get... :p

DITTO!!! :cool:
 
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I don't necessarily "dress up" for the dining car, but I do occasionally enjoy evoking some personal nostalgia. When my dad first took me on the Rio Grande's Yampa Valley Mail many years ago, we put our Western clothes, which included Rockmount shirts and bolo ties. I like to carry on this tradition when heading to the diner. I do not, of course, wear the hat at the table. Attached photo is of me freshening up in the men's room before boarding the California Zephyr at Denver's Union Station last year.

Lots of times I do the T-shirt/khakis thing at meals and that's fine, too. However, I'll echo what others have said about the potential dangers of flip-flops when walking between cars. The space between the cars could be a real toe-chopper.
 
For me…..it’s usually a clean white t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.

But if this is comfortable for you……go for it!

(Scanned from a Union Pacific - City Of Los Angeles Brochure)

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The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!!
Some folks have enough self confidence that their clothes are irrelevant. Spend the money on clothes and bags to try and fluff your image or spend that money doing things for self improvement and on experiences so you don't need the clothes as a facade.
And some folks are so blissfully ignorant of their surroundings and their own impact on them that they do really stupid things. I'd put the pajama-clad breakfasters in that category. (Do the dining car attendants have enpough authority to request pajama-clad passengers to come back in something more suitable for public dining?)

I agree that T-shirts are probably OK for breakfast and lunch so long as they are clean and not too small/tight on overweight bodies. (Boy, am I going to get into trouble for that one!). The good news is that the OP is aware enough of a potential issue to ask the question. I suspect he'll know what to wear on his second trip to the dining car if not the first.
 
In trains I always wear shoes...no way am I wearing my sandals on a train. As for Dining car attire, I've gone in jeans and t-shirts, semi formal attire, and in my first time riding the CS from L.A to Seattle, i wore a rare UCLA letterman jacket over a black t shirt and black jeans, and happened to be seated with a UCLA professor and his wife at dinner. Just by saying hello and seeing my jacket, the professor bought me a bottle of wine for the dinner, and we had a good conversation about all sorts of things....so yeah, i dont put stock on dress codes in the dining car too much. Except for the shoes.
 
The walk plates in between cars do have a tendency to bite, sandals and flip flops especially. When this happens it can cause MAJOR DISTRESS to the passenger and crew.

The crew now has to make a decision. Do they call an ambulance or a to(e)w truck?

:eek: :lol: :eek:
 
I have seen people come to breakfast in pajamas. Although not risque, it was inappropriate in my opinion.
Our public schools here have "pajama" days for students, including some faculty and staff joining in. I am not a prude, but it never seems quite right to me.
Most students in my school treat everyday like pajama day. :lol: the administration is finally starting to turn that trend around.

As far as dining car attire the outfit you describe would be fine although as others have noted flip flops and trains can be a nasty combonation.l
If I wanted to eat in my pajamas I would request room service breakfast from my SCA, not in my woldest dreams wader to the dining car in PJs.

As for all of the drama over flip flops, I do wear strapless leather sandals (not flip flip flops) on the train (same problem, though); but I never wear them walking between cars; only in my sleeper. I like the balance and appearance of ten toes. It would be very easy for flip flops or strapless sandals to come flying off with all of the rocking and rolling that can occur between cars.
 
The walk plates in between cars do have a tendency to bite, sandals and flip flops especially. When this happens it can cause MAJOR DISTRESS to the passenger and crew.The crew now has to make a decision. Do they call an ambulance or a to(e)w truck?

:eek: :lol: :eek:
Neither if the victim was wearing footie pajamas like I do :p
 
The way you dress is a reflection of who you are!! When you are in public, you should be well dressed.It doesn't take much effort to put on a clean shirt, pressed pants and proper shoes.

It also helps if you comb your hair and have a smile on your face!!

Happy Traveling.
And who I am is someone that does not wish to know someone who ignores me simply because I sometimes come across as a slob. Right now, as dressed for national train day, I am wearing a two-tone Amtrak shirt (of the kind they were selling on the webstore a few years back), a pair of dark blue sweats bleach stained in a few places, a pair of long gym sox, a brown pair of DeWalt composite-toed safety boots, and an Omega Seamaster wrist watch on a black nylon NATO-style strap. (and briefs, if anyone is interested- I hope you aren't! :D )

I dress for comfort. T-shirts, loose ones in particular, are not confining. I don't like jeans- they are too stiff and abrasive. Sweat pants are not. When I'm working in my shop, I wear coveralls or overalls, because I need the protection of the tougher material, but otherwise its sweats. I wear the boots for the same reason.

I actually intended to aim for nicer pants this morning, as in unstained. I find the attire comfortable. I don't wear tight shirts, I'm aware that I don't look pleasant in them. While, on the one hand, I am kind hearted enough to not subject people to things they'd really not want to see, I also am not looking to impress people with the way I dress.

In fact, I tend to distinctly attempt to avoid it. Why? I don't suffer fools gladly, and I REALLY don't suffer people I consider shallow gladly. If my looking like a slob means that what I say is less valuable to you, I'd rather not hold the conversation.

Beyond that... I wear XXL or XXXL shirts. I can buy perfectly acceptable t-shirts at Foot Locker, 3 for $10. Or I could buy Polo-type shirts, at Frank's Big & Tall, for $15 a piece. If I need twelve shirts for my daily rotation... $40 vs. $180. $140 I can spend on myself for things I like... such as a 82.3% of a round trip ticket from New York to Chicago.

Pants even more so, 2XL and 52". I can buy 2 pairs of Champion (a name brand, and decent quality) for $10 at BJ's. Or I can buy one pair of Khaki's or Jeans at Frank's- $50. If I need twelve pairs of pants, its $60 vs. $600. Which buys me the other 17.7% of my round trip fare, Audrey's round trip fare ($170), and roomette accommodations both ways ($376), with some money left over to cover tips.

What gives me more utility? Impressing people impressed by my spending money on clothing or taking a enjoyable trip to Chicago in sleeper with my girlfriend? Gee, I wonder!
 
When I was on the Empire Builder last month, there was one woman in the dining car for breakfast wearing a bathrobe.
 
Would you rather spend dinner talking to adolf hitler in his formal **** uniform or John the Baptist in his camel hair clothes?
 
Would you rather spend dinner talking to adolf hitler in his formal **** uniform or John the Baptist in his camel hair clothes?
My German is terrible.

(As in, 'my knowledge of and ability to converse in the German language is severely limited.' Not as in 'the German I own behaves poorly.')
 
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