Devil's Advocate
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Excepting the Eagle between CHI and SAS the Western trains are back on traditional dining again.
Electrical supply in Southwest Chief Bedroom?
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Thanks, PVD. My specs and stuff are at home and I am at the Puzzle Palace.
That's good news. As ever, the Eagle is still being treated as the illegitimate redhaired stepchild.Excepting the Eagle between CHI and SAS the Western trains are back on traditional dining again.
This includes The Sunset, the CONO, and the Crescent?
Devil's Advocate
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CONO & Crescent are still on Flex trays with the rest of the Eastern routes but the Sunset is back on traditional again.
Guess baby steps are better than no steps.
Just as a quick followup, we're aboard now. (Actually just returned from a very tasty dinner).
The bedroom has a single receptacle below the reading light at the top edge of the sofa, marked "Not for Hair Dryer or Curling Iron" - I don't know if that's due to power contraints, or not wanting to have a heating appliance near the furnishings.
By the sink, there's an additional double receptacle.
Not wanting to tease/test the single outlet by the couch, we're running everything off the receptacle by the sink. With two laptops, a chromebook, a hotspot, and two chargers going, I'd think we're drawing 500 watts, +/- 50. No issues whatsoever.
The bedroom has a single receptacle below the reading light at the top edge of the sofa, marked "Not for Hair Dryer or Curling Iron" - I don't know if that's due to power contraints, or not wanting to have a heating appliance near the furnishings.
By the sink, there's an additional double receptacle.
Not wanting to tease/test the single outlet by the couch, we're running everything off the receptacle by the sink. With two laptops, a chromebook, a hotspot, and two chargers going, I'd think we're drawing 500 watts, +/- 50. No issues whatsoever.
We were on the SW Chief earlier this week and used the AC below the reading light to charge an iPhone with no problem.
Both outlets are fed from the same source, the Head End Power generator in the Engine. Sometimes if there are two engines, the HEP comes from the second engine. It's a fairly clear sinewave, frequency regulation is within 1 Cycle from 60.
The only issue with the outlets on the seatback, they tend to be worn and loose, so I would use them only for low power tasks such as phone charging. Use a small extension so you can spread the prongs a little if need be.
And I never travel without a small roll of Gaffers' or duct tape.
Just bought my tix for DAL-CHI on 27 Oct. Time to get my Survival Kit in order.
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Gaffers tape, NOT duct tape unless you don't mind being a someone who damages property. I took gaffer's tape for the first time on my trip that started yesterday and found a cool use for it.
I'm extremely hard of hearing and with my hearing aids out while I'm sleeping, I hear nothing. My wife sleeping in the roomette across the hall set her cellphone clock as I set mine. I then realized I never hear my alarm go off - she does - in the hotels. With my door locked, she can't wake me w/o waking everyone else. If I left the door unlocked, it would constantly bang back and forth (as it was doing when I was awake). So I put about a 1"x4" piece of gaffers tape to hold it almost closed, but open enough so she could cut it and open the door. Worked like a charm.
Actually, even the cheapest of duct tape is fine if you remove it when you are through, one or two days isn't going to hurt anything. There's no Sheetrock on the trains...
Most folks don't know what true Gaffer's tape is, or where to get it, or want to pay what it costs for a roll. And they call the other stuff duck tape.
My AMTRAK survival kit includes a roll of tape and a couple of wooden wedges.
For a few years, a bunch of tv and film shoots were done on my block, and I used to scrounge leftover half rolls at the end of the day.
BCL
Engineer
I've used duct tape for temporary stuff and the residue can be pretty nasty. There are some floor marking tapes that stay on but come off clean. I've seen them marking volleyball lines on arena floors at college gyms. I think 3M 971 is the gold standard, but it's extremely expensive.
I've used painters tape from a dollar store though for covering up the label on my beer growler. In my state, it's required that a container not have any visible markings of another company. So I can take my Sierra Nevada growler to Sierra Nevada to be filled, but have to cover up the brand names if I take it to my local microbrewery. Painter's tape works great without damaging the label. I've heard of some who get them, and take a razor blade to remove silk-screened labels.
