First timer, not impressed with Amtrak

[the_traveler]

Sleeping car attendants can range from very good to very bad.

One example of the very good is Leo on the SM. I traveled with him years ago, and to this day he still asks about me by name! One example of the very bad is one SCA that I had on #27 from CHI-PDX. Just after departing CHI, he came by to "introduce himself". I did not see him again at all during the entire trip. (I even had to set the beds each night and put them up each morning myself! ) that is I didn't see him again until I got off in PDX - where he was standing by the door waiting for a tip! :angry:

So you see, it may be a good crew or a bad crew.

 

[KmH]

LD Amtrak Passenger Tip: Pack a roll of your favorite toilet paper.

Based on a foregoing comment, on my next LD train trip I'll try out the Transdorm shower(s).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

LD Amtrak Passenger Tip: Pack a roll of your favorite toilet paper.

Based on a foregoing comment, on my next LD train trip I'll try out the Transdorm shower(s).

Do NOT take your own toilet paper. The train's plumbing needs special toilet paper, like what is used in RVs and probably boats.

 

[the_traveler]

If you take and use your own TP, the toilet may work for you this time - and then clog up and stop working. So it may be an inconvenience to you, but it will also be an inconvenience to the other 20-100 passengers in your car! And they can't just "fix it at the next stop", the restroom or restrooms may have to be closed until the final destination when it can be repaired!

So it happen in (say) Iowa, and then it may have to be closed until the CZ arrives at EMY - 3 days later! Is that worth bringing your own TP? :huh:

 

[me_little_me]

I did a long haul from NY to SF, with a change in trains in Chicago. Lake Shore Limited and California Zephyr. I had a roomette for both legs.

I felt the service staff to be average, not as polished as the airlines. The airlines run a tight ship while I felt the Amtrak staff to be like the local public transit. Public employees, just going through the motions. I would hate to see how the Amtrak coach passengers were treated with the level of service provided in first class. I've never flown in business or first class on airplanes but I think I have a feeling of how they are treated and it looks good. I am not a pro airline guy, before flying out to NY in coach class over a week ago, I haven't flown in 10 years and probably only been on 10 flights in total.

The restrooms are also tiny, would it kill them to combine 2 restrooms into one larger one in the sleeper trains? I held it in until the longer stops and used the restrooms at the train stops. Apparently others did the same as there was a long line in Grand Junction for the mens room. But they only had one toilet stall and one urinal there. On my Lakeshore Limited route with a viewliner, I had my own toilet and sink and I was happy about that.

Most of the sleeper rooms on the Zephyr with a superliner were occupied by elderly people. I know if I had trouble in the restrooms, they must be worst off. I couldn't even brush my teeth in there. I'm lucky I packed some Wisp disposable toothbrushes.

I wouldn't recommend this type of long trip to anyone I know. If they must go, I would tell them to get a room with their own toilet. If Amtrak's clientele for the sleeping units are going to be older in age, why can't they make reasonable modifications. I just felt so badly for those people.

I even considered bailing from the train as early as Nebraska and taking a plane home. I then looked into it further to get off at Denver and maybe renting a car home to the SF bay area but I knew the best viewing parts were coming up after Denver so I stayed to the very end. I don't think the views were worth it. I've seen similar and better views on car trips.

You are partially right about the attendants on board. They range from downright last class to outstanding and management makes no attempt to fix that problem. Of course, you are paying the money for the physical space and because it is "first class" as it is not by any stretch of the imagination when it comes to food or service.

If the room restrooms were too tiny in the roomette for you, use the ones in the coach section where in each car, one is larger and the other is wheelchair-capable so it is really big. Only they are not well kept, either by the attendants or the passengers but it beats getting off the train and getting left behind.

Those (we) elderly people are used to having a lot less in the old days so we find ways to manage. As single person in a roomette, unless you are REALLY tall or REALLY fat, it is not as bad as you say. And for the handicapped who need wheelchairs and walkers, they can get a handicapped bedroom at a roomette price.

If you didn't enjoy your trip, I'd suggest sticking to planes and cars. Leave those rooms to those of us who enjoy watching the scenery instead of the road and get mad that airplane security means that the terrorists have won. If you ever take a roomette alone again, sleep in the top bunk leaving the bottom set up for day use and you will find you have more than enough room to move around.

 

[lthanlon]

On my Lakeshore Limited route with a viewliner, I had my own toilet and sink and I was happy about that.

Amtrak is well aware that you and others are happy with that feature, and in their quest to eliminate anything that makes passengers happy, have removed those toilets and sinks in all the new Viewliners currently being built.

There will be sinks in the new Viewliner roomettes, but no toilets.

There will be sinks in the new Viewliner roomettes, but no toilets.

Will placards advising "PLEASE DO NOT PEE IN SINK" be bilingual or pictographic?

 

[Manny T]

True, City of Miami, Amtrak doesn't use the words First Class--but it does use the word Premium which, btw, my thesaurus lists as a synonym for first class.

Beyond that if you read the way Amtrak describes the service and comfort in a sleeper, it's easy to understand why a first timer would think he was booking First Class--and why disappointment might ensue.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

I love train travel, but to enjoy Amtrak, I think you have to have "realistic" (aka not too high) expectations.

Think of it as an adventure. My wife and I enjoyed staying at campgrounds while friends payed lots of money for fancy hotels. I think we had more fun.

 

[C855B]

Lots of people can't take a 4-day train trip. ...

Even as experienced riders, count us in that group. We've done four- and five-day trips, and were gamy and grumpy by the end of day three. Two overnights, and then it's time for a real bed and bathroom.

 

[City of Miami]

Will placards advising "PLEASE DO NOT PEE IN SINK" be bilingual or pictographic?

hahahahahaha! Everybody knows darn well the guys are gonna use the sink - at least in the middle of the night. Expect it.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Consider the alternative: Signs reading

PLEASE DO NOT WALK DOWN THE HALL IN YOUR UNDERWEAR.

Thanks to Moderator for fixing double post.

 

[tricia]

Consider the alternative: Signs reading

PLEASE DO NOT WALK DOWN THE HALL IN YOUR UNDERWEAR.

Sorry about the mess above. After hitting wrong keys in hasty typing, I can't edit the posts or delete them.

Sign in a now-defunct laundromat in Hot Springs, NC (near where I live, and right on the Appalachian Trail) used to read something like: "You must wear clothes while doing laundry. A towel is not enough." Underwear probably wasn't considered enough, either.

 

[Manny T]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

 

[bobnjulie]

I'm okay having one less person to compete with for a bedroom or roomette. The train may not be for every one... perhaps a bit of glamorized camping however I haven't seen better views from a car...EVER...... We taken lots of road trips and the person driving can't just stop driving and veer off the road.... it's a pain. The only place that was close was in Glacier National Park or perhaps Yellowstone but you are still fighting all the people, the traffic....ugh.... train every day.

Now the bedroom bathrooms were a bit tight but I'm a bit chunky. My husband had no issue. The other bathrooms are plenty large enough for every activity, including brushing teeth. As a female, it takes so a bit of a learning curve using facilities on the train but my husband has never had any issues.

I'm okay having one less person to compete with for a bedroom or roomette. The train

 

[Alexandria Nick]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

Any port in a storm.

Sink, shower, storm drain, or (in the case of a friend in college) out a convenient window.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

Any port in a storm.

Sink, shower, storm drain, or (in the case of a friend in college) out a convenient window.

That's why I ALWAYS put a pack of disinfecting wipes in my grip and whenever I travel in a Viewliner Roomette, first thing I do is wipe down the sink and toilet.

 

[SarahZ]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

Any port in a storm.

Sink, shower, storm drain, or (in the case of a friend in college) out a convenient window.

I would hardly consider having to walk down the hall to the washroom "a storm".

 

[Skyline]

I'm both a long distance wilderness traveller (a/k/a backpacker) who has hiked long trails like the 2,190-mile long Appalachian. Also a long distance train rider for 40 years. What do each have in common? Great adventures if you want, and adventure means being prepared for the unexpected sometimes, and adapting well enough to the conditions you find.

In my earlier train riding years, I listened attentively to stories told by the then-oldtimers working on Amtrak trains, as well as those riding them. Their experiences made me wish I had been born a couple decades earlier. In the Amtrak age I have experienced superb train trips not too different from what they relayed about an earlier time, and also just the opposite. When things haven't gone exactly as they might have, unless it was really inexcusable behavior by an employee causing an entire car or train to be miserable (in which case I documented everything for a complaint now or later), I just tried to go with the flow. (Like there was a choice?)

You know, when hiking for a week or more at a time carrying 30-40 lbs. all day, camping at a different location each night, lots of unexpected things happen. Some are fabulous--like a postcard-worthy sunset from a mountain viewpoint, or a tentsite near a babbling brook to lull you to sleep, or figuring out how to craft an almost-gourmet meal on a lightweight camp stove from a dwindling food supply in my pack and still having enough food to get me to the next town resupply. And sometimes it's drought conditions so water sources are few and far between, or rain five days in a row that washes out a footbridge so I have to ford a swolen stream that is up to my waist, or a rodent that chews a hole in my tent so it can see if there is any food inside he can steal. It's ALL part of the adventure, and in the end it's all worthwhile and makes for great conversation.

That's how I look at passenger train travel. One trip, every train arrives on time, the on board crew is polite and attentive, nothing breaks, and the food is great. Another trip, one train is so late that you miss a connection and that throws an entire trip in limbo; a toilet down the hall overflows; food is not well prepared, and your sleeper or coach attendant is rude and AWOL most of the time. But it's also an adventure, calamities are survivable, and you got to take the train! Guaranteed you will recount these tales--pro and con--many times in the years ahead with friends and family, and some of your audience will be envious that you got to experience it, while they didn't--even the bad stuff.

Sure, there is an obvious difference because you pay good money to ride trains, and once your gear and expendables are purchased hundreds or thousands of miles in the woods are nearly free. But your mindset to handle the good and the bad gets you through most of it with a smile before and after, and maybe during.

 

[sodium]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

Any port in a storm.

Sink, shower, storm drain, or (in the case of a friend in college) out a convenient window.

That's why I ALWAYS put a pack of disinfecting wipes in my grip and whenever I travel in a Viewliner Roomette, first thing I do is wipe down the sink and toilet.

Pack a lint roller too, it comes in handy for all the hairs on the chair, bed sheet and blankets.

I'm the original bellyacher here, I felt as if the staff were treating people as car and room numbers, not going above of what they are expected from HQ or HR. They didn't feel very approachable and they made it seemed like they were going out of their way for you. I think they're forgetting some of the people on board are on the trip for the first time or it has been a long time since they've been away from their home period. A few of the other riders I encounter on the CZ have never been to California. They were all there to stay with family or friends.

I was not looking to be treated like 1st class, I would feel really uncomfortable in that type of setting. Just good friendly service is all that I request. The type of service I saw from Amtrak was like Greyhound but on a set of tracks. Going from NY to CA on the train was a big part of my vacation and I forked over $760 for the experience. It was also a bucket list item. I wouldn't do this trip again even if it was free, just as I wouldn't step foot on a Greyhound ever again.

I also don't think I was impressed with the scenery much because I have done a number of car trips through mountains, forest and a few weeks throughout Utah recently. I seek out scenic spots for my road trips. Passing by it on a train is one thing, but experiencing it on the ground is much more impressive. On the CZ, we passed by the Colorado National Monument after Grand Junction, CO and passed by Arches National Park in UT. You can't even get an idea of what is inside of the park from the train.

The next time I want a train experience, I will probably book a trip on a steam engine train like the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad over in Chama, New Mexico. I passed by there on a recent camping trip not knowing what I was stopping at. The staff was real friendly even though I wasn't a paying customer and let me step over on the other side of the tracks for some better photos as the train was coming down. Then I got yelled at by a guy in the building. He didn't know the other guy waved me over and then they started yelling at each other. I spotted that small train earlier while coming down the mountain and knew they had some amazing viewing opportunity. Plus that train whistle is cool.

 

[neroden]

Amtrak service is *really* inconsistent. I've had crew who were terrible and crew who were great.

But I still prefer taking the train from NY to Chicago over driving -- very long, unpleasant drive and usually requires an overnight stay somewhere.

Or worse, flying, where the TSA and the crew usually treats everyone like they're suspected of terrorism, and there's no courtesy whatsoever, and there are often *threats against the passengers* from the staff, not to mention routine theft from your baggage and being trapped in a very tiny seat and not permitted to stand up. I will never fly out of a US airport again until the TSA is abolished, barring an extreme emergency.

 

[Trainmans daughter]

I wouldn't want to travel with Sodium. Kvetch kvetch kvetch.

We need a "Like" button here.

 

[sodium]

Sure, blame the victim here.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Sure, blame the victim here.

Victim? How were you a victim?

 

[Eric308]

Have to disagree with City of Miami--"the guys are gonna use the sink"--not this guy, not ever, never even occurred to me. If it's true, have to reassess my relationship to the sleeping car PAX I come across.

Any port in a storm.

Sink, shower, storm drain, or (in the case of a friend in college) out a convenient window.

I used to haul sail boats cross country, and my "port in a storm" was an empty (to start with) plastic gallon jug. Works great in a roomette as well....just dump it every morning ala chamber pot.

 

[Alice]

I'm with Sodium here. Some Amtrak staff ARE sub-standard. Some equipment IS in poor condition. Amtrak advertising (and some railfans) DO oversell the product. I still take Amtrak anyway because I like trains but I take far more excursion trips than Amtrak trips (although more miles on Amtrak). I also take more road trips for more miles than any other transportation, and agree with Sodium that I can see more that way, especially by staying off the freeway and then getting out of the car for sight-seeing.

Sodium hasn't said anything to make me think I wouldn't want to travel with him. He is aware enough that he knew train travel cross country still exists and adventurous enough that he tried it. The places he mentioned in his car trip are places I go every few years so we probably like the same things, except Colorado National Monument so I just looked that up and bookmarked it (Thanks, Sodium). He's a good story teller, look how many of you responded emotionally to his post. His writing is organized and clear, good communication may be the most important attribute when you are stuck in close quarters with someone. He listens, too, judging from his response. And the guy even has a sense of humor, calling himself a "bellyacher." I suspect he'd be a fine travel companion.