Hello! Going on my first overnight trip soon!

[Sandwalker]

Hello everyone!

I've been reading posts for a few weeks to research our trip and finally decided to join the forum. Looks like a good group of folks here!

I've always enjoyed short trips by train, whether it be Amtrak or the local Metro around Southern California where I live. It all began when I was 10 years old and asked my parents for a day train trip from Orange County to the Olvera Street in Los Angeles. I brought a friend and we loved every minute of it! I'm in my 50's now and have been a fan ever since. I enjoy being able to look out the window and have a casual conversation with my wife or friend. Even if I'm alone and can read a book or work on my laptop, what a luxury compared to driving!

Next week, I'll be experiencing my first cross country trip from LAX to CHI. I saw the 50th anniversary $50 deal and HAD to take advantage of it! Especially after about a year of staying local, as I'm sure many of you can relate. LAX to CHI, staying a night, then CHI to WAS, staying 4 nights, then back to CHI and LAX again. 6 nights total on the train! I'm not sure how well I'll hold up on a 42 hour trip in coach, with a mask on the whole time but for $50 a leg, I just had to try it.

See you around the forum!

 

[caravanman]

Congrats on taking the plunge, both to travel in coach, and to join this forum!
I have travelled many Amtrak miles in coach, and enjoyed the experience.
Best wishes for your trip, I am sure you will have a blast!

 

[Cal]

Have an open mind and go with the flow

 

[Rasputin]

What trains will you be travelling on? A sleep mask is very helpful. Also a small pillow and a blanket of some type although I have often just used my jacket as a blanket.

Hope you have a great trip and will post a report.

 

[railiner]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Old MM]

Happy travels, if you are so inclined to post a trip report, I look forward to reading!

 

[Everydaymatters]

The first night, you probably won't sleep much. By the second night, you'll be so tired that you'll probably sleep relatively well. As Rasputin said, take a blanket and small pillow. Coach tends to feel colder during the night. I always brought a pair of comfortable slip-on shoes or slippers to wear during the trip.

 

[Sandwalker]

Congrats on taking the plunge, both to travel in coach, and to join this forum!
I have travelled many Amtrak miles in coach, and enjoyed the experience.
Best wishes for your trip, I am sure you will have a blast!

Good to hear you had good experiences with coach! I see mixed comments about it on the forum, compared to sleepers which is understandable.

I do remember when I had traveled in Europe and used a Eurail pass, I actually enjoyed sitting in coach vs a sleeper, which surprised me. Taking a page from Rick Steves, he recommends coach over first class or sleepers to encourage meeting new people on your travels.

 

[Sandwalker]

Have an open mind and go with the flow

Agreed - That's the #1 plan

 

[Sandwalker]

What trains will you be travelling on? A sleep mask is very helpful. Also a small pillow and a blanket of some type although I have often just used my jacket as a blanket.

Hope you have a great trip and will post a report.

I'll be on the Southwest Chief from LAX to CHI and back (42 hours.) For CHI to WAS and back, I'm taking the Capitol Limited (18 hours.)

Thanks for the tip. I just got a neck pillow and I'm shopping for a sleep mask right now. Wife is bringing a slightly embarrassing "cat blanket."

 

[Sandwalker]

The first night, you probably won't sleep much. By the second night, you'll be so tired that you'll probably sleep relatively well. As Rasputin said, take a blanket and small pillow. Coach tends to feel colder during the night. I always brought a pair of comfortable slip-on shoes or slippers to wear during the trip.

I don't sleep easily in the first place, so I'm looking forward to that second night of exhaustion

 

[Sandwalker]

Happy travels, if you are so inclined to post a trip report, I look forward to reading!

Thank you, I will try to give it a go!

 

[rail sale]

Think hard about any valuables you carry with you, from my experience, the nagging worry about a camera or laptop drags a bit on your ability to chillout and sleep or enjoy time in the sightseer lounge car. (it's only been the nagging feeling, never an actual issue)

 

[Sandwalker]

Think hard about any valuables you carry with you, from my experience, the nagging worry about a camera or laptop drags a bit on your ability to chillout and sleep or enjoy time in the sightseer lounge car. (it's only been the nagging feeling, never an actual issue)

Thanks for the tip, I was wondering about that. I'm considering whether or not to bring my laptop. I was mainly considering it to play downloaded Netflix or something. However, I could just stick with my phone. I'll have a kindle for reading as well, which may be enough!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

This does not seem to be much of an issue on Amtrak but before I had replacement insurance I used to carry a $250 laptop on trips. That way if it was stolen or destroyed it was not the end of the world. Sure enough it went "missing" from checked baggage (airline) after a few dozen trips but since it was barely worth $50 at that point it was a minor loss. Another option is to use a Kensington cable wired to your chair. Or just keep an eye out for stops and be near your stuff when the doors are open.

 

[Deni]

One of my favorite trips ever was the summer of 2000, I was living in Seattle and took a job teaching theatre at a summer camp in Maine. I rode on the Empire Builder to Chicago, switched to the Lake Shore limited to Boston, then caught a bus to Portland (no Downeaster train back then). At the end of the summer I rode from Boston to NYC to visit friends then did the whole trip back to Seattle from NYC. Rode coach the whole way. Of course I turned 30 that summer, so doing it in coach now at 50 I'm not sure how much I would like it. I should find out and give it a go again. But that trip was a total blast, it was a three day party and I met so many cool, unique, weird, crazy people. I continued to take the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle on a regular basis until my late 30s, always in coach.

 

[toddinde]

Thanks for the tip, I was wondering about that. I'm considering whether or not to bring my laptop. I was mainly considering it to play downloaded Netflix or something. However, I could just stick with my phone. I'll have a kindle for reading as well, which may be enough!

I’ve never had anything stolen in all my years of travels. Obviously, don’t leave valuables out in the open, but theft is not a serious issue on Amtrak long distance trains.

 

[MilwaukeeRoadLover]

Think hard about any valuables you carry with you, from my experience, the nagging worry about a camera or laptop drags a bit on your ability to chillout and sleep or enjoy time in the sightseer lounge car. (it's only been the nagging feeling, never an actual issue)

I never considered taking a laptop since wifi is not reliable. We did carry the camera with us when leaving the train for stops or dining

 

[Sandwalker]

One of my favorite trips ever was the summer of 2000, I was living in Seattle and took a job teaching theatre at a summer camp in Maine. I rode on the Empire Builder to Chicago, switched to the Lake Shore limited to Boston, then caught a bus to Portland (no Downeaster train back then). At the end of the summer I rode from Boston to NYC to visit friends then did the whole trip back to Seattle from NYC. Rode coach the whole way. Of course I turned 30 that summer, so doing it in coach now at 50 I'm not sure how much I would like it. I should find out and give it a go again. But that trip was a total blast, it was a three day party and I met so many cool, unique, weird, crazy people. I continued to take the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle on a regular basis until my late 30s, always in coach.

See, that's great! That's what I'm trying to keep myself open to - Meeting the "cool, unique, weird, crazy people" which tend to hang out in coach! As a 50-something myself, I DO appreciate more comfort, but I try to balance that with meeting interesting people. Same goes with hotels, for me. I prefer a hotel that has a wine hour or something for guests to mingle. Staying at the Kimpton in DC for that reason.

 

[Asher]

See, that's great! That's what I'm trying to keep myself open to - Meeting the "cool, unique, weird, crazy people" which tend to hang out in coach! As a 50-something myself, I DO appreciate more comfort, but I try to balance that with meeting interesting people. Same goes with hotels, for me. I prefer a hotel that has a wine hour or something for guests to mingle. Staying at the Kimpton in DC for that reason.

Ima liking your trip. Phone and Kindle if it has light for nite reading Is good. Laptop means worry and work. Have fun, post results.

 

[joelkfla]

I never considered taking a laptop since wifi is not reliable. We did carry the camera with us when leaving the train for stops or dining

A laptop gives a much nicer movie viewing experience than even the largest phone screen. A tablet is a happy medium.

No need for wifi; just download whatever you want before the trip.

 

[Deni]

See, that's great! That's what I'm trying to keep myself open to - Meeting the "cool, unique, weird, crazy people" which tend to hang out in coach! As a 50-something myself, I DO appreciate more comfort, but I try to balance that with meeting interesting people. Same goes with hotels, for me. I prefer a hotel that has a wine hour or something for guests to mingle. Staying at the Kimpton in DC for that reason.

There is one caveat to why that trip was so fun in that time period and at that time of my life. I smoked back then (both cigarettes and other stuff that is now legal in some sates but wasn't then) and Amtrak still had these smoking compartments that were on the lower level of one of the coach cars. It is where all the "bad kids" hung out and it became this real party room that got loud and crazy and everyone would be pretty drunk and/or high. Since it was isolated in a closed compartment we could go kind of nuts without bothering too many other passengers.

Obviously those smoking rooms are long gone. Hopefully the Sightseer Lounges will be on your trains so that there is still the social atmosphere that the trains lack if they are cut.

 

[Dustyroad]

I'll be on the Southwest Chief from LAX to CHI and back (42 hours.) For CHI to WAS and back, I'm taking the Capitol Limited (18 hours.)

Thanks for the tip. I just got a neck pillow and I'm shopping for a sleep mask right now. Wife is bringing a slightly embarrassing "cat blanket."

Don't worry about the ''cat blanket ''. What you might see in coach will help you to remember too '' go-with-the-flow '' and have a good time. No one will probably
even notice it . Just remember to keep your valuables save and use lots of lysol wipes and hand sanitizer when you use the restroom. Have a awesome trip.

 

[Sandwalker]

Don't worry about the ''cat blanket ''. What you might see in coach will help you to remember too '' go-with-the-flow '' and have a good time. No one will probably
even notice it . Just remember to keep your valuables save and use lots of lysol wipes and hand sanitizer when you use the restroom. Have a awesome trip.

LoL As for going with the flow -- absolutely

I decided to leave the laptop home, as I run a business and am usually tethered to it. As @anumberone reminded me, it's a reminder of that.

I think our smart phones with a few downloaded movies and a kindle for reading are enough. After all, if I wanted to to speed through the travel experience I would have taken a plane and watched the video screen on the back of a chair of a passenger possibly about to go on a wild rage worthy of the news we've all seen lately . The train is a place to sit back, slow down and take a break from a bit of our lives and enjoy our surroundings, IMHO.

As for lysol wipes - we have an ABUNDANCE! My wife has a bunch of those little ones lol. I also picked up multi packs of "Dude Showers," a bigger, cloth version of "Dude Wipes" I saw on Shark Tank that hikers recommend as a shower replacement. Hopefully, that along with "dry shampoo" will get us through to the long shower-less journey in coach!

 

[Sandwalker]

There is one caveat to why that trip was so fun in that time period and at that time of my life. I smoked back then (both cigarettes and other stuff that is now legal in some sates but wasn't then) and Amtrak still had these smoking compartments that were on the lower level of one of the coach cars. It is where all the "bad kids" hung out and it became this real party room that got loud and crazy and everyone would be pretty drunk and/or high. Since it was isolated in a closed compartment we could go kind of nuts without bothering too many other passengers.

Obviously those smoking rooms are long gone. Hopefully the Sightseer Lounges will be on your trains so that there is still the social atmosphere that the trains lack if they are cut.

I'm told there's the sightseer lounges back online and I've even seen them here in San Diego on the Pacific Surfliners as I go for my walks. I'm not much for the smoke, but I do plan on bringing some wine