Newbie - Emeryville Questions

[Sunnyduck]

My son who is out in CA will be taking the train from Emeryville to Chicago next week (8/15/12). He is overly shy so I have some questions to help him get around. I was told to have him ask a Red Cap for help after he is out on the platform (assuming I can get him to do so). However Amtrak does not list Emeryville as having Red Cap service - so do they??? He won't need anyone to really carry bags, he'll have 3 carry-ons but he could probably manage but we are concerned about him finding the right train and then knowing where he can sit. I guess help getting the carry ons into the overhead storage would be helpful too. They need to stay near where he sits since 2 of them will be his computer (tower) and monitor (masquerading as a laptop), the third being food and stuff to do for 51 hours.

My second question is if he won't ask a Red Cap for help, once he is out on the platform how will he recognize his train? Are they clearly marked (like on each car)? or is it just on the engine? And if he finds his train how will he know which car he can sit in? He just has a standard ticket, nothing fancy. Also if I can get him to leave his seat to go for food (and not just eat the "junk" he will probably bring with him) how will he locate the Lounge car?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Texan Eagle]

My son who is out in CA will be taking the train from Emeryville to Chicago next week (8/15/12). He is overly shy so I have some questions to help him get around. I was told to have him ask a Red Cap for help after he is out on the platform (assuming I can get him to do so). However Amtrak does not list Emeryville as having Red Cap service - so do they??? He won't need anyone to really carry bags, he'll have 3 carry-ons but he could probably manage but we are concerned about him finding the right train and then knowing where he can sit. I guess help getting the carry ons into the overhead storage would be helpful too. They need to stay near where he sits since 2 of them will be his computer (tower) and monitor (masquerading as a laptop), the third being food and stuff to do for 51 hours.

My second question is if he won't ask a Red Cap for help, once he is out on the platform how will he recognize his train? Are they clearly marked (like on each car)? or is it just on the engine? And if he finds his train how will he know which car he can sit in? He just has a standard ticket, nothing fancy. Also if I can get him to leave his seat to go for food (and not just eat the "junk" he will probably bring with him) how will he locate the Lounge car?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Since you say Emeryville to Chicago, I believe he will be boarding the California Zephyr. The name of the train is neither mentioned on any of the cars nor on the engine. It is announced at the station and there may be indicator screens mentioning where the train is supposed to arrive. Regarding where to sit, mostly he will be directed by the train staff to one of the coach cars (there may be 3 or 4 cars) and depending upon the mood of the staff that day, they may assign seat numbers or leave it open seating. It is one of the most inconsistent things on Amtrak, but do not worry, they will make sure your son has a seat. About looking for the lounge car, the simplest thing may be to ask the coach attendant. There is an attendant in every car. Alternately, he can just walk along the train's length and he'll see it. Just tell him to relax and enjoy the journey. Traveling on Amtrak is much less complicated than negotiating some of the big airports.

 

[Acela150]

IIRC EMY does not have Red Caps. Unless there is a need for the computer i.e. school. I wouldn't suggest bringing an entire desktop computer. Most passengers bring laptop computers. The lounge car is in the middle of the train and has windows around the top. Food is on the lower level. Along with drinks.

 

[Sunnyduck]

IIRC EMY does not have Red Caps. Unless there is a need for the computer i.e. school. I wouldn't suggest bringing an entire desktop computer. Most passengers bring laptop computers. The lounge car is in the middle of the train and has windows around the top. Food is on the lower level. Along with drinks.

Yes, unfortunately it was a Amtrak employee who told me to ask for the Red Cap help (after I told her where he was boarding).... LOL!

Also he is moving home from CA so he has to bring his Desktop computer and bringing it as carry-on seemed the safest bet, since he will be the one handling it, and no one else.

When you say the food is on the lower level ( I assume that the lounge car has 2 levels and its on the lower level of the car). Sorry for "newb" questions but I've never road myself only dropped people off

 

[E Runs]

Yes, the CZ is uses Superliner equipment which has 2 levels, all travel between cars occurs on the upper level. The Sightseer Lounge has large, panoramic, windowns on the upper lever with the Cafe Car portion on the lower. There is also the Diner Car where full meals are available for purchase. The Dinder will be the next car after the Sightseer Lounge.

 

[amtkstn]

The cz is the only train using superliner cars at that station.

 

[NY Penn]

There's also the Coast Starlight.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

There is a section for first time riders you can check out. In this section is a subforum called Links. Below is one of the links where you can get visual ideas of what the trains look like:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/forum/40-car-layouts-virtual-tours/]

 

[Cristobal]

There's also the Coast Starlight.

That is true and an on-time 11 (s/b CS) can sometimes confuse early arriving CZ pax at EMY. Also, all the the Capitol Corridor trains are bi-level and some even have a superliner coach car in the consist.

Typically, the CZ doesn't even pull up to the Emeryville station (from the Oakland yard) until maybe 15~20 minutes before the scheduled departure.

It can be pretty confusing at the station with a few CC trains (and the s/b CS) stopping there but they are pretty good at making announcements trying to minimize the confusion. Note that the CZ runs with sleepers in the back and coach cars towards the front so it can be a fairly long walk from the station to their car for some coach pax.

 

[NY Penn]

If he is confused, he can always ask the conductor on the train where it's going.

 

[rusty spike]

The cz is the only train using superliner cars at that station.

The Coast Starlight also uses Superliners and stops at Emeryville, but unless it is VERY, VERY late, not at the same time as the CZ.

All CZ Coach Class cars will be in front of the Sightseer Lounge, (the car with the large/wraparound windows), which has the Snack Bar/Cafe on the lower level. A Car Attendent will direct him to his proper car and that car's attendent will probably allow him to pick a seat and help him with directions to the Sightseer Lounge, full-service Diner, bathrooms, drinking water, etc.

The CZ originates in Emeryville so it will be on platform and empty when it loads, which is usuallly announced and displayed on message boards. I don't know if there are Redcaps but it does not sound like he needs one.

There is plenty of room to store small suitcases in the overhead bin, or on the flloor in front of you. He could even take a small cooler on board and put in the floor space in front of him depending on how much legroom he requires. If he gets a seat immediately in front of or behind a bulkhead, there is even more space. He will have to carry the stuff up the narrow flight of stairs on his own.