overweight wheelchair

[Cma]

Have a great trip.

 

[Alice]

Joe, Now that the getting on and off is all fixed up, you need a way to see the magnificent scenery you'll be passing. The H-room windows are pretty useless unless your nose is pressed against the glass, and the closest you'll be able to get to either of them is several feet. One thing I sometimes do is hang out in the vestibule, where I can get closer and the windows are larger. But then I'm in the way at every stop.

I've never tried this, but on some trains, people in chairs can move into the lower level cafe. It has a wheelchair table (which is probably too low for you to get under) and wheelchair parking space. You might also be able to get into the new business class section. So when you board, please discuss with your SCA what options you might have. If you are an early riser, I can't imagine anything better than moving to the cafe in Dunsmuir and watching sunrise over Mt. Shasta, although that stop might not be long enough. You'd want to tip both your SCA and the cafe attendant, especially if you spend the whole day there.

I also wonder about technology and you live in the center of it. There must be some kind of dash cam that could be stuck to the window, that would continuously transmit what is outside to your cell or tablet. Unlike regular roomettes, the H-room has two 110 sockets, one on each side of the room (take extension cords). I also travel with a scanner and my phone set to gps.

Hopefully other people will have more ideas.

 

[BCL]

I'd never say never, but you probably have a better chance of getting hit by lightning on the way to cashing in your winning powerball ticket.

Speak for yourself. I'm going to cash in my winning MegaMillions ticket today. All of $3. Of course it was 5 plays costing $5. However, I'm feeling lucky just getting any of it back.

 

[Hal]

Well, this is an amazing forum. "Everything you wanted to know about train lifts and more."
At this point I have no doubt that I will be able to safely get on and off the Coast starlight with no difficulty. As far as increasing the force required for the operator to crank up the lift (in case I do need to use one instead of the expected on-board ramps), the increase I calculate to be about 1.5 pound of force.

Final question, (just because I happen to be a "belt and suspenders" person):
Is it even remotely conceivable that someone at the station will weigh me in my wheelchair and say "sorry sir, you are overweight and we can't take you on board"?
Again, thanks to everyone who responded.
Joe

No they won't weigh you in your wheelchair. It is concievable they will take one look at you in the chair and ask you the weight. Is the weight on the outside of the chair? If you lie and give a total under the limit I doubt they will challenge you. Basically they are depending on passengers to do the right thing and not go over the limit. The weight limit is a safety issue for both you and the employee operating either the wheelchair lift or wheelchair ramp. It is no joke when they won't hold the weight. I know of a conductor who was injured and suffered lost time when one of the lifts did not hold the weight. Personally if it were me I would not take the chance.

 

[BCL]

Well, this is an amazing forum. "Everything you wanted to know about train lifts and more."
At this point I have no doubt that I will be able to safely get on and off the Coast starlight with no difficulty. As far as increasing the force required for the operator to crank up the lift (in case I do need to use one instead of the expected on-board ramps), the increase I calculate to be about 1.5 pound of force.

Final question, (just because I happen to be a "belt and suspenders" person):
Is it even remotely conceivable that someone at the station will weigh me in my wheelchair and say "sorry sir, you are overweight and we can't take you on board"?
Again, thanks to everyone who responded.
Joe

No they won't weigh you in your wheelchair. It is concievable they will take one look at you in the chair and ask you the weight. Is the weight on the outside of the chair? If you lie and give a total under the limit I doubt they will challenge you. Basically they are depending on passengers to do the right thing and not go over the limit. The weight limit is a safety issue for both you and the employee operating either the wheelchair lift or wheelchair ramp. It is no joke when they won't hold the weight. I know of a conductor who was injured and suffered lost time when one of the lifts did not hold the weight. Personally if it were me I would not take the chance.

One of the hand-cranked ones won't fail with 650 lbs. The main issue will be crank effort. I can guarantee you a ramp won't fail from 650 lbs unless it's defective.

Here's one used experimentally at LA Union Station:

 

[TinCan782]

From Amtrak's blog yesterday.

On this topic but not necessarily addressing your question...

http://blog.amtrak.com/2015/07/amtrak-unveils-new-technologies-accessible-travel/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=amtrak-unveils-new-technologies-accessible-travel

 

[mat123]

I have a Permobile C300 (~300lbs) and I weigh about 250 lbs. I was carrying about 50 lbs of luggage & gear on me and my chair. The ramps used on the Superliner are super sturdy. They are two segment. If they do not unfold the ramp into two segments you'll be fine. If they unfold it into the longer two segment setup, my impression is you'll be fine as well. When I was going on the regular regional train, I had to use the manually cranked lift. A female employee had a hard time cranking me up to the train entrance level, but a male conductor came along and cranked me up without a problem. Here too, I think you'll be fine.

There was no scale to calculate weight, unless it is built into the manual cranked lift, but I doubt it.

I suggest you face towards the train when loading and unloading. On the regional train, it was a tight squeeze getting through the door and turning inside to go into the coach area. On the Superliner, there was plenty of room through the door and in the vestibule to turn and go to the Handicap sleeper compartment.

** Note, if you have the "driving bracket" on your chair with the bolt for an EZ-Lock, ensure the bolt is raised up as high as possible, but to the point where it still fits your EZ-Lock. I know my bolt is closer to the ground than it should be but neglected to have it adjusted before my trip. On the Superliner, my bolt kept catching when leaving the train, so I had to really speed up and hit the ramp hard when exiting to clear the lip of the ramp.

Let me know if you have anymore questions since I just did this trip July 4th.

 

[mat123]

I transfered from my Permobile to the regular seat in the H room and we thought the windows were fine. Even if you stay in your chair, the windows are fine. I would not recommend staying in your chair unless you cannot transfer. I only did the transfer when the train was stopped since it really does "rock, sway, and roll" while underway. You will be eating your meals in your H room, so you will need a table to eat off of unless you are good about balancing trays of food on your lap when the train is gyrating. It would have been nice if they had provided an oversized fold-down table on the back wall so a wheelchair user could use the table from their chair.

I read that legally, you should be allowed access to the lower level cafe car. This would involve setting up a ramp on your sleeper car to exit the train AND getting the conductor to open up the Cafe car and setting up a ramp to it at a stop. When you want to return to your room, they would have to setup two ramps again. I didnt ask and decided it would be too much trouble (for me) anyways. If you want to do this, I'd probably get something in writing from Amtrak that you can hand to the conductor when you ask. I got the impression that once you are on the train, you will NOT leave your lower level car until your stop.

Joe, Now that the getting on and off is all fixed up, you need a way to see the magnificent scenery you'll be passing. The H-room windows are pretty useless unless your nose is pressed against the glass, and the closest you'll be able to get to either of them is several feet. One thing I sometimes do is hang out in the vestibule, where I can get closer and the windows are larger. But then I'm in the way at every stop.

I've never tried this, but on some trains, people in chairs can move into the lower level cafe. It has a wheelchair table (which is probably too low for you to get under) and wheelchair parking space. You might also be able to get into the new business class section. So when you board, please discuss with your SCA what options you might have. If you are an early riser, I can't imagine anything better than moving to the cafe in Dunsmuir and watching sunrise over Mt. Shasta, although that stop might not be long enough. You'd want to tip both your SCA and the cafe attendant, especially if you spend the whole day there.

I also wonder about technology and you live in the center of it. There must be some kind of dash cam that could be stuck to the window, that would continuously transmit what is outside to your cell or tablet. Unlike regular roomettes, the H-room has two 110 sockets, one on each side of the room (take extension cords). I also travel with a scanner and my phone set to gps.

Hopefully other people will have more ideas.