Roomette security

[Boogs]

My wife and I have a number of journeys booked for this year all with a roomette for the overnight trips. We are UK based and have never used Amtrak before and I am sure we will have a number of questions before we leave the UK. My first covers the security of the roomette when we are not in it. What kind of locks are their on these rooms, all they key operated or what? What is the process when we board for accessing the room initially?

Many thanks in advance.

John

 

[Ryan]

No lock from the outside, but you can lock the door from the inside.

Theft really isn't a problem, pull the curtain and shut the door when you leave the room, and there's no way to tell if the room is occupied or not. A would be thief isn't going to last long poking into occupied rooms.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Take your monay and other valuables with you when you leave. The other stuff could get stolen but it's hard because the attendant usually has a sharp eye and only Sleeper passengers can enter Sleepers.

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Hi Boogs, first off, welcome to AU. Also, I hope you and your wife enjoy your time here in the U.S.

Secondly, when your train arrives, your car attendant will meet you at the door, greet you, and let you know where your room is, You go up the stairs *if its an upstairs room", then the room should be ready and waiting, the doors to the room are open initially, the only time they are closed is when you decide to close them.

Ifs its a single level train, then you will be told where your room is down the hall. Otherwise, you just go to your room, and then you can decide when to close the door to your room.

Ask as many questions as you want, we are totally here to help in any way we can!

Anthony

 

[the_traveler]

As said, theft from the sleeper is rarely a problem, because the only passengers allowed in the sleeping car are other passengers in the sleeping car who will have the same (locking) concerns as you do. (Coach passengers are not allowed in the sleeping cars.) Also remember that if someone does take something, they will probably still be on the train. Very few people get off of a train moving at 79 MPH (128 kmph)!

Enjoy your holiday to the US!

 

[oregon pioneer]

When I travel Amtrak these days, I am usually in a roomette with my husband. He's over 6' tall, so I can appreciate that they are a little cramped feeling at times. We do spend most of our time there, but sometimes he wants to take an afternoon nap, so I take my laptop computer or my book, and head off to the sightseer lounge car. There I can spend some time with a cuppa and some reading, or in conversation while watching the view. Alternatively, if I am getting some "real" work done on the laptop in our roomette, my husband may head off for some conversation or an evening beer in the lounge. I'm pretty careless with my laptop -- it's an older model, and I leave it on the table in my roomette when I go for meals or to the rest room. It's never been bothered. I don't have any other "valuables" except my purse, and that's always with me when I leave (why tempt fate?). I agree with the advice to just close the curtain and door when you leave. No one has ever attempted to enter our roomette wen we were in it with the curtain closed, and I've never seen any evidence it was attempted when we weren't present either.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Another thing you may not know is that you will only have room in your Superliner roomette for a small carryon size bag. Your larger bag on the Superliners can be stowed on the lower level in the baggage rack area or you can check your bags if you prefer. I have been traveling on the Superliners since they were first made available on the Empire Builder decades ago and have never had any problem leaving my "stuff" in the room when I was out of it. I do as was suggested always close the sliding door and close the privacy curtains so no one can see inside. Have fun, I'm traveling on the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder and Southwest Chief this July/August.

 

[ehbowen]

I keep my money and valuables on me at all times. For my laptop computer, I use a Kensington security lock; it keeps the honest people honest.

 

[caravanman]

Hi,

As a fellow UK resident and Amtrak rail fan, if you have any questions that are not answered in full, you are welcome to message me. Sometimes between the UK and the USA things get "lost in translation"

The roomettes cannot be locked when you leave them, they have a sliding door and curtains for privacy. As mentioned, the doors can be locked from inside.

The sleeper cars are seperated from the coach (regular seats) cars by the dining car which acts as a sort of unofficial "check point" .. coach passengers are not permitted access to the sleepers. Leave most of your stuff on the lower level luggage rack, and just take essentials and valuables into the roomette. You can access the luggage en route so can get fresh clothes etc, etc.

Have a great trip, and try not to get too confused by all the advice!

Ed

 

[Phil S]

Another thing you may not know is that you will only have room in your Superliner roomette for a small carryon size bag. Your larger bag on the Superliners can be stowed on the lower level in the baggage rack area or you can check your bags if you prefer. I have been traveling on the Superliners since they were first made available on the Empire Builder decades ago and have never had any problem leaving my "stuff" in the room when I was out of it. I do as was suggested always close the sliding door and close the privacy curtains so no one can see inside. Have fun, I'm traveling on the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder and Southwest Chief this July/August.

I don't quite agree. Up to 2 small carryon items, especially if they're soft and flexible, will fit under each seat. But note they're tricky to get at when the lower bunk is down. In one of the types (Superliner?) there's a shelf up high next to the door that will hold a medium size wheelie. It's some work to get it up there so you don't want to be getting into it often. And on the other type there's room for the same size wheelie on a sort of bench that's also near the door. It tucks in a little behind the seat so it doesn't tend to fall onto the seat or bed. One of the types also has a coat closet in which all sorts of small items can be stacked. The trick is to ignore the rules and have lots of small bags rather than one huge one. I usually travel with three small bags and one medium. No one has ever questioned me, even when riding coach. When I board the sleeper the wheelie goes into the luggage rack; the rest go into my roomette with me. Then once the new passengers are settled in, I retrieve the wheelie. I reverse the process detraining.

Boogs -- Good luck with your trip!

 

[Nathanael]

Up to 2 small carryon items, especially if they're soft and flexible, will fit under each seat. But note they're tricky to get at when the lower bunk is down. In one of the types (Superliner?) there's a shelf up high next to the door that will hold a medium size wheelie. It's some work to get it up there so you don't want to be getting into it often.

That's the Viewliner. It definitely has more luggage space in the roomettes than the Superliner.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

If your traveling by yourself and don't want to use the luggage racks then you can use the upper bunk for storage. That's what I did.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Clarification - as the previous poster said, the Viewliner has the shelf up high next to the door, while the Superliner has room on the "step" for a small carryon. However, if you use that space for luggage, climbing into the top bunk can be tricky and/or impossible.

There is some space under the seats during the day, as was mentioned. Also, the Superliners do have a sort of closet space - some Superliners have an actual closet, but some Superliners just have a hanging rack in that area (instead of a closet).

Also, from what I've read, the space under each Superliner roomette seat is 9" high, I'm not sure of the exact dimensions. So, if your carry-on is small, it might fit under there, but as the previous poster said, you won't really be able to access it at night when the lower bunk is down.

I'll agree with the previous posters and say that the train feels very safe. I'm not sure I've ever heard a report of something being taken from a sleeper, I think it's very rare.

My wife and I have developed a pretty good routine when traveling together in a Superliner roomette, and it sounds very much like what everyone else has recommended. We both bring a small backpack or small "crushable" carryon that contains just what we need while we're on the train - laptop, books, one change of clothes, toiletries, etc. Everything we don't need for the train gets checked with our luggage or put downstairs in the luggage rack. During the day, we can keep our carry-ons under our seats, in the closet, or on the step to the upper bunk. At night, we move our carryons to he floor under the lower bunk.

That way, we each have what we need & can get around each other at any time of day. Plus, we're not having to mess with the luggage on the luggage rack, which would involve putting your suitcase on the floor & rummaging through your clothes in front of everybody while hopefully not blocking anyone who tries to pass by.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

There is no way to close or lock the roomette while you're gone.

All you can do is slide one door toward the other so that they look like they might be closed.

Unfortunately the doors will often slide open again while you're gone due to the usual movement of the train.

There is nothing to be "lost in translation" for a question this basic and simple.

 

[NorthEncantoGirl]

Hey there--I too was concerned about security in the roomettes when I went for my first LD trip last summer. Honestly though, my fears were unfounded.

I did take my fanny pack with me to meals and to the PPC (I was on the CS), and felt nothing but secure about both myself and my belongings the entire time. It helped that both of my SA's were good and watchful.

I remember asking a lot of questions re security (I probably drove my fellow AUers nuts!) but everyone was unfailingly gracious.

In the end, I just did it, and had an entirely pleasant experience.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Sometimes between the UK and the USA things get "lost in translation"

You mean like when my Texas born ex-sister-in-law moved to England in the early 1980s and, when going to the hairdressers the first time, said she would like a shag when asked what she would like? :huh:

 

[the_traveler]

Or also like "holiday" vs "vacation”. The US, England and Australia are 3 countries divided by a common language.

 

[SarahZ]

I take my purse with me when I go to the DC or Lounge. My laptop gets stowed in the closet or under my pillow on the seat. Sometimes I put it under the seat/bed. Then I shut the curtains and door since that makes it harder to tell if someone's in the room at first glance. I've never had any issues.

I recommend putting a password on your computer, at least for the trip, so a thief can't access anything. Additionally, I have everything backed up on a flash drive, which goes in my purse. I also put my camera in my purse.

 

[jebr]

I recommend putting a password on your computer, at least for the trip, so a thief can't access anything. Additionally, I have everything backed up on a flash drive, which goes in my purse. I also put my camera in my purse.

FYI: Unless you encrypt your data, a password on your computer is meaningless in terms of keeping your data private. If someone wants the data, they can pull the hard drive out, plug it into another computer, and browse it that way. From experience, simply having a password to log into your computer doesn't stop this.

That being said, I just have an encrypted folder or two with sensitive information. I have my data backed up to Crashplan (backs up to the cloud and my external drive, and could be set up to back up to another computer.) That's the only precautions I took, though my "computer" was a netbook that has seen better days.

 

[ScottC4746]

My wife and I have a number of journeys booked for this year all with a roomette for the overnight trips. We are UK based and have never used Amtrak before and I am sure we will have a number of questions before we leave the UK. My first covers the security of the roomette when we are not in it. What kind of locks are their on these rooms, all they key operated or what? What is the process when we board for accessing the room initially?

Many thanks in advance.

John

On one of my long distance overnight train trips I went to breakfast and accidently left my wallet in my roomette in plain view and came back and it and the cash was still there. Because coach has to get through the diner to get to the sleepers, they usually get stopped in the kitchen of the diner. The only passangers that normally are in sleepers or other sleeper passangers or crew passing through to the Transdorm car.

As others pointed, the doors only lock from the inside.

 

[Train Rider]

I have had zero problems losing things from my room, but I did make the stupid mistake of leaving my return ticket in a bag I placed in the common baggage rack on the lower level. The ticket was stolen, however, Amtrak was quick to provide a voucher.

I typically never do that -- dumb on my part.

 

[SarahZ]

I recommend putting a password on your computer, at least for the trip, so a thief can't access anything. Additionally, I have everything backed up on a flash drive, which goes in my purse. I also put my camera in my purse.

FYI: Unless you encrypt your data, a password on your computer is meaningless in terms of keeping your data private. If someone wants the data, they can pull the hard drive out, plug it into another computer, and browse it that way. From experience, simply having a password to log into your computer doesn't stop this.

That being said, I just have an encrypted folder or two with sensitive information. I have my data backed up to Crashplan (backs up to the cloud and my external drive, and could be set up to back up to another computer.) That's the only precautions I took, though my "computer" was a netbook that has seen better days.

That's a valid point, but it's really just there to deter the common, passing thief and have them go, "Oh, crap. I don't have time for this." I don't keep anything on my laptop that someone with that kind of smarts would want. I don't save passwords, and I don't keep any financial info on the laptop. If someone did manage to get into it, they'd be rewarded with lots and lots of cat pictures and our grocery list. :-D

 

[Boogs]

First of all many thanks for the replies, they have been very helpful.

We are travelling from NY to NO, NO to LA and then LA to Seattle with stays in each location for 3 or 4 days. All in all we will be in the US for just under 3 weeks, and any married man will know there is no way their wife will travel for that period with just a "small" bag.

It seems from the replies our big bags will be checked in on boarding and we will need to ensure we carry with us everything we need for the journey. I am pleased everyone seems to be happy with the overall security aspect on board, we are naturally cautious travellers so will ensure all our valuables are with us when we are out of the roomette. As this is a big holiday for us we will not be carrying any laptops etc, just cameras and other small items.

Once again many thanks for the help, I am sure there will be more questions before we head across the pond.

One final point, although we do all speak "english" the variations on what one side callthings compared to the other can be interesting - Holiday v Vacation, Sidewalk v Pavement etc. I noticed reference to a "fanny pack" in one response, I always find this expression very funny as it means something totally different on this side of the water. LOL.

Regards.

John

 

[SarahZ]

Some key differences I love: U.K. crisps are "chips" in the U.S, and chips to you are actually "french fries" to us. Americans tend to put ketchup on their fries, not vinegar, so you won't find vinegar at McDonald's and other fast food places.

Also, biscuits here are more of the roll variety (and common with breakfast in the South), not a cookie like they are across the pond. A "tin of biscuits" to you becomes "a box of cookies" here. If you asked someone here for a few biscuits, they'd hand you a bunch of rolls instead of a sweet treat. That said, "biscuits and sausage gravy" is a treat not to be missed. It's one of my favorite breakfasts, and I'd have it every day if it weren't so bad for me.

 

[me_little_me]

Some key differences I love:

<deleted for brevity>

But we get unlimited refills on soft drinks and coffee (but rarely on hot tea which is never hot enough in the U.S.) and Americans know what ice is.

And we learned to speak American whereas the English, when they occupied the colonies, always spoke with an accent. That's the real reason we demanded independence - we couldn't understand their TV shows or movies without subtitles.

:giggle: :giggle: :giggle: