Silver Meteor (Train 98) Question

[Amtrak57]

I will be traveling on train 98 from Rocky Mount, NC to New York Penn Station next week and I have a few questions.

- How many people usually get on 98 at Rocky Mount? Since the train arrives around 2 in the morning, I would guess that this train would be less busy than the other trains heading to New York.
- What is the chance of me getting a good seat inside? I would prefer a window seat but my main concern is being seated in the seat that is next to a wall instead of a window.
- What time would the cafe car open on 98? I'm pretty sure that the cafe car would be closed when I board but If I wanted to get breakfast, what time would I be able to?

 

[pennyk]

I travel on 98 quite often, but I travel in a sleeper and am asleep when we stop in RMT. I do not know the answers to most of your questions. However, I am almost positive that the cafe car opens at 6am.

 

[drfonta]

Aren't all seats assigned in coach on LD trains?

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I would venture a guess that even though the Silver Meteor reaches your station at 2am, most of its passengers would have already boarded much earlier.

From my experiences, if the car is only half full, those people will all be sitting (or sleeping at 2am) in a window seat. And at 2am, I doubt the attendant would awake anyone to ask them to move.

 

[pennyk]

Aren't all seats assigned in coach on LD trains?

In the past, in Orlando, coach passengers were assigned to a car and were assigned seats. I believe that has changed and seating is open.

 

[drfonta]

In the past, in Orlando, coach passengers were assigned to a car and were assigned seats. I believe that has changed and seating is open.

Oh wow thanks. I vividly remember several times as a youngster being woken up by the car attendant making move back to my seat..lol..(This was in the 80s when I used to ride between FL and SC quite often)..

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Aren't all seats assigned in coach on LD trains?

It depends on the route. In my experience, the Florida trains do have seating assigned by the crew, but I haven't been on one since August and it sounds like it may have changed since then. On other routes such as the CZ and LSL, I have always been assigned a car but not a specific seat.

 

[pennyk]

Oh wow thanks. I vividly remember several times as a youngster being woken up by the car attendant making move back to my seat..lol..(This was in the 80s when I used to ride between FL and SC quite often)..

I think the change was fairly recent and I was informed by my sleeping car attendant on 97 who was a former coach attendant. I was on 97 on 12/14/19, and that is when I heard that coach attendants were no longer assigning seats. I have not traveled since then, so I do not know if the change has been implemented or ignored.

 

[the_traveler]

Even if they are not assigned, for someone boarding in the middle of the night, you may be told when boarding something like “seat 42 is available”. This way, you don’t have to go bouncing though the aisles with your bags looking for a seat when passengers are sleeping. You could then move later in the morning.

I have boarded in SLC at 3:30 am. This is what happened, then I moved after breakfast from my aisle seat to a window seat.