You state that "Finding people that say they don't tip is pretty much impossible," which you believe proves that tipping is customary. Then, when I do find people who say they don't tip, you say "I never claimed that 100% of people tipped."
So, is this just a matter of semantics? Are we in agreement that the amount of people who tip is greater than zero percent but less than 100%?
It's a matter of comprehending what I'm saying. Pretty much impossible is not completely impossible. In this thread is different than everyone in the whole world.
Tipping is customary, based on the experience of many long time riders here that collectively have millions of Amtrak miles under their belts. You can choose to believe that or not, I'm tired of chasing the goalposts and not really interested in playing word games.
One of my (admittedly few) reasons for continuing to post in this thread is that you continue to post conflicting points, and either cannot or will not reconcile them. You just said that "In this thread is different than everyone in the whole world." Yes, that's my point. People on this board aren't necessarily representative of all Amtrak passengers. Yet you also say that "Tipping is customary, based on the experience of many long time riders here that collectively have millions of Amtrak miles under their belts."
You can't have it both ways. It's not a matter of "word games". Either AU forum members are representative of all train passengers, or they are not. Both of these ideas cannot simultaneously be true.
I recently read this quote at
http://www.trainweb.com/travel/tipping.htm. Trainweb is a pretty popular train site, & the people who write that page are also Amtrak "regulars". Here's a quote from their page on Amtrak tipping, referring to following the advice from Jim Loomis's book "All Aboard: the Complete North American Train Travel Guide" (which I own and also recommend):
"I can't honestly tell you what other people tip. It is usually done discretely and is not easy to observe. I do see a lot of people tip, but I also see a lot of people that don't tip. I usually give the car attendant their tip when they make their final rounds to ask if I'll need help with my bags. It may be my imagination, but their eyes usually widen and the friendly service becomes a bit more friendly after I have given them the amount of tip suggested by the Loomis book. It does lead me to believe that the amount suggested by the Loomis book is either much higher than that paid by the average passenger, or the number of people that give any tip at all isn't what it use to be. I don't know which is right, but I do know that following the Loomis book suggestion will yeild a highly appreciative car attendant!"
He then goes on to further discuss Dining Car tipping:
"What happens in real life? I've made a habit of almost always being the last one to leave the table after each meal. I've also glanced at every table that I have passed where the diners have just left. I've eaten hundreds of meals in the Dining Car. I've sat and dined with many strangers on Amtrak trains. I always wait till last to put down my tip, just so that nobody tries to follow my lead. I purposely want to observe what people tip, especially the older more experience Amtrak travelers. To be totally honest, I've never seen anyone ever leave more that a single dollar after breakfast or lunch! I have encountered many people that have not left tips at all. At dinner, most people also leave just $1 per person or nothing, but I have also seen some people leave $2. Rarely have I ever seen anyone leave more than that or attempt to calculate a 10, 15 or 20% tip based on the price of the meal. I'd really like some feedback from dining car staff and other travelers to dispute my observations on this one. I certainly think the 15% to 20% rule of thumb is fair, but only a tiny number of people seem to use that method to calculate the tip for meals on the train."
I posted this because this comes from an Amtrak regular who has also carefully observed what other people tipped. It's probably more accurate than anything we've speculated so far. If you'll allow me to summarize, I'd say that some people tip, some don't, but you'll probably get better service if you tip. Does that not sound reasonable to you?
Personally, I've learned something by researching tipping. I honestly think that sleeper pax don't tip very often. If I want good service from my SCA, I think I'm going to tip earlier in the trip rather than later. For example, I might tip the first night after my bed is made up, and then another near the end. If tips are irregular, the SCA has no idea that you intend to leave a tip if he/she provides good service. By thanking them and tipping them earlier, service might get better throughout the trip.
, but get a refund instead. 
