Train tips for fat guys

[wrowland]

Hi all,
Big guy here. Traveling in Oct on SWC, EB, and CS. Any tips for us big guys to make life a bit easier on the rails?

BTW, I already know the tip about losing weight!

Thanks folks!

 

[Steel City Don]

Hi all,
Big guy here. Traveling in Oct on SWC, EB, and CS. Any tips for us big guys to make life a bit easier on the rails?

BTW, I already know the tip about losing weight!

Thanks folks!

As a big guy I know that losing weight thing too, too bad that's as not as easy as it sounds, LOL

 

[Qapla]

You might not want to share a roomette - a bedroom would have more space ... not to mention the width of the halls between roomettes are not made for large people

 

[wrowland]

You might not want to share a roomette - a bedroom would have more space ... not to mention the width of the halls between roomettes are not made for large people

Good advice; I will be sharing but only with my child who is much smaller than fully grown human at this point. I have a feeling I will be doing lots of side shuffling!

 

[pennyk]

The booths in the dining car may be a tight fit. There are some booths that may be a little larger than others, so you may want to check with the attendant (if you plan to eat in the dining car). If the booths are uncomfortable, you may want to eat in your room.

 

[zephyr17]

Use corners for passing in the aisles.

 

[danasgoodstuff]

At 6'4" & close to 250 lbs I'm not small, but not huge. I found the roomette seats and beds just fine, but the bedroom bunk is definitely roomer. If in doubt, I think the exact dimensions are posted on the Amtrak site. The room stats definitely are. The rest rooms are quite, umm, cozy. But I won't go all TMI on you! Which route will you be on? Equipment does vary.

 

[wrowland]

At 6'4" & close to 250 lbs I'm not small, but not huge. I found the roomette seats and beds just fine, but the bedroom bunk is definitely roomer. If in doubt, I think the exact dimensions are posted on the Amtrak site. The room stats definitely are. The rest rooms are quite, umm, cozy. But I won't go all TMI on you! Which route will you be on? Equipment does vary.

Southwest Chief to Coast Starlight and then Coast Starlight to Empire Builder. Gonna be fun!

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I'm 6'4" and 345 lbs. I had a roomette on 3 western legs of a journey earlier in the summer. I had no problem with the space or bed in the roomette, although I was traveling solo. I'm not sure I would have wanted to get up on the top bunk. I was able to sit in a booth in the dining car, but with not much room to spare. The table was right up against my belly for the most part. Someone was still able to sit beside me as well. I found some bathrooms easier to use than others when it came to sitting down. Check them all out in your car before picking the right one for you. I found some of them had seats that were positioned at a better angle and with more clearance space than others. No problems using the shower. When walking through cars and/or going up and down stairs, you will need to wait at one end if someone else is already there. But there is room to do that. No big issue.

 

[wrowland]

I'm 6'4" and 345 lbs. I had a roomette on 3 western legs of a journey earlier in the summer. I had no problem with the space or bed in the roomette, although I was traveling solo. I'm not sure I would have wanted to get up on the top bunk. I was able to sit in a booth in the dining car, but with not much room to spare. The table was right up against my belly for the most part. Someone was still able to sit beside me as well. I found some bathrooms easier to use than others when it came to sitting down. Check them all out in your car before picking the right one for you. I found some of them had seats that were positioned at a better angle and with more clearance space than others. No problems using the shower. When walking through cars and/or going up and down stairs, you will need to wait at one end if someone else is already there. But there is room to do that. No big issue.

Great advice! Many thanks!

 

[danasgoodstuff]

Southwest Chief to Coast Starlight and then Coast Starlight to Empire Builder. Gonna be fun!

On those trains' roomettes the upper bunk will be tight, but if the child takes it you should be fine.

 

[Stremba]

I am 5’11” and about 300 lbs. I have travelled in roomettes many times, sharing with my 15 year old son, who is not as big as me, but pretty much adult sized. I have not really had any issues in roomettes, but he always takes the top bunk. I wouldn’t want to be up there. Restrooms certainly are a bit tight, but doable. I have never really noticed any issue with dining car booths, at least no more so than booths at a typical restaurant.

My size actually is one of the reasons I prefer traveling by rail — overall it is much more comfortable than being crammed into an airliner seat. You should be fine; enjoy your trip (Just don’t expect your trains to arrive on time, but that’s another whole topic)

 

[Widfara]

I'm 6' 6", 325 pounds (147 kg sounds so much better!). If the restrooms in your car are the budget airline type, viz. toilet in straight line, very close walls, check out the coach closest to you. It will likely have a handicapped restroom which will have way more room. The restrooms in coach are all downstairs. In the sleeper, there is one upstairs, the rest downstairs. If you get a bedroom, there will be a restroom included, but you might find it a bit tight.