When is Sleeping Car returning to WAS-BOS overnight train?

[Cal]

We had to ask the SLA to come to the room to clean the toilet when we boarded mid-route. don't know if she failed to clean it before we boarded or someone just decided to use it after it was cleaned. The latter could very well have been the case.

Ouch!

 

[Dakota 400]

Same thing for the cafe attendants. Just pay them to arrive early to set up and start serving as soon as the train starts loading up and then stay later so they can serve customers all the way into the terminating station. I know they're saving money by cutting their hours, but they're also leaving money on the table by not being able to serve customers..

An irritant for me on my Silver Meteor trip to FLL from WASH was the inability to use the Lounge Car services until the train had reached Alexandria. The attendant had a long line-up in the car waiting for him to open and he did so just before the station stop. There is definitely money being left on the table by some of the arcane rules that are in place.

 

[OBS]

An irritant for me on my Silver Meteor trip to FLL from WASH was the inability to use the Lounge Car services until the train had reached Alexandria. The attendant had a long line-up in the car waiting for him to open and he did so just before the station stop. There is definitely money being left on the table by some of the arcane rules that are in place.

This is one of those "self made" Conductor's rules that are made to make their job easier in making sure everyone's ticket is collected, etc.

ETA I used to have a Conductor on the Acela leaving Washington DC that didn't want me to open until after Baltimore(!) He didn't like me because I wouldn't cooperate...LOL

 

[AmtrakBlue]

This is one of those "self made" Conductor's rules that are made to make their job easier in making sure everyone's ticket is collected, etc.

ETA I used to have a Conductor on the Acela leaving Washington DC that didn't want me to open until after Baltimore(!) He didn't like me because I wouldn't cooperate...LOL

I don't know why they worry about collecting the tickets - we want our points so we'll wait patiently for them or hunt them down if they don't show up.

 

[SubwayNut]

Don't all longer NEC/Acela trains have two conductors? I feel that on most of my Amtrak trips which are normally CHI to SBN, the conductor will start at the Cafe/Lounge and make their way towards the back. if you get up before your ticket is collected the conductor will intercept you (I've seen it happen) and ask for your ticket before they let you by. On Acela don't they have two conductors? Can't they both start in the Cafe and make their way in the opposite directions intercepting anyone who starts walking towards the cafe?

 

[jruff001]

An irritant for me on my Silver Meteor trip to FLL from WASH was the inability to use the Lounge Car services until the train had reached Alexandria. The attendant had a long line-up in the car waiting for him to open and he did so just before the station stop. There is definitely money being left on the table by some of the arcane rules that are in place.

Remember there is only one lounge car attendant. They need periodic meal / rest breaks.

To me it makes sense to couple one of those with a major stop when a lot of tickets will need to be lifted.

 

[MARC Rider]

This is one of those "self made" Conductor's rules that are made to make their job easier in making sure everyone's ticket is collected, etc.

ETA I used to have a Conductor on the Acela leaving Washington DC that didn't want me to open until after Baltimore(!) He didn't like me because I wouldn't cooperate...LOL

When I board in Baltimore for a trip to DC, if I'm riding business class, I immediately head up to the cafe car to get my free cup of coffee. I do this before the conductor scans my ticket. Usually, I run into the conductor in passing through the cafe car, heading toward the rear and the BC car. I've never had a problem showing them my ticket and getting it scanned in the cafe car while I'm waiting for my coffee.

I used to ride 67 (which continues into Virginia) down to DC a lot to work if I missed my regular MARC train. After New Carrolton, they'd always make an announcement that the cafe car was going to be closed and would stay closed "until the train leaves Washington." Presumably this is because there's no power while they're changing engines. They also tell you to be sure to use the restroom before you get to Washington, because without power, the restrooms don't work, either.

 

[Twinkletoes]

The Viewliner 1 toilets are seaed with a heavy gasketed cover and are dry when not in use. The water flows only when flushed and the contents is forcefully sucked away by the vacuum system. The toilets are not open like the public toilets or the ones in your home.

So very true. I've never found having an in-room toilet to be a problem. And if one has any concerns about freshness, it can always be sprayed inside with disinfectant spray after use. Even before COVID-19, I've always carried a can of disinfectant (Clorox or Lysol) and a packet of disinfectant wipes to spray the sink, fabric seats and carpet and wipe the hard surfaces like the tray tables and arm rests in my sleeper compartment. I also wipe the arms rests and trays in coach. I would rather sanitize a space for my use one time rather than having to plod down the hall and repeatedly having to clean a communal restroom.

 

[Willbridge]

Great, let's see what Amtrak says a continental breakfast is for this service

And which continent will it be?

 

[Barb Stout]

You haven't lived until you've done a pit toilet in a BLM campground in the Northwest!

BTW, BLM is the Bureau of Land Management, not Black Lives Matter. Just wanted to be clear on that.

I have observed a marked improvement in pit toilet odor in such facilities through the decades. But then I live in the Southwest. Better living through better engineering!

 

[Barb Stout]

You haven't lived until you've backpacked in a wilderness area of the Sierra Nevada above the tree line, where there are no toilets at all, and you have to make your own -- out in the open!

And haul it out. That hauling out is what stops me from entering certain areas.

 

[railiner]

We had to ask the SLA to come to the room to clean the toilet when we boarded mid-route. don't know if she failed to clean it before we boarded or someone just decided to use it after it was cleaned. The latter could very well have been the case.

This illustrates another reason that rooms should not be serviced until after the occupants have permanently departed at the trains terminus, instead forcing them out prior to that. Even at midpoints, it would be better to have new occupants just wait in the lounge until the room has been made ready.

 

[Cal]

This illustrates another reason that rooms should not be serviced until after the occupants have permanently departed at the trains terminus, instead forcing them out prior to that. Even at midpoints, it would be better to have new occupants just wait in the lounge until the room has been made ready.

I agree...

 

[jiml]

This illustrates another reason that rooms should not be serviced until after the occupants have permanently departed at the trains terminus, instead forcing them out prior to that. Even at midpoints, it would be better to have new occupants just wait in the lounge until the room has been made ready.

We frequently board the eastbound LSL at BUF and this has been the practice every time. It's usually a request to wait in a vacant room or leave our bags and go for breakfast (pre current dining) while the room is made up.

 

[Maglev]

They need periodic meal / rest breaks.

My funky vision read this as, "They need prolific meal / rest breaks!"

The most irritating LSA service deficiency I have experienced was boarding a tardy northbound Starlight in Emeryville. The cafe should have been open for another 20 minutes, but closed right at Emeryville. Many passengers boarded there.

 

[jis]

I don't know why they worry about collecting the tickets - we want our points so we'll wait patiently for them or hunt them down if they don't show up.

Some have been known to tackle down a Conductor on the platform at their destination to get their ticket scanned

Like me traveling from Philly to Metropark one time, and I really needed those few points on the 30th of December to make Select+ ☺

 

[jebr]

Some have been known to tackle down a Conductor on the platform at their destination to get their ticket scanned

Like me traveling from Philly to Metropark one time, and I really needed those few points on the 30th of December to make Select+ ☺

Or the 20+ of us that needed to get our ticket scanned in the two or so miles between Berkeley and Emeryville at the 2014 Gathering...

 

[Bob Dylan]

Some have been known to tackle down a Conductor on the platform at their destination to get their ticket scanned

Like me traveling from Philly to Metropark one time, and I really needed those few points on the 30th of December to make Select+ ☺

Ditto, I made many Austin- Taylor RTs for B-B-Q to make Select + when the 100 Point Minimum was in effect !

 

[SubwayNut]

I used to book add on points runs on multi-city when I was going somewhere already a lot of time under the old 100 AGR point minimum.

Generally fares from Metropark are the same as from NYP when going to points on the Empire Service (on the Adorondak you could add a free one way from PHL), as long as your layover at each stop was less than 24 hours.

A couple times I went MET-EWR(went for a ride on the monorail)-NWK one day did a quick NWK-NYP the next day and then on my real trip generally to SYR the next day. I would take NJ Transit and PATH in between.

I was living in Northern Manhattan at the time and would often, almost always on my way home from SYR or MTL (dome car rides) would get off at Yonkers and take the Bee-Line bus home and reverse course the next day for a points run into Penn Station.

I would generally dangle these segments at the end of trips so if something came up I would just no-show and it wasn't a big deal.

 

[Dakota 400]

Some have been known to tackle down a Conductor on the platform at their destination to get their ticket scanned

Regarding ticket scanning, it was on the Northbound Silver Meteor where I boarded in FLL that my ticket never got scanned. I was concerned about that and questioned my SCA. He said that the Conductor knew I was aboard. I did have the trip properly recorded in my Amtrak Rewards account. But, the situation was odd, I thought.

 

[Maglev]

Regarding ticket scanning, it was on the Northbound Silver Meteor where I boarded in FLL that my ticket never got scanned. I was concerned about that and questioned my SCA. He said that the Conductor knew I was aboard. I did have the trip properly recorded in my Amtrak Rewards account. But, the situation was odd, I thought.

I have encountered this also. I think it is within standard operating procedure for the conductor to input that a ticket has been scanned when informed by the SCA that the proper person is in the room.

 

[jiml]

I have encountered this also. I think it is within standard operating procedure for the conductor to input that a ticket has been scanned when informed by the SCA that the proper person is in the room.

On our last Amtrak LD trip (Chicago-Manassas on the Cardinal) we didn't even see a conductor until the morning after departure. Our SCA had a clipboard when we boarded, looked at our ticket and that was it for the entire trip.

 

[PVD]

Points can be dealt with, what you really want to avoid is having the balance of a reservation cancelled for a no show.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Regarding ticket scanning, it was on the Northbound Silver Meteor where I boarded in FLL that my ticket never got scanned. I was concerned about that and questioned my SCA. He said that the Conductor knew I was aboard. I did have the trip properly recorded in my Amtrak Rewards account. But, the situation was odd, I thought.

It's not really odd for sleeper passengers to not get scanned. The SCA has a manifest and he lets the conductor know if everyone "showed up". The conductor can then "check them off" on his device.

 

[PVD]

Boarding late at night when you want to go to right sleep, or if you are sent straight to the dining car (good old days) because of meal time or late running, I've often been told by the SCA he would let the conductor know.