Worried about restroom failure..tips?

[Angela]

My husband, myself, and my 4 year old son will be traveling to New York from Spokane on the Empire Builder and then the Lakeshore Limited.

We are very excited and have ridden Amtrak before to Seattle and also a longer ride to San Francisco. My son asking me daily if we are leaving yet, what he wants to eat on the train (we've sussed out the menus) and states that it's pretty sad that not everyone in his daycare class can come along

So, to my concern. I have Crohn's disease and while we've reserved a Deluxe Bedroom and I know that at times, the trains experience restroom failure (I'm especially concerned between Spokane and Montana). If this happens, what are the options? Does this happen on all of cars? Or can I make a beeline to the next car in most cases? Do the attendants have some sort of "emergency" procedure for this? I normally do all right, but talk of restroom failure and being in a train for several hours is starting to worry me a bit.

Thank you!

Angela

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Well, it is only the "flush" which might not work. :giggle:

IMHO, if it is a real emergency, simply "go" in the toilet, close the lid, and flush it as soon as possible later.

 

[the_traveler]

Maybe I've been lucky (or gone at the "right" time

), but I've never had an experience with the toilets not working!

 

[Angela]

IMHO, if it is a real emergency, simply "go" in the toilet, close the lid, and flush it as soon as possible later.

Oh lordy, that'll make me pretty popular with my family

but I've never had an experience with the toilets not working

Ah! That's what I want to hear! I probably am overblowing the possibility, but I'm used to bathroom contingency planning.

 

[JayPea]

I've had only a few times with non-functioning toilets, but my experience with the Empire Builder in the mountains has been fine. I've even had them working properly near the Moffat Tunnel along the California Zephyr route---at 9200 feet or so elevation, the highest point on Amtrak. But there is that possibilty!

Have fun! I live an hour from Spokane and so the Spokane Amtrak station is my jumping-off place for many of my Amtrak adventures.

 

[Ispolkom]

My husband, myself, and my 4 year old son will be traveling to New York from Spokane on the Empire Builder and then the Lakeshore Limited.

I wouldn't worry about toilet failure because you're taking the Empire Builder. Your route crosses the Rockies at a much lower pass (5213 feet) than one the California Zephyr uses. I notice that Denver itself is higher than the top of Marias Pass, and that's at the start of the CZ's climb into the mountains. Enjoy your trip!

 

[caravanman]

I think if one toilet is out of use in a car, the others should still be in operation. You are certainly "allowed" to use any toilet in any car of the train, except in the bedrooms, or crew car.

Ed

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Maybe I've been lucky (or gone at the "right" time

), but I've never had an experience with the toilets not working!

My experience has been a bit different. For me, there has always been a length of time, usually when stopped at a station, where the toilets would stop functioning (flushing). Basically, during those times when we would loose main power.

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

I have ridden the EB, CZ, CS, LSL, SWC, TE/Sunset plus the Canadian and have never experienced toliet problems in the sleeper car due to elevation. Of course, I only ride the train about every other year since I have to fly from Nashville to find a train to ride and then I usually travel the full route from origin to end of the route. I am planning on riding the SWC and TE/Sunset Ltd at the end of this month and first few days of August. I will be more concerned about en route "delays" although I never plan any connections or activities for the day of and day following estimated arrival at the final destination.

 

[supergrandmother]

I have just returned from an 8 train-8036 mile trip which included the Crescent,CONO, SWC, PS, CS, CZ,CL, and Crescent again and the only restroom failure I experienced was on the CONO and it was confined to the upstairs restrooms just in our sleeper car. All others were functioning properly. I am familiar with Crohns disease so I understand your concerns but I really don't think you have anything to worry about. The train is a great place to sit back and relax and enjoy the trip.

 

[had8ley]

I think if one toilet is out of use in a car, the others should still be in operation. You are certainly "allowed" to use any toilet in any car of the train, except in the bedrooms, or crew car.

Ed

The upper level of the trans-dorm (usually at the head of the train behind the baggage car) has revenue rooms for public use. You have access to not only a toilet but also a shower in case of failures in the other cars.

 

[lyke99]

I just did a round trip on the Empire Builder and our sleeping car did have the toilets stop working during our crossing of Marias Pass. The SCA reset the system and all was working fine for the rest of the trip. Total outage was time was about 10 minutes. This issue was only on our car (each car has an independent system) so the neighboring cars were available, if needed.

 

[Shanghai]

I was on the Cardinal in a roomette recently when we had a bathroom failure.

We had just left Charlottesville, VA. The SCA tried to fix the problem but

was not successful. He advised that a repairman would be dispatched further

down the line to fix but until repairs were made, we were to go to a coach car

to use the facilities. I woke up in Cincinnati and they were flushing.

 

That was my only experience with failing toilets. I think the situation is infrequent.