Recent content by PaunchyPirate

I have arrived in Emeryville twice (once on the Zephyr and once on the Coast Starlight). The Coast Starlight arrival was a little late, so we got into EMY about 10:30 pm. I was staying at the Hyatt House (as I had done on my previous Zephyr arrival). There weren't very many people around as...

I actually prefer the downstairs roomettes. Hopefully you will too. The halls in front of your room will be less busy with traffic. I didn't find that the lower level views were significantly worse. There is less work to get off the train for fresh air breaks. And if you want, you can clean...

Yes, Roomette #6 will be on the upper level of your car. It is located right in the middle of all the roomettes in the car. I would consider it a great location. You will have one restroom on that upper level, but not directly beside you (so minimal disruption and smells). Additional...

Roomette #3 will be on the upper level of the car. However, you won't know which direction the car will be facing until you actually board. The cars can be set in line facing either direction. This means you won't know in advance whether your roomette faces generally north or generally south...

I think you'll find that most people seem to think the westbound CZ is the most scenic route in the Amtrak network. I certainly loved it. I have not take the SW Chief yet, but will at the end of this month (also westbound). I'm looking forward to it. I think you will enjoy either, especially...

On my trip, dispensers yes. Something in them, no.

Bar soap and towels in June on my 3 Amtrak trains out west. But no etc. There was no shampoo, for example.

Thanks. I plan on taking the Underground to and from London/Heathrow. I've done that several times in the past. My only concern, really, is the trip from London to Southampton on September 5th. Since that is now less than 2 weeks away, I think I should be fine.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that additional dates for these industrial actions don’t coincide with my trip in 2 weeks. I will be flying into London and spending a night. Then the next morning, I take a South Western Railways train from London Waterloo Station to Southampton Central Station to...

I see the "40% Off" promo on the Amtrak website at the top of the page. It is one of the 3 banner promotions that rotate on that page. I see this without needing to sign in and with my browser cache cleared, so it's not targeted to me specifically. It might be targeted to my geographic region...

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...

While away on vacation this week, I received an unsolicited email from Amtrak with a new receipt for my trip in late October. I didn't have time to review the details until today. There was no letter explaining any changes. Just a new receipt with ticket details. I guess I'm one of the lucky...

I was in car 540, which was the Transdorm Sleeper on the California Zephyr at the end of June. I was in Roomette #21. I rather liked the room and location. We had our own dedicated room attendant. We had morning coffee and ample bottled water in our car. Using the diagram above, Cabins...

Intersting timing. I was just reading up on that journey on seat61 yesterday. I'm in the preliminary stages (researching) of putting a trip to Ireland and Scotland together for next Spring and thought the Rail & Sail leg might be a fun way to start the trip. I hope you enjoy your trip.

Going west, the most common opinion I have seen is that looking out the north side is best. However, you don't get to pick a room based on facing north or south. The car can be turned either direction on the actual train. It can vary daily (but probably doesn't). It is a roll of the dice...