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I've intentionally booked longer layovers in NY and DC to have more time to go around, visit museums, etc.

For the Viewliners, I usually sleep up top if I'm traveling solo. There's enough headroom and a window, and I can leave the bottom seats in the daytime configuration. I just go double-mattress on the top bunk—helps to add some extra padding.

I prefer to operate the bed myself. When the room is in nighttime configuration, there's very little room to maneuver, and any bags under the seat are inaccessible. If I put the bed up and down myself, I can choose exactly when I'm ready for a bed, and switch it back to daytime configuration as...

Thanks so much!

Amtrak’s site still lists the Sunset Limited as departing at 7 PM on March 17th, so I’m thinking that the “error” was purely that they notified me again, when they had already told me about the schedule change weeks ago. But the retraction of the notification says that it will depart as...

Update: Amtrak robo-called me again last night, and emailed saying the previous message was in error, and that “Train number 2, the Sunset Limited will run as originally scheduled.” Meanwhile, I didn’t get a reservation change email (like I did before, when they first told me that the Sunset...

Coincidentally, 4 hours after I made my post here, Amtrak robo-called me. I missed the call, but called back, and was connected to a representative who informed me (again) that the departure time was moving up to 7 PM from 10 PM. She said that it was because of track work (confirming @Shanson...

I’m going to be traveling on #2 out of LA on March 17th. It seems that the departure time was moved from 10 PM to 7 PM—which isn’t really a problem for me, but does anyone know what the deal is with that? Also, does anyone know whether the dining car will be open, due to the earlier departure...

A couple years ago I was on a very late #4 SWC that was going to miss its connection with the Cardinal. We were pulled off the Chief at Galesburg (with about 5 minutes' notice to gather our things) and bussed to Indianapolis. The Cardinal had an engine failure and was 5 hours late. Nobody was...

I called in and made a change to my reservation, and the representative automatically applied the deal to my existing reservation. It saved me $600 on my upcoming trip! Hooray for Amtrak! Instead of PHL-WAS-CHI-LAX, I’m going PHL-NYP-CHI-LAX on the Acela, LSL, and SWC. This is my first time on...

This is good to hear. My last couple trips were in a Superliner II, and the car was looking quite shabby. The refreshed ones look much better.

Are they running a Sightseer Lounge again on the Cap yet? Last I heard they weren’t, but wondering if that’s slated to change anytime soon. I’ve got a trip on it next March, and having a proper SSL would be wonderful.

That definitely happened...

I just booked my first-ever trip on the Crescent, as part of a round-trip PHL-LAX itinerary. Heading from LAX-NOL-PHL for the return trip. I'm going to have to find a room for the night in NOL, but the price difference between the Sunset -> Crescent itinerary and others was enough that I...

Interesting how they weren't actually all that old—30 to 40 years. The AEM-7s were running when they were 36 years old, on par with the GG-1s. Some of the passenger cars were even older. The Heritage Dining Car (#8504) that I rode in back in 2016 was 68 years old at the time I rode it.

I recently traveled PHL - LAS via the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief. The difference in quality between Flex Dining and Traditional Dining was staggering. The Flex food wasn't awful, but it was pretty rough, below my standards at least. Flex Dining is so wasteful, too, with tons of...

Back in February, I booked a trip PHL-WAS-CHI-LAX-SAN for December, but a glitch with Amtrak's system only allowed me to book through to LAX. At the time, I figured I'd book the Surfliner portion later. I guess that glitch wound up doing me a favor—we'll just be renting a car in LA and driving...

On a multi-day trip, I usually tip once after dinner in the dining car, but it's totally up to you. I tip the SCA upon departure on the train...usually $10 a night per person as a baseline. I've had some truly excellent SCAs and they've gotten more than that. If a SCA is surly and...

They are for the Capitol Limited, which got the downgrade. They aren't for the Chief, but that was the case even when we booked. The roomettes are relatively close together so it should be fine. I may call..I'd almost rather not push my luck...

Thanks to all for the information here. I had heard the reports of people being bumped from sleepers on Reddit, so I figured I'd pop by and see if the community here had any knowledge of what was going on. I was a bit concerned because we have a trip planned (2 adults, 1 child) cross-country...