Alcohol on Amtrak

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caravanman

caravanman

Engineer
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
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4,816
Location
Nottingham, England.
Hi,

Dreaming up another USA visit with my son, aged 18. Here in the UK he can buy and drink alcohol at age 18, anyone know what the age limits/restrictions are in USA in general, and aboard Amtrak in particular?

Ed :cool:
 
caravanman said:
Hi,

Dreaming up another USA visit with my son, aged 18. Here in the UK he can buy and drink alcohol at age 18, anyone know what the age limits/restrictions are in USA in general, and aboard Amtrak in particular?

Ed :cool:
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Minimum age for alcohol consumption in the USA is 21. I'm not sure how closely Amtrak checks, particularly with someone who looks to be over 21.
 
PRR 60 said:
caravanman said:
Hi,

Dreaming up another USA visit with my son, aged 18. Here in the UK he can buy and drink alcohol at age 18, anyone know what the age limits/restrictions are in USA in general, and aboard Amtrak in particular?

Ed :cool:
Click to expand...
Minimum age for alcohol consumption in the USA is 21. I'm not sure how closely Amtrak checks, particularly with someone who looks to be over 21.
Click to expand...
I bet that unless you stay hidden, AMTRAK will say something. You can bet you will not be able to purchase alcohol onboard. The only option is a Sleeper. But ... you appear in the diner after having a few, and it might draw attention. Use caution.

Better yet, don't -- as your journey will travel state to state, which while all have a 21 minimum age, do have different laws concerning parent supplied consumption and appearance in public.
 
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Unlike the UK which I am supposing has a law applicable to the entire country regarding this, you are subject to the laws of each and every individual state you will be passing through in the US. It is up to Amtrak to enforce the drinking law, and you can be sure they will call the local "gendarmes" if necessary with very little provocation if the OBS crew spots an offense.

I witnessed some "youths" who had overindulged being escorted off the Silver Meteor in North Carolina in the middle of the night by some rather nasty looking local policemen back a few years ago. For all I know, those kids might still be guests of the Tarheel State today.

Ocala Mike
 
Not to mention the fact that serving am under age minor, could get the Amtrak employee fired. Just a thought. Most if not all liquor service employees are trained to ask for an ID. Some states liquor can be purchased by a parent. You need to find out what is the Amtrak policy and really stick to it or bring your own in a sleeper.
 
PRR 60 said:
caravanman said:
Hi,

Dreaming up another USA visit with my son, aged 18. Here in the UK he can buy and drink alcohol at age 18, anyone know what the age limits/restrictions are in USA in general, and aboard Amtrak in particular?

Ed :cool:
Click to expand...
Minimum age for alcohol consumption in the USA is 21. I'm not sure how closely Amtrak checks, particularly with someone who looks to be over 21.
Click to expand...
If you look like you're under 40 you should be asked for ID. It's always better safe than sorry.
 
Just a curiosity question here. When some states had drinking ages of 21 or 18 (and maybe something in between), how did Amtrak handle that? Did they look at what state they were in and follow those rules? This is probably a stupid questions, but I am just curious.
 
benjibear said:
Just a curiosity question here. When some states had drinking ages of 21 or 18 (and maybe something in between), how did Amtrak handle that? Did they look at what state they were in and follow those rules? This is probably a stupid questions, but I am just curious.
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Amtrak, as far as I know, would follow the State's Law on all but the minimum drinking age. I'm pretty sure I've heard that you had to be 21 no matter what state the train was traveling through. I'll have to ask one of my senior co-workers to find out for sure though.
 
EB_OBS said:
benjibear said:
Just a curiosity question here. When some states had drinking ages of 21 or 18 (and maybe something in between), how did Amtrak handle that? Did they look at what state they were in and follow those rules? This is probably a stupid questions, but I am just curious.
Click to expand...
Amtrak, as far as I know, would follow the State's Law on all but the minimum drinking age. I'm pretty sure I've heard that you had to be 21 no matter what state the train was traveling through. I'll have to ask one of my senior co-workers to find out for sure though.
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Aloha

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. § 158) was passed on July 17, 1984 by the United States Congress
 
If the bar opens before the border on the Cascades (BC) or Maple Leaf (Ontario) you’re OK at 19.......on the Adirondack in Quebec, it’s 18.
 
NS VIA Fan said:
If the bar opens before the border on the Cascades (BC) or Maple Leaf (Ontario) you’re OK at 19.......on the Adirondack in Quebec, it’s 18.
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No, I've worked on the Cascades and Amtrak follows US law with regards to minimum drinking age.
 
EB_OBS said:
NS VIA Fan said:
If the bar opens before the border on the Cascades (BC) or Maple Leaf (Ontario) you’re OK at 19.......on the Adirondack in Quebec, it’s 18.
Click to expand...
No, I've worked on the Cascades and Amtrak follows US law with regards to minimum drinking age.
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The Maple Leaf will be OK while in Ontario. The train in Canada is operated by Via and follows Canadian law.
 
Amtrak has to follow FEDERAL, not state, law, and Federal is much more restrictive (Amtrak always has to go with whatever is the most restrictive law). The age to be served on any Amtrak train, anywhere, is 21. Hours of service also vary locally, according to whatever is most restrictive. Keep in mind that Amtrak travels through a variety of "dry" or "blue law" states, where service may not exist during certain hours or on certain entire days.
 
PRR 60 said:
Minimum age for alcohol consumption in the USA is 21.
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If that's true then how are parents able to legally serve liquor to their under-21 children in those states that still allow it to this day?

EB_OBS said:
If you look like you're under 40 you should be asked for ID. It's always better safe than sorry.
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I've been under 40 all my life and never been asked for ID before purchasing or consuming alcohol aboard Amtrak. I guess I must look older than sin itself. :lol:

GG-1 said:
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. § 158) was passed on July 17, 1984 by the United States Congress
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Unless I'm mistaken that law didn't mandate a specific age on its own. Rather, it threatened the states with reduced money from the highway fund gravy train if they didn't raise the minimum age for purchasing. That was enough to get them to play ball. Consumption, meanwhile, still had leeway such as parental and religious use. Frankly, I think they should have solved the problem by raising the minimum age for getting a driver's license instead. :ph34r:
 
guest OBS employee said:
Amtrak has to follow FEDERAL, not state, law, and Federal is much more restrictive (Amtrak always has to go with whatever is the most restrictive law). The age to be served on any Amtrak train, anywhere, is 21. Hours of service also vary locally, according to whatever is most restrictive. Keep in mind that Amtrak travels through a variety of "dry" or "blue law" states, where service may not exist during certain hours or on certain entire days.
Click to expand...
How does this work when passing through counties with different drinking laws? Georgia just opened up Sunday alcohol sales, but left the final decision on if and when to the local jurisdictions. Does this mean the OBS has to know when they enter a city that is only 5 seconds long at 79mph that is Sunday dry and close alcohol sales for 5 seconds? If Amtrak pulls federal exemption on everything else, I don't see why Amtrak can't just pull that for alcohol sales and set uniform rules across the system.
 
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