amtrack from lancaster pa to seattle?

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tr

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well, i am hoping for some excellent advice- you all know so much!

It is the first time ever for me on Amtrack, and I need to go from Lancaster PA to Seattle. The website for making itineraries was very unhelpful, and the most I could get out of it was that I would need to stop and change trains in Chicago! I need to go in late March, early April.

I will want a deluxe sleeper, will that make the trip easier? I am clueless, so thanks for your patience with these questions!
 
First off welcome to the forum and we will all be glad to answer your questions. Leaving Lancaster you will be on the Three Rivers I presume. That train uses single level equipment which includes Amfleet II Coaches, Horizon Dinetter/Lounge, and a Viewliner Sleeping Car. The Viewliner Sleeping Car only has 2 Deluxe Bedrooms so you will want to book early. They are very spacious with 2 rows of windows, a sofa, vanity, and enclosed toilet and shower. In the evening your attendant will convert the room for night-time travel. The sofa becomes the lower bunk (6' long by 3.5' wide) and an upper bunk folds down from the wall (6' long by 2.5' wide). All linens are provided and the beds are very comfortable. Included in the price of your ticket is complmentry soft drinks, coffee, and tea. The lounge has a variety of snacks and microwaved entrees for dinner and breakfast.

Once in Chicago you will have access to the First Class Metropolitan Lounge. There you can safely store your luggage while out getting a bite to eat or relaxing until the departure of your next train, the Empire Builder. The Empire Builder will be much nicer than the Three Rivers. This train utalizes bi-level Superliner equipment. The Sleeping Cars have 5 Deluxe Bedrooms and 10 Standard Bedrooms on the upper level, and on the lower level you will find 4 more Standard Bedrooms, a Family Bedroom, a Handicap Accessible Bedroom, luggage rack, toilets, and a shower for passengers in the Standard Bedrooms. Your Deluxe Bedroom will be similar to that of a Viewliner, the only difference being there is only one row of windows. The service and amenities are also the same, however this train inlcudes a Dining Car. All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) in the Dining Car are included in the price of your ticket. This is no airline food either. You will order off a menu and everything is frechly prepared by trained chefs in the lower-level kitchen. Also in your spare time be sure to check out the Sightseer Lounge. Much nicer than the one on the Three Rivers. On the upper-level you will find plenty of casual seating and floor to ceiling windows that wrap around over the roof. The lower level of the lounge has some tables and a snack bar. In the evening a feature film will be shown.

Please visit On Track Onlines "Hints and Tips" page here and be sure to check out the many photos here at Amtrak Unlimited. I hope this helps and I'm sure others will have more to add on. :)
 
TR,

Well having a deluxe bedroom will make you more comfortable and probably make the trip more enjoyable for you, it won't however make the booking process any easier. :lol:

Now seriously though, as Amfleet mentioned the deluxe room is quite nice and it is the largest room available on a train. You would indeed be traveling on the Three Rivers to Chicago, any other train would force you to backtrack to the east first before heading west to Chicago.

Now while you won't have a dining car on this train, your meals are still free in the lounge car, just show your ticket stubs to the attendent.

It's customary to tip the sleeping car attendant's, most people usually give around 5 bucks a night. If your attendent realy goes out of his way for you, then you may wish to give more. Also when you are on the Empire Builder, don't forget to tip the dining car attendent either. Most people leave a buck per person for breakfast & lunch, with 2 bucks per person for dinner.

If you find yourself having too much trouble with the Amtrak reservation site, you can always call 1-800-872-7245 to speak with a real person. Regardless of how you make your reservation, if you make it before the 15th of February, you can take advantage of a sale that Amtrak is currently running. You didn't mention if you are traveling solo or with another person.

Therefore I'll give you the codes for both of the sales. If you are traveling solo, then use code H259 which will get you 25% off the railfare portion of your ticket. There is no discount on the actual bedroom. If you are traveling with a companion, then use H255. That will get you the second ticket for your companion for free. If you do book on-line you enter the above codes in a box titled "Promotion Code" at the bottom of the page, after you've picked which trains you want to travel on.

I hope that this helps to get you started at least, don't hesitate to come back should you have more questions. I'll also add a few more things either later tonight or on Monday when I have a few more minutes. :)
 
Amfleet has done a very good job in his description of the services you will run into. One thing you may want to consider though is that Deluxe Bedrooms tend to cost twice (in Accomodation price) what a Standard room costs. Now the pros to the deluxe is that it has larger beds, privat bathroom/shower, and more room to move around, I tend to recommend this room for Seinor Citizens (or the Handicap) and for parties who have 3 travelling together in one room. If it just yourself or two people travelling I recommend a Standard Room. While the Standard is about half the size of a deluxe it still offers plenty of room to spread out and relax. While you do have to share a shower (and restroom on Superliners [as Viewliners have a Taoilet and sink in the room]) it is still a great experience. Now with the Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle) you may want to get the Deluxe since it is two nights, and a Standard from Lancaster to Chicago since that is only one night.

As for Baggage, if it is not too much of a hinderance you may want to consider driving to Harrisburg so you can check your main baggage from there all the way to Seattle (and not have to deal with it even in Chicago). In addition to your main baggage carry on a small overnight bag with a couple changes of clothes, medication, and whatever you would like to keep yourself entertained. If this is not an option for you I would carry all you luggage on with you and ask your attendant to store them in the Dorm Car or ask him/her to have them checked for you at Harrisburg to Seattle. Again retain a small overnight bag with your essentials. If you decide to have them stored in the Dorm between Lancaster and Chicago, definitely check/claim them at Chicago as they may not let you on the train carrying large bags on since you are travelling between two stops with checked baggage (some Conductors will force you to check them even if you want to carry them on). Enjoy the scenery most of all!
 
If you are traveling by your self luggage should not be a problem as long as you pack moderatly (maybe 1 suitcase and a tote bag should fit easily). In the Superliners you can store items will not need thoughout the trip in the lower level luggage racks (which are perfectly safe) and keep esentails in the room. In the Viewliners there is a cubby hole of sorts that is tucked up into the ceiling above the hall where luggage can be stored. If you check luggage keep in mind you will not be able to access it during the trip. :)

B-51 - There is no Crew Dorm on the Three Rivers since there is only a lounge attendant. He/she will probably bunk in with the Sleeping Car attendant or occupy and empty room or coach seat. B)
 
Thanks for that Jon, I keep forgetting there is no dining car staff on there which would require them to have the Dorm since at least five would need a place to sleep. The lounge attendant on the Palmetto usually sleeps in Business Class near the attendant since we have no sleeper on there :(
 
Amfleet said:
In the Viewliners there is a cubby hole of sorts that is tucked up into the ceiling above the hall where luggage can be stored.
Click to expand...
Actually in the deluxe room of the Viewliner sleeper, you not only have the cubby hole, you can put suitcases right on top of the shower/vanity. There is even a railing around the top to keep stuff from falling off the top.
 
I forgot about the luggage area above the bathroom of the deluxe. I don't look up the very often when I'm in the Deluxe's with the Conductor. Note that room H does not have the rack above the bathroom.
 
I don't believe so, there may be a small hanging closet (for like a suit bag) next to the sofa, but the deluxe has this also.
 
wow! I knew I came to the right place! Thanks so very muc for all of your help so faar...i will be travelling myself...your idea of getting to Harrisburg is a good one. I will be back with more questions as they come up, i am sure!

thanks again!!
 
The H compartment in the Viewliner has the overhead storage area next to the upper bunk, over the hallway window. That storage are is quite considerable in size; even a small child could squeeze in there for the night! We rode in this accomodation a few months back from Miami to Washington. :p
 
I'm pretty sure you can reserve an accessible room no matter what.
 
Amfleet said:
Don't mind me asking, but if you are not accessible impared can you still reserve that room?
Click to expand...
Amtrak holds the accessible bedroom for those with special needs only until, I think, one week prior to departure. It could be two weeks, but I do believe that it is one week. After that point it's available to anyone who wants a room. You could even upgrade to that room while on board, if it's empty.
 
Yeah, I wasn't sure about the reservation policy, guess I was wrong. But I do know that I have gotten a couple of people in my accesible bedroom that weren't disabled, so that's why I assumed. Maybe they booked late, or maybe they were upgrades without me knowing it.
 
hi again!

well, i am booked on a standard sleeper from Har to Chi, then a deluxe from Chi to Sea! Other questions I have.......where is the lounge in Chicago? How do I find it once I leave the train? (first train trip for me, remember!?)

Any essentials i should bring with me, other than personal items?

thanks so much, you are all so helpful!

T
 
The lounge in Chicago is across the hall from the ticket counters, and next to the Hertz desk. Just follow your nose (and the crowed) away from the gates when you arrive. You will go through some glass doors and soon find yourself at the bottom of some large stairs with signs pointing the way to restaurants upstairs. The lounge is on the same floor you arrived on behind two "foggy" glass doors toward the left when facing the Hertz desk. If you get lost, just ask any Amtrak person or a Red Hat.

Bring binoculars if you have some. A camera is nice too. Some Superliner bedrooms have the AC power outlets recessed about an inch into the fixturing. Bring a short (6 inch) extension cord if your electronic goodies have one of those end-of-cord transformers. The AC power outlets in the rooms do not have the cleanest power, so bring a small surge supressor for you laptop and similar electronics. Radio Shack sells a tiny one-outlet device (about $6), which is just right for train travel. Your cellular phone will work over most of the routes. A GPS receiver is fun too.
 
If you want to be a true rail buff you can invest in a scanner which will run you around $100 bucks at Radio Shack. With this you can listen to conversation between the crew and dispatcher. It also eases tention knowing why you are stopped in the middle of no where for no reason.
 
In Chicago the lounge is called the "Metropolitan Lounge". It is located on the lower level of Union Station, which is also the track level. If you are standing in front of and facing the Amtrak ticket windows, then the Amtrak waiting area is to your left. In your case when you leave the train, you will just go with the flow into the main station. The doors would be on your right as you enter the large concourse where the ticket windows are. When you enter the main Amtrak waiting area through a sliding glass door, just walk forward and slightly to the left. There should be another sliding glass door along with a sign noting the lounge.

Just show your tickets to one of the attendants at the counter inside. They will give you a pass that will allow you to come and go, as you like until your trains departure. So you can either just relax in the lounge or you can wander about the station. There are several places within the station to buy lunch, if you like. Note: The Chicago lounge can be very busy and it sometimes can be hard to get a seat, but you still get the free stuff and priority boarding. For this reason they will make you leave your carry-on bags in the luggage room inside the lounge, you cannot take them to your seat due to the crowded nature of the lounge.

I will also mention that there is a locked luggage area for first class passengers. You can find this room by making the first right after you walk through the first set of sliding glass doors that I mentioned above. Walk down a short hall towards the south waiting area and again make the first right available. This is where I usually leave my bags when I go through Chicago, as opposed to the unlocked side room in the actual lounge. I’ve never heard of any bags being stolen from the unlocked room, but there have been a few cases of people grabbing the wrong bag by accident.

If you choose that latter alternative to store any carryon luggage, when they make the first call for those people who need redcaps, you should go get your bags out of the locked room. Then you can return to the lounge and board with the rest of the passengers, or you can allow the redcap to escort you and carry your bag to the train, although that will make your wallet a little lighter.

Also never leave any valuables in your luggage or your bedroom when you are not there. Take all wallets and purses with you, when you are moving about the train. There are usually no problems, but don't tempt the fates. Also don't leave any important medicines in your luggage while in Chicago, keep it with you.
 
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