Baggage

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
3
My wife and I plan our first Amtrak trip from Flagstaff AZ to Trenton NJ next May. We will reserve bedrooms. We have two suitcases, one 26 inch and one 29 inches (30.5 with wheels). I know the rules state that 28 inches is the max allowed, but we will have just the two suitcases plus two bags of less that suitcase size. I just want to be sure we will be allowed to board. Does Amtrak measure and weigh suitcases? I understand there is room for two 28 inch cases each so we should be well withing the total volume available. I would appreciate some assurance on this. Thanks.
 
My wife and I plan our first Amtrak trip from Flagstaff AZ to Trenton NJ next May. We will reserve bedrooms. We have two suitcases, one 26 inch and one 29 inches (30.5 with wheels). I know the rules state that 28 inches is the max allowed, but we will have just the two suitcases plus two bags of less that suitcase size. I just want to be sure we will be allowed to board. Does Amtrak measure and weigh suitcases? I understand there is room for two 28 inch cases each so we should be well withing the total volume available. I would appreciate some assurance on this. Thanks.
I've never seen Amtrak measure a carry-on bag, or even look closely at one, though I imagine if a bag were unreasonably enormous or obviously heavy, they might question it.

Heck, back in the mid-'90s, I regularly carried an enormous duffel bag and it was never an issue (the "hi Mom, here's all my laundry from September through Thanksgiving" bag :unsure: ). But that was a different travel-era.
 
I would assume (and this is just me thinking of things in real terms not silly rules) is that if you can fit them into your bedroom it wouldn't matter what size they were anyway.

I do have a side query to this and that is having a large bag in coach. A while ago I asked about space in coach for storing bags and was told by some nice person that there were spaces in each carriage for bags but I forgot to ask how big they were. My big bag is withing airline sizes so not enormous but still bigger than the carryon size on the Amtrak site/ Is space normally a problem on trains such as the Regional service between New York and Washington DC?
 
My wife and I plan our first Amtrak trip from Flagstaff AZ to Trenton NJ next May. We will reserve bedrooms. We have two suitcases, one 26 inch and one 29 inches (30.5 with wheels). I know the rules state that 28 inches is the max allowed, but we will have just the two suitcases plus two bags of less that suitcase size. I just want to be sure we will be allowed to board. Does Amtrak measure and weigh suitcases? I understand there is room for two 28 inch cases each so we should be well withing the total volume available. I would appreciate some assurance on this. Thanks.
I've never seen Amtrak measure a carry-on bag, or even look closely at one, though I imagine if a bag were unreasonably enormous or obviously heavy, they might question it.

Heck, back in the mid-'90s, I regularly carried an enormous duffel bag and it was never an issue (the "hi Mom, here's all my laundry from September through Thanksgiving" bag :unsure: ). But that was a different travel-era.
It's not clear if you're going to check your bags, or carry them on? Last summer we checked bags at Oceanside CA. They weighed every bag and rejected 2 of them for being 2-3 lbs overweight. They also rejected a "military style duffel bag" because the agent didn't feel it was secure enough. The agent was not very helpful, just a "cold" "I can't accept these bags"... the end. We had been dropped off at the station before it's posted opening time of 7:00am. They didn't open the doors until 7:15am. Our train was leaving at 8:00am, so we had 15 minutes to get all checked in to meet the 30 minute checked bags deadline. I was able to SCRAMBLE and rearrange items in bags to them get under the 50lbs weight limit, and found some rope to re-secure the duffle bag. They were finally all accepted. We had been camping on the beach and were dropped off by friends who had to get back to the campground and check out. We had nobody to call for help. If our bags weren't accepted what were our options? Throw things in the trash to make weigh, throw the duffle bag away, miss our train and connecting trains at Los Angeles and Emeryville? It was an awkward situation. I had a portable luggage scale (from Magellen' s Travel Supplies) and had weighed all the bags the night before, but apparently my scale was not as accurate as Amtrak's digital scale.

If you are going to carry-on your bags, and are close to 50lbs, I would think you'd be alright. But I would think about a "plan B" if the worst happens.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My wife and I plan our first Amtrak trip from Flagstaff AZ to Trenton NJ next May. We will reserve bedrooms. We have two suitcases, one 26 inch and one 29 inches (30.5 with wheels). I know the rules state that 28 inches is the max allowed, but we will have just the two suitcases plus two bags of less that suitcase size. I just want to be sure we will be allowed to board. Does Amtrak measure and weigh suitcases? I understand there is room for two 28 inch cases each so we should be well withing the total volume available. I would appreciate some assurance on this. Thanks.
I've learned never to say never with Amtrak, as anything can happen depending on who is enforcing/interpreting the rules. But that said, you should not have any problems if you plan to carry the bags onto the train yourselves and don't plan to ask any Amtrak employee for help. If you do plan to ask for help, then there is a slightly larger chance that you could have a problem. But even then, most employees seem to be more tolerant of those in a sleeper by comparison to coach.

Now if the bag in question was visibly larger than the rules allow, and seriously so, then you might also have a higher chance of encountering a problem. But with the dimensions that you've stated, I don't think that you'd have any problems.
 
My wife and I plan our first Amtrak trip from Flagstaff AZ to Trenton NJ next May. We will reserve bedrooms. We have two suitcases, one 26 inch and one 29 inches (30.5 with wheels). I know the rules state that 28 inches is the max allowed, but we will have just the two suitcases plus two bags of less that suitcase size. I just want to be sure we will be allowed to board. Does Amtrak measure and weigh suitcases? I understand there is room for two 28 inch cases each so we should be well withing the total volume available. I would appreciate some assurance on this. Thanks.
I've learned never to say never with Amtrak, as anything can happen depending on who is enforcing/interpreting the rules. But that said, you should not have any problems if you plan to carry the bags onto the train yourselves and don't plan to ask any Amtrak employee for help. If you do plan to ask for help, then there is a slightly larger chance that you could have a problem. But even then, most employees seem to be more tolerant of those in a sleeper by comparison to coach.

Now if the bag in question was visibly larger than the rules allow, and seriously so, then you might also have a higher chance of encountering a problem. But with the dimensions that you've stated, I don't think that you'd have any problems.
I think this is a really great point. I've seen a variety of enforcement myself. Two years ago at LAX, I watched a family of 4 have to rearrange their luggage and carry on items such as shoes, etc to be compliant. When I checked in at MSP this last summer, I know the ticket agent did glance at the scale as well. On my return trip from Rochester, NY, my suitcase was not weighed, but the agent did kind of give me the stink eye as I was probably a few pounds over but let it go and it safely made its way back to MSP with a transfer at CHI. If anything, pack your suitcase up and put it on a bathroom scale to see where you are at just before you leave. It won't be foolproof accurate, but it will give you a pretty good idea and give yourself a 2-3 pound leeway just in case.

Dan
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This was probably one of those one time things but it worked. The SA picked up the bag, groaned a few moments and glared at me. It was one of 3 carry-ons. One carry-on was large enough to contain my purse (and did). I tipped him and the groan went away. It was a smaller rolling bag but I just happened to have stuff in it that was heavier than normal.
 
If anything, pack your suitcase up and put it on a bathroom scale to see where you are at just before you leave. It won't be foolproof accurate, but it will give you a pretty good idea and give yourself a 2-3 pound leeway just in case.
A better way to do this would be weigh yourself on the scale, and then weigh yourself holding the bag and subtract the difference, since some bags may hang off the edges of a bathroom scale.

On all of my trips on Amtrak, minus my CLT > SAL > CLT joyrides, I travel with my LL Bean bag that comes out to be around 31-32" when packed, which is 4" over the specified carry-on limits (I've never checked baggage). I can say that I've never been questioned about my bag, much less given a bad look, even when boarding at a manned station. I don't know what all the hype is about anyway, it's not like those huge baggage cars don't have room for a couple extra inches on a bag.. <_<
 
I don't know what all the hype is about anyway, it's not like those huge baggage cars don't have room for a couple extra inches on a bag.. <_<
Well checked baggage does allow for larger suitcases than what is allowed for carryon, 36x36x36 compared to the carryon limit of 28x22x14. The 50lb weight limit is as much about preventing one bag from crushing another in the baggage car as it is about preventing injury to employees who have to move the bags around. Railrookie may correct me, but I seem to recall that even UPS has a 50lb weight limit for normal packages. I think that there is a way to exceed that limit, both with special markings and extra charges, but again I do believe that a normal package cannot exceed 50lbs.

The smaller size limits for carryon are done in part to make sure that every passenger gets a fair amount of space, as well as again to prevent injury for both passengers and crew.

And when compared to the airlines, Amtrak's baggage policy is still far more liberal than any airline. Some now charge you for even the first bag, most charge if you go over two. Amtrak allows for two carryons per pax, and three checked per pax, before they start imposing additional charges.
 
I don't know what all the hype is about anyway, it's not like those huge baggage cars don't have room for a couple extra inches on a bag.. <_<
Well checked baggage does allow for larger suitcases than what is allowed for carryon, 36x36x36 compared to the carryon limit of 28x22x14. The 50lb weight limit is as much about preventing one bag from crushing another in the baggage car as it is about preventing injury to employees who have to move the bags around. Railrookie may correct me, but I seem to recall that even UPS has a 50lb weight limit for normal packages. I think that there is a way to exceed that limit, both with special markings and extra charges, but again I do believe that a normal package cannot exceed 50lbs.

The smaller size limits for carryon are done in part to make sure that every passenger gets a fair amount of space, as well as again to prevent injury for both passengers and crew.

And when compared to the airlines, Amtrak's baggage policy is still far more liberal than any airline. Some now charge you for even the first bag, most charge if you go over two. Amtrak allows for two carryons per pax, and three checked per pax, before they start imposing additional charges.
Just one side note about baggage. Amtrak has taken to cutting back baggage handlers jobs at some intermediate sized stations thus putting the work load on the ticket agent. Don't get caught short on time as I have seen the 30 minute rule imposed even though the baggage cart did not leave the area to onload to the train for another 20 minutes. I have also seen a one man station tag a bag, throw it on the baggage buggy and load it into the baggage car in less than 5 minutes.
 
Another thing: tips can go a long way. At-least in my experience.

One time we were in Miami airport getting my mother, sister and grandmother onto a plane before we were going back to a hotel to spend the night, awaiting the morning departure of the Silver Star. We were helping them get through the baggage part, before we'd obviously be required to part ways. Anyway, my mom is one of those people who can and will fit 20 cubic feet of stuff into a 15 cubic foot bag. There was this bi-... uh, annoying lady, at the baggage check who was refusing to let us check in one of the bags because it was 50.25lbs. She wouldn't let us go for an additional charge. She went into a rant about how human beings had to lift the bags and we were inhumane and degenerate. (Yes, she used these words.) We eventually gave up, and my dad and I took it back to the hotel room to check it the next morning on the train. It was weighed.

The attendant who was supposed to check it noticed it was overweight, and called someone over, presumably the manager. The manager said to the attendant off in a corner: "A quarter of a pound? You called me over here for a quarter of a pound? Take the ****ed bag."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top