Blankets Needed??

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gary

Train Attendant
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
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We will be boarding the Southwest Chief at Flagstaff on Jan 26th. We have coach reservations. Should we bring blankets or is the coach kept fairly warm?

Thanks

Gary
 
Absolutely bring blankets if you'll be overnighting on the train. You didn't say how far you're going, but if it involves being in coach at night, definitely have a blanket with you. The first time I traveled over night was on the SWC. I didn't have a blanket for myself and my granddaughter and we were very, very cold. That was the first and last time I traveled overnight without one.
 
bring a blanket. on some trains you can purchase a amtrak blanket from the shop downstairs in the sightseer lounge. or for $5 buy one at ABQ during the service stop from the vendor.when i was on the train sense i had both seats to my self almost the whole trip i spread out over the 2 seats with my jacket over me.
 
I would endorse both of the other posters comments. I find it amazing that the aircon often blows out cold air in the winter, a slight design fault there. Having asked on many trips that the temperature be brought nearer to comfortable, the reply always seems to be along the lines of "It's automatic, there is no adjustment possible." I am balding, and find a hat and blanket a boon at night. Please don't rely on being able to purchase items on the train..

Keep Warm!

Ed. B)
 
Also consider ski cap to pull over your face if you want dark.
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Actually, I would recomend a blindfold-type sleep mask to cover one's eyes for this purpose. A ski mask pulled over one's face would be extremely warm, even in winter, not to mention stifling to one's breathing process, and possibly itchy to the face.
 
caravanman said:
Having asked on many trips that the temperature be brought nearer to comfortable, the reply always seems to be along the lines of "It's automatic, there is no adjustment possible."
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Well that's not exactly true. I won't deny that it's very hard for an attendant to strike a happy balance with all the passengers in the car. No matter what some are going think that the temp is just right, some are going to be hot, and some will be cold. If the attendant can get things to a point where they've got 50% to 60% of the car happy, they're doing pretty darn good.

Especially since while they can adjust the temp, it's not a normal thermostat. It doesn't have temperatures on the dial, such that they can just pick 72 degrees for example. Instead it's just 1 through 10 and the attendant has to guess at what the best setting for the conditions is. And remember that going up and down mountains, daylight vs night, and clouds vs sun all affect the temps in the cars.
 
In my travels, it has been a crap shoot. Sometimes warm,sometimes cool, once in a while, just right. I would definitly suggest dressing in layers.

GregL
 
Chatter163 said:
Also consider ski cap to pull over your face if you want dark.
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Actually, I would recomend a blindfold-type sleep mask to cover one's eyes for this purpose. A ski mask pulled over one's face would be extremely warm, even in winter, not to mention stifling to one's breathing process, and possibly itchy to the face.
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I can see it now, a passenger walking around in a ski mask with a toy gun!!!!!!! :blink:
 
Yes, I kind of guessed that what I was being told wasn't exactly true.. Odd though that there isn't a thermostat that can be factory set to a sensible temperature, as laid down by a quorum of good men and true, and the equipment could cycle on and off within a more reasonable temperature range, regardless of going up hill or down dale!

Ed B)
 
gswager said:
Or wear jacket and thick sweat pants, for those who travel light. Also consider ski cap to pull over your face if you want dark.
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The ski mask might not be such a good idea on the Sunset or Lake Shore when the Border Patrol agents come by... :p
 
It is better to have a coach that is too cold than one that is too hot. It is relatively easy to get warm in a cold enviroment. It is essentially impossible to get cool in a hot one.
 
I've found many time while in coach that it's a good idea to have a jacket at night. If it's cool, wearing one can keep you warmer. and if you just put it backwards on your chest, it can also be put over your head. (Or you can wear the blindfold type eyeshades to cut out the lights.) If it is too warm in the coach, the jacket can be rolled up and used as a pillow!

Either way, dress in layers.
 
I am not sure that the temperatures were always as crazy as they are in cars now days... I have been in coach or sleeper in summer and have darn near frozen.. Not exactly my idea of a good time. It another one of those things akin to toilets that don't flush, everyone knows they don't work, yet no one actually fixes them. Usually we have had some luck at getting a blanket in the sleeper to put over our selves in the roomette on the CN but at least one time I recall the attendant said there were no extras. I am the opposite of liking it too cold, I hate to be cold, I would rather be too warm at least then I don't feel like my fingers and toes are freezing.

The worst cars for that being too cold recently have been the Amfeet Business class car. Its like a refrigerator in the passenger section most trips in summer. I see people are actually bringing blankets in summer or a jacket due to that. No one seems to be able to fix it. Although one trip after nearly 5 hours of suffering the conductor did something that make the car warmer just before we got to chicago. It was real shock to walk to the next coach that must have been 30 degrees hotter.

Bottom line here, would a major hotel chain keep there rooms so hot or so cold that everyone complained? I am not one to make excuses for Amtrak, your running a business and a service at that, operating the cars at a temperature that is moderate at least should be a standard goal. Instead of spending millions to turn diners into CCC cars no one wants they could have fixed the heating and cooling and toilets, seems like a more basic need to me.
 
I rode the SWC in the summer and it was a bit cool. Felt good because I come from the desert. But I can see how some thought it might be a tad bit cool. I did bring a light sweatshirt that zipped up and that was plenty for me. My kids are skinny and they thought it was too cold at night.

Dano
 
I always take on a carryon, bungee corded to the carryon is a pillow, inside the pillow I cram a blanket from home. I usually wear a pair of gym shorts underneath some sweats. If its too warm, I shed the sweats. Also, I would avoid being near the doors leading to the other cars if possible. That will bring in cool/cold air everytime someone walks from car to car and its also noisy. I usually have earplugs as well.
 
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Amtrak often keeps the cars too hot in my mind. They have never, to the best of my knowledge, kept them too cold for me.
 
Larry H. said:
Bottom line here, would a major hotel chain keep there rooms so hot or so cold that everyone complained?
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From my experience, I would have to write "yes". ;)

Thankfully, there is usually same way to adjust the temperature of my own personal space (my room) to something more to my liking.

What's worse, are the hotels which allow temperature changes, only when one is actually in the room. Otherwise, it goes back to the hotel's own preferences.
 
I have found that in both a roomette or bedroom, the temperature controls do have some effect. Also, the ceiling air vent control does work.
 
*** NOTE THE PRIOR POSTS WERE MADE 6 YEARS AGO ***

How about in a roomette? Blanket needed?

Edit: Just saw the post above mine!

Still, whaddya think?
 
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Roomette has sheets, blankets & pillows. They've sufficed for me and I get chilly easy.
 
George K said:
How about in a roomette? Blanket needed?

Edit: Just saw the post above mine!

Still, whaddya think?
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The roomette has a sheet and blanket on each bed. I've found the roomettes to be too warm in the winter, so I just use the sheet. Even then, they're too warm. On our last trip, I opened the door to get more air circulation and then kept the curtains closed for privacy.

Edit: If you're traveling in the summer, the roomette might feel too cold. The sheet and blanket are sufficient, though, and the SCA usually has extra blankets if you need one.
 
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