T
Texas is the Reason
Guest
Thinking of riding from Dallas to LA - the trip is almost 48 hours, I'd love it if I could bring my own refreshments to save $$$. Is that allowed?
All coach seats and all restrooms are considered public areas.Bring your food aboard
You may bring your own food and beverages onboard for consumption at your seat or private Sleeping Car accommodations. However, you can only consume food and beverages purchased in Dining and Lounge Cars in those cars. Personal food and beverages are allowed in the upper level of Superliner Sightseer Lounges.
Federal health regulations prohibit Amtrak personnel from handling your food, heating it in our ovens, or storing it in our refrigerators.
Private stock
You may bring aboard your own private stock of alcoholic beverages subject to the following limitations:
You may consume private stock alcoholic beverages only in Sleeping Car accommodations for which you have a valid ticket.
You may not consume private stock alcoholic beverages in any public areas.
I'm thinking they could also have an "escalation protocol" depending on how rowdy people are getting. You seem to indicate they were tossed after drinking alcohol purchased on board. If people start getting rowdy, they could possibly just stop all alcohol sales until things cool down.I rode between FTW and Los Angeles - the 1st night the conductors didnt mention anything about own alcohol and numerous people were drinking their own stock in coach and the SSL (I may have drank my own Sierra Nevade Pale Ale rather than purchase from the lounge car or may not) However the 2nd night from about 9pm the conductors changed and numerous announcements where made informing passengers no drinking own stock in public spaces and I did witness a couple of young guys thrown off around 1am for drinking in the SSL that clearly hadn't been brought on board. So perhaps some conductor bases are stricter then others I (perhaps wrongly) assumed it was because there was more people on board and more likely hood of disruption?
I'm thinking they could also have an "escalation protocol" depending on how rowdy people are getting. You seem to indicate they were tossed after drinking alcohol purchased on board. If people start getting rowdy, they could possibly just stop all alcohol sales until things cool down.I rode between FTW and Los Angeles - the 1st night the conductors didnt mention anything about own alcohol and numerous people were drinking their own stock in coach and the SSL (I may have drank my own Sierra Nevade Pale Ale rather than purchase from the lounge car or may not) However the 2nd night from about 9pm the conductors changed and numerous announcements where made informing passengers no drinking own stock in public spaces and I did witness a couple of young guys thrown off around 1am for drinking in the SSL that clearly hadn't been brought on board. So perhaps some conductor bases are stricter then others I (perhaps wrongly) assumed it was because there was more people on board and more likely hood of disruption?
I'm a bit unclear. Was it their own alcohol brought on board or did they buy it from the cafe? Were they being disruptive? When I'm bombed I tend to kind of feel sick, keep quiet, and not necessarily act out on anything. However, that's me. I know a lot of people can become disruptive after enough alcohol.I'm thinking they could also have an "escalation protocol" depending on how rowdy people are getting. You seem to indicate they were tossed after drinking alcohol purchased on board. If people start getting rowdy, they could possibly just stop all alcohol sales until things cool down.I rode between FTW and Los Angeles - the 1st night the conductors didnt mention anything about own alcohol and numerous people were drinking their own stock in coach and the SSL (I may have drank my own Sierra Nevade Pale Ale rather than purchase from the lounge car or may not) However the 2nd night from about 9pm the conductors changed and numerous announcements where made informing passengers no drinking own stock in public spaces and I did witness a couple of young guys thrown off around 1am for drinking in the SSL that clearly hadn't been brought on board. So perhaps some conductor bases are stricter then others I (perhaps wrongly) assumed it was because there was more people on board and more likely hood of disruption?
As I recall it was from the moment the conductors changed over, it seemed from an outsider that nothing else had changed other than the new conductor was by the book and the previous one was more relaxed.
I don't know about food being tolerated. It's specifically allowed, although I'm sure there are limits if something is patently offensive. Durian would probably qualify. I've also seen personal food being consumed in a cafe car, so that's being tolerated.The rules have been stated.
Non-Amtrak food is tolerated in any public or private areas where food is NOT being sold. It is prohibited in the sales areas, such as dining cars and lounges.
Non-Amtrak alcoholic beverages are tolerated in private sleeping accommodations ONLY.
If employees choose to be a bit lax in the enforcement of these rules, it is generally because the passenger is otherwise behaving properly, and the employees see no point in disrupting a situation that isn't really a problem. But they don't HAVE to be that generous, so don't push it.
I'll never forget the time a passenger was drunk & disorderly, on his own alcohol, in the coach area. An OBS attendant told him to cool it. No luck. Another OBS attendant told him to cool it. No luck. The AC told him to cool it. No luck. The Conductor told him to cool it. No luck. The Conductor told the man if he didn't comply, he would be put off the train. The passenger said "You just try and put me off, Sonny-boy!"
I'll let you guess how that turned out.
Who needs fiction when you've got stuff like this in the ol' memory banks?
Tom
There are instances of specific areas or cafes on certain trains where you are allowed to consume your own food. As far as liquor/beer/wine goes, I handle it on a case by case basis. I certainly will not enable it by lending you a bottle or wine opener. And I tell people I can not see it in my Cafe car. I try to reason with people that it's just like a restaurant with bar service...you wouldn't bring your own stuff and consume it, putting a restaurant's liquor license at risk, would you?I don't know about food being tolerated. It's specifically allowed, although I'm sure there are limits if something is patently offensive. Durian would probably qualify. I've also seen personal food being consumed in a cafe car, so that's being tolerated.The rules have been stated.
Non-Amtrak food is tolerated in any public or private areas where food is NOT being sold. It is prohibited in the sales areas, such as dining cars and lounges.
Non-Amtrak alcoholic beverages are tolerated in private sleeping accommodations ONLY.
If employees choose to be a bit lax in the enforcement of these rules, it is generally because the passenger is otherwise behaving properly, and the employees see no point in disrupting a situation that isn't really a problem. But they don't HAVE to be that generous, so don't push it.
I'll never forget the time a passenger was drunk & disorderly, on his own alcohol, in the coach area. An OBS attendant told him to cool it. No luck. Another OBS attendant told him to cool it. No luck. The AC told him to cool it. No luck. The Conductor told him to cool it. No luck. The Conductor told the man if he didn't comply, he would be put off the train. The passenger said "You just try and put me off, Sonny-boy!"
I'll let you guess how that turned out.
Who needs fiction when you've got stuff like this in the ol' memory banks?
Tom
Allowing personal alcohol outside of the rules? That sounds more like being tolerated. Kind of like maybe driving 10 MPH over the speed limit and the cop doesn't really care, but do the same and keep weaving in and out of traffic, and maybe he does care.
The food issue is certainly a different one than alcohol. While the income issue is probably an important issue, I always thought if the general prohibition on personal alcohol as a behavioral control. The cafe car or dining car attendant can cut off the supply if someone is belligerent. I suppose the allowance for sleeping accommodations is allowed because that passenger is likely to remain in a personal space.Maybe I created confusion by using "tolerated" instead of "permitted". I guess I was just thinking about the fact that Amtrak would rather sell you the food and get a bit of income from it, rather than let that extra income go to Piggly Wiggly. For purposes of this discussion, in my opinion, the two terms mean just about the same thing.
Tom
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