Chicago LSL Boarding Time For Sleeper Class

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
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.
KC Ghost Rider

KC Ghost Rider

Service Attendant
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
131
Location
Kansas City, Kansas
When I made the reservation, the telephone agent said something about boarding around 8pm for the wine and cheese reception, however, since the wine and cheese reception is defunct, what is the new boarding time? My guess would be around 9pm, but I thought I would ask so I can plan activities in Chicago while Mrs. Ghost and I wait for our train to NYP.
 
When you first check in at the Metropolitan Lounge, the agent at the desk will give you a card and tell you the time to return for boarding for the LSL (or any other train). I'm not sure what time boarding is now.
 
Last night I was told boarding at 8:15 pm. Around 8:30 we were told that the train would be in station by 9 pm. At 9 pm promptly we were led to the train for the wine and cheese which they are doing through the end of March.

I picked up a paper timetable in the lounge and it still says that sleeper pax will have early boarding with a reception of complimentary snacks and beverages. I wonder if they'll keep the reception but axe the wine and cheese part? Maybe do non alcoholic beverages and other snacks?

In any case, I bet riders starting April 1st can report back with the new procedure.
 
Just a question on the LSL consist. I remember last year when we rode sleeper from CHI-ALB it seemed like we were the very last car. The walk from the lounge to the car for boarding seemed forever. Likewise our walks to the diner during the trip I think was 7-8 cars. At least it seemed like that. The W&C mention is what got me thinking. I remember our SCA was fantastic and actually had a good selection available for the car in our roomettes because the hike was so far. I know the LSL splits at ALB. IIRC we must have been in the BOS sleeper correct? NYP sleepers go on one end and BOS goes on the other. At least I think that is how it works. Can anyone else confirm.

P.S. Sorry to sidetrack the conversation somewhat.
 
You were in the Boston sleeper. We were in the same boat last year on the LSL for CHI-BOS. We walked to the last car to put our stuff down and our SCA told us that we needed to go back to the dining car for the reception. On the way to Chicago, on the CZ, we had witnessed someone left behind at a station, so my son was a little worried that the same would happen to us, so on the way back to the sleeper we went through every single car on that train.

FWIW, the W&C reception was not particularly thrilling. It was a grocery store cheese and grape platter with wine. Adding to that was the fact that our night on the CZ had been spent in coach and we were exhausted (we were the last row of seats right by the lounge car...a near constant flow of drunk people for a few hours meant not a lot of sleep). I was mostly excited to go to bed.
 
Always remember the New York sleepers go with the dining car so try to get a NY sleeper (unless you are going to Boston :) ) when traveling on the LSL. You will save a lot of walking.

Of course we were assigned a NY sleeper last fall going to Springfield, MA and had to walk all the way to the Boston section at Albany to get into our coach car. It was nice having the diner close by for breakfast and lunch. And our sleeper car attendant was a very nice guy who carried our luggage through the whole train to find us a seat in Boston coach.

Just some interesting anomalies about riding the LSL. :)
 
When I went to Erie last year I rode the Boston sleeper because it was cheaper. I did not mind working though four coach cars and the lounge car to get to the dinner. Also I much rather like using one of the coach bathrooms instead of the fold down toilet in a roomette.
 
amtkstn said:
When I went to Erie last year I rode the Boston sleeper because it was cheaper. I did not mind working though four coach cars and the lounge car to get to the dinner. Also I much rather like using one of the coach bathrooms instead of the fold down toilet in a roomette.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm not a fan of the in room toilet so I took the opportunity of walking through all the coach cars each time I went to the diner to use the loo. :)

I liked the BOS sleeper. It was quiet! I think maybe only half the rooms were sold in it.
 
Due to the Metropolitan Lounge closure times, I expect that early boarding will continue to happen on the LSL. Just no perks.
 
A downside to the Boston sleeper is the proximity to the locomotives and the frequent horn blowing at the grade crossings.
 
Neroden, thank you for your useful insight on the lounge hours. I will certainly return to the lounge NLT 8:30pm or as directed by the lounge staff.

On a different note, I cannot use the quote feature. It not longer works for me and believe you me I have tired. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong and how can I correct this so I can use this life simplifying tool?
 
KC, what browser are you using? Maybe try using a different one?

We boarded from the lounge at 9 pm and they were in fact cleaning up. There was a janitor in there sweeping, taking out the trash, etc.
 
amamba said:
KC, what browser are you using? Maybe try using a different one?

We boarded from the lounge at 9 pm and they were in fact cleaning up. There was a janitor in there sweeping, taking out the trash, etc.
Click to expand...
Hmm...using chrome it worked! Magic! I know there must be a fix for the IE, anyone know how to fix it?
 
Did you just upgrade to IE 11 by chance? I've found that enabling "comparability mode" makes a lot of things start working correctly (my favorite was our timecard application registering double keypresses when IE 11 was rolled out. You'd type "4.5" but get "44..55" on the screen. You had to type "4" backspace "." backspace "5" backspace to get things to work).
 
RyanS said:
Did you just upgrade to IE 11 by chance? I've found that enabling "comparability mode" makes a lot of things start working correctly (my favorite was our timecard application registering double keypresses when IE 11 was rolled out. You'd type "4.5" but get "44..55" on the screen. You had to type "4" backspace "." backspace "5" backspace to get things to work).
Click to expand...
Yes, it automatically upgraded to IE 11. I have enabled the compatibility mode now and ta-da...it works. Thank you so very much!
 
The are two ways to quote something. The first is punch the QUOTE button to the bottom right of the post. The downside to this is you can get quote on quote on quote when you only want to quote one idea. One slip of the mouse while trying to get rid of the excess baggage and you have to start over. I much prefer the old interface where you actually saw the quote tags.

The second is to copy what you want to quote into your post, select it with the mouse, and click the little "quote" icon. The downside to this is that it can't display who you are quoting. I often use this when I want to disagree with a point, but see no need to expose the quotee, especially when they are simply repeating what I call AU conventional wisdom.
 
KC Ghost Rider said:
RyanS said:
Did you just upgrade to IE 11 by chance? I've found that enabling "comparability mode" makes a lot of things start working correctly (my favorite was our timecard application registering double keypresses when IE 11 was rolled out. You'd type "4.5" but get "44..55" on the screen. You had to type "4" backspace "." backspace "5" backspace to get things to work).
Click to expand...
Yes, it automatically upgraded to IE 11. I have enabled the compatibility mode now and ta-da...it works. Thank you so very much!
Click to expand...
Happy to help.

PaulM said:
I much prefer the old interface where you actually saw the quote tags.
Click to expand...
Click on the little lightswitch icon in the top left corner of the reply window and the new "smart" editor will be replaced by the old style one.
 
Another nice thing about riding the Boston section is you right next to the baggage car. Your sca can get a checked bag for you
 
You are also right next to the baggage car in the New York Sleepers in the LSL. Of course they are next to the New York baggage car. :)

Actually I think the sleepers are next to the baggage car on all single level LD trains that have sleepers.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum
 
Last edited by a moderator:
amamba said:
Last night I was told boarding at 8:15 pm. Around 8:30 we were told that the train would be in station by 9 pm. At 9 pm promptly we were led to the train for the wine and cheese which they are doing through the end of March.

I picked up a paper timetable in the lounge and it still says that sleeper pax will have early boarding with a reception of complimentary snacks and beverages. I wonder if they'll keep the reception but axe the wine and cheese part? Maybe do non alcoholic beverages and other snacks?

In any case, I bet riders starting April 1st can report back with the new procedure.
Click to expand...
April 1st is here! What changes are there to the boarding time for sleeper class passengers? New procedure and time would be appreciated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top