Children's Bed in Family Room on Auto Train

[Carnation77]

Amtrak suggested I put my 2 year old in the upper child berth in our family room on the auto train so I would have room to put a small basinett or pack n play for our 8 month old where the lower child berth normally folds down. However, I'm concerned the netting in the upper berth won't keep my 2 year old from rolling up into a ball and falling out (completely realistic scenario). For reference, my 2 year old normally sleeps in a crib at home. So my question is, does the upper child berth have a mattress I could secure a portable bed rail underneath? My thought is with both the net and an actual, longer bed rail, that should be sufficient to keep my toddler from falling out. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[SarahZ]

The mattress sits rather flush with the edge of the bunk (it sits sort of inside the bunk, not on top), so it might be hard to get a bed rail under it. Plus, the mattress is rather floppy, so I'm not sure how well the bed rail would be supported. Normal mattresses have enough weight to hold a bed rail in place. The mattresses on trains are more like a bedroll.

I would suggest putting a bolster pillow or pool noodle under the sheet and then re-tucking the covers. That, combined with the net, should be good enough.

 

[FormerOBS]

I don't think I'd recommend putting a 2 year old in an upper berth. It's not likely that the child would fall, but I wouldn't take the chance.

Tom

 

[SarahZ]

I don't think I'd recommend putting a 2 year old in an upper berth. It's not likely that the child would fall, but I wouldn't take the chance. Tom

Even while posting, that crossed my mind. If the child wakes up in the middle of the night, they could very well try to climb out and fall over the edge where the net doesn't cover the bed. Children tend to get confused when sleeping in an unfamiliar place (heck, adults do too).

 

[AG1]

The 2 year old can use the kid's lower bunk. Place the bassinet on the floor. There should be room if the sofa seat is left in the day position. The lower will be as wide as the upper. Or, if one of the adults is short and sleeps with bent legs, the bassinet can be across the foot of the opened lower bed. The extra kid's mattress can be used as padding.

 

[FormerOBS]

If the children are very young, I think the upper child berth is best used for storage. That will free up sleeping & standing space down below.

Tom

 

[Carnation77]

Is the sofa wide enough to sleep on if not made into a bed? And how much floor room will that leave me? Enough for a pack n play?

 

[the_traveler]

Is the sofa wide enough to sleep on if not made into a bed? And how much floor room will that leave me? Enough for a pack n play?

I have done so on many trips.