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Brandon V

Service Attendant
Joined
Sep 2, 2010
Messages
110
Location
Minot, North Dakota
Living in Saint Cloud, MN, the furthest I've ever taken Amtrak (only the EB) was between SCD and FAR going westbound and eastbound. or SCD to MSP or SCD-RDW.

On Oct. 14th, I'm taking the EB #28 SCD-CHI and on Oct. 18th EB#27 CHI-SCD. I've been reading through some of the "tips" section, but does anybody have any of their own special tips? I was planning on bringing the following:

  • Laptop
  • Powerstrip
  • Microsoft s&m
  • pillow and small blanket
Any other tips?

Thanks :)
 
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Streets & Trips

GPS Mapping software.

Trogdor said:
Brandon V said:
  • Microsoft s&m
Click to expand...

Microsoft s&m? Not sure I want to know what that one's all about...

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Be sure to have a timetable in some form, either computerized or literal. It is fun to keep up with your stops and your punctualiy that way.

Hopefully you have checked out the menus so you have an idea what to order.
 
If you have a portable gps (with an adapter where you can charge it), bring that along too. I really enjoyed having mine with me for my last few trips - especially in the mountains.
 
I believe MS S&M typically comes with a GPS device. I've used my smartphone's GPS on occasion but it often can't get a good signal on the train. Not to mention that there are long stretches with little or no cellular service so the Google maps generally don't function too well, if at all. I also tried using Navigon but previous revisions had a hard time understanding that we were not on any road. Even in pedestrian mode it kept trying to put us on a road.
 
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Are you going coach or sleeper?
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If sleeper, pillows, blankets and meals are included. If coach a small pillow is provided.

I always carry a GPS (in fact I also have s&m, but I prefer DeLorme {sp}) on my netbook. I would highly recommend bringing along a powerstrip!
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If you are traveling coach be sure to bring a blanket and a bigger pillow..if you are traveling sleeper car a small bit of duct tape is handy for things that rattle.
 
When I want real quiet, I just use a good noise canceling headphone, some thing like Bose QC 15) without playing any music through it. It works surprisingly well with rattles and even with people fighting with each other next door, and even engine horns on occasions. Some of these don't get fully canceled but do get sufficiently muffled so as to be not a bother anymore. Admittedly duct tape is much much cheaper, but on my last two trips I came across very pernicious rattles that were not fixable using duct tapes or wads of paper.
 
The beach ball suggestion is to place it between you and the window, so you can lay your head against it.

As cars get refurbished, most have power at every seat. (When the cars were built 35+ years ago, not everyone had cell phones, laptops/netbooks, DVD players, GPS units, scanners, etc... - so 2 plugs per car was enough for the cleaners!) Now I'd say you have a 90% chance of finding a plug at your seat!
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If not, you can always walk back to the other coaches, and if you do find one with a plug, and an empty seat, ASK THE CA IF YOU CAN MOVE! I did this on the CS with no problem!
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jis said:
When I want real quiet, I just use a good noise canceling headphone, some thing like Bose QC 15) without playing any music through it. It works surprisingly well with rattles and even with people fighting with each other next door, and even engine horns on occasions. Some of these don't get fully canceled but do get sufficiently muffled so as to be not a bother anymore. Admittedly duct tape is much much cheaper, but on my last two trips I came across very pernicious rattles that were not fixable using duct tapes or wads of paper.
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Why would you want to cancel out the sound of train horns? That's one of many parts of the train travel experience I enjoy!
 
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I'm with you on that one Bierboy! :D

Bierboy said:
jis said:
When I want real quiet, I just use a good noise canceling headphone, some thing like Bose QC 15) without playing any music through it. It works surprisingly well with rattles and even with people fighting with each other next door, and even engine horns on occasions. Some of these don't get fully canceled but do get sufficiently muffled so as to be not a bother anymore. Admittedly duct tape is much much cheaper, but on my last two trips I came across very pernicious rattles that were not fixable using duct tapes or wads of paper.
Click to expand...
Why would you want to cancel out the sound of train horns? That's one of many parts of the train travel experience I enjoy!
Click to expand...
 
Bierboy said:
jis said:
When I want real quiet, I just use a good noise canceling headphone, some thing like Bose QC 15) without playing any music through it. It works surprisingly well with rattles and even with people fighting with each other next door, and even engine horns on occasions. Some of these don't get fully canceled but do get sufficiently muffled so as to be not a bother anymore. Admittedly duct tape is much much cheaper, but on my last two trips I came across very pernicious rattles that were not fixable using duct tapes or wads of paper.
Click to expand...
Why would you want to cancel out the sound of train horns? That's one of many parts of the train travel experience I enjoy!
Click to expand...
Agreed! I love waking up at some point in the middle of the night in a sleeper, only to have the muted sounds of the train horns lull me back to sleep.
 
Brandon V said:
I just thought of something new now. I was just curious, how full is the Empire Builder in October usually?
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It can be crowded. I was on with a large group of senior citizens on a group trip from Seattle to Minneapolis and they jammed the diner, then jammed the toilets with their Depends diapers. What a mess.
 
spot1181 said:
Brandon V said:
I just thought of something new now. I was just curious, how full is the Empire Builder in October usually?
Click to expand...
It can be crowded. I was on with a large group of senior citizens on a group trip from Seattle to Minneapolis and they jammed the diner, then jammed the toilets with their Depends diapers. What a mess.
Click to expand...

This can relate back to a previous thread on Superliner toilet failure. I worked on Superliner cars for 25+ years and can tell you that 95% of toilet failures are passenger inflicted.

Yes, the system is vacuum operated just like many aircraft. (In a former life I also was an FAA certified airframe and powerplant mechanic and also worked with these systems.) In an aircraft the waste holding tank is always below the level of the toilet bowel. This is not true in a Superliner. The Superliner holding tank is in the equipment room above the "A" end truck. Thus the waste from the lower level has to be sucked up to the tank and this requires very strong vacuum pumps. There is also 100+ feet of copper piping in a Superliner coach and much more in a sleeper. This piping has many 90 degree bends this complicate the movement of waste.

Now to the cause of failures, the system can take only human waste and the Amtrak supplied toilet paper. Most people doe not understand this and any other material that may be flushable in your home is NOT FLUSHABLE on a Superliner. Some of these product are able to partially block the piping and not allow the full system vacuum to be distributed to all toilets and it also causes the 4 to 7.5 HP pump motor to overhead and trip the circuit breaker. This is why sometimes the resetting of the breaker will allow the system to work.

Some sanitary products also cause obstructions in the actual valve in an individual toilet and if the system loses its vacuum integrity its operation will be compromised. This is especially true at higher altitude and in extremely hot temperatures because the air is less dense and pumps have to work much harder to reach the required vacuum levels. Products that contain any type of plastic or any absorbent will definitely partially obstruct the piping. If this obstruction is in an individual toilet it can be locked off and others in that car can be used. If the obstruction reaches the system main line the whole car will fail. If a sanitary product that contains a string is disposed of it may or may not keep the individual valve open, it depends. If the valve is open to any extent it will let atmospheric air into the system and cause the pumps to fail especially under extreme temperature and high elevations and then the whole car's waste system is down.

Amtrak does know about these problems and has made many changes to the system, too many to mention here. I went to Philadelphia and made a presentation to several Amtrak managers, complete with 8x10 glossies with circles and arrows. I was told afterward that I really know my _ _ _ _! (excrement)

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Brandon V said:
I just thought of something new now. I was just curious, how full is the Empire Builder in October usually?
Click to expand...
In my experience, the EB is full all the time. But in October I don't think it will be sold out. If you're going on the weekend, I'd say though there is a decent good chance you'll have seat mate. Its hard to say. It definitely won't be empty.
 
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