First rail trip

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J.B. O'Dea

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Planning my first ever rail trip in early October. San Diego to Boston to Baltimore to San Diego. Plan to book a sleeper.

Can I expect a lot of delays? Are the trains crowded (i.e. lines for toilets, showers)? What is expected in way of tips for attendants?

Any other suggestions?
 
Hi, and welcome to the world of train travel! HOpe your trip goes wonderfully. I've taken Amtrak trips for the last three summers, and most of them went quite well. My advice: be prepared (and expect) unpleasantries such as delays, rude employees, bathrooms that don't work, and then if everything goes well, you'll be delighted. Because of the US government's failure to properly fund Amtrak, conditions are not always great.

Two weeks ago, I was on the Three RIvers (great scenery) from New York to Chicago. We should have arrived at 7:50am, but arrived at 4pm instead! And the cafe car ran out of food by noon. BUT, the trip was fun, cuz a group of us hung out in the cafe car; the attendant was cheerful, and we played cards and watched the pretty scenery outside. Once in Chicago, Amtrak paid for my hotel and gave me money for food/taxi (I missed my connection). So, at the end, everything was fine and the trip was enjoyable.

You don't mention what trains you will be taking. Some of the posters here will want to know that information before giving some advice. The long-distance trains are great. Take a book, be prepared to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The others can probably give you better advice on tipping. I seem to recall it being something like five or ten bucks per day per person served. But it also depends on the service. We had reasonably good service on the Empire Builder, and tipped him twenty dollars at the end of the trip. On another trip, the attendant was never around, so I gave him absolutely nothing (he should be fired). Don't feel obliged to fork over cash for inferior service!

Scott
 
J.B. O said:
Planning my first ever rail trip in early October. San Diego to Boston to Baltimore to San Diego.  Plan to book a sleeper.
Can I expect a lot of delays?   Are the trains crowded (i.e. lines for toilets, showers)?      What is expected in way of tips for attendants?

Any other suggestions?
To save the most book as early as possible, and rember you get meals included with your sleeper fare. If your going round trip and have time consider taking different routes on the reverse. If you are in a sleeper you can expect very little dealys with lines for the bathroom(none if your in a viewliner). The shower can be busy at peak times so just dont plan on taking one right before breakfast. There are alot of unpredicted delays but dont always expect your traint o be really late. It can show up ontime one day when the previous day it was six hours late.
 
JB,

There is no way to predict delays, there are simply too many things that can cause a delay and one never knows when and where you might get delayed. Hopefully everything will go well, but expect the unexpected. Finally remember that Amtrak will make sure that you get where you're going if you miss a guaranteed connection and bears all expenses associated with getting you there.

If you're going to be in a sleeper, I doubt that you'll encounter any lines for the facilities, much less long ones. If you're trying for the shower in the morning, you may find it occupied, but even then your wait shouldn't be that long.

Normal tip for a sleeping car attendant is 5 bucks per night/per person. Again use your discretion giving less or none for poor service or extra for outstanding service.

Also remember that all your meals are included with the price of the sleeper, when taken in the dining car. Alcohol will cost you extra, as will the food served in the cafe/snack/lounge car. The dining car attendants will also expect a tip, even though your meal is free. If you can figure out the total amount of your check, something not easy to do since you won't see your final check, then a typical 15% is customary. Most people however take the easy way out leaving a buck for breakfast & lunch and two dollars for dinner.

As for other tips, make sure that you spend some time in the Sightseer Lounge car with its huge panoramic windows. Bring a good book or other form of entertainment, should you get tired of looking out the window. If you're bringing any electronic equipment, tape player, DVD player, laptop, etc. then make sure that you bring a surge protector with you.

Keep in mind that the bedrooms are not huge, so watch the size of your suitcase(s). You may even wish to pack a small overnight bag with your clothes for the journey and check a large suitcase. On the trains west of Chicago, there is a large luggage rack in the lower level of the sleeper car. However east of Chicago, there is no rack, and there is only room for a moderate sized suitcase in your bedroom, unless you have a deluxe room.

Finally you may wish to check out these hints & tips from On Track On Line.
 
AlanB said:
There is no way to predict delays...
Well, say the magic words "UNION PACIFIC" and then I see LONG LONG LONG torturous delays in your future!

However, since you will be travelling from San Diego to Boston, I am guessing you will be starting out on the Pacific Surfliner (San Diego to Los Angeles), then the Southwest Chief (Los Angeles to Chicago), and finally a train from Chicago to Boston (I am not familiar with the east coast trains, but I am sure others on this board will help you out here).

Both Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Southwest Chief trains run on the BNSF owned railroad tracks, and for this reason alone the delays should be minimal to nonexistent. You can expect to be on time or very close to on time from San Diego to Chicago along these routes and the same should be true on your return from Chicago to San Diego.

That said, the Southwest Chief is one of my favorite of Amtrak's long distance trains. I traveled this route last January from LA-Chicago in a sleeper and it was a great experience. As others have said, there are adequate facilities on the lower level of the superliner sleeper you will be travelling in and you shouldn't have to wait to use them, except for the 6-8am frame which wasn't really too bad. The biggest complaint I heard onboard during my trip was that the ride was too rough. While I didn't think it was too bad, this train does constantly move along much faster than other Amtrak long distance trains I have been on. Sitting idle an hour or two waiting for a freight train to pass (common on other Amtrak ld trains such as the Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and Sunset Ltd where Union Pacific owns the tracks and provides the dispatching on them) just isn't a normal occurrence on this route.

One of the highlights on the Southwest Chief is the Albuquerque Station stop, where passengers are invited to detrain and explore the Native American shopping stands set up on the platform exclusively for the arrival of the Southwest Chief.

Sounds like a great trip. Let us know if you have any other questions.
 
My best guess is you will be on the lake shore limited whose tracks are owned mostly by CSX transportation. It is the east coast up equivilant although not always as bad.
 
Well what I would do in terms of an itinerary is the follwing. Take a Pacific Surliner service train up to Los Angeles and connect with the Southwest Chief to Chicago. In Chicago connect with the Lake Shore Limited to Boston. From Boston to Baltimore you have the choice of taking a Regional train or the Acela Express. Amtrak Regional trains use conventional equipment, while the Acela Express uses modern high-speed trainsets. From Baltimore back to San Diego I would go from Baltimore to Washington DC and connect with the Capitol Limited to Chicago. Then in Chicago take the Southwest Cheif back to Los Angeles and then a Pacific Surfliner down to San Diego.
 
I would suggest that you consider booking an overnight in Chicago between your eastbound train from Los Angeles and the continuing train to Boston. The on-time record of the Southwest Chief (LA to Chicago), although better than many of the long distance trains, is still less than 60% on time with a 30 minute tolerance and generous schedule padding. As Alan correctly stated, Amtrak will make good for you if a late train causes you to miss a connection, but making good might mean a bus ride, taking a later train (through Philadelphia and New York which, if the one and only sleeping car is sold out, you might have to ride coach), or a stay-over for the next day’s train which might also be sold out for sleeper space.

The stay-over eliminates all those issues, and Chicago is nice place to kill an evening and part of the next day. I would consider doing the same thing westbound, but with a longer connection time, the chance of missing the connection is less likely. One other reason I like the mid-trip stay over is the chance to escape the train for an evening. I like trains, but spending a day or two in one of those closet-size rooms can wear on you. A real hotel room with a real bed and real shower can prep you nicely for the second leg of the trip.
 
I want to thank all who have replied to my inquiry. All the posts have been very helpful.

The trip I plan to book shortly, for travel in early OctoberL: principle legs are #4 LA to CHI, #448 CHI to BOS; #29 WASHDC to CHI, #3 CHI to LA.

By the way, I prefer to shower at night before retiring, so looks like I'm OK on that score!
 
J.B. O said:
By the way, I prefer to shower at night before retiring, so looks like I'm OK on that score!
I never had to wait for the shower at night. One recommendation: take an extra bath towel from the shower on the first night and save it in your room (small towels are already in room). They usually run out the second night.
 
take a roll of Duck tape for the squeaks and rattles in the sleeper also some meals ready to eat (MRE) just in case you get stuck and baggage ,don't bring it unless you can carry it

enjoy your trip :)
 
Spent a whole lot of years cruising the world inside a nuclear submarine. LOTS of squeaks, rattles, and other noises. Plenty of shaking and vibrating at high speed. Sleep right through all of that. Only woke up if something happened and it got real quiet and smooth all of a sudden.

Thanks for the tip about food, 'cause that IS important!
 
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