Late Night in the Lounge Car...

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Personally, I say this all in Amtrak's best interest (as this discussion was brought back from the dead) that we should let this one drift back into oblivion. As a matter of fact, I believe one of the moderators should just lock this thread in the best interest of Amtrak. The subject matter has grown kinda tacky IMO as a former Amtrak employee.

It's like this... simply put, if the train crew does not have a problem or receive complaints about this type behavior then we should live and let live. Anyway about it, if someone is obviously causing a safety issue/hazard by this behavior or it is complained about then something should be done (especially in the event of safety). A coach car is a coach car! A sleeper car is a sleeper car! A lounge car is a lounge car! Dining car.... I think most of us have got it by now. Why don't we simply utilize each car for its intention to begin with? IMHO that would be the best course of action. Otherwise one needs to plan their trip with another style of transportation.

But please. In Amtrak's best interest, let's just allow this thread die, now. Thanks... from a former employee...

OBS gone freight...
 
I have a hard time sleeping next to someone I don't know in coach, hell I have a hard time sleeping next to someone I do know in coach. So I will always go in the lounge and sprawl out on the 3 seat chairs. I can actually get more than 2 hours of sleep that way. If that makes me a bum, I will say I am a bum. I am a banker, so I am getting used to being called names anyways! Brad
Horace Greeley said 'Go west, young man' but it seems the message ended at the West Coast. You'll spend 14 hours IN AN ASSIGNED SEAT (oh, the humanity!) to cross the Pacific Ocean and the seat will be much more confined than anything Amtrak has on offer (but the food will be better).

Homeland Security messages are broadcast during the flight forbidding gathering in the vicinity of the lavatories (totally ignored by passengers and crew on Qantas) but try to sleep on the floor and you'll be handed to airport security upon arrival.

Point being: You've got a very generous seat, you've paid bugger all for it, sleep in it.

But don't get me started on assigned seating - luggage for a month of travel off the CL onto a Regional at WAS and I HAVE TO FIND A SEAT! And from a low level platform, at that :angry: .
 
Well Thayer, i may "be low life" but at least have some command of the English language. You meant to say I am a low life. Or at least used some kind of article in your sentence. As for the "you can keep spinning ..." comment, does anyone have a Nonsense-to-English phrase book?
I rarely do this but my good sir if you wish to criticize one's command of the English language look at your own writing. You wrote a sentence that has no subject. Yes, I noticed more errors than that but I will just leave it at what I stated. Pot, I'd like you to meet Kettle. Kettle, this is Pot.

As for the topic at hand, I agree with OBS. If the crew has an issue with people sleeping in the lounge car or it is creating a safety issue they can either clear out the car or restrict access to the lounge car after hours.
 
Absolutely tacky. Couldn't agree more. Don't these people have any dignity??? I don't know why, but I'm willing to overlook a struggling young student crashing wherever, or a young member of the military, but beyond that, no way.
People who sleep on the floor of a lounge car have no dignity. They're low life, and deserve to be treated as such. No matter how they try to rationalize it, they are without any redeeming social value.
Thayer, are you being serious? :huh:
To some extent, yes. I don't travel coach, so my opinion is biased, and I realize that there might be extenuating circumstances. Still, I think that sleeping on the dirty floor of a lounge car is a sign of no dignity, and represents low life. At least sitting up in a seat and sleeping represents something more than sleeping on a dirty floor.
I'm the one that asked if they had no dignity and I just remembered my sister sleeping on the floor in coach. I think we were in one of the last seats and she was sooooo sick. We should have cancelled the trip, but I didn't know how sick she was and she didn't want to disappoint me. No, she was not a low life, she was a loving, caring person.
 
As I probably stated somewhere way back, my problem is not with the people sleeping in the Sightseer lounge. I'm sure they are fine folks and just want to find a place to stretch out. My problem is with Amtrak allowing them to do it and creating a rather unsightly scene in a car that should be among the pleasures of rail travel. People will do what people are allowed to do. Amtrak, by not prohibiting the practice, by default permits the practice. So, if Ma and Pa Kettle or their tattooed nephew wants to sleep across a lounge seat, go for it. I don't think that reflects on the person so much as it reflects on Amtrak's lack of desire to maintain a civilized atmosphere on the train.

That said, one problem is that the Amtrak coach seats, considering their size and the seat pitch, are not, in my opinion, particularly comfortable for overnight travel . They are nothing like even routine airline first class or business class long-haul seats. And, were I single traveller or just the odd passenger (no jokes, please!) in an odd numbered group, the lack of an armrest to establish the demarcation between my space and the other passenger's space would make me very uncomfortable. I think that trying to sleep in an Amtrak coach seat with the constant fear that the snoring slob next to me may shift position and end up in my lap would not be particularly pleasant. And let's not even get into the ugly possibilities if that snoring slob is what Southwest Airlines calls a "POS" (no, not that: a Person of Size).
 
Personally, I say this all in Amtrak's best interest (as this discussion was brought back from the dead) that we should let this one drift back into oblivion. As a matter of fact, I believe one of the moderators should just lock this thread in the best interest of Amtrak. The subject matter has grown kinda tacky IMO as a former Amtrak employee.
It's like this... simply put, if the train crew does not have a problem or receive complaints about this type behavior then we should live and let live. Anyway about it, if someone is obviously causing a safety issue/hazard by this behavior or it is complained about then something should be done (especially in the event of safety). A coach car is a coach car! A sleeper car is a sleeper car! A lounge car is a lounge car! Dining car.... I think most of us have got it by now. Why don't we simply utilize each car for its intention to begin with? IMHO that would be the best course of action. Otherwise one needs to plan their trip with another style of transportation.

But please. In Amtrak's best interest, let's just allow this thread die, now. Thanks... from a former employee...

OBS gone freight...
I agree with OBS. I want to add just a few more thoughts. For those who want to upgrade to a sleeper, but worried about the cost, from what I understand, you can check with the Conductor after boarding & possibly get low bucket price. See the sleeper upgrade thread on the main page.

One last thought before they put this thread to bed :p IF Amtrak chose to, maybe adding more 'quiet cars' on LD trains would do the trick. But for me, if I was much younger, coach would be ok, but I probably wouldn't be on the floor, & only on couches with permission. My thought is that I don't want to make myself comfortable at someone else's expense. And even though bedrooms/roomettes are more money, it is supposed to be relaxing & fun, not a hassle.

For me overnight in a coach would be a more of a hassle than fun or relaxing.
 
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I travel alone and don't have someone sharing the cost of a sleeper with me. For me the price is more than I want to pay. I'd rather sleep in a coach seat on TWO Amtrak trips than have a sleeper for only ONE Amtrak trip.

Not everyone has a lot of freedom with money. What one person considers inexpensive is absolutely out of reach for another person.

For all of you who can travel as often as you want in a sleeper - good for you! I can't afford to travel as often as I want if I get a sleeper each time. For me it's a trade-off.
 
Personally, I say this all in Amtrak's best interest (as this discussion was brought back from the dead) that we should let this one drift back into oblivion. As a matter of fact, I believe one of the moderators should just lock this thread in the best interest of Amtrak. The subject matter has grown kinda tacky IMO as a former Amtrak employee.
It's like this... simply put, if the train crew does not have a problem or receive complaints about this type behavior then we should live and let live. Anyway about it, if someone is obviously causing a safety issue/hazard by this behavior or it is complained about then something should be done (especially in the event of safety). A coach car is a coach car! A sleeper car is a sleeper car! A lounge car is a lounge car! Dining car.... I think most of us have got it by now. Why don't we simply utilize each car for its intention to begin with? IMHO that would be the best course of action. Otherwise one needs to plan their trip with another style of transportation.

But please. In Amtrak's best interest, let's just allow this thread die, now. Thanks... from a former employee...

OBS gone freight...
As a neutral observer of this thread I agree with you that it has lived an almost good life. There's been plenty of good discussion, but it's now been beaten to death and it's time to lay it to rest, especially since disrespect for each others opinions have started to emerge!
 
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