Meals Aboard the Texas Eagle There and Back?

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M

Melissa

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Hi all!

I have been lurking on your discussion board, reading just about everything that has been posted. It is all so helpful. This is my first post.

I’m excited about my first trip on the Amtrak and I am trying to plan everything, even down to what meals will be served while my boyfriend and I are in the sleeper train—because I know those meals will be free. Some of the meals were unclear as to if they were going to be served during the two sleeper legs of our trip, so I posed the question straight to Amtrak’s email address. However, I really do not understand what their answer is—thus it did not truly answer my question.

My question began by letting them know what dates we are taking the trip in May. The trip will be from Austin to Chicago then to Champaign and on the way back it will be in reverse. Both roomettes, and trips in question, are aboard the Texas Eagle. Leave Austin 9:31am, arrive Chicago 1:52pm the next day, train 22, roomette. (Chicago to Champaign both ways is not a question for me, since those meals will not be free—we’ll be in coach.) The way back leave Chicago on Train 21 at 1:45pm and arrive in Austin the next day at 6:30pm, roomette.

This was my question to Amtrak: “On the sleeper train on the way there, for free, I think lunch, dinner, breakfast are served. What about lunch? Then on the way home, for free on the sleeper car, lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch are served. What about dinner?”

This was Amtrak’s response: “Unless specified otherwise below, the hours of service in dining cars are:

Breakfast: 6:30 am 10:00 am

Passengers will be served if they board the train no later than 9:30 am

Lunch: 11:30 am 3:00 pm

Passengers will be served if they board the train no later than 2:30 pm

Dinner: 5:00 pm 9:30 pm

Passengers will be served if they board the train no later than 8:30 pm

Texas Eagle

Trains 21/421 First day: Lunch is served departing Chicago. Second day: Dining and lounge cars are staffed through to San Antonio with normal dinner hours in the dining car.

Trains 22/422: First day: Dining and lounge cars open 30 minutes after departure San Antonio with breakfast served in the dining car. Second day: Dining car Lunch begins at 11:00 am with last call for dining car service at Bloomington-Normal. Lounge car Last call for service is at Joliet.”

I don’t think the question was answered. I probably asked them my question in a confusing way. So I still have my same question. What about lunch on the way there? And what about dinner on the way home? Then another question comes up because of their email. On the way there, the train leaves at 9:31am. Their email says “Passengers will be served Breakfast if they board the train no later than 9:30am.” So then does this mean we’ll be served breakfast for free on the train that leaves at 9:31am for Chicago, because I’m sure we’ll board before 9:31am. I kind of need to know if we need to eat before we board the train for our first Amtrak train trip.

Thanks kindly in advance, everyone, for any of your thoughts or opinions!

Also P.S. I will surely post somewhere—probably at http://www.on-track-on-line.com/ my experiences on the trip.
 
Hi welcome to the board! They start serving breakfast out of San Antonio, The dining room fills up quick, then they start taking reservations. They only give out so many reservations, so they are all taken by the time the train gets to San Marcos. People boarding in Austin do not get a chance to get a reservation because they are all gone. I don't know about lunch into Chicago, but you will get dinner on your way home, be sure to get the earliest reservation or you will still be waiting/eating for your dinner as you pull in to Austin. Have a great trip
 
Assuming the northbound TE is on time, you should receive breakfast out of Austin! You will also receive lunch and dinner that day, and breakfast and lunch the following day. On the return south, you will receive dinner that first day, and breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day.

One question for you: Are either of you members of Amtrak Guest Rewards (AGR)?
huh.gif
If not both AGR members, you should be! You can either sign up online, or if you become members of this forum (it's free), I would be glad to refer you if you send a Private Message (PM) to me with your email addresses. (Guests can not send a PM to AU members.) Each AGR account needs a separate email address.
 
I like how Amtrak has been positioning the Texas Eagle with its own marketing and unique website. Question: Does the train serve any Texas-style food and drink? I'm thinking barbecue and maybe Pearl, Lone Star and Shiner Bock beers.
 
They have served a Texas style BBQ in the past and although I have not tried it, I have heard mixed reviews. The Breakfast Quesadillas are GREAT! And if the train is on time coming into Chicago, they will offer a quick turn lunch; however, depending on your Chicago plans, you may want to hold that appetite and eat somewhere in the station or nearby (and I highly recommend Lou Mitchell's).
 
lthanlon said:
I like how Amtrak has been positioning the Texas Eagle with its own marketing and unique website. Question: Does the train serve any Texas-style food and drink? I'm thinking barbecue and maybe Pearl, Lone Star and Shiner Bock beers.
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That's not Amtrak doing that, it's TEMPO (Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization) that does that. They're the group that saved the train from being killed and they even do the revenue management for the train.
 
:hi: BBQ on the Eagle! NO!!!The So Called Ribs Suck!(there used to be Good EastTex Ribs but no more! :( )

The BBQ Brisket sandwich is OK, Turkey or other Sandwich of the Day or the Angus or Veggie Black Bean Burger are Much Better!!! :) The Beer and drinks are the Standard Ones Sold on All LD Trains (at High Prices $5-$550 each :eek: ) except for Samuel Adams which is Hard to come by on this Train!! (of course its the Best! :lol: )Since youre in a Sleeper you can take your own Alcohol to consume in your Room!Dont Count on Breakfast out of Austin but your Sleeper will have juice,Coffee,Ice etc. In cluded and the Cafe Car downstairs sells POasteries, Sandwiches etc. at Fairly High Prices! Id say it you like a full Breakfast to eat Before you get to the Station! :(

As to your Question about Meals on #22: Pretty much answered, Ive actually gotten Breakfast Out of Austin Once but the other times I rode this Train it was Running Late and as the Other Poster Said No Reservations/Service was Available! Luch will be Served after Temple, usually around 11AM, Dinner after Leaving Dallas in East Texas, suggest you book Early as this Train tends to run out of the "Good" stuff early on the return to Chicago! Breakfast will be around St. Louis, lots of times it gets there Early but the LSA in the CCC (not a Full Diner but the same Menu as those that do have a Diner)will give Sleeper Pax first dibs. Also Lots of the SCAs on this Route are Very good, especially a guy named Jim, he's in my Hall of Fame for SCAs! :) Lunch as the blurb says is served early after Springfield, usually a Very limited Menu, they will be out out of most things and in a hurry since they are going Home!! ^_^

#21 on the SB will have Dinner between Chicago and St. Louis, the last setting is usually after the Train Leaves STL around 9:00PM. Breakfast will be served in East Texas after Texarkana, Lunch Starts before Dallas, then after the Ft. Worth layover Suppper will be served starting @ 5PM and Service will continue to about San Marcos unless the train is running Very Late, then it might end by Austin! YMMV!!Wave when you go through Austin, :wub: it's the Home of Willie Nelson and Several AU Members including myself! :lol:
 
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Is there any refurbished equipment on this train or is it all with 40 years of wear?
 
lthanlon said:
I like how Amtrak has been positioning the Texas Eagle with its own marketing and unique website. Question: Does the train serve any Texas-style food and drink? I'm thinking barbecue and maybe Pearl, Lone Star and Shiner Bock beers.
Click to expand...
Here is the TE menu:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249219709194&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment;filename=Amtrak_Texas_Eagle_111710.pdf

peter
 
roomette said:
Is there any refurbished equipment on this train or is it all with 40 years of wear?
Click to expand...
We do get a Rehabbed Superliner I Sleeper once in awhile on the Eagles (the George Pullman has been on a few times! :wub: ) but Generally the Old ,Tired Cars go onto the Eagle! They still have a CCC instead of a Real Diner which some of us don't care for (the OBS dont like them either! :help: )Most of the Sleepers (there is only one plus a TransDorm) will be IIs which arent rehabbed or the same Million Mile Vets that are too Old for the Glamour Trains like the EB/CS/CL and CZ! The Coaches Generally are Old and Tired also! :angry: This Train also only runs with One Engine which can cause Concern in the Middle of the Night when Running through the Hills of Nowhere Arkansas and Mo! :eek:
 
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Well, as long as the linen is freshly laundered I suppose they are all the same for sleeping.

By the way, is car 2230 a sleeper or trans dorm? I'm in roomette 12 which I believe is on the lower level.
 
Starting on the 15 or 18 of this month the TE will have a new meau
 
Wow everyone! I so very much appreciate all of the information. I am such a newbie... hah! All the acronyms that I have no clue what they are, but I still understood 99% of your posts. (CCC? OBS? LSA?) Thank you for all of your comments, AlanB, Chef, etc. Boxcar817, thank you for the tips. We'll get the earliest reservation coming back to Austin. The_traveler, my boyfriend is not yet an AGR member. I am a member. Please PM me. I don't know how. Does referring help either you or us? lthanlon - Good question concerning Texas food! Olympian, thanks for the tip. Will try breakfast quesadillas. We will look into Lou Mitchell's in Chicago, saw on a map it's near Union Station. Good. Jimhudson, very cool about when we get meals! I'll journal it all! What's an AU member? We'll be looking out for the Sleeping Car Attendant, SCA, named Jim. (Maybe there's a place on the newsgroup where all these abbreviations are...:) Hmmm.... now I'm wondering what the diference between the sleeper and the trans car are... I wonder if that's on another post somewhere. Chef, there's gonna be a new menu? Cool. It's all good though.

Thanks all!!!
 
Mel said:
Wow everyone! I so very much appreciate all of the information. I am such a newbie... hah! All the acronyms that I have no clue what they are, but I still understood 99% of your posts. (CCC? OBS? LSA?) Thank you for all of your comments, AlanB, Chef, etc. Boxcar817, thank you for the tips. We'll get the earliest reservation coming back to Austin. The_traveler, my boyfriend is not yet an AGR member. I am a member. Please PM me. I don't know how. Does referring help either you or us? lthanlon - Good question concerning Texas food! Olympian, thanks for the tip. Will try breakfast quesadillas. We will look into Lou Mitchell's in Chicago, saw on a map it's near Union Station. Good. Jimhudson, very cool about when we get meals! I'll journal it all! What's an AU member? We'll be looking out for the Sleeping Car Attendant, SCA, named Jim. (Maybe there's a place on the newsgroup where all these abbreviations are...:) Hmmm.... now I'm wondering what the diference between the sleeper and the trans car are... I wonder if that's on another post somewhere. Chef, there's gonna be a new menu? Cool. It's all good though.

Thanks all!!!
Click to expand...
Sorry about that! We do tend to use Jargon and Abbreviations here just like all Groups/Jobs etc. CCC= Cross Country Cafe- A Modified Superliner Diner that Amtrak hastily Came up with when trying to Combine a Diner and SightSeer Lounge Car, doesnt really do either Task Very Well :wacko: but the Food is OK, the OBS=On Board Staff, dislike it and Most of Us dont Car for the Booths with Seating for Three as Opposed to Tables for Four in Regular Diners! Youll see these Regularly on the Eagles, City of New Orleans, Occasionaly on the Cap Ltd as Diners, often they are Used as a Substitute (Poor one! :( )for a SightSeer Lounge on other LD Superliner Trains and even in place of the Pacific Parlor Car on the Coast Starlite!! :help:

LSA=Leads Service Attendant, they are the Only Ones who can take $$$ in the Diner and Cafe Car and also Serve as sort of the Boss of the OBS under the Conductors Authority who is in Total Charge of the Train! AU Member= US! Amtrak Unlimited Members! Please ask any Questions You may have and feel Free to Contribute your Knowledge and Experiences to this forum! The Difference Between the Trans Dorm and a Revenue (Regular Sleeper) is that the Crew has Roomettes in the First Sl;eeper (No Bedrooms on this car) and also it has Stairs on the end so OBS and Conductors can get into the Baggage Car since it is Single Level and the Superliners have two Levels! Four rooms are Sometimes Sold to Regular Passengers, lots of us Like riding in this Car! Hope this Helps You! Jim
 
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roomette said:
Is there any refurbished equipment on this train or is it all with 40 years of wear?
Click to expand...
I have been on the Texas Eagle several times in the past three years and have always

found the sleeper cars reasonably well appointed and comfortable.
 
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