Meals on Cardinal for coach passengers

[Heading North]

I'm planning a trip out west for this May, and am looking to take either the Cardinal or Capitol Limited to Chicago. I'd love to take the Cardinal (would I be able to see the New River Gorge in daylight in May going west?), especially since I can get on in ALX (walking distance from where I live). I can handle coach no problem, but I'm wondering about food... and no, I can't afford a sleeper upgrade for the whole way. (Saving money for a room on the CZ instead!)

My last overnight coach trip without a full diner was on the Three Rivers in 2004, and I remember an announcement that a very limited number of dinner meals were available at a certain cost ($16 I think) to coach passengers. Does the Cardinal do anything similar, or is it possible for some coach passengers to get dinner/breakfast at mealtimes? Or given the limited space, are coach passengers limited to Amcafefood? For a 24-hour trip, that might tip the scales toward the CL. (Or possibly switching to a room at Cincinnati to get breakfast at least.)

 

[battalion51]

They are operating the Cardinal under a similar principle to the Three Rivers to my knowledge. I believe they have made progress in terms of meal quality, but quantities are likely still limited. The Amfleet II Lounge design as it is now does allow a little bit more storage than there was ten years ago. You could roll the dice, but you could bring a small cooler with you and bring a sandwich with you for dinner and some cereal for breakfast. Just a thought.

 

[tomfuller]

I just looked at the dining car menu for the Cardinal. It looks like you can have all 3 meals.

The highest price meal I saw was about $21.95. The 3 egg omlette for $9.50 looks OK. They want $3.00 to add a sausage patty.

I usually bring string cheese for an afternoon snack.

 

[Shanghai]

I have taken the Cardinal from NYP to IND several times, and a few of my trips

I went coach when the sleepers were sold out. I was always able to have lunch

and dinner at my expense.

 

[Ashland Train Enthusiast]

Going Westbound in May, if the train is running on time you should be able to skirt through the gorge right at sunset; at that time sunset is about 8 pm. The trip through the Gorge proper occurs between Hinton and Montgomery.

Regarding food, when I came Eastbound, there were at least 2 seatings, and several coach passengers were seated at both, so I think as long as you check with the LSA and/or make a dinner reservation if they are taking them, you'll be able to get seated. Breakfast is first-come first served (I'm not sure what the schedule is going into CHI if they have abbreviated hours), but you should be able to get a seat. The food isn't bad; a lot of it is up to personal expectations, so as long as you're not expecting some 3 star Michelin service or quality, you should be fine.

Enjoy the trip; personally, I find the journey through the New River Gorge to be one of the most scenic east coast routes.

~ DCTE

 

[the_traveler]

Since the Cardinal only has 1 sleeper (as opposed to other trains that may have between 2 and 5 sleepers), a coach passenger is much more likely to get a meal (even dinner) on the Cardinal than on other Amtrak trains. Check with the LSA.

 

[KrazyKoala]

The LSL does this also right? I was on a train a couple weeks back and the cafe attendant said when they departed, there were only suppose to be 2 sleeper passengers. So Amtrak gave her exactly 2 meals. I had upgraded my ticket while on the train and she said I was lucky the one never showed up on the train or else she wouldnt have a meal for me.

 

[Ashland Train Enthusiast]

The LSL does this also right? I was on a train a couple weeks back and the cafe attendant said when they departed, there were only suppose to be 2 sleeper passengers. So Amtrak gave her exactly 2 meals. I had upgraded my ticket while on the train and she said I was lucky the one never showed up on the train or else she wouldnt have a meal for me.

I'm not sure what "this" is here, but what you're describing is certainly not standard. When you say face attendant, are you referring to a dining car LSA, or a Cafe car LSA?

While stock levels and staffing are related to the overall passenger count of the train, I highly doubt that it is a 1 for 1 count for sleeper passengers only, as dining car meals are also available to Coach passengers. The only time I've seen the diner be out of stock of something is on a multi-day trip, where for instance dinner on the second day may be sold out of a popular item if everyone orders it the first night. Even in that case, there are other options to choose from.

~ DCTE

 

[the_traveler]

Perhaps (as it sounds like) you're referring that you mean the cafe used as the "diner" on the ALB-BOS segment of trains 448/449. There are far more then 2 sleeper passengers on the LSL. It usually has 3-4 sleeping cars! And meals are served in the Dining Car, except for the BOS section which has no Dining Car between BOS and ALB.

 

[KrazyKoala]

Perhaps (as it sounds like) you're referring that you mean the cafe used as the "diner" on the ALB-BOS segment of trains 448/449. There are far more then 2 sleeper passengers on the LSL. It usually has 3-4 sleeping cars! And meals are served in the Dining Car, except for the BOS section which has no Dining Car between BOS and ALB.

Yes, this was the one. I was going ALB-BOS and she said there was only one other person in the sleeper. Which there was, the attendant made an announcement that the cafe would be closed the next hour for sleeping car passengers to eat diner. The place was empty except my table, which had one other passenger. He got the vegetarian option cause I got in there first and picked the brisket.

It was kinda funny cause she still handed him a menu despite not having a choice what to order.

 

[henryj]

When I rode it the diner was never very busy. The Cardinal carries one car called a combined Dinner/Lounge. One end of the car is the formal Diner where you can purchase a complete meal and the other end is a lounge area where you can purchase lite snacks like this:

Lounge Cars Informal Dining OptionsOn most medium and long-distance trains, food service is available in the Lounge Car, featuring table and casual seating. Food service is normally available from early morning until late evening, except during a few short periods as announced by the attendant. Hours of operation vary depending on train operation.

On these cars, we offer a variety of carry-out style foods, including sandwiches, pizza, snacks, and beverages including liquor, wine and beer.

Credit cards (MasterCard, American Express, Visa and Discover) and debit cards featuring a credit card logo are accepted for payment on all trains that offer food service.

 

[Ryan]

Going Westbound in May, if the train is running on time you should be able to skirt through the gorge right at sunset; at that time sunset is about 8 pm. The trip through the Gorge proper occurs between Hinton and Montgomery.

Shouldn't be a problem, we had good viewing of the Gorge on our honeymoon. 3rd week in April and we were running a few minutes late to boot.

 

[the_traveler]

You were on your honeymoon and you still looked out the window? Shame on you! :giggle:

 

[amamba]

Perhaps (as it sounds like) you're referring that you mean the cafe used as the "diner" on the ALB-BOS segment of trains 448/449. There are far more then 2 sleeper passengers on the LSL. It usually has 3-4 sleeping cars! And meals are served in the Dining Car, except for the BOS section which has no Dining Car between BOS and ALB.

Yes, this was the one. I was going ALB-BOS and she said there was only one other person in the sleeper. Which there was, the attendant made an announcement that the cafe would be closed the next hour for sleeping car passengers to eat diner. The place was empty except my table, which had one other passenger. He got the vegetarian option cause I got in there first and picked the brisket.

It was kinda funny cause she still handed him a menu despite not having a choice what to order.

The last time I was on ALB - BOS there were maybe 8 people total in the sleeper, and we all got to order off the menu. Our SCA took our orders and operated the "diner" that was in the cafe for dinner heading East from ALB.

 

[dlagrua]

Since the Cardinal only has 1 sleeper (as opposed to other trains that may have between 2 and 5 sleepers), a coach passenger is much more likely to get a meal (even dinner) on the Cardinal than on other Amtrak trains. Check with the LSA.

From what I can tell food on the Amtrak Cardinal route is loaded on relative to the anticipated demand. The Cardinal sleeper is almost always full. They also serve food on that route in a "diner lite" which is nothing more than a glorified cafe car.

As a result seating for meals is limited and we have heard reports where the food has run out. On the other hand the frugal coach passenger doesn't opt for the onboard meals and often goes the "brown bag" route.

 

[the_traveler]

Believe it or not, I was looking at the Cardinal schedule for March 8 (just over a week from this writing) from CHI-WAS, and even at this late date, there are. Still roomettes AND bedrooms available!

 

[AlanB]

From what I can tell food on the Amtrak Cardinal route is loaded on relative to the anticipated demand.

This is true of every Amtrak train, not just the Cardinal. If Amtrak only has 50 sleeper passengers booked for the Capitol Limited, they don't load 300 of each type of meal (breakfast, lunch, & dinner) on the train. They probably load maybe 100 or so, enough for last minute bookings along the way and some extra for crew and coach pax.