Next door neighbor's complaints

[jmbgeg]

Was in a bedroom on 27 to PDX yesterday. Had the guy in the room next door raise hell with the SCA about the "groans" of the train. Not only did he say he would not travel by train again, he promised to tell his story to "everyone". OK. So.

I have noticed an increase in "train noise". Has anyone else? Is it shocks?

 

[frugalist]

Is he sure it wasn't his friendly neighbors "groaning"?

 

[Guest]

Was in a bedroom on 27 to PDX yesterday. Had the guy in the room next door raise hell with the SCA about the "groans" of the train. Not only did he say he would not travel by train again, he promised to tell his story to "everyone". OK. So.

I have noticed an increase in "train noise". Has anyone else? Is it shocks?

I agree about the increase in noise and rough riding! IMO it either rougher track or equipment thats aging rapidly and due to heavy useage and less than sterling maintence and/or a combination of both! Especially noticeable on Superliner Is that havent been rehabbed yet (a few of these left) and IIs! :help:

 

[jmbgeg]

Is he sure it wasn't his friendly neighbors "groaning"?

Nice touch. The sleeper wals are so thin that most personal contact can be heard. In the real world, while I have heard lots of coughing and sneezing, I have not heard adult exercise.

 

[guest]

Was in a bedroom on 27 to PDX yesterday. Had the guy in the room next door raise hell with the SCA about the "groans" of the train. Not only did he say he would not travel by train again, he promised to tell his story to "everyone". OK. So.

I have noticed an increase in "train noise". Has anyone else? Is it shocks?

So what? The equipment "groans" are part of train travel! In the scheme of things, I'd say that guy was pretty lucky if that's all he has to cry about!

Let him fly from now on and seat him anywhere near the wings and ask for a normal conversation over the engine noise!!

 

[jmbgeg]

Was in a bedroom on 27 to PDX yesterday. Had the guy in the room next door raise hell with the SCA about the "groans" of the train. Not only did he say he would not travel by train again, he promised to tell his story to "everyone". OK. So.

I have noticed an increase in "train noise". Has anyone else? Is it shocks?

So what? The equipment "groans" are part of train travel! In the scheme of things, I'd say that guy was pretty lucky if that's all he has to cry about!

Let him fly from now on and seat him anywhere near the wings and ask for a normal conversation over the engine noise!!

I am a train advocate. Price is an issue for some. I pay more for a bedroom than first class air. I always choose the train over airlines (after 400k miles of flying) but listen hard to sleeeper pax complaints.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

To me "train talk" is a part of the experience of an enjoyable trip, provided, of course, it is within reason. Perhaps my biggest gripe on train noise is when the car end doors jam open.

 

[AlanB]

To me "train talk" is a part of the experience of an enjoyable trip, provided, of course, it is within reason. Perhaps my biggest gripe on train noise is when the car end doors jam open.

Actually it's far more likely that the door stopped working properly and the employees had to jam them open so that people could continue to pass from car to car.

 

[A.J.]

I actually enjoy it when I'm in a sleeper close to the engine! I find sleeping on the train to be very soothing and toss in the sounds of the engine and I'm in heaven! I suppose maybe he just wasn't a train guy. I personally find airplanes to be horribly loud, thus my investment in a nice pair of noise canceling headphones! Give me a noisy train any day of the week and twice on Sunday, please and thanks (except for the LSL! there I draw the line).

 

[PetalumaLoco]

We did a CZ bedroom a month ago.

Car had a flat tire and thumped it's way from California to Chicago. But that's ok. People in the next bedroom had a DVD player w/o headphones, and that's not ok.

Complained to the attendant about the flat tire, couldn't fit it. Complained about the people next door, yeah, that he could fix.

Moral; don't complain about stuff that can't be fixed.

 

[JayPea]

The assorted groans and noises of the train don't bother me in the least. It's kind of soothing to me, in fact. Now the groans and moans of passengers, particularly over seemingly trivial things or for things that were their own fault, that's a different story entirely.

 

[inspiration100]

To me "train talk" is a part of the experience of an enjoyable trip, provided, of course, it is within reason. Perhaps my biggest gripe on train noise is when the car end doors jam open.

Actually it's far more likely that the door stopped working properly and the employees had to jam them open so that people could continue to pass from car to car.

How the heck do they generally fix this? Do they have to remove the car to fix the door, or can someone fix this at the end of the route easily? I'm sure it depends on a lot of things, but this seems to be really common.

 

[Eric S]

To me "train talk" is a part of the experience of an enjoyable trip, provided, of course, it is within reason. Perhaps my biggest gripe on train noise is when the car end doors jam open.

Agreed. Or when they still operate, but instead of gently closing, they SLAM shut everytime.

 

[AlanB]

To me "train talk" is a part of the experience of an enjoyable trip, provided, of course, it is within reason. Perhaps my biggest gripe on train noise is when the car end doors jam open.

Actually it's far more likely that the door stopped working properly and the employees had to jam them open so that people could continue to pass from car to car.

How the heck do they generally fix this? Do they have to remove the car to fix the door, or can someone fix this at the end of the route easily? I'm sure it depends on a lot of things, but this seems to be really common.

I'm far from an expert on this, but I suspect that it comes down to what's wrong. Sometimes it's probably a simple fix, like perhaps a broken hose that can be replaced easily, in which case the car remains in the consist. In other cases it probably requires that the car be removed from the consist and sent to the shop.

 

[Superliner]

Unfortunately, there will always be those who will find something to complain about. Those noises are just part of train travel. I was on the Capitol Limited a few weeks back in a Superliner I Sleeper and it squeeked and "groaned" occasionally. Downstairs, the cabinet doors (next to the staircase) kept banging as the train swayed back and forth. Eventually, the attendant had to tape them closed, because the latch was broken. But, what can you expect from a 30+ yr old car? I particularly enjoy the sound of the cars traveling over switches. Although, it can be tricky when moving between cars as they jolt, sway and bounce over them!

 

[City of Miami]

I had the roughest ride I have ever had the other night on #2(01); this was during the night so in CA and NM I guess. I was in roomette 13 so I wasn't exactly over the truck but close. The track itself seemed to be remarkably smooth but then every once in a while WHAM: there would be a wild lateral lurch that surely must have produced a lot of bruises!! At breakfast the next morning a man who was up all night because of it said it was mostly the grade crossings rather then check points that produced this. Our server, Walter, was adept at adapting to these events while carrying trays filled with liquids. The Superliner itself was very tight and didn't make much noise at all.

 

[jmbgeg]

The assorted groans and noises of the train don't bother me in the least. It's kind of soothing to me, in fact. Now the groans and moans of passengers, particularly over seemingly trivial things or for things that were their own fault, that's a different story entirely.

As the OP; I agree.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Sure the squeaking was the headboard from nextdoor LOL

 

[jmbgeg]

Sure the squeaking was the headboard from nextdoor LOL

Maybe, but then explain the groaning...

 

[gswager]

I had the roughest ride I have ever had the other night on #2(01); this was during the night so in CA and NM I guess. I was in roomette 13 so I wasn't exactly over the truck but close. The track itself seemed to be remarkably smooth but then every once in a while WHAM: there would be a wild lateral lurch that surely must have produced a lot of bruises!! At breakfast the next morning a man who was up all night because of it said it was mostly the grade crossings rather then check points that produced this. Our server, Walter, was adept at adapting to these events while carrying trays filled with liquids. The Superliner itself was very tight and didn't make much noise at all.

Sounds like the train went over the frog.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Sure the squeaking was the headboard from nextdoor LOL

Maybe, but then explain the groaning...

can but will exceed forum rating LOL

 

[p&sr]

Sounds like the train went over the frog.

Oh, the poor Frog. Groaning before it croaks.

 

[oldtimer]

Sounds like the train went over the frog.

Oh, the poor Frog. Groaning before it croaks.

Maybe it was the rivets.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Those noises are just part of train travel.

That's what I thought too, until I tried riding a train in a first world country and realized most of what we put up with here has long since been engineered out of modern train travel in the rest of the industrialized world. I can only imagine what foreigners think of the creaks, groans, and sometimes violent shaking our trains suffer from.

 

[AlanB]

Those noises are just part of train travel.

That's what I thought too, until I tried riding a train in a first world country and realized most of what we put up with here has long since been engineered out of modern train travel in the rest of the industrialized world. I can only imagine what foreigners think of the creaks, groans, and sometimes violent shaking our trains suffer from.

And yet people pay a premium to enjoy those very things on VIA's Canadian.