Last year I read that pillows were to be eliminated in coach.Has this happened?The topic on amenities (wine and cheese) being eliminated re minded me about the pillows.I have not been on a train recently but I am planning a trip later this year and I was wondering if I needed to bring my own pillow.A decent pillow would do more to enhance the travel experience than wine,cheese and flowers on the tables.I would find it difficult to sleep in coach without a pillow to support my head.Even the half size Amtrak pillows were better than nothing.I remember the pre Amtrak days when I rented a good pillow on the Sunset Limited for 35 cents.The Southern Pacific did have good pillows.
Pillows in coach
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They don't pass out the pillows anymore. To me, they were tiny and worthless, so I didn't mind. I always brought my own anyway.
You can purchase an Amtrak "passenger comfort" kit that has a neck pillow, blanket, earplugs, and eye mask. They sell them in the cafe car, and I saw them at Chicago Union Station a while back.
Alternately, you can purchase a cheap pillow and blanket and then donate it to a homeless person when you arrive at your destination. June posted that idea a while back, and I think it's great.
Personally, I bring a pillow from home. It fits in my suitcase if I sit on top of it while I zip it.
The roomette pillows are comfy, but I'm super picky about pillows, so I always bring mine "just in case". I never know if our hotel will have suitable pillows. I'm kind of a princess about my sleeping arrangements.
You can purchase an Amtrak "passenger comfort" kit that has a neck pillow, blanket, earplugs, and eye mask. They sell them in the cafe car, and I saw them at Chicago Union Station a while back.
Alternately, you can purchase a cheap pillow and blanket and then donate it to a homeless person when you arrive at your destination. June posted that idea a while back, and I think it's great.
Personally, I bring a pillow from home. It fits in my suitcase if I sit on top of it while I zip it.
The roomette pillows are comfy, but I'm super picky about pillows, so I always bring mine "just in case". I never know if our hotel will have suitable pillows. I'm kind of a princess about my sleeping arrangements. 
Shortline
Conductor
Funny-while there was some lamenting at the time, there wasn't the huge outcry over that (arguably) bigger devaluation of service....
SubwayNut
Conductor
At least for this Amtrak's offering a purchasable alternative the amenity kit. I haven't spent the night in coach since but will again sometime soon. Pillows were discontinued on August 1, 2013 exactly.
Look for large "ziplock" bags to put your pillow in. I used one to flatten my travel pillow. It was great.They don't pass out the pillows anymore. To me, they were tiny and worthless, so I didn't mind. I always brought my own anyway.
You can purchase an Amtrak "passenger comfort" kit that has a neck pillow, blanket, earplugs, and eye mask. They sell them in the cafe car, and I saw them at Chicago Union Station a while back.
Alternately, you can purchase a cheap pillow and blanket and then donate it to a homeless person when you arrive at your destination. June posted that idea a while back, and I think it's great.
Personally, I bring a pillow from home. It fits in my suitcase if I sit on top of it while I zip it.
Everydaymatters
Engineer
There wasn't a huge outcry because it applied only to coach passengers. Being in coach is a completely different experience than being in a sleeper.
I'll be in coach for part of an upcoming trip. WMK,thank you for starting this post. It has been a long time since I was in an overnight LD trip and I hadn't planned to bring a pillow, until I read this.
June the Coach Rider
OBS Chief
I wish more people would take us up on the idea. You can get a pillow for 3-5 bucks at Walmart that would be great for the train trip and a throw that would work great is only 7-10. So for under 20 bucks, you have your pillow and blanket, and then when you are finished with the train trip, you can pay it forward to a homeless person. Think how good you will feel knowing that you helped keep someone a little bit warmer sleeping out in this cold weather.
I was on the train in mid July last year, and they had already started eliminating the pillows. We had them on the EB but not on the LSL.In my opinion they were only good for adding padding on the seat, they did nothing for under your head, no support at all.
VentureForth
Engineer
I forgot how much the amenities kit is, but it's only around $12 and you get all the above. Plus eye shileds and ear plugs.
Those blankets are remarkably warm, too. Giving them away at the end of your journey is a great idea.
Those blankets are remarkably warm, too. Giving them away at the end of your journey is a great idea.
Definitely Worth it to take your own Pillow and Blanket/Throw when riding in Coach overnight! And Junes idea is Excellent! Ive actually given my Pillow and Throw to fellow Passengers on LD Trains that Didn't Have Them when I got off before the End of the Line!
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Guest lsa
Guest
The kit cost 8.00 in cafe car
US Airways sells these kits on their domestic flights of more than 3.5 hours in length (they call it a "Nap-Pack Sack") for $7. The pillow is one of those inflatable ones that you wear around your neck. The sack also includes a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more from their Sky Mall catalog.
I purchased two of the sacks on my recent flight from CLT to SFO -- will take one with me on future overnight Amtrak and VIA trips, plus my pillow+blanket pack purchased some years before on the Coast Starlight.
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I'll be traveling through several different weather patterns going from WI to southern CA. I'll be shedding a few layers of clothes and plan to put a jacket or more in an empty pillow case. I do this when I go camping and it's quite comfortable
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OtisS
Guest
Pillows in coach
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OtisS
Guest
My first Trip was in July on the City of New Orleans. Northbound, pillows were offered, Southbound they were not. Since we got cold on the Northbound run, we went to a chainPharmacy in Chicago, and picked up fleece travel pillows and matching fleece blankets on sale for $4 each.
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