Possible to actually sleep in LSL Boston sleeper?

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velotrain

velotrain

Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 29, 2019
Messages
150
Location
Boston
Given the consist that Rasputin reported:

The consist west of Albany is:

Locomotives
Boston sleeper
Cafe car
Boston coaches
New York coaches
Dining Car (a/k/a picnic table car)
New York sleepers
Baggage car

I'm wondering if it's actually possible to sleep with the horn blaring all night, even with ear plugs?
The NY sleepers were full, so I couldn't do that.
It seems insane to place a "sleeper" directly behind the engines, just to save another movement or two in Albany.
I'm almost tempted to get a seat in a NY coach instead - I wouldn't be lying down, but it could actually be better overall.
 
I’ve been in the transdorm of the city, no baggage car, 1 locomotive and slept fine. It is noticeably louder, but for me I was fine.
 
A friend who traveled in the Boston sleeper on a round trip in September indicated that the horn noise was quite evident but he and his wife had no problem sleeping.
We get to try this in May and I will try to remember to post the results.

When we last travelled on 448 last May there was bustitution between Albany and Boston and the Boston sleeper at that time was at the rear of the train in with the New York sleepers (which of course is where it should be anyway).
 
I live near a level crossing on the CN/VIA mainline with an average 34 VIA trains a day and 10-12 freights. Two longs, one short, one long. Repeat. I'm so used to it I barely hear it when on a train. VIA's business class cars are directly behind the locomotive about 80% of the time (okay, not sleeping), but I'm pretty sure I've been on other Amtrak trains that had a sleeper adjacent to the engine. Then again I like sleeping on trains and if the horns follow the usual pattern I find it more reassuring than disturbing.
 
Nope. I've been behind the locomotive twice, and I barely slept at all. I had earplugs and headphones and only managed a couple of short naps. I was exhausted the next day and had to cancel most of my plans.
 
Really it all boils down to how you sleep. Do you live near train tracks or a fire station? If you can sleep through the noise from that then you are probably fine. If however you are a light sleeper and any noise wakes you up then you are probably in for a long night.
 
blueman271 said:
Really it all boils down to how you sleep. Do you live near train tracks or a fire station? If you can sleep through the noise from that then you are probably fine. If however you are a light sleeper and any noise wakes you up then you are probably in for a long night.
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I lived a half-mile from a fire station and across the street from train tracks for two years. I was completely used to the noise and would only wake up for a brief second.

There is a HUGE difference between hearing an occasional fire engine or train and hearing the blast of a train horn every couple minutes or so.
 
SarahZ said:
I lived a half-mile from a fire station and across the street from train tracks for two years. I was completely used to the noise and would only wake up for a brief second.

There is a HUGE difference between hearing an occasional fire engine or train and hearing the blast of a train horn every couple minutes or so.
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Hence the reason that I said you the OP would probably be fine. Ultimately the only thing that matters is the OP’s ability to sleep through loud noises, not yours or mine.
 
Thanks all - if this were a poll I think the yeas would win.

Jimi - it was a coach, but I was in the first car from Montreal to Toronto in August and the horn really got to me, plus I found the train-set noisy in general - particularly when starting.

OTOH, one ear is nonfunctional so I only need one ear plug. When something is really loud I'll turn on my side and bury the half-good ear in the pillow, but I suspect the Amtrak mattresses are so thin that they don't work for side sleeping.

I usually sleep deeply. Once when young I was at a summer camp when they thought a boy was missing in the middle of the night and there were bright lights and shouting everywhere, but I only learned of it in the morning - apparently the only person there to sleep through it.
 
velotrain said:
It seems insane to place a "sleeper" directly behind the engines, just to save another movement or two in Albany.
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No it doesn't. Those moves would require at least two extra blue flag periods, and you'd also have to reposition the yard goat from one end of the car to the other end of the car. All of this would take an extra 30 minutes at a minimum. That is 30 minutes that would have to take place both at Albany and in Southampton.
 
Well, since it's been pointed out that the occupation of this car is low anyway, why not just add it in Albany - as was done previously, or send it up with the rest of the train from NYC?
Since the actual sleeping period is between Albany and Chicago, the only downside I see is sleeper passengers needing to change cars in Albany.
There seems to be agreement that sleepers belong at the rear of the train and not the front.
 
I find it nice to be able to board the sleeper in Boston and settle into the room for the trip. Patronage on the Boston sleeper seems to vary. There was very good patronage when we rode it last May. A friend who was on it in September reported that it was sold out then. There are other reports that suggest very low patronage at times.

It is too bad that 448 and 449 are the most disrespected trains in the Amtrak system. They have a much greater potential than will ever be realized under the current administration.
 
velotrain said:
It seems insane to place a "sleeper" directly behind the engines, just to save another movement or two in Albany.
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It would be multiple movements. The real insanity is this was the perfect train for the crew dorm, which was envisioned next to the engines.

I suppose it is still possible though not probable.
 
Having watched the switching operations at Sudbury and at Capreol involving the Montreal and Toronto sections of the CP Canadian and the CN SuperContinental it should be quite possible to get the Boston sleeper on the rear portion of the train at Albany.
 
Rasputin said:
Having watched the switching operations at Sudbury and at Capreol involving the Montreal and Toronto sections of the CP Canadian and the CN SuperContinental it should be quite possible to get the Boston sleeper on the rear portion of the train at Albany.
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And what about the coach?
 
Rasputin said:
Having watched the switching operations at Sudbury and at Capreol involving the Montreal and Toronto sections of the CP Canadian and the CN SuperContinental it should be quite possible to get the Boston sleeper on the rear portion of the train at Albany.
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Who said it isn't possible? It is possible to add it to the rear, to the head end or the middle if you desired. As indicated, it would require multiple moves that would take more and extend the time train is off HEP.
 
I can sleep fine in the Boston Sleeper.

Massachusetts at one point had a contract with Amtrak for a sleeper on the LSL. Not sure if it still enforced.

I am good with all sleepers coming from NYC, having change in Albany a few times over the years. However I do see the point of providing a sleeper direct to Boston. So meh.
 
I have what's considered 'moderately severe' hearing loss in both ears. It runs in my family. I always take out my hearing aids when I plan on sleeping. I have spent hundreds of nights in sleepers since 1975 (I had exceptionally good hearing back then). When the sleeper I'm in is directly behind the locomotives or next one back, the horn noise keeps me awake, but I do drift off eventually. However, this past April, I was in the trans-dorm of the City of New Orleans and between the unusually rough track and seemingly non-stop grade crossings, I don't think I fell asleep until sometime after 3AM.

And, for what it's worth, I presently live on a state highway, used to live less than 100 yards from a Mass Pike toll road exit before that, before that, across the street from the Springfield MA Amtrak station with F40s roaring all night and sirens several times each nite (3 blocks from main fire house). And before that, about 200 yards from a grade crossing along the former Milwaukee Road in Wisconsin. As SarahZ indicated: "There is a HUGE difference between hearing an occasional fire engine or train and hearing the blast of a train horn every couple minutes or so."
 
oregon pioneer said:
I almost never sleep well the first night on a train, anyway. The second and third nights of my coast-to-coast trips, I sleep right through the normal train noises and most of the stops. So for me, it depends on whether I am eastbound or westbound on the LSL. :rolleyes:
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My experiences, exactly. On a train or in a tent in the backcountry.

If I can anticipate train noises, or sounds in the night in the woods, might keep me awake why wouldn't I invest in some earplugs and maybe a stiff drink before hitting the bed (or sleeping bag)?
 

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