Question about boarding Southwest Chief at midnight

[jfrupp]

We will be departing the SWC from a very small station on Sunday at Midnight (Needles, Calif). My question is do they have everyone board from one car and then you find the correct car once onboard or do you enter the correct car from the station platform? We are booked in a bedroom
Thanks in advance !
Janet

 

[tgstubbs1]

Show the conductor your ticket. He is the 'captain' of the and he will direct you.
They may not open all the doors because it's not practical but they will help you. Amtrak employees are extremely helpful and courteous.

 

[lrh442]

Your Sleeping Car Attendant should be expecting you and will likely open the door to your specific sleeper. Sleepers will be at the front of the train. But, as posted by tgstubbs1, show your ticket to any Amtrak employee who gets off the train and they'll get you where you need to go.

 

[me_little_me]

Generally, particularly at night, there will be one sleeping car attendant who will meet you at a door which is in the middle of your sleeper car. They will point out where find the stairs to the second level where your bedroom is. If they don't give you further directions, when you get upstairs, remember that rooms have letters and roomettes have numbers. Also remember that roomettes are on both sides of the aisle so you walk down the middle but bedrooms are to one side so you walk along one side with the rooms on one side and windows on the other. Try to be very quiet while alking down the hallway so as not to disturb other sleepers.
If you have baggage that you do not need on the train, consider leaving it at the luggage rack right by where you step into the car.
If only one attendant is available, you might have to walk up the stairs and go to the next car as the attendant might be at the second car but that is not likely. The attendant will tell you. Generally, the attendant will let the conductor know you have boarded so you don't need to find the conductor or wait for the conductor to come to your room but ask the attendant just in case.
Note, your room beds will already be made up for you so all you have to do is find a place for luggage then start getting ready for bed.
Usually, one place for sleeper passengers to board and one for coach at a small station with a car attendant for each one.

 

[jfrupp]

Thank you all. I am so glad that I found this forum. Beings we are new to Amtrak, your answers really help. We are looking forward to our trip, but just a little nervous of going to such a small station at midnight (we are seniors). I am sure we will do fine as many others do this every day.
Thanks again, your help is appreciated very much.
Janet

 

[flitcraft]

You'll have a great trip, I'm sure. The bedrooms are a great way to travel; now you just have to play rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets the top bunk and who gets the bottom one!

 

[tgstubbs1]

Thank you all. I am so glad that I found this forum. Beings we are new to Amtrak, your answers really help. We are looking forward to our trip, but just a little nervous of going to such a small station at midnight (we are seniors). I am sure we will do fine as many others do this every day.
Thanks again, your help is appreciated very much.
Janet

Don't forget to send us pictures and any news about the train. I know a lot of people are curious about masks, dining, etc.

 

[Palmetto]

Most conductors will "spot" the car on the platform in the correct place for entraining passengers. They will talk to the engineer of the train in order to do this. In any case, the Amtrak employees who get on to the platform will be happy to help you find the correct car. And the suggestion to drop unneeded luggage in the luggage rack next to the boarding door is a good one. Have a great trip!

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Show the conductor your ticket. He is the 'captain' of the and he will direct you.
They may not open all the doors because it's not practical but they will help you. Amtrak employees are extremely helpful and courteous.

The conductor may or may not be the appropriate person to show a ticket to.

The first Amtrak employee you see will be able to instruct you on boarding.

 

[PVD]

Don't forget, as sleeper passengers you will have use of the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, and The Club Acela in Washington, if you have waiting time, and need a more civil environment to wait. Due to the current situations, things that are normally available in the lounges may not be available, but it is a bit more pleasant. I'll assume you can still drop bags there if you go out for a walk, they are generally considered safe, but I never leave valuables or must haves like meds.

 

[MARC Rider]

Most conductors will "spot" the car on the platform in the correct place for entraining passengers. They will talk to the engineer of the train in order to do this. In any case, the Amtrak employees who get on to the platform will be happy to help you find the correct car. And the suggestion to drop unneeded luggage in the luggage rack next to the boarding door is a good one. Have a great trip!

I presume the platform at Needles is fairly short. That means they might have to spot the train twice, one for any coach passengers, and again for the sleeper passengers.

I once watched the Sunset Limited come in at Alpine, TX, which has a fairly short platform. They spotted the train so that the coach passengers could board at the platform. The doors to the sleepers opened trackside east of the platform (and fact, across a street from the platform), the car attendants had the little stepstools out. People without mobility problems would have no problems boarding those sleepers without a platform, if there were people who needed assistance, I would hope that they would have spotted the cars so they could board using the very nice new, but short, ADA-compliant platform they built.

 

[railiner]

Back in the Santa Fe days, Needles was a crew change point, IIRC. So there would have been a new crew and station personnel around...sadly, no longer...

 

[Lonestar648]

I have boarded very late at small stops. Since the sleepers are up front, the conductor most likely will be at that door since the manifest will show Sleeper car “work”. The conductor may or may not take time to scan your ticket, but as soon as you are on board the Sleeper Attendant will close the car door with the Conductor on the platform radioing the engineer to move “x” cars ahead to the Coach car. As soon as those passengers are through the door, it will closed and the Conductor radios the engineer to depart. A couple small stops stops I remember, the train is spotted twice if work in both Coach and Sleeper, usually with 5 minutes the train has departed. Very smooth and very quick.

 

[IndyLions]

Don't forget, as sleeper passengers you will have use of the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago, and The Club Acela in Washington, if you have waiting time, and need a more civil environment to wait. Due to the current situations, things that are normally available in the lounges may not be available, but it is a bit more pleasant. I'll assume you can still drop bags there if you go out for a walk, they are generally considered safe, but I never leave valuables or must haves like meds.

I’m not going to tell you to leave valuables out in the open, but I will say that the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge is a pretty safe place to leave your luggage for a bit. Entry to the Lounge is controlled, and there are security cameras inside the luggage area. To access the luggage area, you have to cross right in front of the desk area where the typically eagle eyed employee is controlling lounge access.

 

[IndyLions]

One other thing - they are not heavily used, but there are showers available in the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge that are new and kept very, very clean.

I used one myself after a day of exploring Chicago by bicycle a couple of August’s ago.

You just need to request access from the Metropolitan lounge attendant. They’ll keep your ID and return it to you when you are done. Towels are provided, and if I remember correctly there are soap and shampoo dispensers in the shower.

 

[jfrupp]

You guys are sure a wealth of information and I do appreciate it. We are looking forward to our trip and hopefully I can remember to take pictures and write up a detail account so you will all know what the situation is in these unusual times. With these times being what they are, there is good and bad. Bad being some amenities will not be available but the good is that the trains will only be 50% full, (good for us not Amtrak). Again...I thank you all for all the great information. I feel a lot less anxious about leaving from the small station at midnight and also about my luggage.. This is going to be fun!
Janet

 

[tricia]

I have boarded very late at small stops. Since the sleepers are up front, the conductor most likely will be at that door since the manifest will show Sleeper car “work”. The conductor may or may not take time to scan your ticket, but as soon as you are on board the Sleeper Attendant will close the car door with the Conductor on the platform radioing the engineer to move “x” cars ahead to the Coach car. As soon as those passengers are through the door, it will closed and the Conductor radios the engineer to depart. A couple small stops stops I remember, the train is spotted twice if work in both Coach and Sleeper, usually with 5 minutes the train has departed. Very smooth and very quick.

If the conductor doesn't scan your ticket, be sure to ask the sleeping car attendant if the conductor has noted that you're on board. If not, the system is apt to consider you a no-show and cancel subsequent segments on your ticket.

 

[PVD]

Often, late at night, the SCA will note it on his manifest, and let the conductor know to check you in, but it is important to "double check" Sometimes, at a lightly used station, the Conductor will step to the platform and do the scan/ticket lift at the door to save time (and get a breath of fresh air). I think he gets off next stop, Kingman, so he will want to have his paperwork done.

 

[willem]

If the conductor doesn't scan your ticket, [...] the system is apt to consider you a no-show and cancel subsequent segments on your ticket.

[...] it is important to "double check" [...]

Consider this emphasis. On a Zephyr trip from Chicago (origin) to California, a conductor greeted us somewhere around Utah, asking, "Who are you?" It turned out no one had marked us as present, and all further travel had been canceled. The nice conductor got everything restored, but it was a bad few minutes.

Even if there is no follow-on travel, you want to be counted so you get the Amtrak Guest Rewards points.

 

[oregon pioneer]

Most conductors will "spot" the car on the platform in the correct place for entraining passengers. They will talk to the engineer of the train in order to do this. In any case, the Amtrak employees who get on to the platform will be happy to help you find the correct car. And the suggestion to drop unneeded luggage in the luggage rack next to the boarding door is a good one. Have a great trip!

This.

We have boarded in the middle of the night at small stations on the Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and the SW Chief. Every time, as the train slows to a stop, the attendant or conductor (if the attendant is off-duty for the night) is hanging out an open window and calling for "coach", "sleeper", or even us by name if we're the only ones boarding their car.

They always have the correct car(s) open for the passengers they know will be boarding. This is because they have limited personnel available in the middle of the night, and they don't want people traipsing through the train looking for their spot.

I have never had anyone fail to scan my ticket or check me off the manifest, but I know that it is a potential headache down the line if not done, so I always check and make sure.

The attendant or cunductor will direct you to your room. When you board, your bed should be down and ready for you. All you have to do is drop your large items in the luggage rack as you enter, before you head to your room and crawl into bed.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Amtrak employees are extremely helpful and courteous.

Amtrak employees run the gamut from great to bad and none of us have any control over who will be on that particular train. On the plus side boarding at small stations is a relatively simple affair and I've never had a train fail to pick me up or check me in. Even that one time I was still running toward the tracks as the whistle blew.

I once watched the Sunset Limited come in at Alpine, TX, which has a fairly short platform. They spotted the train so that the coach passengers could board at the platform.

The Alpine platform is long enough for coach and sleeper passengers to enter/exit after the engines and baggage car move into the crossing area. So far as I can tell the main reason they still double spot is for the crew change.

 

[bratkinson]

Consider this emphasis. On a Zephyr trip from Chicago (origin) to California, a conductor greeted us somewhere around Utah, asking, "Who are you?" It turned out no one had marked us as present, and all further travel had been canceled. The nice conductor got everything restored, but it was a bad few minutes.

Even if there is on follow-on travel, you want to be counted so you get the Amtrak Guest Rewards points.

Back in July '19, a group of us riding in business class on Empire Service from NYP had that happen. The NYP-ALB conductor never came back to business class. After ALB, the new conductor encountered our 'cancelled' reservations and had to call HQ to get everything 'put back'. I have little doubt that the new conductor had some words with the NYP-ALB conductor whenever they next met.

 

[Old MM]

Look forward to hearing about your trip! In addition to all the good comments here, I like to simplify things where possible, so watch your train as it slows to a stop, and if you don't see the numbered sleeping car on your ticket, approach where any doors are opened and a uniformed agent appears, any Amtrak employee on the train will be able to direct you to your car.

 

[John Santos]

Back in July '19, a group of us riding in business class on Empire Service from NYP had that happen. The NYP-ALB conductor never came back to business class. After ALB, the new conductor encountered our 'cancelled' reservations and had to call HQ to get everything 'put back'. I have little doubt that the new conductor had some words with the NYP-ALB conductor whenever they next met.

As only an occasional rider (2-3 times per year, mostly on the NEC and not all until post-COVID), it sounds to me that they occasionally mess up badly but always seem to fix things, rather than just blame the customer for failing to follow the correct procedure. Has anyone had their reservations on future segments of their trip cancelled through AMTRAK error and NOT had the situation fixed ASAP? To err is human, but I'm willing to cut a lot of slack when there is an honest and effective attempt to correct the error.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

As only an occasional rider (2-3 times per year, mostly on the NEC and not all until post-COVID), it sounds to me that they occasionally mess up badly but always seem to fix things, rather than just blame the customer for failing to follow the correct procedure. Has anyone had their reservations on future segments of their trip cancelled through AMTRAK error and NOT had the situation fixed ASAP? To err is human, but I'm willing to cut a lot of slack when there is an honest and effective attempt to correct the error.

I always book each segment separately to prevent any issues from happening down the line.

Question- is there any way to tell in the app if your ticket has been scanned / collected?

What really irks me from the story about the conductor questioning the sleeping car passengers is why didn’t he ask the SCA? That conductor was just looking to pull a power trip and nothing more.

I’ve been asked to change rooms from my ticketed assignment multiple times by SCA’s, nothing ever came from it but I worry that a conductor could cause me trouble if they wanted to.