Questions for upcoming trip

[darien-l]

Hi all. My next train trip, coming up in a couple of weeks, will be Grand Canyon - Williams - LAX - SEA with some friends. We'll have bedrooms connected into bedroom suites. I'm a fairly experienced Amtrak traveler, but every trip I pick up some new tricks. For this one, my two questions are:

1) How much ice is carried on a Superliner? Do they typically run out by the end of the run, or have plenty left over? The reason why I ask is because we'll have a cooler full of beverages with us, and was wondering if asking for a full bag of ice is a reasonable request (especially towards the end of a run) or is wildly excessive.

2) The next question is specific to LA Union Station. We expect to have over two hours to walk around and have breakfast in LA (the SWC usually rolls in early) and would like to leave our baggage at the station. I understand that the baggage office will store the bags for $3 each, but last time I tried it, it did not work out very well. We went to the baggage office immediately upon deboarding, and found it dark and locked up. About 15 minutes later, a sole baggage employee appeared and immediately proceeded to check claim tags of passengers getting their bags off the carousel. This went on for about 30 minutes, then another train (the SSL) rolled in, more bags appeared, and the claim stub checking continued. Then the employee went on break or just disappeared for a while. By the time she returned, more than an hour and a half had passed from the moment we first showed up. So, after this lengthy introduction, my question is, are there any other options? Can we try the Amtrak ticket counter instead? (When we were waiting last time, we tried the Traxx "lounge", but were told we could not leave bags there.) Are there any hotels nearby that might let us store the bags?

 

[AlanB]

1) How much ice is carried on a Superliner? Do they typically run out by the end of the run, or have plenty left over? The reason why I ask is because we'll have a cooler full of beverages with us, and was wondering if asking for a full bag of ice is a reasonable request (especially towards the end of a run) or is wildly excessive.

I can't help with the second one, but here's my advice for the first question:

First, note that this will apply more to the Coast Starlight than the Southwest Chief, although you can still try this on the Chief.

Talk with your sleeping car attendant. If they don't seem receptive, or if you just get the general vibe early on that they're not going to be helpful, then go talk with the LSA in the dining car. Let them know that you would like to try to get some ice, a substantial amount as in potentially a whole bag.

I cannot promise anything, but here's why I say talk to them early. Amtrak trains do not carry enough ice from the start of the run to last to the end of the run. They pick up ice along the way at the longer stops. They do this because the amount of storage space is limited in the freezers in the dining car. If the LSA is aware early enough that you want ice, he/she may be nice enough to pick up an extra bag beyond what would fit in the freezers and give you that bag to put in your cooler.

Be sure to slip the LSA/SCA something for their efforts, if they comply with your request.

 

[darien-l]

Thanks, Alan, I'll let you know how it went!

 

[jmbgeg]

1) How much ice is carried on a Superliner? Do they typically run out by the end of the run, or have plenty left over? The reason why I ask is because we'll have a cooler full of beverages with us, and was wondering if asking for a full bag of ice is a reasonable request (especially towards the end of a run) or is wildly excessive.

I can't help with the second one, but here's my advice for the first question:

First, note that this will apply more to the Coast Starlight than the Southwest Chief, although you can still try this on the Chief.

Talk with your sleeping car attendant. If they don't seem receptive, or if you just get the general vibe early on that they're not going to be helpful, then go talk with the LSA in the dining car. Let them know that you would like to try to get some ice, a substantial amount as in potentially a whole bag.

I cannot promise anything, but here's why I say talk to them early. Amtrak trains do not carry enough ice from the start of the run to last to the end of the run. They pick up ice along the way at the longer stops. They do this because the amount of storage space is limited in the freezers in the dining car. If the LSA is aware early enough that you want ice, he/she may be nice enough to pick up an extra bag beyond what would fit in the freezers and give you that bag to put in your cooler.

Be sure to slip the LSA/SCA something for their efforts, if they comply with your request.

I just returned from a Coast Starlight trip. I take a small cooler filled with ice when I board southbound and northbound. This past trip, the SCA were very willing to refill the cooler with a bucket of ice when I ran out. My small cooler only required a bucket, not a whole bag. The ice service was part of my tip equation.