Depending upon your level of comfort with personal safety, etc., I'd absolutely put up a post on CraigsList. It's the modern equiv of classifieds, and college "Ride Boards" all wrapped up into one.
That forum can't be seen by guests (as the OP is) and we prefer members not engage in this activity in the forum. PM contact is OK, but guests can't PM, either.
Although there is no specific guarantee of a power outlet, many (if not most) coach and lounge cars have now been retrofitted with standard power supplies at each set of seats. Even if you happen to end up in a car that does not have power supplies there will almost certainly be some in the lounge car. If you take a power strip with you then even if none of your train's cars have been updated (highly unlikely) and all the original power jacks are in use you can simply add your device without having to permanently unplug anyone else. It's a great solution that's likely to work in any situation. No need for a sleeper if your primary concern is just the power supply.
Aloha
As said, most coaches have now been refurbished and have power at each row. When the cars were built 30+ years ago, not everyone had laptops/netbooks, DVD players, cell phones, GPS, etc... - thus 2 plugs per car were enough for the cleaners. Based on what I have seen, your chances that your car will have at-seat power is 90% or higher!
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If Amtrak ever wanted me to quadruple my train travel all they'd have to do is provide shower access to coach passengers. They could even charge a fee for the privilege. Or they could add bring showers back to the stations. Either way I'd be much happier and be riding a lot more often. Seems like a win-win to me, but for some reason Amtrak appears to be completely against it. When NARP lobbied for coach access to showers they were told coach passengers could just clean themselves with a rag in the bathroom. Thanks, but no thanks.
not with the string of murders going on
If you think the coach bathrooms are dirty (especially on an Eastern LD train), could you imagine what the showers would look like?
It's true that there are folks who may attempt to scam or otherwise harm or humiliate you, but statistically it's exceptionally rare to bump into a determined murderer through a simple craigslist ad. Mild mental problems and lack of proper education appear to be extremely common, but I wouldn't expect to be killed just because I met up with someone from CL.
I have two responses to that.
Showers on the train are great for overnight journeys. If you find that coach class doesn't cut it then try the roomette on your next journey. If anything goes horribly wrong call and demand a voucher. Even if you never intend to use it the voucher creates a paper trail that will hopefully help push the managers to address poorly performing staff to improve or find other work.
I agree with you. Nevertheless, during the time I've been on AU I've noticed multiple stories of people "accidentally" falling from the train to their deaths while the police simply shrug and assume it was just pure chance. Even when they do suspect foul play they don't seem to have a great record of finding the perpetrator. Heck, they seem to have difficulty even determining who should be in charge of what. When you consider how many millions of passengers ride Amtrak without incident it's obvious that getting thrown off the train isn't common enough for average folks to worry about, but it certainly isn't an impossible crime from the looks of it.
Acces to the showers is one of the primary benefits of booking a sleeper and I see no reason to allow coach passengers to use the facilities. Who is going to control who has access at specific times of the day? When you book a first class ticket on a plane, you assume you are not going to have to use one of the coach bathrooms, but have access to the first class bathroom, which is closer to your seat. It is not a "class issues", but the fact taht you have paid for the privilege of having access to something the coach passengers don't have. As a sleeping car passenger, I assume there will be controlled access to my car and I really don't want coach passengers - who knows how many - walking through my car. I have had to wait to get access to the shower with other sleeping car passengers and I see no reason to increase the number of people using the facility.
Here are two reasons you may have missed.
The same people who currently control access. Ideally you'd be able to schedule a shower time shortly after boarding or when you reserve by phone or web site before your trip.
How will this force anyone in a sleeper to use a bathroom in a coach car? Even if Amtrak used the showers in the sleeper cars the sleeper passengers would get priority and the shower would be cleaned more often from additional revenues and/or direct surcharges. If sleeper folks have to wait more than a few extra minutes for the shower to become available then the plan I'm proposing isn't being followed.
I can't reserve a room for any given date eleven months in advance like some folks can. When I need to buy a specific train for a specific date a couple weeks or even a couple months out and every sleeper compartment is already long gone Amtrak ends up losing money and I end up losing out on another train ride. Nobody benefits from that outcome.
So, basically, it is a class issue? Never mind that the same folks who ride coach also ride sleepers as reservations and budgets permit. If you want true exclusivity then go rent a private car. Otherwise you're really no different from any of the rest of us sitting next to you in the lounge and diner. Seriously.
When you've had to wait days to get access to a shower then feel free to let me know about it.
So you're saying that Amtrak should hire a ShA (Shower Attendant) whose ONLY job is to sit by the shower and clean it after EVERY coach passenger using the shower?
Based on the number of post that Craig's List has, I'd hardly call it a "String".
There would be no exclusive shower cleaner sitting around waiting for something to do. The attendant already staffing the car would handle the on-board cleanings with station based maintenance staff handling the water/effluent and heavy duty cleanings.
Dirty showers and toilets should result in vouchers. Vouchers should result in disciplinary action. Repeated failures to perform to job expectations should result in additional training or reassignment to remedial work details.
I envision something like a shower pass sold in the lounge. Presumably they'd have a list of available time slots. It would also be a free option for sleeper passengers to choose their preferred times while booking their room. Something like that.
I hate to tell you but NOBODY schedules shower time in sleepers!
Remember that in the 1960's and prior, there was only 1 shower on the train - and that was in the MOST EXPENSIVE ROOM for use by that room only! No other sleeper passenger or coach passenger has use of a shower for days on end - and they still survived!
