Sleeper Car Etiquete Poll: Curtains/Door closed, or open?

[fredevad]

I usually (yea, right - I've only ridden in a sleeper once) close the door so I can listen to the scanner without headphones.

 

[SP&S]

More often than not, door open and curtain closed, there seems to be better air circulation that way. Sometimes both open, sometimes both closed. It all depends upon where we are, who's nearby, and what we're doing. Of course, when going to the diner, parlour, or lounge both are closed.

 

[Linda T]

Would this have been the northbound CS that departed LAX on Wednesday, July 27 by any chance?

A ye-up. :giggle:

My friend and I were walking through your car to our bedroom in another car when one of the incidents you described occurred. I heard a gasp from one room and then saw a kid running out and then heard his mom yelling at him. Later on we were in the same corridor and the same family was running wild. We were laughing to ourselves with gratitude that we weren't next door to them!

It's hilarious that you posted about it on here!

Oh that's too funny. Trains don't have that many sleepers and for two of us to be on the forum, and on the train on the same day, and witness the same incident, well... That's funny. The kid did seem to settle down. I know it can be confusing which car and which room, so I can't fault the boy for possibly getting the wrong room. Hey, I walked into the wrong room myself on that same leg. On the SWC we were room D car 330 on the CS we were room D car 431, oops... :wub: So mistakes do happen, but still... it can be a little unnerving to have your door thrown open, and your curtain pushed back and a lady come into your room irrate at someone and not knowing who.Edited to add, um, what room and car were you in???

 

[ATXEagle]

Would this have been the northbound CS that departed LAX on Wednesday, July 27 by any chance?

A ye-up. :giggle:

My friend and I were walking through your car to our bedroom in another car when one of the incidents you described occurred. I heard a gasp from one room and then saw a kid running out and then heard his mom yelling at him. Later on we were in the same corridor and the same family was running wild. We were laughing to ourselves with gratitude that we weren't next door to them!

It's hilarious that you posted about it on here!

Oh that's too funny. Trains don't have that many sleepers and for two of us to be on the forum, and on the train on the same day, and witness the same incident, well... That's funny. The kid did seem to settle down. I know it can be confusing which car and which room, so I can't fault the boy for possibly getting the wrong room. Hey, I walked into the wrong room myself on that same leg. On the SWC we were room D car 330 on the CS we were room D car 431, oops... :wub: So mistakes do happen, but still... it can be a little unnerving to have your door thrown open, and your curtain pushed back and a lady come into your room irrate at someone and not knowing who.Edited to add, um, what room and car were you in???

I'm pretty sure we were in 1432, Room B. And if I'm in a roomette I'm much more likely to close the curtain (and often the door) since I like some privacy and there's usually somebody right across the hall from me. In a bedroom, on the other hand, I usually leave both open to look out the hall window.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

I assume were talking about daytime, right, and not when using the toilet?

Anyway, that's what I assumed when I voted.

 

[dlagrua]

We keep the bedroom door and curtain closed about 70% of the time. We pay the fare and its our call how we handle the privacy issue. We love to socialize, meet different people in the dining car and lounge but our room is our retreat. If any SCA objects they can go back to the caves where they came from.

 

[had8ley]

We keep the bedroom door and curtain closed about 70% of the time. We pay the fare and its our call how we handle the privacy issue. We love to socialize, meet different people in the dining car and lounge but our room is our retreat. If any SCA objects they can go back to the caves where they came from.

And for the inquizative ones out there the folks behind the curtains may be doing something you might not want to see. :lol: :lol:

 

[reefgeek]

Door closed curtains open, mostly. I do feel like I'm on display in a store or zoo sometimes. Sort of antisocial.

I know this has come up before, but maybe we need a discrete logo sticker or badge we could put on the window or door or lapel to identify ourselves to fellow forum members. Conversely, one could use those to avoid people from around here if one felt that way! :lol:

 

[rrdude]

On the Crescent now, (With Anniversary Engine!) DOOR=OPEN, CURTAIN=OPEN..

At night I usually keep the door open, bur draw the curtain, unless The_Traveler is in the room X from me, then I have to close the door AND put in earplugs to block out the snoring. (Kind of sounds like a Nathan 3-Chime, but me needs me sleep)

 

[pennyk]

On the Crescent now, (With Anniversary Engine!) DOOR=OPEN, CURTAIN=OPEN..

At night I usually keep the door open, bur draw the curtain, unless The_Traveler is in the room X from me, then I have to close the door AND put in earplugs to block out the snoring. (Kind of sounds like a Nathan 3-Chime, but me needs me sleep)

Have a great trip Jerry. Are you drinking wine while you are relaxing with the door open and the curtain open?

 

[rrdude]

On the Crescent now, (With Anniversary Engine!) DOOR=OPEN, CURTAIN=OPEN..

At night I usually keep the door open, bur draw the curtain, unless The_Traveler is in the room X from me, then I have to close the door AND put in earplugs to block out the snoring. (Kind of sounds like a Nathan 3-Chime, but me needs me sleep)

Have a great trip Jerry. Are you drinking wine while you are relaxing with the door open and the curtain open?

Funny you should ask, I just opened a bottle of Cartilidge & Brown, 2009 Cab. It's a new vintner to me........ I'll let you know! (It's five o'clock somewhere, right?)

 

[TimePeace]

I didn't know that SCA's came from caves! I learn something every day on this forum, for sure.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I generally would prefer to have both the door and curtains drawn. When I'm in my own compartment I enjoy having some privacy. I also want to prevent unsupervised children from bothering me or messing with my stuff. Blocking out reflections and muffling as much of the Amtrak's public address banter as possible are a couple of other considerations. When the temperature is too hot or too cold and the in-room controls aren't helping I may be forced to open the door but I'll still keep the curtains closed. I enjoy meeting others in the lounge or diner or parlor cars or even in the station, but not so much when I'm in my own room.

Now if we've already met each other and got along well I may not mind using the room for social purposes. I just find it a little awkward when a stranger from across the way wants to introduce themselves while I'm in my room. I'd prefer they wait to meet me when we're both in the lounge or something. If we find we're a good match then maybe we can chat in the room or whatever but I still prefer to socialize in the common areas. There have been exceptions and sometimes I'm traveling with someone who is hyper-social and changes everything up, but that's basically how I tend to do things.

I must admit I can't believe Amtrak still hasn't figured out a way for us to lock or even close our rooms when we're out and about. In the situation described previously in the thread what would have kept the unruly boy who was allowed to have his run of the car from going through your things while you're dining or socializing or whatever?

 

[Misty.]

Until something ends up happening to me, like a kid that can't remember their room number barging into mine, I'll still tend to keep my door open and curtains closed during the day when I'm in the room.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

This thread is a "hoot". Seems strange to me that there has been so much discussion over what makes one comfortable in their rooms. Soon we may equal the toilet thread.

 

[Steve4031]

As long as I'm in a room I'm happy. And reading all these posts is making me excited about riding in my room from lax to Chicago on 422. And I'll have 3 nights to explore the options and hive sn opinion. Lol

 

[lthanlon]

•  
  
• Most of time during the day, I leave the door and curtains open. I close the curtains and door when making a phone call.
  
• At night before the beds are turned down, I often close the curtains and door to minimize reflections on the window so I can watch the night landscape pass by. I used to just pull the curtains, but a couple of times other passengers walking through the car have reached out to steady themselves under the mistaken assumption that because my curtains were drawn, the door was closed -- and they went sailing through the curtain and landed in my roomette.
  
• When napping during the day or sleeping overnight, I close the curtains and the door and lock the door. (I tend to snore and don't want to disturb other passengers.)
  

 

[Trainmans daughter]

I used to just pull the curtains, but a couple of times other passengers walking through the car have reached out to steady themselves under the mistaken assumption that because my curtains were drawn, the door was closed -- and they went sailing through the curtain and landed in my roomette.

That was me on the CL last summer! We hit an unusually rough section of track and I went sailing. The 2 women reading quietly in their roomette certainly were surprised. I jumped up, brushed myself off, smiled and told them to have a lovely day. :hi:

 

[jmbgeg]

I'm interested in hearing other responses on this. One of the reasons I choose to pay extra for a sleeper is so that I can work on my laptop, fall asleep when I want to, take in the scenery, or read a book on my Kindle and tune out the world for awhile. I also like to meet new people and get my social interaction on the train through community seating in the dining car and in the Observation Car, but when I'm in the room and don't have my kid with me on a trip, I usually keep the door closed. A couple times, though, I've gone out to get water and the SCA has cheerfully said, "Well, look who's decided to emerge from his cave!" I don't think I'm being anti-social and see a lot of other doors not only closed but with their curtains drawn as well, but...do you folks tend to have an open door policy when in your Roomette/Bedroom/ during the day, or do you try to retreat a bit? No right or wrong answer--just want to make sure I'm not breaching passenger rail protocol.

I travel in bedrooms 90% of my LD trips. Here is what I do.

1. Door and curtains are drawn when the bed is down, until I am ready for bed to be put up.

2. If I want to to see the scenery on the door side, my drapes and door are open.

3. Otherwise, my door is open and drapes partially or fully shut.

4. Obviously, I shut my door and drapes for daytime naps. :lol: That starts happening in your mid fifties.

 

[jdcnosse]

Haven't been in a roomette but I kept the same policy at home or really anywhere. I'll leave the door open if I don't mind company, or am waiting for something. If my door is closed the curtains are most likely going to be drawn as well, which simply means leave me alone. lol

 

[mattcub]

On my first trip with a sleeper,I didn't even Know that the room had a door that could shut!!! :giggle: In my defense it was on the LSL and we boarded fairly late in the evening,so I didn't even think to ask the SCA to explain the features of the room. It was only the next morning after breakfast that we noticed the room close to ours had the door shut :blush: We made it through the night safe and sound with just the curtain shut. Like most of the others who posted,we really only kept the door shut whan we were using our cells.

 

[Pastor Dave]

More often than not I'll leave it open and be sociable. If I have to get work done I'll shut things up.

 

[Railroad Bill]

I usually leave the door and curtin open when I am in the room.

I close both when I go to the diner.

I have a story similar to the one mentioned above.

While traveling to Gathering IV in St Louis, several of us

were on the Capitol Limited to Chicago. I knew Railroad Bill

and Claudia were boarding in Cleveland, and Bill had told me

the roomette they would be in. However, he failed to tell me

that he would not be in that roomette until Toledo. As Penny

and I were going to breakfast (before Toledo), I noticed the

door to that roomette was open, but the curtain was closed.

I grabbed the curtain, opened it only to startle the young

lady sitting there. After an apology, I went on to breakfast.

While sitting in the diner, Railroad Bill come in and when

I confronted him, he said he wouldn't be in the roomette

until Toledo!! I was quite embarrased and have never

repeated that stunt.

Sorry about that one Dick.

Of course on our last trip to Chicago we were supposed to be in Rm 6 and the car attendant asked us to move to Rm 8, since 6 wasnt ready.

So you might have met someone new on that trip too :lol:

On topic: We usually keep the door open and curtain half closed during the day unless the noise in the hall gets too loud. A lot depends on who is across the hall. If they are friendly and like to talk we will share our window views with them. If not, we sometimes will shut the curtain.

Always shut the door and curtains when we go to dinner or the lounge car but sometimes return to find our curtains have been opened (by SCA??).

 

[RailFanLNK]

For me, its all in my "mood". I'm about as social as you can get and love meeting people but I also have found myself alone on a train and its the perfect place for me to recharge. I can shut the door and the curtain and not talk to anyone for a day or two. I still find myself looking forward to the communal seating in the diner but there's times I just like to be alone.

 

[jis]

My day to day professional life involves meeting too many people and working with whole lots of them. So when I travel specially for leisure, I generally like to have my private time to decompress. I still like the communal seating in the Diner, but when I am in my room I generally shut the door and curtains and chill with music and books. Nothing anti-social or anything, just that those are the only few times that I have for myself, and I cherish that. When I want to meet people there is always the Lounge to go to.