Water, coffee, general train excitement.

[Ryan]

Thanks for your valuable contribution to the discussion, Ted.

 

[TinCan782]

Dear god this is so retarded. If you don't like the steak do you bring your own beef and a grill to cook it?

Yes, because bringing a small French press is exactly the same as loading a Weber grill onto the train.

This is getting funny! And, Sarah Z has a new avatar!

 

[Cina]

Dear god this is so retarded. If you don't like the steak do you bring your own beef and a grill to cook it?

Thanks for your mature input. You really know how to make a newbie feel welcome I'm sure you already know this, but a French press looks like this:



It's not like it's a Mr. Coffee machine (or a steak and accompanying George Foreman).

 

[SarahZ]

This is getting funny! And, Sarah Z has a new avatar!

It's in honor of "Mad Men". The new season starts tonight.

 

[Cina]

Yes, because bringing a small French press is exactly the same as loading a Weber grill onto the train.

Do you think I can count the weber grill as a "carry-on exception"? I can try to convince the SCA it's a steampunk baby carriage.

 

[SarahZ]

Yes, because bringing a small French press is exactly the same as loading a Weber grill onto the train.

Do you think I can count the weber grill as a "carry-on exception"? I can try to convince the SCA it's a steampunk baby carriage.

Oh my god. I love you. Please stick around.

 

[Cina]

I want to. Even if I don't get to take trips all that often!

 

[jebr]

Yes, because bringing a small French press is exactly the same as loading a Weber grill onto the train.

Do you think I can count the weber grill as a "carry-on exception"? I can try to convince the SCA it's a steampunk baby carriage.

Oh my god. I love you. Please stick around.

Seconded.

 

[Ryan]

Thirded. You'll do well here.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Looks like Ted's been raiding the liquor closet again.

 

[me_little_me]

Dear god this is so retarded. If you don't like the steak do you bring your own beef and a grill to cook it?

Hey! I bring along my pure maple syrup when I go to restaurants for breakfast and will probably take it along on my trek from ATL to ELP.

But thanks for your idea about the grill. I might just do that.

Immersion heater? Can't find the power consumption but surely less than an electric teapot.

http://www.rei.com/product/781694/rei-immersion-heater-120240

We've used hair dryers on board. And they pull more power than HEP can provide!

I just saw one immersion heater available on Amazon that is rated as 125 watts. Most of the others I saw were 1500 to 3K watts. The price including shipping was about $25.

On a December trip on the CZ in coach one of the coach cars had little if any heat overnight. The guy the cafe gave away a lot of coffee after you bought the first one.

I find it hard to believe 125W is not either a mistake or a useless product except to get lukewarm water. A French press needs HOT water to work well

Edit: typing error.

 

[Cina]

I find it hard to believe 125W is not either a mistake or a useless product except to get lukewarm water. A French press needs HOT water to work well

Edit: typing error.

Just shy of boiling is ideal. I'm considering just making a nuisance of myself in the lounge car, though that does mean using train water. :[

 

[oregon pioneer]

Given that your French Press is right in the coffee mug (I love it!), I vote for using the immersion heater. They're small, test first and bring two "just in case."

-- Oh, I guess the cafe car is your "just in case" backup, isn't it?!

 

[PerRock]

The immersion heaters can bring water up to just about a boil if not boiling (it's been a while since I used one) but I can confirm that it can get water hot enough to make a proper cup of tea, which requires boiling water or near to boiling.

And really this would be a more accurate depiction of a French Press. As the one Cina pictured is a travel-mug version.

Interestingly while Googling for that image I discovered that REI makes/has a travel mug french press that actually looks quite good.

http://www.rei.com/product/792857/rei-double-shot-press-mug,-okra?preferredSku=7928570048

peter

 

[VentureForth]

Interestingly while Googling for that image I discovered that REI makes/has a travel mug french press that actually looks quite good.

http://www.rei.com/product/792857/rei-double-shot-press-mug,-okra?preferredSku=7928570048

peter

For $30, you'd think they'd throw in a built in heater.

 

[Gemuser]

Can't they just keep a samovar going just inside the vestibule, the way they did on the Trans-Siberian Express in Bolshevik days?

What do you mean in Bolshevik days? They still do, and you should hear the grumbling if it stops working 5 days into an 7 day train trip

 

[Cina]

The immersion heaters can bring water up to just about a boil if not boiling (it's been a while since I used one) but I can confirm that it can get water hot enough to make a proper cup of tea, which requires boiling water or near to boiling.

And really this would be a more accurate depiction of a French Press. As the one Cina pictured is a travel-mug version.

Interestingly while Googling for that image I discovered that REI makes/has a travel mug french press that actually looks quite good.

http://www.rei.com/product/792857/rei-double-shot-press-mug,-okra?preferredSku=7928570048

peter

The picture I showed is actually the exact model of travel press I have, for the sake of illustration

 

[Casey Jones]

I am tempted to take a small Keurig coffeemaker on my next sleeper trip to see if it'll work. But the standard sleeper urn coffee is OK with me. Nothing special, but it does the job.

 

[tricia]

the onboard coffee is drinkable, IF I remember to bring my own half and half. Those little containers are bad half the time.

This is one of two reasons why I travel with a small cooler (although I prefer milk rather than half-and-half). Other reason is beer. Order of importance varies.

 

[OBS]

I am a tea drinker, so I can tell you that there is NO hot water for tea available in the sleepers. The only reasonable way to get hot water is to go to the Cafe (downstairs in the Sightseer Lounge car), and ask for it.

(begin rant/) Even if you have your own container, they will put the hot water in an Amtrak paper cup. Then they have to account for the cup (check "hot water given away" on their list of exceptions). They do it this way even if you are getting a "refill" (more hot water, but using the original tea bag and cup) on a cup of tea that you purchased. It's a disgusting waste of time and resources for a cup of hot water, but their archaic accounting system and pathalogical fear of inside theft drive the system. (/end rant).

I think there are some exceptions to the rule that the only way to get hot water is to go to the cafe car (but it sounds like none of them apply to you):

1. You can go the Pacific Parlor Car (but only if you are in sleeper on the CS), and the attendant will usually fill your own cup with hot water quite cheerfully.
2. If a certain SCA named Charles (who I had on the EB a couple of years ago) is yours, you are very lucky, because he has an electric teakettle, which he keeps full and ready to plug in, in roomette #1 (along with a bunch of other goodies to enliven your trip).
3. You can ask your SCA to go to the cafe and get it for you (but I would never do this unless I were too disabled to go myself, and I would expect to tip for the service).

I always have my own thermal mug and tea bags with me for the trip, but I bow to the inevitable if I can't find an easy way to get hot water. For me, the inevitable is to relax in the Lounge Car with a hot Lipton tea (with lemon and sugar, which I never put in *good* tea). Not so bad after all!

Unfortunately the non use of personal cups and the non refill of Amtrak cups both fall under the "wonderful" rules and regs, of the FDA

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I am tempted to take a small Keurig coffeemaker on my next sleeper trip to see if it'll work. But the standard sleeper urn coffee is OK with me. Nothing special, but it does the job.

Keurig: The quickest and easiest method for making a tiny cup of cardboard water.

Unfortunately the non use of personal cups and the non refill of Amtrak cups both fall under the "wonderful" rules and regs, of the FDA

I really don't appreciate (or even understand) how we ended up with all these low effort high penalty zero tolerance laws.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I am tempted to take a small Keurig coffeemaker on my next sleeper trip to see if it'll work. But the standard sleeper urn coffee is OK with me. Nothing special, but it does the job.

Keurig: The quickest and easiest method for making a tiny cup of cardboard water.

Unfortunately the non use of personal cups and the non refill of Amtrak cups both fall under the "wonderful" rules and regs, of the FDA

I really don't appreciate (or even understand) how we ended up with all these low effort high penalty zero tolerance laws.

Probably someone sued someone about a "used" cup and....

Why is there a need to put common-sense warnings on products?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I am tempted to take a small Keurig coffeemaker on my next sleeper trip to see if it'll work. But the standard sleeper urn coffee is OK with me. Nothing special, but it does the job.

Keurig: The quickest and easiest method for making a tiny cup of cardboard water.

Unfortunately the non use of personal cups and the non refill of Amtrak cups both fall under the "wonderful" rules and regs, of the FDA

I really don't appreciate (or even understand) how we ended up with all these low effort high penalty zero tolerance laws.

Probably someone sued someone about a "used" cup and....Why is there a need to put common-sense warnings on products?

Looks like someone bit the "tort reform" hook and didn't bother to do their own research.

 

[oregon pioneer]

(begin rant/) Even if you have your own container, they will put the hot water in an Amtrak paper cup. Then they have to account for the cup (check "hot water given away" on their list of exceptions). They do it this way even if you are getting a "refill" (more hot water, but using the original tea bag and cup) on a cup of tea that you purchased. It's a disgusting waste of time and resources for a cup of hot water, but their archaic accounting system and pathalogical fear of inside theft drive the system. (/end rant).

Unfortunately the non use of personal cups and the non refill of Amtrak cups both fall under the "wonderful" rules and regs, of the FDA

What I just can't seem to undersatnd is why, when I can take my own mug to any espresso shop in Oregon or Washington (and they'll cheerfully fill it & usually even give me a discount fo rusing my own), WHYWHYWHY can't they do the same thing on Amtrak??

And like I said, when I have been on the CS, I sipped from my own mug in the PPC with great pleasure as I watched the scenery roll by. I hope I am not getting some PPC attendants in trouble here, but why aren't they being forced to play by the same archaic rules?

 

[Cina]

I agree it seems unnecessary; while there is no doubt some rule in the books written by someone for some sort of explainable reason, it is certainly not the norm everywhere. We used to refill people's personal mugs with coffee/hot water and knock 10 cents off (which is what we charged for a cup) when I was a barista. I suppose that's the difference between a private business and a government-subsidized one. My brother in the navy would tell me I shouldn't be surprised by weirdly trivial/seemingly unnecessary rules.