Where to get ice

[EMDF9A]

4. Take clean paper towels and dry your hands and arms. Use as many as necessary

5. Throw paper towels in the waste basket

6 Using a CLEAN fresh paper towel, turn off the water. DO NOT immediately throw this towel away

7. Use this same towel to open the restroom door. Deposit this towel in the wastebasket as you exit.

This method works particularly well in the cars were they have replaced the papaer towels with a hot air hand dryer.

I had no idea that they had replaced any towels onboard with air dryers. It is my understanding that in order use the air dryers (BTW I like the new Dysons) they must also install hands-free faucets. This is code in Washington. And as I said I am not involved with the newest revision, I am not sure what the current FDA code says about that, as it is a more recent innovation than when I was involved in policy writing.

 

[TimePeace]

I like air dryers, but I also like having paper towels to wipe down my own water spillage (inevitable with those tiny sinks and weird faucets) as well as other people's messes too.

If they eliminate the towels, the bathrooms are going to be even less pleasant to use.

 

[EMDF9A]

I appreciate the concern, but the fact remains that setting out some public ice is a victimless crime. As mentioned previously if you don't want it you shouldn't be opening the container in the first place. Start taking responsibility for your own actions instead of blaming others for not preventing you from having access to something you disagree with. The FDA regulates our supply but it does NOT inspect food production, processing and transportation in a way that makes the regulations worthwhile or enforceable. Which is part of the reason we now have a new found appreciation for previously safe foods in recent years. Did your lettuce have e.coli? Did your peanut butter contain salmonella? Anyone who was watching what was happening in the animal products markets could see this coming decades ago. If you're still extremely worried about the ice but nonchalant about everything else you put into your mouth then maybe you should rethink your approach to healthy and sustainable living.

I am sorry, but with all due respect, and as a public health officer, it is attitudes like that that cause epidemic and pandemics. Improper and unsafe food handling is not a "victimless crime" Thousands of people are hospitalized and hundreds die each year from complications of diseases they should never had contracted if safe food handling procedures had been followed. We live in a society and have a responsibility to look out for each other, not just ourselves.

 

[the_traveler]

I appreciate the concern, but the fact remains that setting out some public ice is a victimless crime. As mentioned previously if you don't want it you shouldn't be opening the container in the first place. Start taking responsibility for your own actions instead of blaming others for not preventing you from having access to something you disagree with. The FDA regulates our supply but it does NOT inspect food production, processing and transportation in a way that makes the regulations worthwhile or enforceable. Which is part of the reason we now have a new found appreciation for previously safe foods in recent years. Did your lettuce have e.coli? Did your peanut butter contain salmonella? Anyone who was watching what was happening in the animal products markets could see this coming decades ago. If you're still extremely worried about the ice but nonchalant about everything else you put into your mouth then maybe you should rethink your approach to healthy and sustainable living.

I am sorry, but with all due respect, and as a public health officer, it is attitudes like that that cause epidemic and pandemics. Improper and unsafe food handling is not a "victimless crime" Thousands of people are hospitalized and hundreds die each year from complications of diseases they should never had contracted if safe food handling procedures had been followed. We live in a society and have a responsibility to look out for each other, not just ourselves.

I could not agree more.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I appreciate the concern, but the fact remains that setting out some public ice is a victimless crime. As mentioned previously if you don't want it you shouldn't be opening the container in the first place. Start taking responsibility for your own actions instead of blaming others for not preventing you from having access to something you disagree with. The FDA regulates our supply but it does NOT inspect food production, processing and transportation in a way that makes the regulations worthwhile or enforceable. Which is part of the reason we now have a new found appreciation for previously safe foods in recent years. Did your lettuce have e.coli? Did your peanut butter contain salmonella? Anyone who was watching what was happening in the animal products markets could see this coming decades ago. If you're still extremely worried about the ice but nonchalant about everything else you put into your mouth then maybe you should rethink your approach to healthy and sustainable living.

I am sorry, but with all due respect, and as a public health officer, it is attitudes like that that cause epidemic and pandemics.

No, people who continue to travel and interact with others when they're sick are what causes epidemics and pandemics.

I wonder how many members on this forum willingly cancel their trips the moment they realize they may not be entirely healthy during some or all of their travels.

Thanks to Amtrak's new harsher penalties for late cancellations that's going to be become an even more difficult decision than it was in the past.

Improper and unsafe food handling is not a "victimless crime."

The root of the problem is that some people don't handle the ice correctly and some people don't wash their hands correctly.

I'm perfectly fine with people warning others about the dangers of using public facilities, but the excessive focus on the ice bucket is becoming rather absurd.

Thousands of people are hospitalized and hundreds die each year from complications of diseases they should never had contracted if safe food handling procedures had been followed. We live in a society and have a responsibility to look out for each other, not just ourselves.

Taking the ice I use (and greatly appreciate) away from me won't make you any safer.

Maybe it makes you feel like you're accomplishing something, but it's simply not something I'm concerned about.

If I want to use ice that you're convinced with harm or kill you then go get your own ice somewhere else and leave the rest of us alone.

I'll promise not to travel or interact with others when I'm sick with any sort of communicable disease. Do we have a deal?

 

[Ryan]

It isn't taking the ice away, it's making it marginally less convenient to get to.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It isn't taking the ice away, it's making it marginally less convenient to get to.

For what purpose? To make you feel marginally more important?

 

[Phil S]

It isn't marginally less convenient. it's much less convenient. And my father was a public health officer so I grew up fully immersed in that tradition. But I just don't see ice as being a major public health issue. And, as I said, my county health department agrees with me.

EMD -- Got some data you can share on disease transmission via ice via other routes? Some facts might just help here.

 

[EMDF9A]

It isn't marginally less convenient. it's much less convenient. And my father was a public health officer so I grew up fully immersed in that tradition. But I just don't see ice as being a major public health issue. And, as I said, my county health department agrees with me.

EMD -- Got some data you can share on disease transmission via ice via other routes? Some facts might just help here.

I am in the field this week conducting a survey. As soon as I get back to the office I'll pull up the data and post it.

 

[jsreeves]

From all of the news reports, etc. that I've seen through the years, I can't remember a single instance of an outbreak with the possible cause/culprit being ice.

 

[Phil S]

From all of the news reports, etc. that I've seen through the years, I can't remember a single instance of an outbreak with the possible cause/culprit being ice.

I found one. A college football game. Both fans and players got sick and it was traced to ice contaminated by a sick food handler.

Of course, ice is a huge problem if it's made from already contaminated water because freezing just doesn't kill all the live organisms and has no effect on spores. But ice handling? I just Googled "ice disease transmission", looked throught the first 100 or so hits, and didn't find any in which ice handling caused problems.

One series of events that does stick in my mind is people getting sick from airline tap water.The planes had filled their tanks with water in a 3rd world airport in South America and dozens of people got gastroenteritis of some sort from drinking it. I frankly worry more about brushing my teeth using Amtrak tap water than I do about using publically available bagged ice.

 

[the_traveler]

[Moderator's Note]

I think the OP's question about where to get ice has been answered about 4 pages ago. But for those "who do not want to hunt down the SCA", each room has these little buttons that say "call attendant". Push/pull it, and the SCA will come to your room. And if you do not want to wait, YOU can always go to the cafe to ask for ice yourself.

No, people who continue to travel and interact with others when they're sick are what causes epidemics and pandemics.

I wonder how many members on this forum willingly cancel their trips the moment they realize they may not be entirely healthy during some or all of their travels.

Thanks to Amtrak's new harsher penalties for late cancellations that's going to be become an even more difficult decision than it was in the past.

I have to disagree with you on this.

I'm certain that passengers on airlines cancel because they're sick all the time. :wacko: And the ONE person who introduced West Nile Virus to the US from AFRICA I doubt came across the ocean on Amtrak, and I'm almost certain they are not an AU member! :blink:

 

[Phil S]

[Moderator's Note]

No, people who continue to travel and interact with others when they're sick are what causes epidemics and pandemics.

I wonder how many members on this forum willingly cancel their trips the moment they realize they may not be entirely healthy during some or all of their travels.

Thanks to Amtrak's new harsher penalties for late cancellations that's going to be become an even more difficult decision than it was in the past.

I have to disagree with you on this.

I'm certain that passengers on airlines cancel because they're sick all the time. :wacko: And the ONE person who introduced West Nile Virus to the US from AFRICA I doubt came across the ocean on Amtrak, and I'm almost certain they are not an AU member! :blink:

My experience is different and may be informative here. I had raw oysters for dinner one night at Squid's outside of Chapel Hill NC. Nest day I checked in at RDU for my United Express flight to ORD, with connection first-class on UA to PDX. After leaving the ticket counter I found myself running to the bathroom. Luckily I had a second pair of pants in my carry-on. I foolishly figured the worst had passed and boarded the plane. I survived until ORD with no ill effects, but then got hit with the time-honored question of which end do I put over toilet first. Noravirus, beoyond doubt. Once at ORD, I called UA, explained my situation, and asked them simply if I could spend the night at the ORD Hilton (at my expense) and fly out to pDX on an early flight. Keep in mind I'm in their Gold Car elite status. "Sure" they said, "that will only cost you $600 plus the hotel room, No problem.". So I got back on my next scheduled flight. Fortunately I didn't throw up over my seatmate and i had booked a bulk-head set so I didn't have to crawl over him verey time I lit out for the john. But it was miserable experience for me and my poor seat mate. and ;'d be surprised if I avoided spreading the virus to anyone else. Alkso, as a footnote I haven not flown UA since.

Just an anecdote, buy maybe still quite relevant.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I am in the field this week conducting a survey. As soon as I get back to the office I'll pull up the data and post it.

Feel free to post some information on obsessive compulsive hypochondriacs. Should be rather enlightening to see what we're up against when some antsy busybody implies that ice cubes will soon be indiscriminately sickening people at pandemic proportions.

For those "who do not want to hunt down the SCA", each room has these little buttons that say "call attendant". Push/pull it, and the SCA will come to your room. And if you do not want to wait, YOU can always go to the cafe to ask for ice yourself.

It's between midnight and six in the morning and I want some ice. Am I supposed to start ringing my attendant button? Am I supposed to go to the cafe? Am I supposed to start banging on the doors when nothing happens? Please enlighten me.

I'm certain that passengers on airlines cancel because they're sick all the time. :wacko: And the ONE person who introduced West Nile Virus to the US from AFRICA I doubt came across the ocean on Amtrak, and I'm almost certain they are not an AU member! :blink:

And your POINT is?

 

[AlanB]

For those "who do not want to hunt down the SCA", each room has these little buttons that say "call attendant". Push/pull it, and the SCA will come to your room. And if you do not want to wait, YOU can always go to the cafe to ask for ice yourself.

It's between midnight and six in the morning and I want some ice. Am I supposed to start ringing my attendant button? Am I supposed to go to the cafe? Am I supposed to start banging on the doors when nothing happens? Please enlighten me.

If it's between midnight & six you're probably not going to get ice no matter what. Those coolers that Amtrak uses don't hold ice very well. So you're far more likely to find a puddle than any usable ice, even if the SCA left it out in violation of policy.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

For those "who do not want to hunt down the SCA", each room has these little buttons that say "call attendant". Push/pull it, and the SCA will come to your room. And if you do not want to wait, YOU can always go to the cafe to ask for ice yourself.

It's between midnight and six in the morning and I want some ice. Am I supposed to start ringing my attendant button? Am I supposed to go to the cafe? Am I supposed to start banging on the doors when nothing happens? Please enlighten me.

If it's between midnight & six you're probably not going to get ice no matter what. Those coolers that Amtrak uses don't hold ice very well. So you're far more likely to find a puddle than any usable ice, even if the SCA left it out in violation of policy.

This isn't a hypothesis or theoretical construct; I can already obtain ice whenever I want so long as the SCA leaves it sealed up and the busybodies leave it alone. Now, maybe by 6:00AM it's finally turned into liquid water, but by then I'm either sleeping or I'm ready for some coffee.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

For my next long-distance trip, going to do what I did on my last trip.

I'm planning on buying one of those fold-up cooler boxes (available at Wal-Mart) before I board my train. I'm going to fill it with ice. Then, I'll take it on the train, and keep bottled drinks cool in the cooler. Then, when I get to my destination, I'll throw it out.

So, problems solved. All this rigamarole about ice and the SCA will be irrelevant. Not only will I not have to worry about noroviruses or a busy / sleeping SCA, I'll also be able to keep bottled drinks cold, which ice from the SCA can't do.

 

[shelzp]

On my last couple of trips (SWC) the room attendant made a point of telling me that he would bring ice if I needed any. He even checked during the trip to see if I could use some although I didn't need it because of not having anything along that would benefit from ice.

Was Vincent your attendant? When I encountered him last year he was very adamant about not letting the passengers have their own access to the ice (citing health concerns).

If I can't get an ice cube or two, I'll take the Jack Daniels straight. The joys of having my own room!

Yup it was Vincent! I have to smile at your drink because it's the same as mine although I've never put ice in it. All I need is a little water to cut the whiskey a bit.

 

[Ryan]

It isn't taking the ice away, it's making it marginally less convenient to get to.

For what purpose? To make you feel marginally more important?

Feeling important has nothing to do with it. I'd prefer to not spend my train trip puking my guts out.

 

[jsreeves]

It amazes me what the simplest questions here can lead to. :unsure:

 

[AmtrakBlue]

It amazes me what the simplest questions here can lead to. :unsure:

True, true. I much preferred the Fries thread, oops, I mean the roomette security thread.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It isn't taking the ice away, it's making it marginally less convenient to get to.

For what purpose? To make you feel marginally more important?

Feeling important has nothing to do with it. I'd prefer to not spend my train trip puking my guts out.

How exactly does my late night ice cube cache result in you puking your guts out?

 

[Ryan]

You've got to be trolling at this point, because you can't possibly be serious. If you give people free access to the ice bucket, someone will screw it up and people will get sick. I know that you seem to reject that notion, but I'm going to go ahead and side with the public health experts with formal training and degrees in this stuff.

I'm sure that you're beyond reproach and wash your hands a dozen times a day and quarantine yourself at the first signs of illness, but not everyone is the paragon of virtue that you are. Sorry that you've got to be mildly put out because other people are filthy slobs. That's life.

 

[pennyk]

You've got to be trolling at this point, because you can't possibly be serious. If you give people free access to the ice bucket, someone will screw it up and people will get sick. I know that you seem to reject that notion, but I'm going to go ahead and side with the public health experts with formal training and degrees in this stuff.

I'm sure that you're beyond reproach and wash your hands a dozen times a day and quarantine yourself at the first signs of illness, but not everyone is the paragon of virtue that you are. Sorry that you've got to be mildly put out because other people are filthy slobs. That's life.

Like

 

[Devil's Advocate]

You've got to be trolling at this point, because you can't possibly be serious.

I guess you'd know as much about that as anyone here.

If you give people free access to the ice bucket, someone will screw it up and people will get sick.

Let's say I choose to eat “poisonous” ice that was somehow fine until now and eventually get sick as a result. This involves you how, exactly? I've seen public ice set out on dozens of trains. Where are all the sick and dying people? Are they being tossed off the train?

I'm sure that you're beyond reproach and wash your hands a dozen times a day and quarantine yourself at the first signs of illness, but not everyone is the paragon of virtue that you are. Sorry that you've got to be mildly put out because other people are filthy slobs. That's life.

You've apparently identified the root cause and then spent all your effort on addressing the symptom.

I'm still not sure how this helps you or anybody else who was never going to access the public ice in the first place, and nobody seems to be able to actually explain that part, but I guess that's just life.