No Ice In Sleeper

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TrainLoverJoy

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
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280
Location
Kalamazoo, Mi.
Just got off Eagle 421 and was surprised at the change since last LD trip 6 months ago. The water is rationed and to get ice you have to practically beg for it because attendant has to get it from the diner car. Is this widespread new policy? I'm going back on the 422 Saturday....am eager to see if the same happens.
 
I think it is new policy. We had to go to the PPC to get ice on our Coast Starlight (#14) trip last month. Attendant said no more ice in the sleepers. As much as I want to blame cost savings, I think the change was actually a health code thing.
 
Speaking as someone who has had to deal with a lot of ice machines and health code violations, there is NO way that the old way would have been tolerated by most inspectors. I am amazed it lasted as long as it did.

That said, both were readily available on my trips on the Capitol Limited and California Zephyr, both since these changes were announced.
 
Part of the changing of the guard at Amtrak. Trying again to make Amtrak a business that make money.
 
Of more concern: water is being rationed? Were you unable to get as much bottled water as you pleased?
 
I think it is new policy. We had to go to the PPC to get ice on our Coast Starlight (#14) trip last month. Attendant said no more ice in the sleepers. As much as I want to blame cost savings, I think the change was actually a health code thing.
So far as I am aware the health code aspect does not prevent ice from being stored in the sleeper car. It only prevents each passenger from collecting their own ice from a common area (unless it has a hands free spout). Easy access to ice is a huge benefit to sleeper travel in my view. Having to sell the SCA on making his way to the diner over and over again is not something I find appealing.

Part of the changing of the guard at Amtrak. Trying again to make Amtrak a business that make money.
Can you explain how this saves Amtrak an appreciable amount of money? So far as I can tell the main difference now is that the SCA has to be cajoled into retrieving it.

I think it also depends on who your SCA/LSA is. Some staff are following the rules and some are not.
It may be against the rules but the absolute quickest way to secure a tip from me is to have plenty of ice readily available throughout my trip. As you might expect the quickest way to lobby against a tip is to make retrieving ice an involved and/or time consuming process.

Of more concern: water is being rationed? Were you unable to get as much bottled water as you pleased?
In my experience you can still get as much as you want. You simply have to request it bottle by bottle. Which doesn't really bother me to be perfectly honest.
 
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Good OBS always find ways to provide good service for their customers! Bad ones blame " No can do!" on Management and make up rules on the fly!

As Ryan said, nothing new here, the only consistent thing @ Amtrak is inconsistentcy!
 
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Good OBS always find ways to provide good service for their customers! Bad ones blame " No can do!" on Management and make up rules on the fly!

As Ryan said, nothing new here, the only consistent thing @ Amtrak is inconsistentcy!
Agreed!

I know it's been talked about many times but I really prefer a cooler of ice with a scoop available to sleeper passengers. It gets replaced throughout the trip and I'm pretty sure most passengers do use the scoop properly so I'm actually less worried about using ice from that cooler than most food service machines where workers are scooping from an ice machine, into a bucket, into a ice dispenser.. I know all of that is supposed to be cleaned regularly but we all know that doesn't always happen. The ice in the cooler in the sleepers is fresh in the bag....

Now all that to say... I know it's a health code thing... so it doesn't really matter I guess.

As others have said... a good SCA will make sure bottled waters are replenished... I think it should be hotel style... when beds are made up or put away the SCA leaves new waters. That's simple enough... and obviously they should be available on request.

Final note on this topic... VIA Rail Canadian does not supply ice, or bottled water to sleeping car passengers... and the walk to the lounge can be several cars. Just a side note... (once in the lounge ice water in a pitcher, juice, coffee, and tea, is available and I'm sure ice is available from the attendant).
 
Unfortunately, the current official rules on the water is that people get 2 bottles per room, are "are to be directed to the lounge car where they may purchase more if they wish"
 
Unfortunately, the current official rules on the water is that people get 2 bottles per room, are "are to be directed to the lounge car where they may purchase more if they wish"
So Sleeping Cars are now lower than Business Class? On Business Class you can get all the bottled water and soft drinks you want from the Cafe car. (or does this vary from train to train).
 
Unfortunately, the current official rules on the water is that people get 2 bottles per room, are "are to be directed to the lounge car where they may purchase more if they wish"
So Sleeping Cars are now lower than Business Class? On Business Class you can get all the bottled water and soft drinks you want from the Cafe car. (or does this vary from train to train).
That would seem to be a rather unfortunate result, both for the customer and for the SCA. I'm fine with Amtrak remove the tray of water bottles from the open access counter to avoid abuse of the honor system. However, if the SCA directed me to the cafe car for something as basic as water I'd be extremely hesitant to hand over a tip for "service" like that.
 
Unfortunately, the current official rules on the water is that people get 2 bottles per room, are "are to be directed to the lounge car where they may purchase more if they wish"
So Sleeping Cars are now lower than Business Class? On Business Class you can get all the bottled water and soft drinks you want from the Cafe car. (or does this vary from train to train).
That would seem to be a rather unfortunate result, both for the customer and for the SCA. I'm fine with Amtrak remove the tray of water bottles from the open access counter to avoid abuse of the honor system. However, if the SCA directed me to the cafe car for something as basic as water I'd be extremely hesitant to hand over a tip for "service" like that.
Ditto & same with ICE or any other reasonable request! What,s next, $ slots for the toilets & showers?

I wonder what the annual expense is for the wash clothes & towels + laundry service? Must be astronomical!!
 
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I guess I'm out of the loop nowadays. I understand there has been no official change in policy regarding ice. I don't know of any Amtrak equipment that has an ice making machine. On Superliners, the ice well below the coffee machine is filled by the attendant. There is no place to store extra ice in a sleeper unless the attendant has a cooler. If the SCA has a cooler, that cooler does not actually refrigerate anything, so ice left in the cooler can melt. When the ice well needs to be replenished, the SCA must go to the diner (or lounge) and get it from the freezer. It is possible that the Company has reduced the amount of ice supplied to the train. I wouldn't put it past them. If that is the case, then the diner crew might have to limit the amount of ice going to the sleepers. Otherwise the diner might run out of ice.

Since my experience in the past 20 years has been limited to Superliners, I can't address the ice situation on other types of equipment.

Tom
 
One thing I have noticed that's different is that the ice is almost always in the drawer below the coffee rather than sitting in a cooler located in the first roomette or placed over the cardboard trash boxes in the hallway.
 
On the EB this week. Out to Seattle, water was out by the coffee machine. On the way back, none. Few times I asked for ice, none was out in the open. Once I heard a scoop hit ice nearby, possibly the coffee station, other times I swear they went to diner.

No water was a major inconvenience the first night, when I forgot to ask for some for the humidifier in my CPAP. Without it, my sinuses bake like I'm in the Sahara. The SCA disappeared to bed, and I had to go to the dining car, which annoyed the attendant working (actually probably taking a break after her long day) there. Then she couldn't find any in my car, and had to go to the next one, which annoyed her even more.

The next night the SCA came through a couple times, calling out to ask if anyone needed water.
 
And coffee was only available in the am coming back. Out it was on most of the day, although not that fresh by late afternoon.

All four days it was stated that there was no specialty sandwich. Apparently replaced with a chicken "Caesar" salad, which I swear was same lettuce as side salads, although no one at my table ordered it. Marketplace special lunch was a panko breaded chicken breast over mashed potatoes with an oniony brown gravy, which would have been equally at home on beef.

No chef specials for dinner, seafood was tilapia, vegetarian was six cheese lasagna.
 
Re the ice on Superliners: Superliner II Sleepers have the Ice Drawer, Is always had to have a Cooler that the SCA took care of!

My last few trips on the TE the Cooler was in Room #1, the SCAs Room! I'll find out in 13 Days when I ride the Eagle, the Sunset and the Zephyr to the Gathering if there's any consistency to this or if it depends with the OBS as it usually does with Amtrak! If they horde the SMALL Bottles of water I won't be a happy Rider, why it might bankrupt Amtrak if we can't be coerced into paying $2 for a 50 cent bottle of water from the convience store, er Cafe Car!

And get rid my of the Crappy Orange Juice and serve some real OJ!!!

Get off my Lawn!
 
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Also, once or twice in the diner I saw crushed ice, gravel or pea sized, not cubes. Maybe they needed a non standard replenishment? Nothing worse for a warm soda than dumping it into crushed ice. Instant tepid soda flavored water.

Not sure if I'm on a I or II, but it looks freshly refurbed. Has LED lights in the roomettes with touch on and off controls. The night light is blue, and never goes completely off. It goes from dim to very dim. Rest rooms are the newer type with angled toilets and teeny sink. Nice shower, tons of hot water, and a rough surfaced floor. Not like the ice rink I used on the TE last year.
 
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No water was a major inconvenience the first night, when I forgot to ask for some for the humidifier in my CPAP. Without it, my sinuses bake like I'm in the Sahara. The SCA disappeared to bed, and I had to go to the dining car, which annoyed the attendant working (actually probably taking a break after her long day) there. Then she couldn't find any in my car, and had to go to the next one, which annoyed her even more.
If you're using bottled water for your CPAP, you're using the wrong water. Safest and best to use distilled water. No chemicals. less likely to have germs, safest to inhale. I always bring a bottle with me on the train. I wash, disinfect and dry a water bottle then fill it with distilled water. I have a sticker on it that says "Distilled Water" to remind me which it is and tell others it is not just a bottle to drink or throw out. A filled one even went through airport TSA in my CPAP bag the only time I ever tried it.
 
I do use distilled when I'm at home, not worth it to drag a gallon across the continent with me.
 
Sounds like your on one of Beech Grove's finest, a rehab I! The IIs are getting tired and ratty and definitely need upgrading but of course there's no money from the Commisars, er Congress!
 
Unfortunately, the current official rules on the water is that people get 2 bottles per room, are "are to be directed to the lounge car where they may purchase more if they wish"
So a couple going from CHI to LA on the Texas Eagle gets 1 each?

Sad thing is that with all the other serious problems the LD trains are having, even a good statistician couln't tell how the nickel and diming of sleeping car passengers is affecting financial performance.
 
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