Newbie mistakes

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

BCL

Engineer
Joined
Nov 16, 2012
Messages
4,408
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Anyone remember theirs or seen one recently? The one I remember was a few days ago seeing someone at OAC as we approached on Capitol Corridor going northbound. He was sort of waiting there with his car door open and leaning against the top of the door. He looked like he was waiting for someone, but once the train doors started closing he freaked out and started yelling that he needed to get on the train. A bunch of us getting to our cars were telling him that they don't really wait for any specified period of time, but just unload and look for people trying to board. He was just standing there casually in the parking lot.
 
The very first time I took a train, I walked into the Ann Arbor station, looked around for a second, and then asked the clerk, "Where do I line up for security?" He smiled and said, "No need for that, miss. You just get on board and enjoy the trip."

I must have looked really surprised, because he started laughing and said, "Yup. I know. It's nice, isn't it?"
 
I've taken heavy rail trains before, so the lack of security while boarding wasn't unfamiliar to me. I even remember when buying a ticket on the train was typical if the ticket window was closed at the station. However, one of my Amtrak mistakes was not paying attention to my stop being called out. Fortunately for me it was OAC where I was planning to take BART, and the train stopped later at RIC where I could also take BART.
 
Many time when I'm waiting for the Heartland Flyer in Norman, "Cold Cuts" will come in and ask where they can buy their ticket; Norman has no ticket window or Quik Trak. Sometimes there are several at a time and the Volunteer and I are working fast to get them on their phones to Amtrak and book a Res and write down the Res #; otherwise they pay High Bucket which is usually about twice as much. Prior to e-Tickets they were told to pay the Conductor even if they had a CC, but I'm not sure how that works now. The Flyer Conductors are very use to this and are always very polite and patient with these new riders, taking a few extra moments to explain where everything is as they process the ticket.

And I have seen the Hunt for the Security Lane as well :)
 
Since it was my third long distance trip, I didn't exactly consider myself a newbie, but:

I was on the Empire Builder from PDX for the first time last month and I was enjoying the fantastic scenery along the Columbia River gorge from the lounge car. I needed a restroom break and I didn't want to walk all the way to the back of the train, so I decided I'd use the restroom on the lower level of the lounge car. Having always traveled in sleepers, I'd never really been on the lower level of a SSL except to peek at the cafe car once.

It so happened that when I decided to go down there, we were at a stop. I went down the stairs and kind of looked both ways because I wasn't sure where the restroom was. There was nobody down there and I finally realized that the restroom was down at the end of the car. The first thing I noticed was that the restroom looked a lot different than the ones in the sleepers. I guess it's because it hadn't been modernized at all (I remember thinking it looked like a space station toilet).

So I quickly did my business as we were starting back on the move again. When I came out of the restroom, the conductors were sitting at one of the tables at the bottom of the stairs. As I passed the table and prepared to climb the stairs, the female conductor said sternly, "Just to let you know, that restroom is not in service." I glanced back at the restroom door, saw that there was not any type of sign indicating that the restroom was closed, and said "I'm sorry, I didn't see a sign."

The conductor, who was seated at the table facing away from the restroom, without looking reached her arm and pointed backwards a cardboard trash receptacle that was sitting in the vestibule. I then noticed a handwritten paper sign taped to the trash box which said "Closed". I know I should have just said "Oh, sorry, I didn't see that."

But, I was certain that I would not have just walked past that box sitting in the hallway. I realized that the conductors had exited the car from the vestibule door during the station stop, so I said "I didn't see that sign....Is it possible that it was moved out of the way during the stop?".

She gave me a somewhat unpleasant look and said "No, it was there".

Having exhausted any reasonable excuse, I then apologized profusely and assured her I would be more careful in the future. I felt like a scolded puppy and did my best to avoid her for the rest of her shift.
 
I was riding the Palmetto a few months ago. At the last smoke break stop in Charleston, I got out to stretch my legs and take a picture of the loco. At this point I had also had a few beers... Next thing I know, when I turn around the stairs are up and the conductor tells the train to depart. Luckily I was able to scream fast enough for him to tell the engineer to hold off on leaving. After apologizing for being a ditz I got back in my seat and didn't leave until we got to Savannah.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top