Another question about meal times and late trains

I'm booked in a roomette on the eastbound Empire Builder out of Leavenworth, Washington. Scheduled departure time is 8:00 PM, so even a small delay could push it past the end of dinner service. I think I've seen people say that at someplace like WAS, if a train you're boarding is delayed and you miss a scheduled meal, they'll give you vouchers to get food in the station. But LWA is an unstaffed station. If I check on the train and it's running, say, 45 minutes late, should I count on getting dinner or not?

If it was me, I would eat dinner beforehand and not count on being provided dinner.

greatcats said:

If it was me, I would eat dinner beforehand and not count on being provided dinner.

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Yes, there's a good chance that that is what I will end up doing. But it seems like a bit of a waste to go and spend money on dinner, then end up being offered dinner for free. So I wanted to check the collective wisdom and experience of the good folks here to get a better idea of what to expect.

I suggest you keep track of the trains OTP and have a Snack to tide you over before heading to the Station.

At the worst if the Train runs really Late the Cafe Car is still open Late and you could grab a burger,hot dog or pizza and drink to tide you over until Breakfast the next morning in Montana.

If it's close to on time a good SCA should have a Dinner Rez in the Diner for you when you board.

Bob Dylan said:

I suggest you keep track of the trains OTP and have a Snack to tide you over before heading to the Station.

At the worst if the Train runs really Late the Cafe Car is still open Late and you could grab a burger,hot dog or pizza and drink to tide you over until Breakfast the next morning in Montana.

If it's close to on time a good SCA should have a Dinner Rez in the Diner for you when you board.

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Only problem with this is the Seattle half of the EB has no cafe car. Just the diner. I have been on the EB from Seattle to Spokane many times and have seen the diner take reservations as late as 9PM. I would monitor the OTP as Bob suggests.

But they do sell Cafe items in the Diner between Seattle and Spokane Jeff, I have seen this several times while eating in the Diner out of Seattle.

If I were you I would bring something which would keep and could be eaten without heating/cooking in a pinch (Vienna sausages, sardines, chips, crackers, etc.) as an emergency standby and then hope to be able to dine on board as planned. Your sleeper attendant should see from the manifest where you are boarding and make a dining reservation from you; unless the train is quite late you should at least be able to catch "last call". If you do miss last call, mention to your sleeper attendant how much you had hoped to have dinner on board; I've heard a few others say that occasionally vouchers for the cafe car have been offered. Then, if push comes to shove, break out the Vienna sausages as a last resort....

ETA: Ooops; just realized that the others are correct; no cafe car on the EB west of Spokane. I'd still stick with sardines & chips for emergencies and plan to have dinner on board unless train status shows them running really late.

It depends on how good your SCA is whether you get a meal.When I got on the westbound SL at Tucson, the SCA told me that they had saved a steak for me. I sat down in the dining car at 8:05PM.

I was the only diner in the car.

Since the chef started his shift in Seattle, there should not be a problem getting a meal east of Leavenworth.

And so we continue AU's two favorite topics:

1. Amtrak's food is the most horrible, uneatable stuff on earth.

2. How much of it can I get?

Thanks, all. It looks like there's not much to be said other than maybe I'll get a meal, and maybe I won't. I can track the train's OTP, obviously, but as far as I know there's no way to check in advance whether I'll have a good SCA or not.

Whenever I ride Amtrak overnight, I do always carry emergency food with me (granola bars and such). I'm a vegetarian, and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where they've run out of everything on the menu that I can eat. (Fortunately, I've not yet been on a train where they've had to break out the beef stew, but there's a first time for everything.) So even in the worst case, it's not like I'm going to starve.

ehbowen said:

I would bring something which would keep and could be eaten without heating/cooking in a pinch (Vienna sausages, sardines, chips, crackers, etc.) as an emergency standby and then hope to be able to dine on board as planned...I'd still stick with sardines & chips for emergencies and plan to have dinner on board unless train status shows them running really late.

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Sardines...seriously? There are lots of long lived high test snacks with strong flavors but relatively mild smells that are unlikely to impact anyone else.

Examples...

Johanna, I know not for a vegetarian, but I have had the privilege of eating the beef stew and rice and found it to be one of my favorite meals on Amtrak. I would order it after two and three days eating from the unchangeable menu.

Tennessee Traveler said:

Johanna, I know not for a vegetarian, but I have had the privilege of eating the beef stew and rice and found it to be one of my favorite meals on Amtrak. I would order it after two and three days eating from the unchangeable menu.

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Must have been low on sodium and craving salt.

Devil's Advocate said:

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I must have these.

Devil's Advocate said:

Sardines...seriously?

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I do occasionally eat them at home and at work, although I haven't yet taken them on a train. (I've never yet missed out on an Amtrak meal that the schedule said I should have, and I've gotten a couple that Reservations said I shouldn't have got...e. g., breakfast boarding northbound at Austin.) If I did suspect that I might need emergency sustenance on a train (it definitely wouldn't hurt me to miss a meal or two!) I'd be more likely to pack along an MRE.

I will say, though, that if I had known the OP was a vegetarian that I would not have suggested sardines.

My favorite is 2 or 3 string cheeses for a lunch if I'm in coach. Sounds good for a vegetarian unless they are an ovolacto.

My SOP is to always carry a ziplock bag of snacks and a bottle of water. Be prepared so you don't later wish you were. Depends on the crew, but I got on a late train at around 10PM instead of 8PM, and to the surprise of several sleeper passengers who boarded, the SCA said the DC would offer us a limited menu immediately, no announcements, there were a few tables just finishing their dessert. Can't depend on this, but some crews really care about their passengers.

I can tell you what I do while backpacking, but run out of fuel to cook in the woods.

Take one of those Lipton's or Knoor's pasta or rice dinners, add water to rehydrate for a couple hours right in the pouch, and fold it up then secure with a clothespin or jumbo paperclip. Once it's soft and not crunchy, mix well, add a protein like tuna or chicken if desired, and eat it cold. If you're hungry enough it's delicious.

I see no reason why I should go hungry on a train if I carry an emergency ration like this--which I have. I've even been the envy of others!