SSL seating etiquette?

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
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.
spinnaker said:
I didn't use my cell phone once during the whole trip other than to use it as a watch. What did people do before cell phones.
Click to expand...

I would pack a Walkman, tapes, CDs, books, route guides, schedules, a camera, film, etc.

Now, thanks to the Devil’s Magical Box of Wonders, I don’t have to pack all that extra stuff.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ryan said:
attachicon.gif
IMG_6089.jpg
Click to expand...
Funny picture but this seems to be a genuine concern among early development and behavioral health experts. When I look at that image I wonder how many of those articles could fit in a brain which rarely has to parse more than 140 characters at a time.
 
When I rode the Hoosier State under Iowa Pacific, Ed Ellis himself was enjoying the dome car while workong on his laptop.

I frequently look at my phone while in the ssl. Many times its looking up maps or speed and elevation. Maybe it's looking up an article on the original railroad. Maybe I just need to check my email...

And yes I sit in the ssl for many hours at a time. I only take up one seat, and I've hardly ever seen the ssl completely full.
 
Odd, the times I have taken the Eagle, the SSL is usually only half full. Just thought all trains were like that. Though I can on a route such as the CZ west of Denver the car would be jam packed. Especially if your coach seat is facing the side of a mountain.
 
The best time to use the bathroom even if you don't have to use it on the route is the Moffett tunnel. No one is allowed to transit between cars while Inside. So it's easy to go downstairs use the facilities and come back. And not worry about your seat.
 
Seaboard92 said:
The best time to use the bathroom even if you don't have to use it on the route is the Moffett tunnel. No one is allowed to transit between cars while Inside. So it's easy to go downstairs use the facilities and come back. And not worry about your seat.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that tip.

Well that assuming there aren't vultures standing around to grab a seat.
default_wink.png
 
frequentflyer said:
Odd, the times I have taken the Eagle, the SSL is usually only half full. Just thought all trains were like that. Though I can on a route such as the CZ west of Denver the car would be jam packed. Especially if your coach seat is facing the side of a mountain.
Click to expand...
On the less scenic routes, the SSL usually isn't particularly full. I feel like the Eagle fits that description.
 
I've only seen the ssl completely full going through the Rockies on the zephyr and going through Glacier on the builder. And even then I've only seen it during busy travel times.
 
spinnaker said:
Seaboard92 said:
The best time to use the bathroom even if you don't have to use it on the route is the Moffett tunnel. No one is allowed to transit between cars while Inside. So it's easy to go downstairs use the facilities and come back. And not worry about your seat.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that tip.

Well that assuming there aren't vultures standing around to grab a seat.
default_wink.png
Click to expand...
I would not count on using the restroom in the SSL. More often than not, it is locked. You would need to go to the coach in back - which you can not do while in the tunnel.
 
I've seen the SSL full on many routes over many trips, especially on the CZ West of Denver, but I've mostly traveled Amtrak during summertime and holidays so maybe that's why.
 
The SSL is so popular on the CZ, because that train has always been about "the scenery" since it was born, in 1949. And westbound, there is such a dramatic difference in the scenery east and west of Denver. And besides the thru traveler's, the train has always enjoyed a heavy local ridership out of Denver to Glenwood Springs, and return as a weekend 'getaway'.
 
Just passing through this discussion I notice one persons describtion of one looking for a seat as a vulture. What's up with that! And then there is the person who thinks it's ok to ask a stranger to save their seat. Dont go there with me, I'm not saving it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
anumberone said:
Just passing through this discussion I notice one persons describtion of one looking for a seat as a vulture. What's up with that! And then there is the person who thinks it's ok to ask a stranger to save their seat. Dont go there with me, I'm not saving it.
Click to expand...
Zero sense of humor. What's up with that???
 
I do think we need to be clear.... There is simply nothing wrong with sitting in the ssl for extended periods of time. Amtrak encourages passengers to use the lounge car for extended cell phone conversations (vs. the coach), playing games, talking with friends, etc.

What is not appropriate is moving in to the ssl with baggage and other personal items taking up seats etc.

While some members on here are welcome to their opinion that the ssl seats should have timers on them that shock people if they stay for more than an hour (yes that's an exageration for humor, I am aware nobody actually suggested such a thing) they are just that, opinions. Many of us beleive that the lounge cars are open seating available for a variety of uses, and that seems to line up with Amtraks written rules.
 
There's a difference between someone enjoying the scenery in the SSL for long periods of time, and someone wasting seats in the SSL seating for long periods of time. If you want to sit down in the lounge and look out the window for hours, only taking up one seat, there's (IMO) absolutely nothing wrong with that. Where it does become a bit murky is when someone is occupying multiple seats at a time, savings space for someone who isn't there, being disruptive, etc. That is the kind of behavior that not only wastes the limited capacity of the Sightseer Lounge, but also makes the experience far less enjoyable for others.
 
Correct, occupying multiple seats (including a couple spreading out and "reserving" a booth for themselves, one person taking up half a booth during busy times etc.) is not appropriate. But that only becomes an issue during a few specific parts of Scenic runs.
 
When I was on the EB last fall, I had never been in an SSL. I decided I would go when the scenery was attractive to me and leave it to others when it wasn't. So I was in there as we left Chicago and a bit of whatever the state with the dairy farms is (Wisconsin? Minnesota?) and along the Mississippi. Then back in the early morning for the Columbia River. During the Glacier National Park part, when everyone else wanted to see the mountains, I was hiding in my roomette with the blanket over my head and my eyes closed because I'm terrified of tall, forbidding-looking mountains.

If I were on the CL, I'd probably go look at Harper's Ferry, and that would be it.

I guess what I'm saying is that different people like different scenery, and I think a polite way to use the SSL is to go there for the scenery you want to see, then leave it for others.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top