Recent content by John Santos

I rode SAS-CHI on 10 April (the next day), and we did get breakfast and lunch between SAS and FTW. There was coffee in the sleeper, as well. Really bad crew? Or an equipment problem?

I'm pretty sure that @niemi24s was not recommending opening the windows yourself. I'm certain they were referring to the fact that the doors open inward, so at any stop longer than a few minutes, the outer side of the window in the open door can be cleaned. There is no need to open the windows...

Amtrak coaches have overhead luggage racks (similar to, but much larger than, airplane overhead racks) and most if not all long distance coaches have a luggage area and/or rack near the doors.

Sounds like a great trip! When I took it in the opposite direction in 2019, it was a large van (3 or 4 rows of passenger seats plus some luggage space behind the last seat, so about 10-12 passengers. It was full. The waiting area was inside one of the terminals. There was a Starbucks where...

Are you proposing EVERY Hudson River line train that goes past Albany would change locos there? Or are you excluding Empire Service from Amtrak as it is a state supported service? The New York section of the LSL, the Adirondack, the Ethan Allen and the Maple Leaf also use the Hudson River...

The Red Cap carried my luggage between the LSL and the Eagle via the lounge and back on the return trip a few weeks ago (and me on the golf cart on two of the four transfers because it was easier than saying I'm fine and can walk it 😊) I did have to roll my big wheelie duffel to the baggage...

Not to mention that third rail lurking down there, at least for the tracks that connect to the Hudson River lines. I still remember my first experience with high level platforms, at Park Street Under when I was about 5. My dad took us (the three oldest boys) into Boston on a shopping...

Article in today's Boston Globe about a trip on the Ocean. Generally very positive. I think there is a paywall if you are not a Globe subscriber, but there are a limited number of free articles for non-subs. They bemoan the absence of a dome observation car. I didn't comment because I wasn't...

The cafe/diner on the TE is different from the the Superliner diner and from the SSL/cafe as I've seen on the other Superliner trains (I've ridden almost all of them, though I don't really remember the Capitol Limited, and they are subject to change!) I don't know if the TE is the only train...

I don't think they provision in SAS. We were told there were no hamburgers or cheeseburgers available from the diner or cafe car (two halves of the same care, serviced by the same people) because they had run out. This was at lunch out of SAS northbound, so I suspect the last re-supply was two...

They did serve us breakfast on the northbound Eagle shortly after leaving SAS on April 10, which I think is the day after you took it. The coffee machine in the sleeper was also up and running no more than an hour after departure (6:48 AM). I'm pretty sure this was not a day where the Eagle...

I think it was the doctor (James Donald) who said that, not the colonel (Alec Guinness.)

Well, it was obvious what she planned on doing with my bags. Absolutely nothing. However, since I was the third passenger to board, the downstairs luggage rack was empty so my big bag and one of the other bags fit there. By squishing my smaller duffel bag (mostly clothes), I got it to fit...

"up to the lounge?" Are you referring to the Chicago Metro Lounge? If so, it is two levels. Normally, one would enter or leave on the lower level, which is where the bathrooms, snacks, luggage storage room and about 2/3 of the seats are located. It is level with the Great Hall, about 3 steps...

[snipped comment] Good luck with that, based on my experience last Wednesday boarding the northbound Eagle. I arrived at the station about 4-5 minutes after baggage check-in officially ended (6:48 departure, I got there about 6:07), after struggling through the doors and the full length of the...