wdscott
Train Attendant
The Surfliner is one train on which a bicycle may be carried for free with a reservation. A Surfliner consist is limited to seven bikes and are all loaded in the coach/baggage/cab car. I'm unsure of the limit on the Horizon/Amfleet consist as bikes are stored on the cavernous non-powered control unit (NPCU) serving as cab and baggage, or cabbage car (cabbage....I love that!). The limits are likely unrelated to this inquiry, but could be.
Over the last few years I've had the fortune to have some flexibility allowing for several dozen exercise days with a mountain bike, a gym, miles of southern California coastline and trails, These days would typically involve four travel segments on the Surfliner. Was tremendous fun, but motivation for those days was crushed by the AGR plan change 11 months ago this writing. Aside from the AGR transition many of us lament, the point is I've had my bike on the train hundreds of times....there's some experience.
A few years ago I went to a craft brew and music festival on the California central coast. This involved bike camping with most miles provided by Amtrak. Took a BOB Yak trailer to carry camping equipment, clothing, etc. Hauled the trailer from my house south about 17 miles to downtown San Diego such that I could check the trailer and contents as luggage. The San Diego Amtrak staff are busy and get work done. After my partial disassembly of the trailer the Amtrak staff was ruthlessly efficient in checking the gear in and sending on it's way to San Luis Obispo (SLO). On the way home the sole SLO staff wasn't busy and made checking the trailer an absolute ordeal, but that's a story for another day.
It is simple to add a bike reservation to a human reservation if making them concurrently on amtrak.com. However there is no facility for adding a second unit, that being a bike or a trailer. Now, adding a second bike for a single human doesn't make any damn sense, so disallowance is natural. However there is no means to add a trailer.
On a few occasions I've seen couples with bikes and their kids in trailers. However those trailers certainly were not reserved. On two of the occasions the bike allotment was fulfilled, so it was an absolute clustershtook dealing with the couples, bikes, children and trailers as they detrained. How were they allowed? Benevolent conductors? Trailers are just plain allowed? Some other mystery policy?
The conductors know exactly how many bikes to expect and where to expect them (of course there is certain dynamicism with regard to last moment reservation changes). They are generally very, very good about checking for bike reservations and disallowing "freelancing".
Going forward, what to expect? By the second week of January, four plus weeks from this writing and weather permitting, I'll pull the BOB trailer again to the train. Sure would like to do it the short eight miles off the mesa to the Sorrento Valley Coaster station and just haul it aboard with a bike reservation. Then attempting the same at SLO to head home to The Diego.
Anyone have any insight here? Do I risk attempting to walk on a trailer to a Surfliner at a non baggage station?
Over the last few years I've had the fortune to have some flexibility allowing for several dozen exercise days with a mountain bike, a gym, miles of southern California coastline and trails, These days would typically involve four travel segments on the Surfliner. Was tremendous fun, but motivation for those days was crushed by the AGR plan change 11 months ago this writing. Aside from the AGR transition many of us lament, the point is I've had my bike on the train hundreds of times....there's some experience.
A few years ago I went to a craft brew and music festival on the California central coast. This involved bike camping with most miles provided by Amtrak. Took a BOB Yak trailer to carry camping equipment, clothing, etc. Hauled the trailer from my house south about 17 miles to downtown San Diego such that I could check the trailer and contents as luggage. The San Diego Amtrak staff are busy and get work done. After my partial disassembly of the trailer the Amtrak staff was ruthlessly efficient in checking the gear in and sending on it's way to San Luis Obispo (SLO). On the way home the sole SLO staff wasn't busy and made checking the trailer an absolute ordeal, but that's a story for another day.
It is simple to add a bike reservation to a human reservation if making them concurrently on amtrak.com. However there is no facility for adding a second unit, that being a bike or a trailer. Now, adding a second bike for a single human doesn't make any damn sense, so disallowance is natural. However there is no means to add a trailer.
On a few occasions I've seen couples with bikes and their kids in trailers. However those trailers certainly were not reserved. On two of the occasions the bike allotment was fulfilled, so it was an absolute clustershtook dealing with the couples, bikes, children and trailers as they detrained. How were they allowed? Benevolent conductors? Trailers are just plain allowed? Some other mystery policy?
The conductors know exactly how many bikes to expect and where to expect them (of course there is certain dynamicism with regard to last moment reservation changes). They are generally very, very good about checking for bike reservations and disallowing "freelancing".
Going forward, what to expect? By the second week of January, four plus weeks from this writing and weather permitting, I'll pull the BOB trailer again to the train. Sure would like to do it the short eight miles off the mesa to the Sorrento Valley Coaster station and just haul it aboard with a bike reservation. Then attempting the same at SLO to head home to The Diego.
Anyone have any insight here? Do I risk attempting to walk on a trailer to a Surfliner at a non baggage station?
