First trip in years... questions

[Anne]

We are planning a trip to Texas on the Texas Eagle...

We've not travelled with our 12 year old on the train (we adopted her 2 years ago and travelled by train about 8 years prior) any advice there would be appreciated.

We also haven't gone that far on the train and was reading about temperature variations... any thoughts there?

Haven't seen much on the boards about this particular train (I might just be missing that) but how is the food (I'm diabetic)... should I contact them about it or is that a lost cause? Timing is everything... can we work that out too or will I have to punt?

Is there a place to look up the timeliness of the train?

Thank you so much for any advice on these items that you can provide!

Anne

 

[WICT106]

According to the current Amtrak schedule (p. 126):

"Customers with disabilities, . . . . . such as . . special food service (72 hours advance notice needed), should call Amtrak ASAP as far in advance as possible."

As for your daughter, you might wnat to consider taking along a game or acitivity in order to occupy her time. Have her bring along a book as well. The train travels over the Union Pacific RR - meaning they, and not Amtrak, are the landlord. The UPRR takes care of their own traffic control, and their own track maintenance. IOW, the tracks aren't "public" in the same sense that the highways are. Several segments of the route of the Texas Eagle are very full or freight traffic, and there is always the possibility (very strong, in the case of U.P.) that your train will encounter some freight related delays. You see, the tracks are choaking (sp) with freight, and this has a direct effecto on the timekeeping of all of the trains that travel U. P. R. R. rails. U.P.R.R. has made some progress in getting their upgrading of that line done. so ther shouldn't be as many slow orders (the RR version of speed zones related to roadwork being performed), but there is a lot fo frieght on that line, so be forewarned. Also, Union Pacific has been noted in the past for being quite hostile to the presence of Amtrak's trains over it's rails, so in the past has doen such things as putting Amtrak behind even the lowest priority trains.

I'm sorry to be the messanger of bad news, but that has been something of the truth since 1996. Look at the bright side: someone else will be responsible for the "driving," you won't have to deal with the other nutjobs roaming our nation's highways, and the kid can always walk about the train if she gets squirrely.

 

[AlanB]

Anne,

I'll try to tackle some of your questions, although since you didn't say where you were leaving from, that could affect a few of my answers.

First off, if you are traveling overnight, then I would suggest trying to get a bedroom if the cost isn't prohibative. You will be more comfortable in a bedroom than you would be in coach. Depending on just how tall your daughter is, you may be able to consider getting the family room. Just make sure that she's not taller than 4' 9", which is the length of the child beds in that room.

Otherwise you might have to consider a deluxe room, with two of you sharing the lower bunk.

Traveling in a sleeper, while more expensive, does include meals in the dining car. Plus you have access to a shower, something you won't have in coach.

Now for your daughter, have her pack a small backpack (like kids use for school books), with her favorite toys, games, a walkman, and maybe a book or two and things like that. This also gives her something to carry and plan for, making her part of the whole process for planning and arriving at the station. Note: IF you are going in coach, be careful of electronic games where the sound can't be turned off or head phones can't be used.

Next temperatures can vary on the train, especially in coach. The attendants can vary the temperature, however it's very hard to please 80 different people all sitting in one coach. In a bedroom, you do have some control over the temperature, but not total control. Basically you can close or open a vent which allows the air to flow into your room.

If you are in coach, then certainly bring a light jacket at a minimum, if not a light blanket.

Food wise, Amtrak overal has decent food in the diner. Just like any resturant, a lot depends on the cook. Most are pretty good, but I've hit a few that are mediocre. Amtrak has just changed some of its menus as has not yet posted the new ones on the internet. However, you can look at the old ones still by clicking here. This will at least give you some idea on what to expect, although again expect that some of the choices have changed.

As for timing your meals, by and large the dining car is open for a few hours for each meal. The only time that a meal may have a shortened time would be near the end of the trains journey or right at the start of the journey. Breakfast usually runs from 6:30 to 10:00, lunch 11:30 to 1:30. Dinner typically they will take reservations for. The dining car steward will come around asking people to pick from either two or three seating times, depending on how crowded the train is.

Since you have a special need here, I would approach the dining car steward personally by 3:00 PM or as soon as possible after that time to see if you can't get the time you need. The early seating usually fills up first. If you are on-board for lunch, then ask him at that point about dinner.

Additionally the cafe car is typically available throughout the bulk of the day. One can always buy food here. The cafe will close for short breaks and usually an hour before the train hits the last stop on the run. Otherwise, hours are usually from 6:00 AM to at least 11:00 PM.

As for timeliness, Amtrak doesn't post the average on-time track record for its trains. You can sometimes find a posting of this on the site here. The only other thing that you can do is to visit Amtrak's site. There you can find out the ontime status of the trains currently running, plus those from the last week or so. You could then build your own average from that data. You can find Amtrak's online status

Please also note that even the reports that do get posted here reflect only the endpoint ontime record. The train may have been much later at intermediate stops along the way.here.

Finally I would suggest checking out this wonderful Amtrak hints and tips posting from On Track On Line. This will also help to give you some ideas on what to expect and covers many things that I haven't touched upon.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to come back and ask.

Otherwise, have a great trip!

 

[frank]

Alan B.

Your response to Anne's questions concerning her particular needs while traveling Amtrak should be posted repeatedly for everyone with questions concerning Amtrak travel.

Well done. Good pointers.

Frank

 

[sutton]

Anne, I'm diabetic, type I. Never had any problems with Amtrak. I take insulin, so I just avoid desserts. If you are type II, just go low on carbs. In other words, don't eat the incredible desserts

If you're type II, you can walk up and down the train for some post-meal exercise, if you feel the need.

You'll enjoy the trip if you do what I did: Assume that there will be little problems with Amtrak along the way. That way, when nothing went wrong, I was ecstatic, and if things didn't flow smoothly, I wasn't surprised.

Any 12 year old will love the experience. It's one of those things where you have to experience it. Telling a 12 year old about the train may get you a yawn. When they are on the train, likely she will love it.

 

[AlanB]

Alan B.
Your response to Anne's questions concerning her particular needs while traveling Amtrak should be posted repeatedly for everyone with questions concerning Amtrak travel.

Well done. Good pointers.

Frank

Thanks, Frank.

Actually I can't tell you how many times I've typed similar posts on the board. The old posts are littered with my info and that of many others too. The problem is of course finding them burried under all the other posts.

So I usually just retype things as anyone new comes along, especially since I can customize my response to their specific questions.

 

[teekster]

Just returned Monday after a trip aboard the Texas Eagle. We boarded in Chicago heading to San Antonio, returned the same. There were six of us, two adults and four teens (17, 17, 12 and 12), traveling coach. At the advice of others in this discussion area, we asked to upgrade to a sleeper.

On the way down, there were none available. On the way back, we asked again. This time the conductor figured he had two standard rooms available. We jumped at the chance especially when he offered them to us for $115 each. That included two breakfasts, two lunches and one dinner for four. We kept track of our "purchases" in the dining car and figured we covered our $230 and then some. It sure does pay to ask!

Though the sleepers were small, the teens enjoyed them immensely. There was the added privacy and of course the comfort of laying down. They also could easily climb up to the upper beds.

The attendant was great. She let us switch back and forth from our two seats in coach to the sleepers. She even let me use a sleeper that wasn't occupied to rest at night. I slept there from 10 p.m. til 2 a.m. until I started feeling guilty about leaving my husband in coach. While the sleeper car was relatively quiet, I wandered into coach where everyone was awake and carrying on conversation at 2 a.m.

The train down to San Antonio arrived an hour early. The train on the way back was two hours late.

Books are a good bet as are a set of cards for entertainment. The lounge car did show movies throughout the day and early evening.

Food was great although we learned the hard way to always go to the first sitting. We went to the second sitting and both times, my first choice was already sold out.

Hope this helps.

 

[panamaclipper]

If you chose a sleeper or get a coach seat with an AC outlet, don't forget to pack the DVD player. It's a great way to pass the time. I watched three movies on my recent week long trip - a first for me while on a train ride.

 

[battalion51]

Many railfans consider it sacrilidge to watch DVD's while your on the train. But IMHO it keeps the trip from getting so boring, you can only stare out the window for so long. I personally choose to work on my laptop and look up ocasionally rather than just stare out the window.

 

[Viewliner]

Many railfans consider it sacrilidge to watch DVD's while your on the train. But IMHO it keeps the trip from getting so boring, you can only stare out the window for so long. I personally choose to work on my laptop and look up ocasionally rather than just stare out the window.

I'd use a laptop if I had it, but since I don't, its mostly the scenery, the scanner, and walking through the train/talking with the crews, or writing my trip report. Bottom line, it doesn't matter what other railfans think, it what makes something thats enjoyable even more so. B)

 

[panamaclipper]

Believe me, when it was pitch black at nite in the middle of nowhere on the empire builder I was glad to have my DVD or a book to look at. Same goes through the desert at nite on the CZ.