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Rail Freak

Rail Freak

Engineer
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
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4,968
Location
Tampa Bay, Florida
Just curious.

I've had conversations with folks that have a common topic (not really a complaint but, then again maybe ) when it comes to Amtrak Travel & the Sightseer Lounge.

It's the passengers seated in the Lounge constantly and saving seats for others, that are having lunch or a nap or whatever.

I did notice this on my trip as I believe I posted on my travel log. It is such a popular spot for obvious reasons & seems there may, or should, be a way of policing this matter. Then again, I may be off base!

Any thoughts?
 
no holding seats if you leave to take a leak oh well. take a nap why the heck are you holding a seat for someone whos taking a snooze weather in coach or a sleeper. at night a say let people sleep in there. if not then bring back the slumber coach. its not as comfy as a sleeping car but it will do cause not all of us can afford to drop a load of dough on a sleeper.
 
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The only time I found it tough getting a seat in the lounge car was between Berkeley and Reno on the Zephyr. And my wife and I did eventually get 2 together. After that it was pretty much whenever we wanted to sit in that car, no problem. Same on the CL and LSL, and all the way back. I've heard others here complain about it, maybe I just haven't ridden the bad routes.
 
I've never been on anything but an Amfleet on the Crescent, but it seems justified for everything but taking a leak. Naps and lunch ok because they'll be gone for a while, but the 2 minutes that they're taking a leak? I don't see why someone should be punished for something they really can't control. (well, if they just downed 3 gallons of Pepsi then maybe...)
 
Rail Freak said:
Just curious.I've had conversations with folks that have a common topic (not really a complaint but, then again maybe ) when it comes to Amtrak Travel & the Sightseer Lounge.

It's the passengers seated in the Lounge constantly and saving seats for others, that are having lunch or a nap or whatever.

I did notice this on my trip as I believe I posted on my travel log. It is such a popular spot for obvious reasons & seems there may, or should, be a way of policing this matter. Then again, I may be off base!

Any thoughts?
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i've heard horror stories myself, but it wasn't that big of a deal on any of the routes using superliners i was on (6 routes). I think i only had trouble finding a seat a few times.. and this trip was during the height of the summer season

I'll certainly be investigating this on future trips.. yeah.. that's what i'll be doing.. investigating.. :)
 
Except for DC to Harpers Ferry I have only been on amfleets so don't have any experience in a sightseer lounge. Is it really that crowded in the lounge? If it is then make a sightseer privileges a cheap upgrade for coach passengers and put the snacks in the bottom of a regular coach. On those amfleets lounges you don't get any extra view so folks are either playing cards or eating or just need a change of scenery for a few minutes and no one is going to make camp there. From what it looks like in the pictures I could see people hogging the place for a long time and just sitting like they would be doing in their regular seat. I know I would be hogging a sightseer chair if I was riding in coach.
 
I agree that it will be OK to hold a seat for someone who is away for 5 minutes - to either the snack bar or somewhere else. But I don't agree with either "holding the seat" or taking 2 or 3 seats for sleeping in the lounge car at 3 AM! :rolleyes:

I think that even if you "can't afford sleepers", I find it is MUCH more comfortable sleeping in a coach seat than sleeping in the lounge car. And if you bring a sleeping bag or pillows and a blanket into the Sightseer about 10 PM, I doubt that it's to "watch the stars"! :rolleyes:

I myself have gone into the SSL about 4 or 5 AM (yes - from my coach seat where I slept!) to view the sunrise - only to find all the seats and floor space taken! And most people in the car were not looking out the windows - unless they could see through their eyelids! :rolleyes:
 
the_traveler said:
I agree that it will be OK to hold a seat for someone who is away for 5 minutes - to either the snack bar or somewhere else. But I don't agree with either "holding the seat" or taking 2 or 3 seats for sleeping in the lounge car at 3 AM! :rolleyes:
I think that even if you "can't afford sleepers", I find it is MUCH more comfortable sleeping in a coach seat than sleeping in the lounge car. And if you bring a sleeping bag or pillows and a blanket into the Sightseer about 10 PM, I doubt that it's to "watch the stars"! :rolleyes:

I myself have gone into the SSL about 4 or 5 AM (yes - from my coach seat where I slept!) to view the sunrise - only to find all the seats and floor space taken! And most people in the car were not looking out the windows - unless they could see through their eyelids! :rolleyes:
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Should the Conductors clear out the sleeping pax from the Lounge cars? I think they should - and that includes folks sleeping during the day.
 
I noticed people sleeping in the sightseer when I was on the TE last March and also on the SWC, definitely a *** moment. Don't know how sleeping on the floor is comfy
 
mercedeslove said:
I noticed people sleeping in the sightseer when I was on the TE last March and also on the SWC, definitely a *** moment. Don't know how sleeping on the floor is comfy
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I can not sleep in a coach seat. I have to be laying flat to get a good nights sleep even if it is on the hard floor. Most of my train trips are carrying me to a backpacking trip so I am going to be sleeping on the ground in the end anyway.
 
Upstate said:
Except for DC to Harpers Ferry I have only been on amfleets so don't have any experience in a sightseer lounge. Is it really that crowded in the lounge? If it is then make a sightseer privileges a cheap upgrade for coach passengers and put the snacks in the bottom of a regular coach. On those amfleets lounges you don't get any extra view so folks are either playing cards or eating or just need a change of scenery for a few minutes and no one is going to make camp there. From what it looks like in the pictures I could see people hogging the place for a long time and just sitting like they would be doing in their regular seat. I know I would be hogging a sightseer chair if I was riding in coach.
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count me out as a passenger on your railroad.. prices are steep enough already
 
I am one who is in the Sightseer for much of the day when I go coach, but I'm not there throughout the night too. I'd rather go back to a comfortable seat to sleep!

And I'll move if asked - unlike some lounge rats! (I remember seeing one woman on the CS who had a pillow and was asked by a member of the crew to move. She argued with him! :rolleyes: But she finally moved.)
 
On our roundtrip to California last spring, CZ out and SC on the way back the lounges were often the chosen place for Coach passengers to live. On the way back one young woman spent the entire two days in the car, sleeping across three seats half the time and covering them all with luggage and bags when she wasn't sleeping. No one from the train crew approached her about it what so ever. I have a feeling in this world of any thing goes the crews are afraid to suggest that the lounge in not for full time occupancy of some. Another family on that same trip did spend some time sprawled out on the floor in front of a group of seats sleeping also. There should be some common sense about this issue but I don't know what it is or how it will be enforced.
 
Larry H. said:
On our roundtrip to California last spring, CZ out and SC on the way back the lounges were often the chosen place for Coach passengers to live. On the way back one young woman spent the entire two days in the car, sleeping across three seats half the time and covering them all with luggage and bags when she wasn't sleeping. No one from the train crew approached her about it what so ever. I have a feeling in this world of any thing goes the crews are afraid to suggest that the lounge in not for full time occupancy of some. Another family on that same trip did spend some time sprawled out on the floor in front of a group of seats sleeping also. There should be some common sense about this issue but I don't know what it is or how it will be enforced.
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I'd like to see some nicely worded signs .. perhaps with PLEASE SHARE in big letters, or an attendant could make a "sharing" announcement every couple hours.

Sure, it ultimately comes down to common sense, but a reminder couldn't hurt :)
 
Crap. I hope AMTRAK does not turn into Greyhound-on-Rails.

I have not seen that level of lounge-rat on the TE, so I must be lucky.
 
Was shocked to see people sleeping on the floors and seats on my past two CS trips. As said above, some good signs would be an excellent start.

NO OVERNIGHT SLEEPING

PLEASE BE COURTEOUS AND ALLOW OTHERS TO ENJOY THE LOUNGE

And simply close the lounge at midnight and re-open at 5am.

This is ridiculous that people don't have the common sense to figure out these basics on their own.

Rob
 
Rob_C said:
Was shocked to see people sleeping on the floors and seats on my past two CS trips. As said above, some good signs would be an excellent start.
NO OVERNIGHT SLEEPING

PLEASE BE COURTEOUS AND ALLOW OTHERS TO ENJOY THE LOUNGE

And simply close the lounge at midnight and re-open at 5am.

Rob
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I don't see why people sleeping in the lounge car at night is really a problem (there may be some safety issues I guess). I've only done it once though, on my trip from DC to Chicago on the Capitol Limited only because the guy in the seat next to me smelled really bad.
 
NorthCoastHiawatha said:
I don't see why people sleeping in the lounge car at night is really a problem (there may be some safety issues I guess)
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Yes, it could be a safety problem, when you're walking through at 1 or 2 in the morning, and you have to climb over the feet sticking in the aisle from those sleeping on the floor. It is also a problem when you go to the Sightseer at 5 AM (or even 6:30 AM on your way to breakfast), and can not find a seat because of all those who take 2 or 3 seats "to stretch out" while sleeping!
 
I can see feet in the isle being a problem. Not being able to find a seat in the SSL is not a problem. You have a coach seat or a sleeper and that is what you paid for. You didn't pay for any guaranteed seating in the lounge. Yeah, the person taking up all the seats in the SSL is a jerk, but neither person has any more of a right to be there than the other.
 
When the conductor comes through collecting tickets why doesn't he move them? I guess we will have to wait until Amtrak gets sued over some preventable injury before they will have incentive to enforce the rules.

There should be NO excuse for luggage being stored in the Lounge. Unfortunately common sense and consideration for others in society as a whole is disappearing.
 
I've been known to nod off in the Sightseer, that typical middle of the afternoon nap attack that can sneak up when you are relaxed and have a full belly from lunch. But those are not the most comfortable seats for sleeping; so the nap is usually very short :)
 
In reading through this thread, I have to agree with several points. The lounge is a lounge. I have been in plenty bars, get up from my seat for any number of reasons, and I realize that the empty seat is fair game for anyone coming along.

Possibly, the lounge should work like a hotel lobby. Guests (passengers) are feel to make use of the chairs. However, no one has a lobby chair reserved just for them. You get up and walk away, any other guest could sit down; 5 minutes later or an hour later. Plus, just like a hotel would frown upon anyone using the lobby to sleep, instead of the "space" they paid to use, I would expect Amtrak to control the lounge car in a similar way.
 
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