Tea time in sleeping cars????

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Compuwriter

Compuwriter

Train Attendant
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
36
Location
Northeast
I have seen mentions of coffee, juice, and bottled water in the sleeping cars. Do they also provide tea bags and water for tea? Also do they provide 'real' creamers or the powdered stuff. I, of course, am not picky but my traveling companions are! Also we get on the Texas Eagle at 1:45 pm and at 7:00 am. What meals would be provided getting on at those times? I am pretty clear on the Capitol Limited offerings.
 
Compuwriter said:
I have seen mentions of coffee, juice, and bottled water in the sleeping cars. Do they also provide tea bags and water for tea? Also do they provide 'real' creamers or the powdered stuff. I, of course, am not picky but my traveling companions are! Also we get on the Texas Eagle at 1:45 pm and at 7:00 am. What meals would be provided getting on at those times? I am pretty clear on the Capitol Limited offerings.
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I can't help with the tea; not sure if they have hot water. But for meals, southbound you'll get dinner the first day and breakfast, lunch and dinner the second day. Northbound you'll get breakfast, lunch and dinner the first day and breakfast and an abreviated lunch menu the second day. All this is assuming you're going after next week. There was a freight derailment just east of Mineola, TX and passengers are being bussed between Longview and Dallas while the mess is cleaned up. That might disrupt the meal schedule.

(I'm guessing you're going CHI-SAS and return.)
 
I am a tea drinker as well, but unfortunately I have never seen tea or hot water offered in sleepers. Tea (Lipton's) is available (for a charge) at the snack bar. I have never asked for it, but I'm guessing that your sleeper car attendant would be willing to go to the dining car and get you tea and hot water. Frankly, I would bring decent tea bags and try asking the attendant for hot water. If that didn't work, I would take my good tea bag and go to the snack car for hot water, even if I had to pay for it. (They might actually give away the hot water, especially if you brought your own cup too.)
 
I assume you're taking the TE between CHI and SAS based upon those times. Southbound, meals are

  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch, and
  • Dinner

Northbound, meals are

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast, and
  • (a short) Lunch (time)

There are usually tea bags and hot cocoa packets, and hot water faucets near the coffee maker. If not, ask your SCA.

Also on the eastbound CL, remember you get Dinner out of CHI. The next day, you get 2 meals - but they stop serving around 11 AM! And you can choose anything off the breakfast or lunch menu at either meal! (But there is no desert.)

One more thing - and it's only a kind request: Please post in size 2, it make it much easier for most of us to read!
 
the_traveler said:
One more thing - and it's only a kind request: Please post in size 2, it make it much easier for most of us to read!
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Just a thought ~ I have cataracts and Glaucoma in both eyes, so I usually post in #3 font so I can read it and check for errors.
 
Compuwriter said:
Do they also provide tea bags and water for tea?
Click to expand...
 

Just a thought but, as you have the room, why not take some quality tea bags and one of those Travel Immersion Water Heaters ?

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bobnabq said:
the_traveler said:
One more thing - and it's only a kind request: Please post in size 2, it make it much easier for most of us to read!
Click to expand...
Just a thought ~ I have cataracts and Glaucoma in both eyes, so I usually post in #3 font so I can read it and check for errors.
Click to expand...
#3 may be OK, but the OP posted in #5 or higher!



I also don't care for posters whose entire post is in italics and in a larger font!
 
Great idea! I will pick one up. I will watch the font size! I usually find a larger font easier to read myself!
 
Scroll is the wheel in between the two buttons on your mouse. If you use a laptop like I do, this doesn't apply to you unless you have a wheel.
 
Just control/+ or control/- works on my desktop machine, and my mouse does have a scroll wheel.

I just learned this recently by accident - I feel kinda dumb myself - but it is a GREAT help on certain websites that use very small print or weird fonts to start with. I notice that it remembers which specific sites I have enlarged next time I visit them too.
 
Compuwriter said:
I have seen mentions of coffee, juice, and bottled water in the sleeping cars. Do they also provide tea bags and water for tea? Also do they provide 'real' creamers or the powdered stuff. I, of course, am not picky but my traveling companions are! Also we get on the Texas Eagle at 1:45 pm and at 7:00 am. What meals would be provided getting on at those times? I am pretty clear on the Capitol Limited offerings.
Click to expand...
From the boarding times you give I presume that you will be riding the Eagle all the way between San Antonio and Chicago. Please note that the Texas Eagle does NOT serve lunch upon departure from Chicago; you should eat in the Union Station food court or in one of the nearby restaurants before boarding. On the south end of the trip your options depend on whether or not Amtrak is still putting the diner crew "out of service" before arrival to save on overtime. If they are then you should receive a cold box lunch from the lounge car for your final dinner into San Antonio, and likewise a cold breakfast after your northbound departure. You will have full hot meal service for all normal meal hours between Chicago and Fort Worth. On another board, however, I have heard that Amtrak of late has been paying the overtime and keeping the diner crew on duty for the full duration of the trip. If they are then you will have normal hot dinner service before arrival in San Antonio and hot breakfast service upon your northbound departure.

Regarding tea: It depends upon your attendant. On my last Texas Eagle trip the attendant provided tea bags along with a nice selection of munchies for the taking. However, to get the hot water I had to take my cup to the diner or lounge. That was the only trip I have taken where tea was provided. I strongly suspect that if you were to ask with a smile and provide a tip afterwards most sleeping car attendants would be willing to fetch you tea from the diner if they had none available in the sleeping car. However, if you are going to give them a tip you may just as well decide to walk to the lounge car and purchase some for yourself. Creamer would normally be the powdered stuff, but the dining car does have real milk available...if you ask real nice, especially during mealtime, they probably would let you have some to flavor your tea.
 
ehbowen said:
From the boarding times you give I presume that you will be riding the Eagle all the way between San Antonio and Chicago. Please note that the Texas Eagle does NOT serve lunch upon departure from Chicago; you should eat in the Union Station food court or in one of the nearby restaurants before boarding. On the south end of the trip your options depend on whether or not Amtrak is still putting the diner crew "out of service" before arrival to save on overtime. If they are then you should receive a cold box lunch from the lounge car for your final dinner into San Antonio, and likewise a cold breakfast after your northbound departure. You will have full hot meal service for all normal meal hours between Chicago and Fort Worth. On another board, however, I have heard that Amtrak of late has been paying the overtime and keeping the diner crew on duty for the full duration of the trip. If they are then you will have normal hot dinner service before arrival in San Antonio and hot breakfast service upon your northbound departure.
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Amtrak stopped pulling the crews off the Eagle early several months ago, normal service is provided all the way to/from San Antonio. And Amtrak doesn't pay the crew overtime for the extra time on the train. It's just normal, regular time. But the salaries of 3 to 4 workers over several hours is still significant.

ehbowen said:
Creamer would normally be the powdered stuff, but the dining car does have real milk available...if you ask real nice, especially during mealtime, they probably would let you have some to flavor your tea.
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I don't think that I've ever seen powdered creamer on Amtrak, it's always been the little liquid single serving creamers on Amtrak. Both in the sleepers and the dining car/cafe cars.
 
AlanB said:
I don't think that I've ever seen powdered creamer on Amtrak, it's always been the little liquid single serving creamers on Amtrak. Both in the sleepers and the dining car/cafe cars.
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My memory may well be faulty; I usually prefer lemon to creamer when I travel.
 
It's been a few years, but I showed my Silver Service sleeper ticket stub in the club car and got free tea. As recent as April, my husband was able to get coffee by showing his SS sleeper ticket.

By the way, I'm afraid of those little immersion water heaters. :unsure: If you are not careful, they can be a hazard.
 
I think I will skip the water heater for the train travel. While I love convenience, this could be a bit iffy! Worst case I will just have to drink coffee for my caffeine fix.
 
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