spot1181
Lead Service Attendant
Pick up a copy of "USA By Rail by John Pitt" for each couple. All can then follow the cities, towns, rivers, bridges and landmarks on all your routes.
i say still bring it. you can't see anything at night and if your not sleepy. i will be bringing my laptop with built in dvd player so i can watch dvds while looking outside(i can multy task)Earplugs, definitely and make sure you get the good ones (wich will reduce the noise level for more than 30 db)As you are quite a few people : a deck of playing cards.
I wouldn't bring a DVD-player with me, that's not exactly what trains are made for, as they have the movie right outside.
(call me nuts but I found interesting even the landscapes of North Dakota)
And in the case of at least one bank I've dealt with, they don't stock $2 bills unless you ask them to, and even if they do stock them in response to your request, they may not automatically continue to stock them. (Though it occurs to me that I should try this experiment with another bank that seems to be a bit better at figuring out what I want and providing it without complaint.)Nope, not a joke. We do have two dollar bills, but they aren't very common over here and rarely seen in general currency exchanges. One has to visit a bank normally and request them, if one wants them.
Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.
Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.
Some of these answers assume that you are in a sleeper:Sleeper or coach, and where are you going to and from-- we'll customize your "Enhancement" kit with that information.
I also travel with my twin brother, but he was an only child.Well, I have not had bad service, but in reality I don't think it makes too much difference. But I can't be sure of that. It's not like I'm going to ask them "did you give me better service because I left you $2 bills last night? :huh:I always thought it was a myth... does it get you better service or anything? Do they actually remember you as "the two-dollar bill guy" ?Exactly!Nope, not a joke. We do have two dollar bills, but they aren't very common over here and rarely seen in general currency exchanges. One has to visit a bank normally and request them, if one wants them.Someone mentioned $2 bills, was that a joke, I have never seen any in my trips over there?
That's why AAARGH mentioned that they stand out with the crew and that they tend to remember passengers because of them, since it's rare to see a $2 bill.
I travel with my twin brother, and I think that is more memorable than the $2 bills.
Two dollar bills are NOT rare. Over $1 Billion Dollars worth of them were printed in the summer of 2006. (series 2003A)Two dollar bills are rare-- but they are in circulation and are legal tender.
There are advantages of a book over a laptop of a DVD player. It won't run out of batteries, it's start-up and shut-down times are about zero (you may need to use a book mark to help here) and if you lose it or leave it behind or someone steals it it's not going to cost you a fortune to replace it.Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.
Agreed. Since I don't own a portable DVD player nor a laptop, I have to use the book option. A very good option, too.
And you never find yourself "locked out" by forgetting the Password! :lol:There are advantages of a book over a laptop or a DVD player...
but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.
n February 2005, a patron of Best Buy attempted to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills.[15] The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police, and the patron was handcuffed until a U.S. Treasury Agent arrived to clear up the issue. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills, which is not uncommon, and by the fact that the serial numbers on the bills were in sequential order.[13]
In a story, documented on Snopes.com,[13] a Taco Bell patron attempted to pay for a burrito with a two-dollar bill. The cashier and the store manager both refused to accept it as valid U.S. currency, believing that there was no such thing as a two-dollar bill. When the patron then said that the only other bill he had was a fifty-dollar bill, the manager said that since it was less than an hour to closing, he didn't want to open the safe. When the patron insisted on paying with it, they called the security guard, who then explained that two-dollar bills are actually valid U.S. currency.
Others have written in to Snopes to report similar incidents at other restaurants.[14]
While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.
Clemson did the same sort of thing in the seventies with Georgia Tech and created a tradition for away games.When I was in the service in the early 60's the base where I was stationed in Colorado paid all the enlisted men with two-dollar bills one pay day. Seems the local town's people didn't think the military contributed anything to their economy. Were they rudely awakened when they had so many 2's they didn't know what to do with them. Especially the bars!
Has anyone ever used $1 dollar coins for tipping?Two dollar bills are NOT rare. Over $1 Billion Dollars worth of them were printed in the summer of 2006. (series 2003A)Two dollar bills are rare-- but they are in circulation and are legal tender.
I've spent over 8,276 of them over the last 3 years. (Yes. I do keep track of them. www.wheresgeorge.com )
What happens is that people save them in their sock drawer thinking they are rare. Most merchants don't like them so they send them back to the bank. Banks don't like to deal with them so they send them back to the local Federal Reserve.
Ask for them at your local banks. If your bank doesn't have any ask them to order you a strap (100 bills, $200) If they say they can't, it simply means they don't want to. They need to understand at that point you are the customer.
So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.
Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.
However a tip is a reward for service, not payment for service. If they don't believe that the bill is real, the only things that they can do is to throw it away and give you lousy service. Having a condcutor throw you off the train for possible false tipping is not an option.
Tip the car attendent two $2, or five $2, or ten $2.Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.
When I'm in Canada as that's all they have is $1 coins - no bills. In fact no $2 bills, just coins, too. Wonder if the US will ever go that way. Nice with the Euros, too, in coins at the lower denominations.Has anyone ever used $1 dollar coins for tipping?
Tip a bill every time they do something. Change wake up call? $2. Change your room? $2. Bring your meal to you? $2. Set the beds for the night? $2.Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.
However a tip is a reward for service, not payment for service. If they don't believe that the bill is real, the only things that they can do is to throw it away and give you lousy service. Having a condcutor throw you off the train for possible false tipping is not an option.
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