Caesar La Rock
OBS Chief
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- Nov 15, 2011
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Didn't Amtrak use to speed to make up time back when they used E-units, SDP40Fs, F40s, and P30CHs?
Amtrak should be dismantled response.
- Thread starter jater
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Rail Freak
Engineer
Jater, glad to hear your rail travel is over! I'd rather share a meal with a recently released convict than with someone bitching the whole time!!!! Have Fun in your travels, if that is possible!!!!
RF
RF
D.P. Roberts
Conductor
...troll?
First of all, no one was "awaiting" your response. You may have felt that you stirred up controversy, but you did not - at least not more so than normal. Your thread was no more controversial than any of the other trending topics - including the one about toilets on Viewliners.
Secondly, what's your POINT? Most people on here post questions, or try to find out information, or share their experiences with others. Your post in this thread doesn't really do any of those things. You'er not trying to learn anything, or ask any questions - at best, one could say you're sharing your experience, but you already did that in your previous thread. This is not an official Amtrak forum, so your complaints here aren't going to go anywhere.
The only point I can see in this thread is "I don't like Amtrak. The people here like Amtrak, so I'm going to make them angry." That, my friend, is the definition of a troll.
See, this is the part that makes you a troll.
First of all, no one was "awaiting" your response. You may have felt that you stirred up controversy, but you did not - at least not more so than normal. Your thread was no more controversial than any of the other trending topics - including the one about toilets on Viewliners.
Secondly, what's your POINT? Most people on here post questions, or try to find out information, or share their experiences with others. Your post in this thread doesn't really do any of those things. You'er not trying to learn anything, or ask any questions - at best, one could say you're sharing your experience, but you already did that in your previous thread. This is not an official Amtrak forum, so your complaints here aren't going to go anywhere.
The only point I can see in this thread is "I don't like Amtrak. The people here like Amtrak, so I'm going to make them angry." That, my friend, is the definition of a troll.
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the Other Mike
Lead Service Attendant
It is a shame all those things had to come together on one trip.
Most of those problems listed are ones I've never experienced but could easily overlook because I love train travel.
Being able to retreat to a private room to get away from the great unwashed is a great thing to have unless it smells like ####, then I could see me getting pissed about it.
What a shame that there will be one more person saying how bad Amtrak is...............
And what would happen to the stock of Duct Tape if Amtrak didn't exsist ?
Most of those problems listed are ones I've never experienced but could easily overlook because I love train travel.
Being able to retreat to a private room to get away from the great unwashed is a great thing to have unless it smells like ####, then I could see me getting pissed about it.
What a shame that there will be one more person saying how bad Amtrak is...............
And what would happen to the stock of Duct Tape if Amtrak didn't exsist ?
The remarks by dp Roberts and rail freak really are not helpful here. OP listed several legitimate concerns. Perhaps, if Amtrak had done its job by putting a well maintained train in service with working toilets and AC and the diner crew had served him lunch, he would have been a lot more tolerant. Once someone gets pissed to a point, then they'll look for more issues. Perhaps not the best way of doing things but it is what it is.
The OP did make tvs effort to comeback and provide details. All of his points are plausible Amtrak experiences, including convicts and lounge car passengers taking pictures. So I think it is wrong to call him a troll.
The OP did make tvs effort to comeback and provide details. All of his points are plausible Amtrak experiences, including convicts and lounge car passengers taking pictures. So I think it is wrong to call him a troll.
Really? Again, seriously? "The convicts sometimes mention they just got out of jail?'
Are you kidding me? The convicts?!?!?!?
You've actually experienced this?
If he had been on the EB, then I would have given him a break and thought he was talking about the Williston peeps
I've seen people in sleepers that look like they need to be IN JAIL.
Total silliness. SMH
That might be your experience but, while I'm not as well traveled on Amtrak as you are, I have NOT seen or heard it once.
I'd like to know from the other AU member on the same trip as to whether or not they took lunch resevations on the SWC.
Good to know but our special snowflake was on the SWC and not The Silvers.
I can assure you that my COACH trip on 59 with an ex-con (gang murder) was a helluva lot more pleasant, polite, and entertaining than any trip with a special snowflake, entitled, complainer like this could possibly be.
I mean, after all, my convicted murderer seatmate couldn't believe that I hadn't seen Eat, Pray, Love.
Oh, and we also shared granola bars and trail mix....scary.
BTW, he didn't mention anything and it was long in his past and he looked very nice, I guessed - he grew up in the Robert Taylor Projects and could talk about Chicago just like me and not like a sheltered suburbanite.
Could not have said it better but an entitled, special snowflake wont ever *get it*.
If I thought anything that was personally upsetting should be eliminated, the first thing I'd call for was the elimination of P.E. in school. Nothing is more upsetting than to be a total klutz and to have the teachers join right in with the humiliation and the putdowns. That said......
Some of the OP's complaints are valid. The odor from the bathrooms is definitely one. So is no air conditioning. I had that happen to me on the SWC also, though the problem was corrected. Rough track is an issue, though the complaint should be leveled at BNSF, not Amtrak. And Amtrak doesn't go over the speed limit when behind schedule. As has been pointed out, there would be all kinds of hell to pay if they did. I would be irked too at being denied a meal I was entitled to. As for convicts, they have a right to travel like anyone else. And I can't conceive of even the shred of a reason what the issue is with "uneducated" people. Should Amtrak travel be subject to the taking an IQ test??? I don't see the problem with taking pictures of nothing, I do it all the time! :lol: Amtrak personnel should have been notified of the unattended bags. They can't correct problems they aren't aware of.
I'm sorry the OP's experience was so negative. Hopefully he/she has much better luck next time they travel, whichever method that may be.
Some of the OP's complaints are valid. The odor from the bathrooms is definitely one. So is no air conditioning. I had that happen to me on the SWC also, though the problem was corrected. Rough track is an issue, though the complaint should be leveled at BNSF, not Amtrak. And Amtrak doesn't go over the speed limit when behind schedule. As has been pointed out, there would be all kinds of hell to pay if they did. I would be irked too at being denied a meal I was entitled to. As for convicts, they have a right to travel like anyone else. And I can't conceive of even the shred of a reason what the issue is with "uneducated" people. Should Amtrak travel be subject to the taking an IQ test??? I don't see the problem with taking pictures of nothing, I do it all the time! :lol: Amtrak personnel should have been notified of the unattended bags. They can't correct problems they aren't aware of.
I'm sorry the OP's experience was so negative. Hopefully he/she has much better luck next time they travel, whichever method that may be.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2003
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- 8,509
I was on the SWC last summer, and lunch was by reservation only.
I have been on the SWC twice and both times lunch was also by reservations only. This of course doesn't address the question as to whether it was so on this particular trip.
I'm wondering if the lunch reservation complaint is more like "I wanted the 12:15 seating but it's already booked up". Or she was in the SSL when the LSA came thru the sleepers taking reservations. Either of these cases I would not blame Amtrak.
When we were in the CZ they announced lunch while we were in the SSL climbing the Rockies.. I don't recall if they were taking reservations (and since we were not in our room, we missed it) or if it was a 1st come basis. When we were ready to eat we went into the diner and was given a number/time and told we would be called. We went to our room and returned when we were called.
When we were in the CZ they announced lunch while we were in the SSL climbing the Rockies.. I don't recall if they were taking reservations (and since we were not in our room, we missed it) or if it was a 1st come basis. When we were ready to eat we went into the diner and was given a number/time and told we would be called. We went to our room and returned when we were called.
Really? Again, seriously? "The convicts sometimes mention they just got out of jail?'
Are you kidding me? The convicts?!?!?!?
You've actually experienced this?
If he had been on the EB, then I would have given him a break and thought he was talking about the Williston peeps
I've seen people in sleepers that look like they need to be IN JAIL.
Total silliness. SMH
RailFanLNK
Conductor
Convicts are so easy to spot on Amtrak, they stick out like a sore thumb. They are the guys and gals with the black and white striped prison uniforms. So with that said, I have had to make lunch reservations on the CZ during the summer time. Maybe the OP had to have a meal with Andy Dufrense and Red from Shawshank.
Again, good to know but I was on it twice last spring and lunch was first come, first served.
As I said, I've also been on the SWC twice (last spring) and both times lunch was first come, first served.
The part of the complainant's post that bothers me about lunch is that he didn't get lunch because 'they had been refused a lunch reservation because they filled them with "coach" passengers.'
UGH and OMG those disgusting "coach" passengers!
If, by chance, there were lunch reservations on that SWC trip, there's only one way you'd miss them.... you weren't paying attention or you thought that you were special and didn't have to make one and they'd take care of you because you're *first class*.
I've traveled coach and sleeper and haven't missed a meal yet, reservation or not - outside of one bad ordered diner, but I got fed anyway.
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the_traveler
Engineer
Every time that reservations are taken, it is announced over the PA that they go to the sleepers first and then the coaches. They also say "... the Sightseer will be last. If you want a reservation, be sure at least 1 of your party is in your room or at your seat when (I) come thru ..."
I LIKE Amtrak (period)!
And my daughter & I were fine with this if that was what was announced. But I am thinking it was a 1st come rather than reservations lunch. I just don't remember.
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D.P. Roberts
Conductor
I'm sorry that you found my assertion that the Op's thread is unhelpful to be... unhelpful
Yes, the OP had a bad trip. He/she stated as such in the original thread. One of them is even a legitimate complaint (the smell). However, as I said, he already mentioned it in a previous thread. However, he then posted this thread, entitled "Amtrak should be dismantled response". So, having already made his point, he then posted here - in a forum full of Amtrak travelers - simply to get people angry. He even says as such in his very next sentence: "Moderators please shut this thread down after my post so it will not induce panic in your freakishly uneducated group."
So, having already made his complaints, what's the purpose of starting a second thread about dismantling Amtrak and insulting "freakishly uneducated" AU members? I honestly don't see one other than trolling.
Here's my guess (and no, I'm not a psychologist, and I don't even play one on TV). The OP stared several threads here before traveling, asking (and receiving) advice about his trip. Unfortunately, the trip clearly didn't live up to his expectations, and he's extremely disappointed. He probably feels that the advice he read on this thread didn't turn out to be accurate, so he's mad at AU members who posted positive stories about their train trips and built his hopes up.
So, OP, on behalf of all the members of Amtrak Unlimited (none of whom would voluntarily allow me to speak for them
), I'm sorry your trip went badly. I'm sorry you feel that you're wasting your tax money. I'm sorry that not everyone agreed with you in your first post. I'm especially sorry that you think we're all "freakishly uneducated". Perhaps you should take a deep breath, and let things go for a few days before posting here again. This much anger just isn't worth it.
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Right!
If you're not in your room then you're going to get last choice on the list or not be on it at all if it gets filled up by the time they make it to the Sightseer Lounge.
That said, I've been able to get dinner reservations while seated in the SSL when I was riding lowlife and not first class.
leemell
Conductor
Uneducated? There are at least three graduate engineers on this board, I have only three degrees myself, unlike the other uneducated engineers who have more. In addition, the OPs ability to assert generalites over all Amtrak passengers is just astounding.
And where are all these uneducated people getting the money to travel? Oh, that's right. They're all convicts, so they have stolen money/items buried somewhere for when they get out if prison so they can ride the rails.
My own husband was just like the OP - heck, he might still be
After I raved about my first trip, he agreed to go on one together.
Unfortunately, he expected an Orient Express, First Class, white glove, yes sir, bar car experience.
It didn't make any difference what I told him about my real life experience, how many pics I showed him, how much info I gave him, or how many youtube videos I showed him about real life Amtrk train rides - his experience was horrifying because it wasn't all about him and - horrors! - there were other people in the same space and they all weren't like him.
I'll give him credit though, for keeping an open mind, he went again with me in Jan. and will go again - his idea - on a major 6 night AGR redemption in Sept and then again in Nov.
He's seen the light and now says 'I need to apologize in advance' when we talk about traveling together. :giggle:
Besides, I won't fly unless it's life or death so.... taking the train with me is far more attractive than the alternative back seat driver scenario.
After I raved about my first trip, he agreed to go on one together.
Unfortunately, he expected an Orient Express, First Class, white glove, yes sir, bar car experience.
It didn't make any difference what I told him about my real life experience, how many pics I showed him, how much info I gave him, or how many youtube videos I showed him about real life Amtrk train rides - his experience was horrifying because it wasn't all about him and - horrors! - there were other people in the same space and they all weren't like him.
I'll give him credit though, for keeping an open mind, he went again with me in Jan. and will go again - his idea - on a major 6 night AGR redemption in Sept and then again in Nov.
He's seen the light and now says 'I need to apologize in advance' when we talk about traveling together. :giggle:
Besides, I won't fly unless it's life or death so.... taking the train with me is far more attractive than the alternative back seat driver scenario.
As I said before, the OP has legitimate points. Unfortunately, in my view, when I got to the "freakishly uneducated" part of the rant, and having to eat with convicts, and the seeming putdown of "coach" passengers, whatever legitimate complaints there were got tossed on the back burner. Of the human foibles that irk me the most, snobbery is among the top, especially intellectual snobbery. Education does not make one better. I myself have only one degree, a B.S. degree. (and for all the good it did me, it was just that, B.S. :lol: )
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I couldn't agree more!
But... you'd better watch it, the last time I used B.S,. in the same vein as the latter part of your post btw, my post was edited for making an offensive comment. :blink:
Thank you for the warning, Joanie. I guess that shows how freakishly uneducated I am for using those initials in that way. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Alexandria Nick
Lead Service Attendant
Exactly how many burned out cars did you see in the lounge and how many times were you offered crack or the services of a hooker? Did you see a lot of murders?
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