C
Chip
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Hi all I'm within 3 weeks of making my first train trip. Is this the forum to ask what are basic questions about train travel and if not can you direct me to a site?
If that train is Amtrak, then this is the place. Ask away.Hi all I'm within 3 weeks of making my first train trip. Is this the forum to ask what are basic questions about train travel and if not can you direct me to a site?
Chip,Chip said:Hi all I'm within 3 weeks of making my first train trip. Is this the forum to ask what are basic questions about train travel and if not can you direct me to a site?
You may check your bags all the way to Glacier Park. They will transfer your bags for you in Chicago.Chip said:Next Question is if we Check our luggage do we need retreive it in Chicago or is it transferrred for us to the Empire Builder?
The lounge will actually tell you when you have to be back in the lounge for boarding. However it's more like 45 minutes to one hour. Especially for the east bound Lake Shore, which as we discovered two weeks ago, now boards at least 50 minuted before departure.rmadisonwi said:If you decide to leave for a while, be sure to be back to the station by 1:30 PM (when traveling westbound; I forget when the Lake Shore Limited leaves Chicago, but you should be be back at least 30-45 minutes before the train is scheduled to depart).
That must be a fairly new policy (either that, or one that isn't consistently followed).AlanB said:They do this now since the train leaves Chicago so late, that they start serving dinner to the sleeping car passengers before the train ever leaves the station. We were already eating our main course before the train pulled out.
rmadisonwi said:...but you should be be back at least 30-45 minutes before the train is scheduled to depart.
Is this a requirement? If you are not checking baggage (and the OP's bags would already have been checked at the origin), is there a reason you cannot simply walk into the station and onto the train?AlanB said:...The lounge will actually tell you when you have to be back in the lounge for boarding. However it's more like 45 minutes to one hour.
Assuming that they have no bags being held in the lounge baggage area, then officially you are correct, they could just walk up to the gate and board. Still need to be there at least 5 minutes before departure and 10 would be better as they sometimes cut off the gate at the 10 minute mark.PRR 60 said:rmadisonwi said:...but you should be be back at least 30-45 minutes before the train is scheduled to depart.Is this a requirement? If you are not checking baggage (and the OP's bags would already have been checked at the origin), is there a reason you cannot simply walk into the station and onto the train?AlanB said:...The lounge will actually tell you when you have to be back in the lounge for boarding. However it's more like 45 minutes to one hour.
I was told, not sure if it's accurate, that this was effective starting July.rmadisonwi said:That must be a fairly new policy (either that, or one that isn't consistently followed).AlanB said:They do this now since the train leaves Chicago so late, that they start serving dinner to the sleeping car passengers before the train ever leaves the station. We were already eating our main course before the train pulled out.
When I rode the Lake Shore in January, the train departed about a half hour late (crew rest issues). Despite that, we still weren't called to dinner until the train was in Indiana.
While typically inconsistant, like any Amtrak policy, be very, very careful with trying to day check bags now. Since the London bombings, most Amtrak stations will not hold your bag for you anymore.bmlock said:Every staffed station I've been to has stored bags for us so we don't have to lug them around. I think this is Amtrak policy and costs like a buck a bag if I remember correctly. I have checked bags several times and never lost anything. Airlines usually use an automated belt system and then it gets moved to carts--bottom line is that it's a somewhat complicated process with alot of hands in it (not to mention TSA) with alot of flights at the hubs and misshandling is a real possiblility. Since Amtrak has less going on an stuff is handled by hand for the most part, it's rare to have a problem.
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