Qs about food/baggage on California Zephyr from relative newbie

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83fireflyguest

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It's been many years since I took the train, and I'll soon be traveling with my SO from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to Chicago and back. I was wondering if you guys could ease my anxious-traveler mind about a couple things:

  1. For such short stints (9:50 am-2:50 pm there and 2-6 pm back), will we have access to meals in the dining car? I'm not sure whether to pack meals for lunch on our way out or in case there are delays on the way home. Knowing that the dining (not lounge snacks) is open would be a great help!
  2. Re: carry-on baggage, is it normal/safe to just leave my luggage in the overhead bin above my seat if I want to go hang out in the scenic window car? I don't remember having to lug my belongings with me in years past, but I'm also not sure how secure the cars are if I chose to leave them alone for a while.
 
You have access to the dining car regardless of how long you're on the train (unless of course you literally don't have enough time to eat a meal). As to baggage, I recommend keeping your valuables with you, but I don't think you'll have any issue whatsoever leaving the not particularly expensive/important stuff at your seat.
 
To add to cpotisch's response...valuables I would never leave behind include wallet, passport, cell phone, money clip, etc.  The times I've gone to the lounge car for more than a couple minutes, I've taken my laptop with me as well.  Other than that, if someone wants to reach blindly into my suitcase and come out with dirty underwear.....HAVE AT IT!

As far as leaving your seat for longer than 1 intermediate stop, make sure there's something physically on your seat to show it's 'taken'.  Most boarding passengers don't look at the 'seat check'  area above the seats to see if someone is sitting there.  A hat, jacket, even a book, should work just fine.  Don't be surprised, though, if you come back to someone sitting in the other half of 'your' seat!
 
Thank you both for the info and tips!

Side note, my registration has gone through, so I reposted this on the regular forum for more visibility. Not sure if I need to delete this original post?
 
Thank you both for the info and tips!

Side note, my registration has gone through, so I reposted this on the regular forum for more visibility. Not sure if I need to delete this original post?
Let the moderators take care of it - they'll probably merge the two threads.
 
Thank you both for the info and tips!

Side note, my registration has gone through, so I reposted this on the regular forum for more visibility. Not sure if I need to delete this original post?
Welcome to AU.  We moved your original post to the Amtrak main forum (since there were responses) and removed your reposting.
 
It's been many years since I took the train, and I'll soon be traveling with my SO from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to Chicago and back. I was wondering if you guys could ease my anxious-traveler mind about a couple things:

  1. For such short stints (9:50 am-2:50 pm there and 2-6 pm back), will we have access to meals in the dining car? I'm not sure whether to pack meals for lunch on our way out or in case there are delays on the way home. Knowing that the dining (not lounge snacks) is open would be a great help!
  2. Re: carry-on baggage, is it normal/safe to just leave my luggage in the overhead bin above my seat if I want to go hang out in the scenic window car? I don't remember having to lug my belongings with me in years past, but I'm also not sure how secure the cars are if I chose to leave them alone for a while.
Sleeping car passengers have priority so you might not get a reservation if busy. This happened on the Coast Starlight last winter.
 
  1. Re: carry-on baggage, is it normal/safe to just leave my luggage in the overhead bin above my seat if I want to go hang out in the scenic window car? I don't remember having to lug my belongings with me in years past, but I'm also not sure how secure the cars are if I chose to leave them alone for a while.
My suggestion is, when you get on, look around you at the passengers. If you find a family with small kids, smile, complement the parents on the kids (they're cute, well-behaved, etc) so as to make them see you as a person who is nice. Also works if you find an elderly gentleman with whom you can strike up a conversation, say about the trip. The idea is to have people see you as a nice person. Then when going to the lounge, restroom, etc., casually ask them if they would mind keeping an eye on your things while you are gone. Found it works very well and people will tell new arrivals that the seat is taken and your items will be safer. They will remember you because of the conversation.

I often tell parents of young girls that I have an 8 y/o grandson and if their daughter has a large dowry, perhaps we can make a deal. That gets a laugh.
 
As far as leaving things at your seat, I go by the old saying “out of sight, out of mind”.

Just like any other public place, I would take my laptop/wallet/purse/etc... with me (or hide it in my bag if I’m not using it), but I have no problem leaving my luggage in the rack. The train gets to be like a community where “others watch out for you”. Besides, not many get off a train moving at 79 mph!
 
Many trains do not reserve for lunch, but I’ve been on many that do.
It generally depends on passenger load and/or the LSA.  I was on the Silver Meteor the other day and reservations were taken for lunch. It was a full train.
 
I've found that they usually do reservations for lunch, but definitely not always. Meanwhile, not only have they taken reservations for every single dinner I've ever had on Amtrak, but it's also usually much more crowded than lunch.
 
Meanwhile, not only have they taken reservations for every single dinner I've ever had on Amtrak, but it's also usually much more crowded than lunch.
Although it is unusual, I have been on trains when reservations were not taken for dinner.  I have been traveling on Amtrak since 1971.
 
Although it is unusual, I have been on trains when reservations were not taken for dinner.  I have been traveling on Amtrak since 1971.
95% of my long distance train rides have been on the Silvers. I know that the Meteor is your home train as well, so have you had many reservation-less dinners on that?
 
95% of my long distance train rides have been on the Silvers. I know that the Meteor is your home train as well, so have you had many reservation-less dinners on that?
 I have had quite a few on the Silver Star (when it had a diner) and not as many on the Silver Meteor.
 
Although it is unusual, I have been on trains when reservations were not taken for dinner.  I have been traveling on Amtrak since 1971.
I vaguely recall that too, Penny, back in the (was  it the Reagan cuts?)  days of all plastic everything and tasteless food (late '80s?), and again in the 'diner lite' on the Lakeshore Ltd leaving ALB more recently. 
 
I vaguely recall that too, Penny, back in the (was  it the Reagan cuts?)  days of all plastic everything and tasteless food (late '80s?), and again in the 'diner lite' on the Lakeshore Ltd leaving ALB more recently. 
Yes, I believe it was David Stockman who pushed for Amtrak to eliminate real diner service and go to tray meals systemwide in 1981. Fortunately, W. G. Claytor was called on to take over Amtrak's presidency soon after and he knew what it took to run a passenger railroad. So he not only restored full dining car service, he managed to improve Amtrak's financial performance systemwide at the same time. So, yes, we've heard this song before.
 
I vaguely recall that too, Penny, back in the (was  it the Reagan cuts?)  days of all plastic everything and tasteless food (late '80s?), and again in the 'diner lite' on the Lakeshore Ltd leaving ALB more recently. 
I recall going to the diner in the Star and Meteor without reservations in the last 8 years.  I do not remember the dining car protocol in the late 80's
 
How likely is it OP will be able to actually eat in the dining car?  Does the crew go into "shut-down" mode before arrival in Chicago and restrict lunch service to only sleeper passengers?  How about the trip back--getting off the train at 6 pm kind of restricts what seatings are workable, and again the question arises as to whether these seatings will be available to a coach passenger.
 
How likely is it OP will be able to actually eat in the dining car?  Does the crew go into "shut-down" mode before arrival in Chicago and restrict lunch service to only sleeper passengers?  How about the trip back--getting off the train at 6 pm kind of restricts what seatings are workable, and again the question arises as to whether these seatings will be available to a coach passenger.
Sorry, did the OP actually say that he was traveling coach?
 
How likely is it OP will be able to actually eat in the dining car?  Does the crew go into "shut-down" mode before arrival in Chicago and restrict lunch service to only sleeper passengers?  How about the trip back--getting off the train at 6 pm kind of restricts what seatings are workable, and again the question arises as to whether these seatings will be available to a coach passenger.
It's either open or closed for meals (unless during a disruption, where there's just enough food for the sleepers, and meals will be delivered for coach). There is an "express lunch" offered on certain trains depending on estimated arrival time, which provides a menu that's able to be done speedily.

Even if they got a 5pm seating, it's highly unlikely that one would have time to enhoy their meal. I would suggest doing a to go order through the coach attendant, if they really want to go.

They can always ask the LSA if they want to inhale their meal in the diner, but the sleepers do get first choice of dining times, so...
 
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