Pet peeves while riding amtrak

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The other issue is licensing fees, which can be substantial. US Airways got rid of all domestic in-flight entertainment to save money on licensing.

Given that most people have portable music and DVD players/laptops, there's not much incentive to install a lot of expensive, fragile equipment that requires ongoing content fees.

WiFi is more likely, though. The main issue is reliable connections in the hinterlands.
 
Amtrak already has the best on board video entertainment system possible-the windows! If folks would fold up the computers, DVDs and such and enjoy the scenery they may well appreciate the ride that much more and learn a thing or 2 about the geography along the route. This is especially true when traveling with children. Fortunately there was no video when I was young and when we traveled (almost always in the car), I spent endless hours with maps looking out the window figuring out where we are and what is coming up.

Of course I can understand the need for business travelers to get work done on board.
 
Amtrak already has the best on board video entertainment system possible-the windows! If folks would fold up the computers, DVDs and such and enjoy the scenery they may well appreciate the ride that much more and learn a thing or 2 about the geography along the route. This is especially true when traveling with children. Fortunately there was no video when I was young and when we traveled (almost always in the car), I spent endless hours with maps looking out the window figuring out where we are and what is coming up.

Of course I can understand the need for business travelers to get work done on board.
Now that my kids know we are going on a trip, they are more worried about who is getting the window seat than their electronic devices. Well except the camera and the cell phone (to take pics out the window and send to friends!) The only request I have had so far are train books for bedtime stories. Luckily, we have tons of those already.
 
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Amtrak already has the best on board video entertainment system possible-the windows! If folks would fold up the computers, DVDs and such and enjoy the scenery they may well appreciate the ride that much more and learn a thing or 2 about the geography along the route.
Personally I've already traveled through or over West Texas about a hundred times. I don't think there's much more I can glean by watching it from the window of a train, plane, or car. Maybe I could get a new experience by trying to walk across it but I think I've already seen everything Amtrak can show me. For someone like me it would be nice to have something like the Asian airlines provide where you can watch movies or listen to music or play games with your fellow passengers onscreen. I have a phone that can play music and movies but it can only hold so much and it's not quite big enough for two or more people to watch the same movie at the same time as you can with seatback screens. These might sound like minor annoyances, and they are, but there's a reason some of us would prefer more entertainment options. I understand why Amtrak removed the screens. What I still can't quite understand is why Amtrak couldn't keep them safe from abuse in the first place.
 
Once you have kids, it's a whole other story on your "level of tolerance" for things other parents do / don't do / put up with.
So true. I work where I frequently talk to adults for 30-45 minutes. Once in a while they have small kids with them. Unless the kids are running wild, I don't notice that they are fidgeting or getting out of their chairs on occasion. Other workers who do the same job as me, but don't have kids, ask me how I can stand having the kids around. Hey, it's nothing compared to what it's like at my home with 4 kids talking and playing.

I can't imagine anyone liking to hear a crying kid for four hours, or four days. But until you have walked-the-walk, (i.e. had kids) it's difficult to empathize with parents who are having "issues" with their kids.....

But a couple of years after my first kid was born, when I was on a plane alone, and a mom sat next to me with a crying infant, my level of understanding was a on such a different level, it's hard to explain.
Right. Sometimes kids are sick or especially when very young and they can't talk yet are just miserable and there is little you can do to make them happier. Most of the time when we had a baby that seemed inconsolable it was tired or hungry or a combination. You can feed them (sometimes) but not a lot one can do to make them go to sleep.

Dano
 
Agreed.

I was kind of surprised at the hating on kids in BC. BC isn't the quiet car, folks - if you want quiet, move one car to the rear (on Regionals, at least). I don't think that I'll ever have the $$$ for all 3 of us to take a trip in Acela First, but if I did you'd better believe that I'd have my son right there with me every chance I could.
 
I was kind of surprised at the hating on kids in BC. BC isn't the quiet car, folks - if you want quiet, move one car to the rear (on Regionals, at least). I don't think that I'll ever have the $$$ for all 3 of us to take a trip in Acela First, but if I did you'd better believe that I'd have my son right there with me every chance I could.
I don't think anyone was hating on the actual kids. More like annoyed/disgusted with the parents of those kids and those who endlessly fawn over babies at the expense of their job. There's a difference. And who can blame them? Just look at your post above. You almost sound like you're just itching for a fight with the nearest first class passenger and only your lack of funds has prevented you from repeatedly tempting fate. Personally I don't disagree that your views on acceptable behavior change drastically when you choose to have kids. But not all of us have chosen or will ever choose that path. Not all of us consider procreation our primary purpose in life. Just being around other people's kids is more than enough for me. They're great in small doses, but I don't like being a parent for more than a couple hours at a time. Some of us just want a quiet and peaceful existence and we should have that right without having to constantly fight for it. Not to mention that the "quiet car" appears to be more of a concept than a reality.
 
Agreed.

I was kind of surprised at the hating on kids in BC. BC isn't the quiet car, folks - if you want quiet, move one car to the rear (on Regionals, at least). I don't think that I'll ever have the $$$ for all 3 of us to take a trip in Acela First, but if I did you'd better believe that I'd have my son right there with me every chance I could.
Sure, take your son in acela first class, but then please make sure that he is happy and not running up the aisles or screaming for two hours.

Unfortunately the quiet car in acela doesn't come with booze at my seat, constantly refilled and brought to me by an attendent, nor does it come with 1 or 2 full meals like 1st class. I don't think its too much for the 1st class pax to want peace and quiet in their cars, as well. Lord only knows they pay enough for it.

That being said, I have only been on a few 1st class trips in acela, and there were children on all of them. All of the children were lovely and well behaved and I did not have an issue with them. But I would also have an issue with anyone who was being loud and disruptive, regardless of their age. It could be a drunk businessman and that would annoy me just as much as a crying baby or whiny toddler.
 
More like annoyed/disgusted with the parents of those kids and those who endlessly fawn over babies at the expense of their job.
What does anyone's job have to do with this?
You almost sound like you're just itching for a fight with the nearest first class passenger and only your lack of funds has prevented you from repeatedly tempting fate.
I'm not itching for a fight with anyone, but I've got just as much right to be in First/Business as the next guy. At 7 years old, he's pretty good about acting appropriately in public, but hey - sometimes stuff happens. I'll do everything I can to get him to act appropriately, but that's not going to work 100% of the time.
Some of us just want a quiet and peaceful existence and we should have that right without having to constantly fight for it.
Sorry, you don't have the right the minute you set foot out your front door. If you want peace and quiet, stay home, go to the library or ride in the quiet car.
Not to mention that the "quiet car" appears to be more of a concept than a reality.
I'd wager you've got as much experience riding in quiet cars as you do most of the other stuff you post here. Having ridden in them enough times, I can assure you that they're far more than a concept.

I don't think its too much for the 1st class pax to want peace and quiet in their cars, as well. Lord only knows they pay enough for it.
You're not paying for peace and quiet, you're paying for "free" booze and a meal or two, and as you've pointed out they don't serve it in the back, so moving's pretty much not an option for me either. I don't think that it's too much to want for my whole family to travel together, do you?
But I would also have an issue with anyone who was being loud and disruptive, regardless of their age. It could be a drunk businessman and that would annoy me just as much as a crying baby or whiny toddler.
Agreed. The difference is that the drunk businessman has control over his actions. Kids don't always have that luxury.
 
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And just when I thought I could get away from the "mommy wars" by visiting a train message board....
 
What does anyone's job have to do with this?
I was referring to the attendant who chose to focus on the baby at the expense of the frequent traveler. Again, I don't think the other posters were "hating" on kids so much as they were simply annoyed with the irresponsible parents and the scatterbrained attendant consumed with baby fever.

I'm not itching for a fight with anyone, but I've got just as much right to be in First/Business as the next guy.
Go back and reread your own post and tell me it doesn't sound as though you were itching to tempt fate.

Sorry, you don't have the right the minute you set foot out your front door.
You imply I'm entitled to peace and quiet in my own home, which would be lovely. Unfortunately I have kids screaming through the walls every day of the week. You want to know why? Parents around here pushed long and hard to make it illegal for any apartment to refuse young children. So now we all get to enjoy the screams of children who have no clue how to behave themselves in public. Oh well, I guess I can understand why parents are so upset, there was still a fraction of a percentage of land that their little pawns couldn't reach and it needed to be thoroughly cleansed of any remaining peace and quiet.

Having ridden in them enough times, I can assure you that they're far more than a concept.
I never said I rode those cars, I said they don't appear to be the havens of escape you apparently think they are, but thanks for addressing this to me instead of the people who actually complained about it in the first place.
 
I implied nothing about your right to peace and quiet inside your own house, as it's well outside the scope of this forum.

I never said I rode those cars, I said they don't appear to be the havens of escape you apparently think they are, but thanks for addressing this to me instead of the people who actually complained about it in the first place.
Perhaps you should ride them sometimes, rather than base your opinion on them on a few comments you read on the internet. I ride in them frequently, and can assure you from personal experience that they are in fact the haven of escape that I claim. Sorry, "other people have said they aren't" isn't going to have any persuasion over personal experience.
 
It's all interconnected Ryan. The more parents insist on pushing their kids into every possible corner of my life the less tolerant I become. I certainly don't hate kids, they only know what they're taught, but I can get fed up with those parents who turn a blind eye toward their disruptive offspring. I get it, they don't even realize their kids are bothering anyone because they're so conditioned to ignore it. But that's doesn't make it right and it doesn't make related complaints in this thread any less reasonable. If you look at my previous posts you can see I'm not against kids traveling on trains. It's only when parents turn a blind eye or a deaf ear toward their disruptive children or try to use them as pawns to pick a fight with other adults that it really gets to me.
 
So by your silence, you admit you were wrong about the Quiet Car, then?

The more parents insist on pushing their kids into every possible corner of my life the less tolerant I become.
That's just it - I don't know why you're making this so adversarial, making it out to be some kind of battle between people that have kids and people that don't. I couldn't possibly care less about your thoughts and feelings about kids, I'm not insisting on anything. But if you're going to exist in a world with children, then you can either choose to deal with it or not - it really doesn't impact what I do and where I go with my family one bit. Any problems you have with that are just that: your problem.
 
My only real pet peeve with Amtrak is the lack of Coca-Cola products. For coke lovers, it's very tough to go without. However, on my trip, I bought a 12 pack and had plenty with the ice in the sleeper car.
 
So by your silence, you admit you were wrong about the Quiet Car, then?

The more parents insist on pushing their kids into every possible corner of my life the less tolerant I become.
That's just it - I don't know why you're making this so adversarial, making it out to be some kind of battle between people that have kids and people that don't. I couldn't possibly care less about your thoughts and feelings about kids, I'm not insisting on anything. But if you're going to exist in a world with children, then you can either choose to deal with it or not - it really doesn't impact what I do and where I go with my family one bit. Any problems you have with that are just that: your problem.
Just remember that having children is hereditary!

If your parents did not have any children the chances are you won't either.

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Just two biggies come to mind; the SCA that I never saw between Chicago and Hammond (LA) until 10 minutes outside of Hammond on # 59 and then I really didn't see her. She POUNDED profusely on the door yelling, "You gettin' off here mister?" My sincere hopes that she has found another career to pursue. (My one of only two times that I did not tip) and my biggest is the NYP based crews both on the Crescent and Silver Service who insist on using the diner for a play ground, carrying on and hollering almost as loud as the train whistle at every joke, but will be quick to inform you (without your asking) "We ain't serving now so you can't stay here."

And this is when you've been to the lounge car and have a handful of goodies and are only trying to get back to your room without having said a word.
 
One more Acela gripe. The seat back tray tables. Those are the worst tray tables in captivity. Even when you first figure out how they work and you get them extended and in place, they lean and bounce and make every drink and meal an adventure. On one trip, I propped my leg up on my suitcase so the tray table was resting on my knee. That helped stabilize things, until my leg fell asleep.

Who designed those things? The technology of the tray table is not really cutting edge. The conventional seat back style and the fold into the armrest style are pretty mature designs. Both work well. So, where did Amtrak come up with this rotten design that is shared with the California cars? Amtrak loves tinkering with things, and sometimes they do so until they don't work anymore.
 
So by your silence, you admit you were wrong about the Quiet Car, then?
Don't want to fan the fire here but I have to side with Daxomni on the Quiet Car issue. I have been a frequent traveler on the NEC traveling roundtrip between WAS and NYP on Regional Service trains for several years now. Very few times has any of my trips been without cell phone violators or parties traveling together having loud conversations. Enforcement by conductors was very good for a number of years that I traveled until the Quiet Car itself was relocated from the last car of the consist (where one of the conductors would sit and usually monitor abuse) towards the front of the consist after the Business Class car. Since this relocation, "quiet" in the Quiet Car has progressively gone downhill, at least on my travels, to the point I find it not worth sitting in this car any more if quiet is my main objective.
 
My only real pet peeve with Amtrak is the lack of Coca-Cola products. For coke lovers, it's very tough to go without. However, on my trip, I bought a 12 pack and had plenty with the ice in the sleeper car.
as a mt dew fan, i can't say that i agree with you! ;) however, i have brought at times brought my own anyway, which is not only cheaper, but also saves trekking to the lounge car every time I want one, mostly first thing in the morning when I want to stay in my jammies and enjoy the view. :D

I don't know that I would call it a pet peeve, but I really can't stand travelers who treat the onboard staff like junk. that, and people who DON'T LISTEN to the staff. they make announcements for a reason, so when you end up running alongside a moving train, after the conductor announced TWICE that the train wasn't stopping long and you shouldn't go far, it's pretty much your own damn fault.
 
I was kind of surprised at the hating on kids in BC. BC isn't the quiet car, folks - if you want quiet, move one car to the rear (on Regionals, at least). I don't think that I'll ever have the $$$ for all 3 of us to take a trip in Acela First, but if I did you'd better believe that I'd have my son right there with me every chance I could.
I don't think anyone was hating on the actual kids. More like annoyed/disgusted with the parents of those kids and those who endlessly fawn over babies at the expense of their job. There's a difference. And who can blame them? Just look at your post above. You almost sound like you're just itching for a fight with the nearest first class passenger and only your lack of funds has prevented you from repeatedly tempting fate. Personally I don't disagree that your views on acceptable behavior change drastically when you choose to have kids. But not all of us have chosen or will ever choose that path. Not all of us consider procreation our primary purpose in life. Just being around other people's kids is more than enough for me. They're great in small doses, but I don't like being a parent for more than a couple hours at a time. Some of us just want a quiet and peaceful existence and we should have that right without having to constantly fight for it. Not to mention that the "quiet car" appears to be more of a concept than a reality.
THIS! THIS! THIS!

FINALLY! Finally there is someone here with some common sense and isn't all OMG 'how can you hate kids you evil person'. I hate how people think just because you don't want to hear endless screaming of a child and find the banshee annoying that you hate kids. It's well proven our minds are wired to find the sound of a crying/screaming child annoying.

I also hate the 'well you don't have kids so you don't understand'. It's such an ignorant and self-centered thought. There are other people on the train, and yes children will cry but to sit there and say 'but kids do that' and not try to stop it is the most disrespectful thing you can do.

I also hate parents who let their children run like wild animals up and down the cars, especially when it's early and people are still sleeping. Really use your head mom and dad, stop thinking about you and think about others first.

Oh and the sightseeing car and PAX inside said car are not baby sitters, don't leave your brat there and expect people to watch them.

Oh and people who try to smoke in the bathroom. That annoys me too.

I also find myself a bit uncomfortable with prayer at the table during meals. I am not at all religious, so this puts me in a very awkward situation. I am never sure how to react or what I should do.
 
I also find myself a bit uncomfortable with prayer at the table during meals. I am not at all religious, so this puts me in a very awkward situation. I am never sure how to react or what I should do.
Our family prays at every meal, at home and in public. We are a family of 4, so we would be at our own table anyway. When I am by myself, I bow my head and pray silently. No need for other diners to hear me ask God to bless my food. When we are together as a family, we do pray aloud and together. As for other diners at the table, I don't expect them to do anything. I would just carry on as normal if I were you. It really doesn't bother me if others talk/eat while I bow my head or even when we pray aloud. When I made the choice to pray in public, I expected that it wouldn't be silent. The only time I had a problem was when someone asked me to pass them something while I was praying. I was a teacher at the time, so I guess I could have been taking a nap with my head down like that, lol.
 
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A new one for me this year was when we were aboard No.5 and a woman with her three young boys couldn't really keep them contained, somewhat understandably. It was the youngest who made incessant noise for hours on end.

 

The new part was the other passenger in front of us who had enough of the racket, so he decided to create his own by playing country music combined with a Don Henley album on his laptop. He also thought that everyone around liked his choice, how he came to this conclusion I do not know. :wacko:

 

That only made the din worse. Much worse in fact.

 

All the other parts mentioned here earlier stand in my book as well. The poor aim in the bathrooms(is there a problem with sitting down?);rude take two seats type; the abysmal recycling program where we learned that in several instances they had to have it thrown out anyways. Parents with kids don't bug me that much really, unless they are totally out of control.

 

But worst of all are the smoke stops. I support a persons right gto smoke, but does it ever get filthy and then some on those platforms. Plus finding fresh air becomes hard at some stations.

 

Still worth it though!

 

 
 
So by your silence, you admit you were wrong about the Quiet Car, then?
Don't want to fan the fire here but I have to side with Daxomni on the Quiet Car issue. I have been a frequent traveler on the NEC traveling roundtrip between WAS and NYP on Regional Service trains for several years now. Very few times has any of my trips been without cell phone violators or parties traveling together having loud conversations. Enforcement by conductors was very good for a number of years that I traveled until the Quiet Car itself was relocated from the last car of the consist (where one of the conductors would sit and usually monitor abuse) towards the front of the consist after the Business Class car. Since this relocation, "quiet" in the Quiet Car has progressively gone downhill, at least on my travels, to the point I find it not worth sitting in this car any more if quiet is my main objective.
All I can say is that my experience doesn't match yours - perhaps I'm the luckiest traveller in the world (or you're the most unlucky), but other than a small number of brief transgressions (that have been corrected by fellow pax, not train staff) the quiet cars have been quiet for me.

FINALLY! Finally there is someone here with some common sense and isn't all OMG 'how can you hate kids you evil person'. I hate how people think just because you don't want to hear endless screaming of a child and find the banshee annoying that you hate kids. It's well proven our minds are wired to find the sound of a crying/screaming child annoying.
I'm having trouble finding where I've said anything of the sort, so I confess I've got no clue what you're talking about.
 
I was kind of surprised at the hating on kids in BC. BC isn't the quiet car, folks - if you want quiet, move one car to the rear (on Regionals, at least). I don't think that I'll ever have the $$$ for all 3 of us to take a trip in Acela First, but if I did you'd better believe that I'd have my son right there with me every chance I could.
I don't think anyone was hating on the actual kids. More like annoyed/disgusted with the parents of those kids and those who endlessly fawn over babies at the expense of their job. There's a difference. And who can blame them? Just look at your post above. You almost sound like you're just itching for a fight with the nearest first class passenger and only your lack of funds has prevented you from repeatedly tempting fate. Personally I don't disagree that your views on acceptable behavior change drastically when you choose to have kids. But not all of us have chosen or will ever choose that path. Not all of us consider procreation our primary purpose in life. Just being around other people's kids is more than enough for me. They're great in small doses, but I don't like being a parent for more than a couple hours at a time. Some of us just want a quiet and peaceful existence and we should have that right without having to constantly fight for it. Not to mention that the "quiet car" appears to be more of a concept than a reality.
THIS! THIS! THIS!

FINALLY! Finally there is someone here with some common sense and isn't all OMG 'how can you hate kids you evil person'. I hate how people think just because you don't want to hear endless screaming of a child and find the banshee annoying that you hate kids. It's well proven our minds are wired to find the sound of a crying/screaming child annoying.

I also hate the 'well you don't have kids so you don't understand'. It's such an ignorant and self-centered thought. There are other people on the train, and yes children will cry but to sit there and say 'but kids do that' and not try to stop it is the most disrespectful thing you can do.

I also hate parents who let their children run like wild animals up and down the cars, especially when it's early and people are still sleeping. Really use your head mom and dad, stop thinking about you and think about others first.

Oh and the sightseeing car and PAX inside said car are not baby sitters, don't leave your brat there and expect people to watch them.

Oh and people who try to smoke in the bathroom. That annoys me too.

I also find myself a bit uncomfortable with prayer at the table during meals. I am not at all religious, so this puts me in a very awkward situation. I am never sure how to react or what I should do.
Well stated...I have just a couple of suggestions that may solve a couple of the posted problems. Put $5 smoke detectors in each public potty, much like the airlines, with a sign stating "If you are caught smoking you will be invited to leave the train at the next stop." (Not impossible for those of you who remember "Please don't use while standing in station.')

And a sign on the PPC doors that state "Parents are not allowed to leave children unattended." And no...I didn't sell my first born. :lol:
 
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