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Yep - we did this last year going from Buffalo to Orlando. We were taking the Empire Service in order to make a same day connection with the Silver Meteor. I brought the bags the day before our departure and had them sent to NYP on the LSL. Then they were put on the Silver Meteor with us to ORL...

I wouldn't mind a freshly laundered blanket but this seems about on the same level as fretting about when your seat upholstery was last sanitized. I find the in-room toilet in the Viewliners more icky even as I appreciate the convenience.

Is the ACS-64 the only model of electric engine in use now? I guess they did switch to one in WAS. I never got a good look at the full train, too busy inside with my kids. The diner was the pink and green heritage car. I'm on 49 now and it was a heritage diner that I've never seen before. More...

Silver Meteor 97 had coffee in our sleeper all day when I was onboard last week (I guess I won't mention the day to avoid getting anyone in trouble). No coffee on 98 today but there was ice. The cafe car gave me coffee for free though. I actually like the Amtrak coffee!

Silver Meteor #98 was originally planned to terminate in WAS but got the green light to follow its usual route all the way to NYP about 15 minutes outside of WAS. :-) Unfortunately my checked bags ended up getting detrained in WAS even though the SCA moved them to the new NYP pile. :-( I can't...

My fingers won't cross hard enough to wish for that! I'm suppose it's possible they could restock as usual at WAS and have an electric locomotive ready (I assumed that was why they are terminating in Washington rather than Philadelphia). But I will be happy enough to dodge the commuter train...

I can't imagine how much hard work has gone into restoring service as quickly as safely possible without compromising the investigation. Congratulations and many thanks for everyone's dedicated work. I am on the northbound Silver Meteor right now and I'm hoping this means we will be able to take...

Thank you again for this tip. I wouldn't have thought of doing this otherwise. (Can you imagine asking an airline if you could just put this bag on a plane that you won't be on?) I called the Buffalo-Depew station and spoke with a very nice fellow who said it would be no problem at all to drop...

We will be connecting at NYP on May 9th. Does Penn Station traditionally do anything for National Train Day? Might be a fun way to kill some time while we wait for our departure train.

I still have some memories of taking the train from NYC to Orlando at the age of five. I don't remember much, but I have a few vivid images from being in the sleeper bedroom and I remember it being a very interesting and exciting experience for me. I would not be paranoid about your belongings...

Thanks, everyone. I got a good AGR agent who put us in business class without me having to ask. I hope a family in business class isn't going to cause too many annoyed glares. Hopefully on a Saturday morning there won't be as many "power commuters" as there might be on a weekday. I've taken...

Oh, right - because the LSL gets in to NYP after the SM departs, so they would hold our luggage overnight in NYP and put it on our train to Orlando. I will definitely ask about this.

Oh! That's an intriguing idea. And then they would hold the bags for us overnight in Orlando? I think I'll have to call the staff at Buffalo-Depew and ask about this. That could make the first leg of the trip a lot easier without having to schlep our bigger bags on and off the Empire Service...

Thanks, pennyk, that is good to hear! We have gone to WDW twice before in early May, and we think it is a great time. The weather is perfect, but for some reason it is a slow season at the parks and the crowds and the hotel prices are lower. I thought of another question: Does the children's...

Hi all, it's been a while since I last posted here. My family is taking a vacation to Disney World in May and we are taking the train down and back. I've been using the Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card for about 5 years or so now and accumulating points, and finally took the opportunity to cash...

It's been a while since I was on any long-distance train. A friend of mine was talking about the Empire Builder and said that it is the only Amtrak route left that has an on-board kitchen. I vaguely remember that the Empire Service retained a full service kitchen after other trains had gone over...

Well, that is really weird. It's back now. Must have been a random glitch in either amtrak.com or in the routings in Arrow. Glad everything's back to normal now. What a relief! It's a great one zone reward (worth about 6 cents per AGR point).

My wife and I have been tossing around the idea of a trip to Disney World, using AGR points for the train trip. It used to be (quite recently) that if I tried to book from ORL to BUF, I would be offered the Silver Meteor from ORL to NYP and then had a choice of either the Empire Service or the...

I would do what Jim suggested. Take the LSL to BUF (Depew), then get a bus or taxi into downtown Buffalo and hang out there until the Maple Leaf arrives at BFX (Exchange St) later in the day. City Hall is a great art deco style building with a free tour every day at noon. There are other...

There are a lot more tourist attractions (some of the extremely tacky/sideshow variety) on the Canadian side, but the American side has its own charms for some people. The area around the Falls is a State Park and offers a much more naturalistic and tranquil environment for strolling and viewing...