2 questions about upcoming Coast Starlight trip

[rms492]

Hello, later this month I will be taking northbound Coast Starlight LAX to SEA. Very excited and can't wait, got bedroom.

1) What side of the train can I expect the bedrooms to be on? (e.g., the ocean side?)

2) Is there any jointed rail left anywhere along this run?

Thanks

 

[yarrow]

everytime we have been on the cs the bedrooms have looked out at the ocean but that is no guarentee as i understand they will, at times, orient the sleepers the other way. i usually stake out an oceanside seat in the pacific parlour car as soon as we leave la. it's a great view. as far as the rail, i sure haven't heard any but will be intersting to see what others have to say

 

[ThayerATM]

Hello, later this month I will be taking northbound Coast Starlight LAX to SEA. Very excited and can't wait, got bedroom.
1) What side of the train can I expect the bedrooms to be on? (e.g., the ocean side?)

2) Is there any jointed rail left anywhere along this run?

Thanks

First thing you'll want to do after getting to your bedroom is to inform your car attendant that you can be found in the PPC. The conductor will find you to get your tickets. :lol: Get to the PPC car ASAP 'cuz it's a popular car, and the prime seats fill up fast. The side that your bedroom will be be on is guesswork. It depends on how Amtrak decides to pull your car on that particular day.

I have no idea if there is any jointed rail on the run. I haven't noticed any. Then again, while on the Coast Starlight I'm not looking for that kind of thing. I'm too interested in the view, then the meals, then the sleep. All three are outstanding.

 

[zephyr17]

Hello, later this month I will be taking northbound Coast Starlight LAX to SEA. Very excited and can't wait, got bedroom.
1) What side of the train can I expect the bedrooms to be on? (e.g., the ocean side?)

2) Is there any jointed rail left anywhere along this run?

Thanks

First thing you'll want to do after getting to your bedroom is to inform your car attendant that you can be found in the PPC. The conductor will find you to get your tickets. :lol: Get to the PPC car ASAP 'cuz it's a popular car, and the prime seats fill up fast. The side that your bedroom will be be on is guesswork. It depends on how Amtrak decides to pull your car on that particular day.

I have no idea if there is any jointed rail on the run. I haven't noticed any. Then again, while on the Coast Starlight I'm not looking for that kind of thing. I'm too interested in the view, then the meals, then the sleep. All three are outstanding.

There was still jointed rail in the south end of the Salinas Valley when I was on it in October, IIRC

 

[CNW]

I rode the CS in January and was surprised to see that the car I was in was "turned around" so that the bedrooms faced the "mountain side" as my SCA attendant refered to it. It seemed too bad for the people who had paid for bedrooms. I was in a roomette and thought I would be mountain side and was pleasantly surprised to be ocean side. I noted that the other sleepers were not turned in this way and that their bedrooms were facing the ocean. That was only thing I did not care for about the CS and that was the whole left side right side thing going on all the time. There isn't alot to see if you are not ocean view, or at least you feel you are missing something. So if you don't get ocean view go to the PPC and even the "homesteaders" can't stay there forever and you can grab a seat. I actually spent some time in the regular viewing car and thought the windows were bigger there, of course it is crowded at times too!

 

[sunchaser]

I rode the CS in January and was surprised to see that the car I was in was "turned around" so that the bedrooms faced the "mountain side" as my SCA attendant refered to it. It seemed too bad for the people who had paid for bedrooms. I was in a roomette and thought I would be mountain side and was pleasantly surprised to be ocean side. I noted that the other sleepers were not turned in this way and that their bedrooms were facing the ocean. That was only thing I did not care for about the CS and that was the whole left side right side thing going on all the time. There isn't alot to see if you are not ocean view, or at least you feel you are missing something. So if you don't get ocean view go to the PPC and even the "homesteaders" can't stay there forever and you can grab a seat. I actually spent some time in the regular viewing car and thought the windows were bigger there, of course it is crowded at times too!

The nice thing about the bedroom is that even if the car is set so that your window does not face the good scenery, leave your door & curtain open. You can see from the chair or sofa. Or, go to the hallway. That's what we did, it worked out fine.

If your roomette is on the 'wrong side', you can sometimes peek through the one across if it is empty. Sometimes if you ask your SCA, they may let you sit there for a while if it's empty. Of course, there is always the PPC & Sightseer Car, & there are also windows downstairs in it too.

 

[MikeM]

I'd still vote for the PPC! Getting in there right after the train gets underway means never having to look at a hill!

I also seem to recall that when we checked in at LA, they gathered tickets and gave out hat check slips at the reception area next to TRAX bar, so there was no need to wait for the conductor to come around.

 

[VictoriaShe]

I'd still vote for the PPC! Getting in there right after the train gets underway means never having to look at a hill!
I also seem to recall that when we checked in at LA, they gathered tickets and gave out hat check slips at the reception area next to TRAX bar, so there was no need to wait for the conductor to come around.

"Hat check slips"?? What's that?

So, RUN! Run like the wind to the PPC as soon as you get your room. Good thing to know. Glad I read this thread.

 

[zephyr17]

I'd still vote for the PPC! Getting in there right after the train gets underway means never having to look at a hill!
I also seem to recall that when we checked in at LA, they gathered tickets and gave out hat check slips at the reception area next to TRAX bar, so there was no need to wait for the conductor to come around.

"Hat check slips"?? What's that?

So, RUN! Run like the wind to the PPC as soon as you get your room. Good thing to know. Glad I read this thread.

Essentially a boarding pass. The conductor lifts your ticket and gives you a "hat check/seat check" with your car and room while still at Traxx Lounge. In coach, the seat check is put in the holder on the edge of the luggage rack above your seat to note that the ticket has been lifted, the seat is occupied, and what station the occupant is getting off at.

The "hat check" or "seat check" is old RR slang.

 

[the_traveler]

The conductor lifts your ticket and gives you a "hat check/seat check" with your car and room while still at Traxx Lounge. In coach, the seat check is put in the holder on the edge of the luggage rack above your seat to note that the ticket has been lifted, the seat is occupied, and what station the occupant is getting off at.

That is true, but anyone in the Traxx Lounge is in a sleeper (not coach) and there is no need for a seat check. I never got a seat check in the Traxx Lounge - what's the use? :huh: And your ticket stub is your boarding pass. (It has your car and room number on it! )

 

[zephyr17]

The conductor lifts your ticket and gives you a "hat check/seat check" with your car and room while still at Traxx Lounge. In coach, the seat check is put in the holder on the edge of the luggage rack above your seat to note that the ticket has been lifted, the seat is occupied, and what station the occupant is getting off at.

That is true, but anyone in the Traxx Lounge is in a sleeper (not coach) and there is no need for a seat check. I never got a seat check in the Traxx Lounge - what's the use? :huh: And your ticket stub is your boarding pass. (It has your car and room number on it! )

I have had "boarding passes" issued by the conductor or AC at the Traxx Lounge when they lifted my ticket. It had the Starlight's conductor/butler logo with my car and room number written on it, and the car attendent wanted to see it. Can't remember if they did that the last time I was on the Starlight in October (it would not have been a momentous occurance either way), so I can't categorically state it is a current procedure, but it was at one time. Have also had the same kind of boarding pass issued when the conductor lifted tickets in the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago (though with a Metropolitan Lounge logo).

These procedures were in the not too distant past, and have happened, whatever "the use" is, traveler. So we are not just making stuff up. <_<

The rest of the post was to explain the etymology of "hat check" to a person who didn't know. Of course, you don't need a seat check to hold a room.