422 Texas Eagle

[Elishia]

My grandparents purchased a ticket for me to travel from LA to Chicago in June. It is for a roomette in car 2230 room 002. They want me to experience train travel once in my life. Can anyone tell me what I can expect traveling by train? What experiences should I seek out? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[KmH]

Texas Eagle Route Guide

You can expect to see a lot of nice scenery.

When you board the train your Train Attendant - Sleeper will be by the car door, so let the TA-S know it is your first train trip.

Note the attendant's name on their name tag.

Once the train departs, a good TA-S will stop by your Roomette to show you all the controls and storage options in the Roomette and will help you get settled in.

The same TA-S will probably be with you all the way to Chicago, which is likely where the TA-S is based.

The TA-S gets on the train in Chicago, overnights in LA, then gets back on the train the next day to return to Chicago. An 8 day round-trip for the TA-S.

The Texas Eagle uses bi-level Superliner cars and Roomette #2 is upstairs. Click here to see the layout of a Superliner Sleeper car.

Note that there is a communal shower for Roomette passengers on the lower level of the sleeper car. Part of the TA-S duties is keeping the bathrooms and shower clean through out the trip.

Your Roomette will be stocked with fresh towels and wash cloths.

A nice part of train travel is the ability to move around the train. Walk with your feet a bit further apart than normal and use your hands to steady yourself as the train sways a bit.

We can see more from a seat in the Sightseer Lounge car (SSL) than we can from our Roomette.

There is also a window at the back of the last car on the train known as the Rail Fan window. Many people like to take photos from the Rail Fan window but there is no where to sit.

Meals in the Dining car, including side dishes, non-alcoholic beverages and desert, are included with your Roomette.

Menus recently changed. Click on the Texas Eagle icon at the link below to see the Texas Eagle menu.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/lp.do?sk=78C6559B32CE045F6E7808A01197A41CB9647029D6A19D32&EV=2

Breakfast and Lunch is 1st come 1st served. Dinner is by reservation. Your TA-S or the dining car's Lead Service Attendant (LSA) will start taking reservations for dinner in the afternoon.

Tipping your dining car server is customarily done the same as if you were paying for the meal.

Seating is limited in the Dining car so seating is communal in that 4 people are sat at a dining car table.

So you get to meet other people on the train. It often gets to start feeling like a little community on the rails.

I've met many interesting people at meals in the dining car.

The Train Attendant - Sleeper will convert the seats in your Roomette into a bed for you in the evening, or you can elect to sleep in the upper fold down berth and leave the seats in their daytime configuration.

The TA-S will convert the berth back to it's daytime configuration for you in the morning.

The TA-S works long hours (16 to 18 hours each day), but the pay is pretty good as is the time off they get.

It is also customary to tip the TA-S near the end of your trip. $10 per night for routine service from your TA-S is about the going rate. Of course a TA-S that provides service above and beyond would deserve a more substantial tip, and a TA-S that provides sub-standard service might not rate any tip at all.

Note that when the Roomette is in it's Night configuration with the seats converted to a bed there is not a lot of room between the bed and the door.

So many Roomette travelers sleep wearing some basic clothing in case they need to visit the restroom during the night.

Here are some short videos that you might find helpful:

https://youtu.be/LXEYzOOcWqs

https://youtu.be/x5Ej_IIf3is

https://youtu.be/rn1cAn8J1uc

https://youtu.be/9Zm8xRhaHdo?list=PLbSElzn52NPMQ8854x0kTSHyfYw5OT4iF

https://youtu.be/_hrHnKK3PhE?list=PLbSElzn52NPMQ8854x0kTSHyfYw5OT4iF

 

[Bob Dylan]

One correction to your very informative post KmH: the #422 SCA only works from LAX to Ft. Worth.

When the train reaches San Antonio and the #422 Sleeper and Coach are switched to the back of the Texas Eagle, a Chicago based SCA boards for the trip to CHI and the LAX based attendant gets off in Ft. Worth, thus there are 2 attendants between SAS and FTW.

 

[NW cannonball]

My grandparents purchased a ticket for me to travel from LA to Chicago in June. It is for a roomette in car 2230 room 002. They want me to experience train travel once in my life. Can anyone tell me what I can expect traveling by train? What experiences should I seek out? Any tips would be appreciated.

You have the best of 2 or 3 worlds, traveling in roomette. You can retire to your roomette and watch the scenery, and think about what makes this country great.

Your dining car meals are included, you are likely to meet people in the diner that you never would have met elsewhere, and that's a grab bag, but usually good.

You meet people in the diner and the sight-seer lounge car that you never would have met elsewhere, and that's mostly good.

And, you can retire to your roomette in flat-bunk privacy, if you want.

Oh, and the scenery and the history. Do a bit of research on the history, if you are so inclined, some things change, some don't.

I think you will enjoy the voyage.

e

 

[TinCan782]

One correction to your very informative post KmH: the #422 SCA only works from LAX to Ft. Worth.

When the train reaches San Antonio and the #422 Sleeper and Coach are switched to the back of the Texas Eagle, a Chicago based SCA boards for the trip to CHI and the LAX based attendant gets off in Ft. Worth, thus there are 2 attendants between SAS and FTW.

Last July, our LAX SCA who worked to FTW, moved to a different car in SAS. We only had the SAS>CHI SCA for that portion. Really didn't make a difference. Both SCAs were really good people. Our LAX to CHI trip on 422 was a nice ride.

 

[tonys96]

One correction to your very informative post KmH: the #422 SCA only works from LAX to Ft. Worth.

When the train reaches San Antonio and the #422 Sleeper and Coach are switched to the back of the Texas Eagle, a Chicago based SCA boards for the trip to CHI and the LAX based attendant gets off in Ft. Worth, thus there are 2 attendants between SAS and FTW.

And the roomette is NOT stocked with towels and washcloths, but the showers are......

 

[jersey42]

I have never had a roomette without fresh HAND towels and washcloths. The bath towels are in the shower or sometimes on the luggage racks near the shower. Just ask your attendant if you can't find them

 

[tonys96]

I have never has washcloths or hand towels in a roomette on a superliner. Viewliner, yes....superliner, no.

Maybe I just have not looked for them, since there are plenty in the showers and rest rooms.......

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I have never has washcloths or hand towels in a roomette on a superliner. Viewliner, yes....superliner, no.

I have. If the roomette has the closet, then they're in there. Can't remember where they were in a roomette w/o the closet.

 

[the_traveler]

Same here.

 

[jersey42]

I can only speak from my experience, but I have always had the hand towels and wash cloths. I am currently in the middle of a round the country journey and I am on my 5th superliner in the past two weeks. None of the legs have been on the Texas Eagle, but the CL, SWC, CS and CZ have all had them.

 

[KmH]

In a Superliner Roomette the (hand) towels and wash cloths are in a cubby above the clothes hanger rod and adjacent to the overhead light.

Look for them at 3:58 seconds into the following video:

https://youtu.be/rn1aRrfODpw

 

[zephyr17]

EVERY Superliner roomette I have had since they went into service in 1980/81 has had washclothes and hand towels in them. And there have been a lot, way too many to count. They are placed on the top shelf of the "closet" in Superliner Is and in a cubby above the coatrack in Superliner IIs, as KmH describes.

 

[PVD]

Or in the little cubby space if your car doesn't have the closets. Some people will wash and shave, or freshen up before/after a meal, in the bathroom, and not use the supplies from the shower room. The washcloth and hand towel are way better than the paper towels for that. If I do that, I use one of the downstairs bathrooms so as to leave the one upstairs available.

 

[willem]

I wouldn't say EVERY Superliner roomette I've ridden has had washcloths and hand towels, but I cannot remember when they were missing.

 

[Elishia]

What do you folks think about the idea of using the upper bunk to sleep in and keeping the lower area in the daytime position? How much headroom is there with the upper bunk pulled down? I am going to travel with a day-pack and soft-sided bag. Would I be better off putting these in the upper bunk and sleeping in the lower bunk?

 

[willem]

Sleeping in the upper bunk is more practical in a Viewliner than a Superliner. The Viewliner has more headroom in the upper bunk, plus it has windows. But feel free to experiment. Try it and see what you think.

 

[tonys96]

Maybe I just have never looked for them.....just use the ones in the showers, if I need one..... :unsure:

 

[PVD]

The superliner upper folds down from the outside wall direction, as opposed to sliding up and down in a viewliner. If the upper is left down it is really easy to hit your head using the seats. In a V/L I like to use the upper as a shelf, and slide it up, but you really can't do that in a S/L

 

[KmH]

The upper bunk in a Superliner Roomette has no windows.

I cannot stand up straight under the top bunk when it is down.

I thoroughly enjoy sitting up in the lower bunk before I go to sleep, and after I wake up in the morning looking out the windows as the train rails along.

At night I turn out all the lights in the Roomette and in a few minutes my eye dark adapt and I can see more outside.

I particularly like it when the track is twisty and I can see the locomotives and cars at the front of the train across curves.

I use the 2 upper bunk steps for storage of a soft-sided bags and I use the clothes hanger bar/hook(s) to hang my backpack.

I hang my laptop bag from a hanger hung on the hanger bar.

 

[me_little_me]

As to luggage, checking bags is free and safe. Not much chance of getting lost.

Bags can also be stored downstairs near the door.

Bags can be stored on upper bunk if you want to sleep on the bottom one. They can also be stored on the other seat (roomettes have two) if you want to sleep on the top. I suggest that if you can live with the low headroom, you will prefer sleeping on top. Your bag stored on a bottom seat is more easily accessible and you have a lot more room to move around when getting ready for bed or getting up.

Pack enough for the trip (with extra for "accidents") and put the rest in checked storage or downstairs.

You will be fed enough that you won't want more real food. You will also be provided with some water and there will be coffee and juice in the AM down the hall. However, if you have a favorite food or beverage, you are always welcome to bring it (so if you like Coke - Amtrak sells Pepsi, bring it). If you like a midnight snack, bring it or just take the dinner dessert back to your room for later. You can also buy snacks and beverages downstairs in the lounge car's cafe. If you want to bring alcohol, you must consume it only in your room.

Go with a positive, friendly attitude both towards the crew (always smile and say hello and ask them about their job) and your fellow passengers (initiate a conversation - you can always ask them where they are going). This will provide maximum enjoyment.

Bring something to do if you get bored with the interesting scenery or if the train is stuck waiting on something.

Visit the lounge car and stay awhile. Talk with people. Walk into coach area to see what it is like.

There are periodic longer stops (change crews, add water, allow smokers to continue their habit). Gt off the train at those stops. Stay nearby (within feet) as when the train is ready, they go.

Bring your camera and take pictures for your grandparents as a way of saying thanks. Write up some interesting things that happened and tell or write them about it. Let them enjoy the trip vicariously.

 

[KmH]

There are periodic longer stops (change crews, add water, allow smokers to continue their habit). Gt off the train at those stops. Stay nearby (within feet) as when the train is ready, they go.

Yes. Stay nearby and keep an eye on the train attendants who will also be on the platform but close to the train at each car.

They don't do a head count before they leave.

They will leave without you if you miss the "All Aboard" call and don't get back on before the train leaves.

The Engineer can use the train horn to communicate using some standard horn sequences.

• Two short toots of the train's horn means the train is leaving the station.

• Three short toots of the train's horn means the train is going to back up.

• Once the train is railing down the tracks 2 shorts, a long, and a short are used as a warning as the train approaches a grade crossing.

There is more info for first time train pax (passengers) here: http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/forum/78-amtrak-faqs-first-time-rider-info/

 

[Lonestar648]

This summer, the SCAs working 421/422 2130 car, one was LAX based, the other was CHI based, but the LAX based got on/off in Austin, TX and the CHI based in San Antonio. Not sure if that was temporary or a test, or a new procedure. Seemed to make sense talking with the SCA's. They said this ensured continuous 2130 coverage for the entire trip, but since 421/422 only run 3 days per week, I am not sure how this works so the LAX based SCA gets their hours..

 

[Elishia]

Thank you, everyone, for all the input towards my upcoming trip. I stand 5 feet tall, so small spaces are not as much of a challenge as for others. I am not sure what I will do about which bunk to sleep in. I guess I will make that decision when I am in the moment.

Having flown most places, I am fairly adept in one bag travel as a carry-on and my purse. I plan on taking what I am wearing, a couple of changes of clothes, my kindle fire with books I have wanted to read downloaded on it.

My parents and grandparents assure me that as a woman traveling alone on a train is reasonably safe if I use common sense. My granddad told me if I have any problems with men to speak with the train conductor.

I have been told that I should check out the train station's first class lounge in both Los Angeles and Chicago does anyone have advice in regards to this?

A question that I have not been able to find an answer to is what happens in San Antonio. As I understand it, the train is split up with one-half going to New Orleans and the other going to Chicago. If I understand the schedule correctly, this happens between 4:50 AM and 7:00 AM. Are we required to get dressed and leave the train while this occurs? If so what is there to do for two hours while waiting to get back on the train?

 

[KmH]

You get to sleep through the train re-org in San Antonio, and likely won't even know they did anything to the train.

Yep. The Conductor is the head guy on the train. Because of Federal Hours of Service rules Conductors are only allowed to work about 8 hours, so the Conductor won't always be the same person.

You would likely first contact your (or any) car attendant, who could then call for the Conductor.