A Few Questions

[CajunLiner]

We are looking to take the Crescent, round trip NOL to NYP next June. We've never traveled by train before and I want the experience to be enjoyable for all of us.

Do families use Amtrak very much for long distance travel?

Are there usually other kids on board?

How teen friendly is Amtrak?

How family-friendly are fellow passergers, in general?

Is it safe and acceptable to let a younger teen move about on a train, unattended? (They aren't wild, boisterous kids.)

Is the lounge car suitable for kids to hang out and socialize, if there are several onboard?

 

[yarrow]

we have never travelled the route you are taking but have taken several others. our kids have never had a problem keeping occupied, moving about the train, hanging in the lounge or socializing. our kids are not disruptive. the small amount of rowdy behaviour i have seen from other kids, and it's not much, has been quickly taken care of by the conductor. reserve early and ahve a good trip. if you are going coach, bring lots of extra food, snacks and books

 

[Guest]

"How family-friendly are fellow passengers, in general?"

Most of us are family-friendly. Just remind your kids that although it may seem like a harmless place that they should continue to keep personal information to themselves when they are away from you. Be sure that your female teens (and you) are dressed conservatively. It's not the place to show your skin, your muffin top or the girls.

Actually, it's a good place to teach your kids how to behave/act when they eventually travel on their own and it's probably more family friendly than flying. If they get lost from you, you have the peace of mind of knowing that they can't be more than a few car lengths away. Put them in charge of figuring out where the stops are and when yours is coming up, of determining when it's time to eat, how to calculate tips. Curfew them. Get them to identify the differences between attendants, conductors, etc and the responsibilities of each. Explain that they will be doing this when they take their Europe-by-train trips in the future.

Advise them ahead of time that there will be some buffoons on there who you may just need to walk away from without comment. Every walk of life will be on the train and they'll have to get used to the idea without complaint. You may be eating with a charming but self-disclosing kleptomaniac, someone who talks to themself, people who ignore you or worse, mannerless Yankees. They'll also encounter some grouchy employees. But, they'll also meet people who are like themselves. Everyone will move on in time. Also advise them that if someone makes them uncomfortable to tell you about it.

Explain to your kids about stretch breaks and how long they last in addition to reboarding and ahead of time make a plan for how to deal with those breaks so you're not scrambling to find your kids after the train gets on its way. Atlanta, Meridian(?) and Charlotte are 2 on that route. Charlotte (platform) is not particularly scenic and you should probably stay down below on the platform (not go up the long flight of stairs/elevator) in Atlanta.

And, as everyone on here will tell you, don't travel with a tight schedule. Consider delays part of the adventure. Tell your children to be on the watch for railfans sporting scanners. These guys love to talk trains and can probably explain every inch of the train, as well as the reason for any delays.

I don't know how YOU define enjoyable, but the trip is usually what you make of it and the attitude that you take on the adventure. You will be richer in experiences for having slowed down and taken Amtrak. By taking Amtrak, your adventure starts when you board and not when you get to your destination.

 

[Alice]

I don't have children. But the teenagers I've run into on trains are fine. Some are quiet and just sit around with headphones and/or a book, some take pictures, some are outgoing and initiate conversations with strangers who make eye contact and smile, etc. If I were a parent of good kids, I'd let them go to the dining car without me so they'd meet other people and practice their judgment and math for tip calculation.

Also, I'm probably not the only person here who started traveling on trains as a kid. In my case, my first solo trip was age 12, with a couple of passenger cars attached to a freight train from LA to Wyoming. The train was nearly empty and I got to ride in the locomotive !!! part way. That experience makes me partial to making sure kids like trains.

How about assigning interested kids to write the trip report, with photos? They can prepare by reading other trip reports with and without photos, and by reading route notes so they know some things to look for. You might have one or more who would like that.

 

[Walt]

My kid is now 9, and I let him wander the train between stops. I am still a bit apprehensive about letting him wander when the train is stopped at a station for fear he might get off the train (for something, anything, that grabs his interest). He knows how to safely move around the train, and between cars.

I will admit I wander a bit too. That's one of the things I live about the train. The ability to stretch my legs and walk around, occasionally.

He brings his DS, and I bring my portable DVD player. Between the two, he stays pretty occupied.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

We are looking to take the Crescent, round trip NOL to NYP next June. We've never traveled by train before and I want the experience to be enjoyable for all of us.
Do families use Amtrak very much for long distance travel?

Without question. Some trains (not the Crescent) with bi-level Superliner cars even have "Family Bedrooms"

Are there usually other kids on board?

Depends on the particular train (the Acela has few or none since kids get no discount on it) and the time of year- when school is in, kids are less likely to be riding long-distance overnight trains. On the whole, though, yes.

How teen friendly is Amtrak?

It can depend on the specific crew, but on the whole pretty good. Also depends on the kid. If there are other teens on board, there is plenty of opportunity to join in on the sometimes party-like atmosphere in the lounge car. Drinking is present, but is usually not a problem. Problems often find themselves sitting on the side of a grade crossing watching the train fade into the distance.

How family-friendly are fellow passergers, in general?

If you are open to make friends, you will make friends on Amtrak. Its not like a plane. People are generally nice, understanding, friendly, and social. A train is a social place.

Is it safe and acceptable to let a younger teen move about on a train, unattended? (They aren't wild, boisterous kids.)

So long as they don't have money for alcohol, there is no problem whatsoever. And if your kids aren't the kind that would go behind your back, there is even less of a one. I was free-roaming trains when I was less than ten years old.

Is the lounge car suitable for kids to hang out and socialize, if there are several onboard?

Absolutely. Just keep in mind that trains are a social environment, and there are people over 21. Drinking is present. I do remember one time needing my sleeping car attendant's help to finish getting back to my roomette. She got a big tip, btw. Its not a bar, mind you. But it is a definite factor on a train.

Advise them ahead of time that there will be some buffoons on there (like one of the frequent writers (from NJ) on this forum) who you may just need to walk away from without comment.

Let me tell you that PRR60 is a nice guy.

Seriously, though, I'm not that bad a person. Forceful with my opinions, but anyone whose met me in person will tell you I come across a lot better when I have a voice with which to better modulate my intonations.

Oh, one last thing. Don't judge anyone by their appearences on the train. One of the nicest guys I've met on the trains was a sloppy, fat bum with ridiculously wild hair and a beard even more untidy and unkempt then mine is. Nice, very bright, very friendly guy. We spent hours chatting in the lounge.

 

[CajunLiner]

Thank you all for your replies. My family has made a couple of transatlantic crossings by ship and enjoyed it rather a lot. The kids were allowed the run of the public spaces. Their best memories of the crossings were the friends they made. We were hoping that train travel would be something analogous, if not quite the same, time being the main difference. From the tone of the replies, I believe that it may be.

Thanks again.

 

[Dan O]

I took a 20 yr old and 16 yr old from LA to Chicago and back. Actually the 20 yr old went on to CT and came back a few weeks later. They were not a lot of teens on the train to Chicago but on the way back 2/3 of coach was occupied by Boy Scouts. 115 got off in Raton NM. They had a great time.

They were all over the train, as were my kids. The lounge car was a good place for them, and me, to hang out.

There were all types of folks on the train--singles, families, couples, etc.

Dan

 

[GAT]

On my recent Sunset Limited trip, a family with two teenage boys rode with us. They had a basketball and exercised on the back of the platforms at each of our stops by dribbling one-on-one up and down and around the various posts, etc. on the platform. It was not only agood way for them to let off steam; it was a source of entertainment for the rest of the folks watching - they were pretty good. Moral - make sure your kids have something to let them get some good exercise on the longer train trips. By the way, these kids were extremely considerate of other folks and kept their exercising out of their way. Sometimes Dad joined in, but the boys out-manoeuvered him evry time. Very amusing.

 

[da40flyer]

On my CS trip recently, there weren't too many teens on there. And the ones that were on there were buried in their iPods, dvd players, laptops, etc etc etc and basically kept to themselves. Most of the kids on there were 10 and under from what I saw and they just basically hung out in the joke car, I mean the arcade car.

 

[RailFanLNK]

I've had two sets of teenagers with two different women ride the train with me. The first set of teens were very challenging teens to deal with and they were excellent on the train. It was their first time riding Amtrak and were looking forward to it allthough they would never convey that to me. I could tell they loved it and had a blast. The second set of teens is my girlfriend Brenda's daughters. They have ridden the CZ, SWC, LSL, Carolinian, Acela, and the CL in the last year. There ages are 16 and 18, they LOVE taking Amtrak and the older one is going to be receiving the Student Advantage card from me for her birthday in September. She's already planning out either a trip to Winter Park CO or Chicago for spring break with her new college friends.

You need to be prepared for ANYTHING! There's a site called On Track On Line that has helpful hints on Amtrak travel that are extremely helpful. My first rule is this: Take off your watch and throw it in to the luggage. You will not be on time. DO not have something planned for the minute you detrain such as Broadway tickets etc. One more tip, we went to NYC this summer and almost missed our connecting train. So if your going to be in NYC longer than two days, book the expensive shows more than 1 day later. If we would have missed our connecting train, we would have missed Blue Man Group on Friday June 27th, thus eating $276. So lets say you are scheduled to arrive in NYP on Thursday night, maybe have the pre-bought tickets for stuff not starting until Saturday just in case. Also, you can PM me here if you have questions about New York City. Make for sure you look into Big Apple Greeter. You will love it and its FREE!

 

[Walt]

They were not a lot of teens on the train to Chicago but on the way back 2/3 of coach was occupied by Boy Scouts. 115 got off in Raton NM. They had a great time.

When we use to take our Boy Scout troop on a train trip to NYC, MetroNorth use to put on an extra car just for us. I don't know if it was for our convenience, or the convenience of all their other passengers (to separate us from them).

 

[Dan O]

When we use to take our Boy Scout troop on a train trip to NYC, MetroNorth use to put on an extra car just for us. I don't know if it was for our convenience, or the convenience of all their other passengers (to separate us from them).

They did go up to the snack bar/lounge car a lot but it was good to see them enjoying themselves. If I was not sitting right next to the door I would not have noticed much at all.

Oh..they were boisterous in the lounge car but good kids having clean fun is a joy to see for me.

Dan