alcohol in coach

[Henry Kisor]

As well as a thread about boozing and the rules on the train, there has been a thread about smoking and the rules on the train. But there has not yet been a thread about sex and the rules on the train. Does anyone wish to start one?

 

[Ryan]

There's no rule that I know against it.

I hope there isn't one. h34r:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The rules say I can drink any type of alcohol anywhere on the train so long as I buy it from Amtrak.

Full stop.

Face it folks, these rules are not about protecting rowdy drinkers from obnoxious holier-than-thou families, and if you believe they are you probably haven't thought it through yet.

As for private relations on a train I'm not aware of any written rules in public documents. I guess you'd have to file a FOIA request for that one. Based on SCA's I've talked with over the years dealing with such activity is just part of the job to them. My advice for anyone looking to engage in that kind of thing is to be quiet about it. Your neighbors will absolutely know what you're up to if you're not.

 

[Old man vagabond]

As well as a thread about boozing and the rules on the train, there has been a thread about smoking and the rules on the train. But there has not yet been a thread about sex and the rules on the train. Does anyone wish to start one?

There's a drink named "Sex on the beach" but I'm not familiar with sex on a train.

Sounds like I've been sleeping too soundly.

 

[zephyr17]

Bottom line, if you want your own booze or some nooky, get a sleeper

 

[Ispolkom]

Bottom line, if you want your own booze or some nooky, get a sleeper

I think that you have an ad campaign there!

 

[Old man vagabond]

Bottom line, if you want your own booze or some nooky, get a sleeper

I didn't know sleepers came stocked with booze and nooky.

Might be worth the extra cost. :giggle:

 

[JayPea]

On my cross-country trip last summer, my uncle and I had dinner the first night on the CZ out of Chicago with a young couple who were on their honeymoon enroute to Vail, CO. This couple were new to train travel and as we gave them tips about various aspects of train travel, we mentioned how interesting it was to sit in the SSL after dinner hours and converse with fellow passengers. The young lady made it abundantly clear that they weren't going to be anywhere near the SSL after dinner, much less conversing with other passengers. :giggle:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

When this train's a rocking don't come a knockin'...

When it doubt, show her the Sunset Route...

Nothing could be finer than lowering your recliner...

Don't wait for fate, make it an Amtrak date...

 

[BCL]

The rules say I can drink any type of alcohol anywhere on the train so long as I buy it from Amtrak.

I figured that out quickly. The other heavy rail system I take regularly is Caltrain, and they still have a policy where alcohol is allowed except for "special event" nights after 9 PM. This would normally be the day of San Jose Sharks or San Francisco Giants games. They don't sell anything on board, so obviously it would have to be one's own supply. I've seen groups with cases of beer. I've brought my own - typically 24 oz or less. I talked to a conductor about it, and he says that the stainless steel in the vestibules is relatively easy to clean. That's where some drinkers go after they've had 3 or 4 too many.

As for the beer on Amtrak - I really don't know about paying $5 for a 12 oz bottle of beer when I could get a six pack for just a little bit more and bring it in myself. Do the LD trains have beer on tap? I've only had breakfast and didn't ask about alcohol. Would they even serve alcohol with breakfast? A nice Sunday Champagne brunch sounds nice.

 

[Ryan]

If you're buying it from Amtrak, they can cut you off before you get too out of control.

 

[MattW]

The rules say I can drink any type of alcohol anywhere on the train so long as I buy it from Amtrak.

Full stop.

Face it folks, these rules are not about protecting rowdy drinkers from obnoxious holier-than-thou families, and if you believe they are you probably haven't thought it through yet.

*SNIP*

To a degree they are actually. The cafe attendant can not sell if the person buying is obviously drunk or already rowdy. In some places (why Amtrak hasn't pulled interstate commerce supremacy on alcohol is beyond me) I believe it's a requirement to not sell to someone who is already intoxicated. Could someone drink themselves silly in a bedroom, then wander into a public space? Sure. But, the same would apply for someone getting drunk in their house then wandering into public.

 

[Henry Kisor]

In my experience (not personal experience, he said primly) plenty of sexual hijinks go on everywhere on the train. Folks employ the bathrooms. Folks hide themselves under blankets at 2 in the morning. I once opened the shower door in a sleeper to find a young couple engaged in amorous pursuits. Conductors have told me hair-raising stories of goings-on in the baggage compartment of coach/baggage cars in California. The best story is always of a pair who met in the lounge car and then repaired to the gentleman's sleeper room to further the course of events, and when the train split at (you name it), the lady was marooned in the wrong half of the train and wailed, "What am I going to tell my husband?" I have now heard that story from more than half a dozen sleeper attendants, every one of whom swore the event happened in his car. Probably did, too.

 

[Ryan]

The best story is always of a pair who met in the lounge car and then repaired to the gentleman's sleeper room to further the course of events, and when the train split at (you name it), the lady was marooned in the wrong half of the train and wailed, "What am I going to tell my husband?" I have now heard that story from more than half a dozen sleeper attendants, every one of whom swore the event happened in his car. Probably did, too.

You're right, that story is darn near untoppable.

 

[rusty spike]

As well as a thread about boozing and the rules on the train, there has been a thread about smoking and the rules on the train. But there has not yet been a thread about sex and the rules on the train. Does anyone wish to start one?

There's a drink named "Sex on the beach" but I'm not familiar with sex on a train.

Sounds like I've been sleeping too soundly.

My question is: if it's the "Mile-High Club" on an airplane, what's it called on a train? Romp in the Roomette!

 

[Trainmans daughter]

As well as a thread about boozing and the rules on the train, there has been a thread about smoking and the rules on the train. But there has not yet been a thread about sex and the rules on the train. Does anyone wish to start one?

1. It is not allowed in coach

2. It is best if you bring your own

 

[Henry Kisor]

There could be a Mile and a 3/4 High Club for those who reach the pinnacle at the 9,278-foot mark in the Moffat Tunnel, highest point on Amtrak. On the other hand, whoopee at that altitude without oxygen tanks might not be advisable.

 

[OBS]

The rules say I can drink any type of alcohol anywhere on the train so long as I buy it from Amtrak.

I figured that out quickly. The other heavy rail system I take regularly is Caltrain, and they still have a policy where alcohol is allowed except for "special event" nights after 9 PM. This would normally be the day of San Jose Sharks or San Francisco Giants games. They don't sell anything on board, so obviously it would have to be one's own supply. I've seen groups with cases of beer. I've brought my own - typically 24 oz or less. I talked to a conductor about it, and he says that the stainless steel in the vestibules is relatively easy to clean. That's where some drinkers go after they've had 3 or 4 too many.

As for the beer on Amtrak - I really don't know about paying $5 for a 12 oz bottle of beer when I could get a six pack for just a little bit more and bring it in myself. Do the LD trains have beer on tap? I've only had breakfast and didn't ask about alcohol. Would they even serve alcohol with breakfast? A nice Sunday Champagne brunch sounds nice.

No Amtrak trains have beer on tap. It was tried on the Acela and was a disaster. You can purchase alcohol with breakfast, you won't find any champagne other than on Acela F/C, The only exception being the few states that prohibit morning/Sunday liquor sales.

 

[VentureForth]

Interestingly, coming up on the Silver Meteor from Florida into Georgia on a Sunday: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are 15 minutes away from the Georgia border. We will no longer be serving alcohol in the cafe."

However, I think in the DINER, it's still OK, because it's a restaurant, not a Point-Of-Sale...

Incidently, I believe that the voters in Georgia renounced the Blue laws last year, but I don't think Amtrak got the word.... :wacko:

 

[BCL]

The rules say I can drink any type of alcohol anywhere on the train so long as I buy it from Amtrak.

I figured that out quickly. The other heavy rail system I take regularly is Caltrain, and they still have a policy where alcohol is allowed except for "special event" nights after 9 PM. This would normally be the day of San Jose Sharks or San Francisco Giants games. They don't sell anything on board, so obviously it would have to be one's own supply. I've seen groups with cases of beer. I've brought my own - typically 24 oz or less. I talked to a conductor about it, and he says that the stainless steel in the vestibules is relatively easy to clean. That's where some drinkers go after they've had 3 or 4 too many.

As for the beer on Amtrak - I really don't know about paying $5 for a 12 oz bottle of beer when I could get a six pack for just a little bit more and bring it in myself. Do the LD trains have beer on tap? I've only had breakfast and didn't ask about alcohol. Would they even serve alcohol with breakfast? A nice Sunday Champagne brunch sounds nice.

No Amtrak trains have beer on tap. It was tried on the Acela and was a disaster. You can purchase alcohol with breakfast, you won't find any champagne other than on Acela F/C, The only exception being the few states that prohibit morning/Sunday liquor sales.

I always wondered what happens when passing through Utah. I've visited the national parks in Utah, and it seemed as if the federal law enforcement there weren't that concerned about enforcing Utah's strict alcohol laws. Technically one isn't even supposed to transport personal alcohol (purchased out of state) through Utah, and there are only limited exceptions such as when one inherits a stash of booze or is bringing in duty free alcohol purchased overseas. Even so, the Utah authorities supposedly stake out stores on the border for Utah plates and arrest people who they see loading beer into their trunk once they enter the state. I believe they would need the cooperation of the local law enforcement. I can't see how they would do this on the train, or even if a conductor would even let local/state law enforcement enter a train to conduct an alcohol check.

 

[Shortline]

As well as a thread about boozing and the rules on the train, there has been a thread about smoking and the rules on the train. But there has not yet been a thread about sex and the rules on the train. Does anyone wish to start one?

There's a drink named "Sex on the beach" but I'm not familiar with sex on a train.

Sounds like I've been sleeping too soundly.

My question is: if it's the "Mile-High Club" on an airplane, what's it called on a train? Romp in the Roomette!

I don't know what it's called on Amtrak....but...it's not unheard of in the freight world, to be called the Mile Long club.....so I hear.

As for Alcohol in coach? Meh-At $7/beer or whatever they charge now, it's no wonder people are bringing their own. I guess I'll worry more about following Amtrak policy, when Amtrak starts to worry about following Amtrak policy. I just don't care, as long as people keep to themselves, and keep it down.

Unfortunately last night on the Flyer coming in to OKC, a pax couldn't keep it down....puked in the trash bag by the stairs as he was getting off, then again on the platform outside the door, then again on the tracks, opposite the train, then again outside the station. I'm guessing he spent at least $84 in the cafe to have that much to get rid of upon arrival.

 

[MattW]

Interestingly, coming up on the Silver Meteor from Florida into Georgia on a Sunday: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are 15 minutes away from the Georgia border. We will no longer be serving alcohol in the cafe."

However, I think in the DINER, it's still OK, because it's a restaurant, not a Point-Of-Sale...

Incidently, I believe that the voters in Georgia renounced the Blue laws last year, but I don't think Amtrak got the word.... :wacko:

Only some areas changed the laws, and it's not a cut and dry renouncement, some have time limits, some have location limits. Amtrak really should grow a backbone and start using its Interstate Commerce status to tell the states what it thinks of their draconian alcohol laws.

 

[Big Iron]

In my experience (not personal experience, he said primly) plenty of sexual hijinks go on everywhere on the train. Folks employ the bathrooms. Folks hide themselves under blankets at 2 in the morning. I once opened the shower door in a sleeper to find a young couple engaged in amorous pursuits. Conductors have told me hair-raising stories of goings-on in the baggage compartment of coach/baggage cars in California. The best story is always of a pair who met in the lounge car and then repaired to the gentleman's sleeper room to further the course of events, and when the train split at (you name it), the lady was marooned in the wrong half of the train and wailed, "What am I going to tell my husband?" I have now heard that story from more than half a dozen sleeper attendants, every one of whom swore the event happened in his car. Probably did, too.

Talking with a long time SCA on the CL I said I missed the dome era upon which she laughed and said the crew used to refer to the dome car as the "Love Shack."

 

[oldtimer]

In my experience (not personal experience, he said primly) plenty of sexual hijinks go on everywhere on the train. Folks employ the bathrooms. Folks hide themselves under blankets at 2 in the morning. I once opened the shower door in a sleeper to find a young couple engaged in amorous pursuits. Conductors have told me hair-raising stories of goings-on in the baggage compartment of coach/baggage cars in California. The best story is always of a pair who met in the lounge car and then repaired to the gentleman's sleeper room to further the course of events, and when the train split at (you name it), the lady was marooned in the wrong half of the train and wailed, "What am I going to tell my husband?" I have now heard that story from more than half a dozen sleeper attendants, every one of whom swore the event happened in his car. Probably did, too.

Talking with a long time SCA on the CL I said I missed the dome era upon which she laughed and said the crew used to refer to the dome car as the "Love Shack."

I've heard it called the 79 mph club on the railroad!

 

[gdj]

When prohibition was repealed one of the trade offs to get it repealed was to vastly limit the application of the interstate commerce clause to a state's regulation of alcohol. I wonder if this is why Amtrak follows state law? The railroad operated passenger services followed local law regarding alcohol.