Amtrak Enhancement Kit

[spot1181]

Pick up a copy of "USA By Rail by John Pitt" for each couple. All can then follow the cities, towns, rivers, bridges and landmarks on all your routes.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Earplugs, definitely and make sure you get the good ones (wich will reduce the noise level for more than 30 db)As you are quite a few people : a deck of playing cards.

I wouldn't bring a DVD-player with me, that's not exactly what trains are made for, as they have the movie right outside.

(call me nuts but I found interesting even the landscapes of North Dakota)

i say still bring it. you can't see anything at night and if your not sleepy. i will be bringing my laptop with built in dvd player so i can watch dvds while looking outside(i can multy task)

 

[cee]

1. extra earphones!! everyone always mentions extra batteries but the earphones are so delicate, if they get caught on something & rip or if you step on them, there goes the soundtrack to that beautiful movie outside the window as a previous poster said! if you really wanna get nutty, extra sponges for same...

2. last trip, i brought freeze dried (not conventionally dried) fruit (from nutsonline.com)--it weighs next to nothing (a consideration when packing) & there's lots of variety--again, if you want to get crazy you could stew it in some hot water & make a compote! they also have freeze dried corn kernels! all this for when they run out of food or have serious lateness...

 

[JayPea]

I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.

I like the freeze-dried fruit idea. I'm diabetic so have to be a bit careful about what I eat and the last trip I took on the California Zephyr last month the menu didn't include fresh fruit. I don't know if that's true of all trains but that's a tip I might have to check out for my next trip in August.

 

[cee]

you are right--fresh fruit is scarce--i think if any stop had a fruit stand, it would be a gold mine

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Nope, not a joke. We do have two dollar bills, but they aren't very common over here and rarely seen in general currency exchanges. One has to visit a bank normally and request them, if one wants them.

And in the case of at least one bank I've dealt with, they don't stock $2 bills unless you ask them to, and even if they do stock them in response to your request, they may not automatically continue to stock them. (Though it occurs to me that I should try this experiment with another bank that seems to be a bit better at figuring out what I want and providing it without complaint.)

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.

Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.

 

[JayPea]

I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.

Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.

Agreed. Since I don't own a portable DVD player nor a laptop, I have to use the book option. A very good option, too.

 

[jmbgeg]

Sleeper or coach, and where are you going to and from-- we'll customize your "Enhancement" kit with that information.

Some of these answers assume that you are in a sleeper:

-Slippers or comfortable shoes to lounge around in on the long distance trains.

-IPOD or other means of listening to music or audio books.

-Lots of reading material.

-A small alarm clock.

-Digital camera.

-A small (round) ice cooler (e.g. 1 quart). Saves you trips to the ice chest and keeps a supply on hand when the ice chest runs out).

-If you partake, your favorite adult beverages. A lot better than the mini bottles they sell for $5 in the lounge cars. Mixer too.

-Dry snacks (chips, peanuts, etc), cheese, cookies, muffins or other snacks.

-Portable salt and pepper if you plan on having sleeper room service. Too often you get served and they forget the salt and pepper.

-Shampoo. None offered in the sleepers.

-Tip change.

 

[oldtimer]

Someone mentioned $2 bills, was that a joke, I have never seen any in my trips over there?

Nope, not a joke. We do have two dollar bills, but they aren't very common over here and rarely seen in general currency exchanges. One has to visit a bank normally and request them, if one wants them.

That's why AAARGH mentioned that they stand out with the crew and that they tend to remember passengers because of them, since it's rare to see a $2 bill.

Exactly!

I always thought it was a myth... does it get you better service or anything? Do they actually remember you as "the two-dollar bill guy" ?

Well, I have not had bad service, but in reality I don't think it makes too much difference. But I can't be sure of that. It's not like I'm going to ask them "did you give me better service because I left you $2 bills last night? :huh:

I travel with my twin brother, and I think that is more memorable than the $2 bills.

I also travel with my twin brother, but he was an only child.

 

[TrackWalker]

Two dollar bills are rare-- but they are in circulation and are legal tender.

Two dollar bills are NOT rare. Over $1 Billion Dollars worth of them were printed in the summer of 2006. (series 2003A)

I've spent over 8,276 of them over the last 3 years. (Yes. I do keep track of them. www.wheresgeorge.com )

What happens is that people save them in their sock drawer thinking they are rare. Most merchants don't like them so they send them back to the bank. Banks don't like to deal with them so they send them back to the local Federal Reserve.

Ask for them at your local banks. If your bank doesn't have any ask them to order you a strap (100 bills, $200) If they say they can't, it simply means they don't want to. They need to understand at that point you are the customer.

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

 

[Chris J.]

I'd agree about the DVD player. I don't own a portable DVD player nor do I have a laptop but can see the use of bringing one. As Kiss Alive said, if you are awake during the darkness, it can help pass the time pretty fast. Seeing nothing but an occasional light IMHO gets old really fast.

Depending on a person's preferences, a book can be just as effective.

Agreed. Since I don't own a portable DVD player nor a laptop, I have to use the book option. A very good option, too.

There are advantages of a book over a laptop of a DVD player. It won't run out of batteries, it's start-up and shut-down times are about zero (you may need to use a book mark to help here) and if you lose it or leave it behind or someone steals it it's not going to cost you a fortune to replace it.

 

[Shanghai]

If you travel in coach, some toilet paper would be a good idea!! When we lived in Asia, my wife took toilet paper everywhere we went!!

Enjoy your trip.

 

[p&sr]

There are advantages of a book over a laptop or a DVD player...

And you never find yourself "locked out" by forgetting the Password! :lol:

 

[amtrakwolverine]

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.

n February 2005, a patron of Best Buy attempted to pay for an electronics installation with 57 $2 bills.[15] The cashier refused to accept them and marked them as counterfeit. The cashier then called the police, and the patron was handcuffed until a U.S. Treasury Agent arrived to clear up the issue. The suspicion was supposedly caused by ink smearing on the bills, which is not uncommon, and by the fact that the serial numbers on the bills were in sequential order.[13]

In a story, documented on Snopes.com,[13] a Taco Bell patron attempted to pay for a burrito with a two-dollar bill. The cashier and the store manager both refused to accept it as valid U.S. currency, believing that there was no such thing as a two-dollar bill. When the patron then said that the only other bill he had was a fifty-dollar bill, the manager said that since it was less than an hour to closing, he didn't want to open the safe. When the patron insisted on paying with it, they called the security guard, who then explained that two-dollar bills are actually valid U.S. currency.
Others have written in to Snopes to report similar incidents at other restaurants.[14]

 

[AlanB]

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.

While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.

However a tip is a reward for service, not payment for service. If they don't believe that the bill is real, the only things that they can do is to throw it away and give you lousy service. Having a condcutor throw you off the train for possible false tipping is not an option.

 

[RRrich]

When I was an undergrad a friend sold pads of 12 two dollar bills for $25. We put them into checkbook folders and used them to pay for stuff.

Anything for a laugh - and with us it didn't take a lot

 

[MrFSS]

When I was in the service in the early 60's the base where I was stationed in Colorado paid all the enlisted men with two-dollar bills one pay day. Seems the local town's people didn't think the military contributed anything to their economy. Were they rudely awakened when they had so many 2's they didn't know what to do with them. Especially the bars!

 

[Upstate]

When I was in the service in the early 60's the base where I was stationed in Colorado paid all the enlisted men with two-dollar bills one pay day. Seems the local town's people didn't think the military contributed anything to their economy. Were they rudely awakened when they had so many 2's they didn't know what to do with them. Especially the bars!

Clemson did the same sort of thing in the seventies with Georgia Tech and created a tradition for away games.

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/d...l-going-strong/

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

The Wikipedia article may be of interest.

 

[Hanno]

Two dollar bills are rare-- but they are in circulation and are legal tender.

Two dollar bills are NOT rare. Over $1 Billion Dollars worth of them were printed in the summer of 2006. (series 2003A)

I've spent over 8,276 of them over the last 3 years. (Yes. I do keep track of them. www.wheresgeorge.com )

What happens is that people save them in their sock drawer thinking they are rare. Most merchants don't like them so they send them back to the bank. Banks don't like to deal with them so they send them back to the local Federal Reserve.

Ask for them at your local banks. If your bank doesn't have any ask them to order you a strap (100 bills, $200) If they say they can't, it simply means they don't want to. They need to understand at that point you are the customer.

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

Has anyone ever used $1 dollar coins for tipping?

 

[jmbgeg]

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.

While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.

However a tip is a reward for service, not payment for service. If they don't believe that the bill is real, the only things that they can do is to throw it away and give you lousy service. Having a condcutor throw you off the train for possible false tipping is not an option.

Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.

 

[Guest]

Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.

Tip the car attendent two $2, or five $2, or ten $2.

And there are the Red Caps too.

 

[MrFSS]

Has anyone ever used $1 dollar coins for tipping?

When I'm in Canada as that's all they have is $1 coins - no bills. In fact no $2 bills, just coins, too. Wonder if the US will ever go that way. Nice with the Euros, too, in coins at the lower denominations.

 

[ALC Rail Writer]

So, yes. $2 bills should be an integral part of your kit.

but how many LSA or SAs will say that's a counterfeit bill and have you tossed off the train. there have been incidents like that.

While I won't deny that there have been issues with people trying to use 2 bills, neither your sleeping car attendant nor the LSA toss you off the train. Especially for tipping them with a 2 bill. Only a conductor has the power to throw you off the train. Perhaps if one tried to pay for one's meal, they might have a case with the conductor if all were so uninformed about the bills, since that could be considered theft of services.

However a tip is a reward for service, not payment for service. If they don't believe that the bill is real, the only things that they can do is to throw it away and give you lousy service. Having a condcutor throw you off the train for possible false tipping is not an option.

Other than for meals in the dining car, what types of service might one tip only $2 for? That is below the customary level of tips for sleeping car attendents, which per other threads tend to run $5-10-20.

Tip a bill every time they do something. Change wake up call? $2. Change your room? $2. Bring your meal to you? $2. Set the beds for the night? $2.