Baggage Policy on Connecting Trains

[dlagrua]

Having been an Amtrak rider for quite a few years I should know the answer to this question but since all of our trips have been on one overnight train only, baggage transfer has not been an issue. Next year we are planning a trip from PHL to SEA via the Cardinal to CHI and the EB on to SEA.

We will check our luggage at PHL. Do we get it back and need to recheck it in CHI, or does it just get transferred onto the train to SEA?

We will be on the train in a bedroom, for three days and three nights and obviously need clean clothing changes during that time. Will we have the opportunity to restock our clothing from our luggage in CHI or will we need to pack all needs in our overnight bags for the entire trip?

 

[Ryan]

You won't have access to the bags in Chicago, they'll be taken from train to train for you.

 

[zephyr17]

It will go straight through to Seattle. You should take what you need in carry on.

 

[Henry Kisor]

One suggestion: Buy a couple of sets of quick-dry underwear and shirts from an outdoors outfitter like REI and wash and wring them out. They'll be dry in less than 24 hours. I was also going to suggest a small hair dryer to speed things up, but don't know if that would trip the breakers for the in-room electric outlets. Anyone know if they can handle 750 watts?

 

[Ryan]

There's plenty of room to have 3 changes of clothes each in your room, no need to try and do laundry on the train.

 

[ehbowen]

I should mention that you do have the option to ask the Philadelphia agent to check your luggage only as far as Chicago, claim it in Chicago, shuffle around whichever items you need, and then check it back in for your final destination. I ended up doing this accidentally on my first trip...when the agent in Houston asked our destination I told him "Chicago" even though our final destination was in Michigan. I didn't realize at the time that I could have escaped the hassle by checking the luggage on to my final destination from the start and having Amtrak handle the bags.

However, that is a big hassle, especially when the train you are connecting from is late. Much better to bring along a carry-on bag with all the clothes and sundries you will need on the train and let your checked bags stay out of sight and out of mind until you arrive at your final destination.

 

[spot1181]

Make that two sets of clothes. After a shower, turn the "dirty clothes inside out and wear them one more day. But you really don't get dirty on a train, just ask a coach rider, who can't enjoy a shower.

 

[Sandy McBride]

Make that two sets of clothes. After a shower, turn the "dirty clothes inside out and wear them one more day. But you really don't get dirty on a train, just ask a coach rider, who can't enjoy a shower.

What do people in coach smell like after being stuck on the train for 2 and half days? (NYC-CHI-LA in July, for example)

I'm not sure if I want to know the answer to that question.

 

[Ryan]

You're sitting around in the air conditioning doing nothing. It ain't that bad (and I'm the kind of guy that usually CANNOT start my day without a shower).

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Sponge baths

 

[SarahZ]

What Ryan and AB said. You're basically sitting around, and it's pretty easy to take a sponge bath and put on deodorant in the bathroom. I carried a washcloth with a little bit of body wash in a Ziploc baggie.

Some people board the train smelling pretty bad, or they simply reek in general (stale cigarette odor), but those are few and far between. I've never had an unpleasant experience in coach. I did have one guy board in CO who smelled like he'd just come off the farm, and the car attendant allowed me to switch seats.