Dress code?

[D.P. Roberts]

I've read several posts stating that most people on trains dress very casually (i.e. sweats and t-shirts). Is this true for most LD trains?

I can't imagine that most people dress that way for dinner. Is there good reason to bring slacks and a dress shirt for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (especially if I don't need one for the rest of the trip)?

 

[AlanB]

Well the choice is certainly your's, but I don't dress for dinner and neither do most passengers. I usually have a casual, button color shirt on, along with a pair of jeans when I head for the diner for dinner. Some people do dress a little better than me, but I don't think that I've ever seen anyone in really dressy cloths on Amtrak.

However many do come to dinner in just a T-shirt, tanktop, and such.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

I work in the theater and even durring Symphonies and Opera I have witness dress from tatered t-shirts to formal tuxes.

May I suggest wear what you feel confortable in. The Diner during breakfast and lunch is about the same as any family resturant, at dinner like a better Family resturant

Enjoy

 

[AlanB]

May I suggest wear what you feel confortable in.

Seems like sound advice to me.

 

[x-press]

Welcome to today's U.S. society. While I don't quite understand the old pictures I see of people going to the beach in long pants and sitting in their yard with a sweater and tie, even a 28-year-old like me sometimes thinks we've gone a bit too far the other way, now.

In any case, what the others have said is correct: In a time when people go to broadway shows in jeans, people wear ANYthing they feel like in an Amtrak diner. I watched a rather hairy guy sit down at a white-clothed table in jeans and basically an underwear shirt (a tank top, technically, but inappropriate even by tank top standards) on the Meteor a few years back. I wasn't on the train (just looking in the window), but I would have been annoyed if I was.

 

[frychikn]

As long as you are neat and clean it is not a problem how you dress. I have been lucky in my train travels in that I haven't come in contact with anybody unclean or dressed like a slob. The only dress code rule I know of for sure is that you MUST wear shoes if not in your seat or sleeper compartment.

 

[Amtrak OBS Gone Freight]

Welcome to today's U.S. society. While I don't quite understand the old pictures I see of people going to the beach in long pants and sitting in their yard with a sweater and tie, even a 28-year-old like me sometimes thinks we've gone a bit too far the other way, now.
In any case, what the others have said is correct: In a time when people go to broadway shows in jeans, people wear ANYthing they feel like in an Amtrak diner.

I must say at 32yo I kinda feel the same way as "x-press" in this situation, though I guess this is all just a sign of the times.

But I will say this at least. Over here on "Silver Service" if you ever are (or have been) asked to politely to remove your hat/ballcap when in the dining car, you are most likely in the process of meeting (or already have met) me! OBS...

 

[jamesontheroad]

Perhaps if Amtrak were to raise the standard of cuisine from the standard of a 'family restaurant' to something a little more sophisticated, people would dress smarter?

*j*

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

It is a good question and I am one of the ones on this board who was riding the trains back when it was, indeed, the custom to dress for dinner.

That would be especially true if you were in a sleeper. Folks in coach probably did not dress up , but then some of them did not eat in the diner anyway. Or.....maybe the stayed dressed up the whole time, do not really remember.

Then, the question became: do I stay dressed in a suit to spend the rest of the evening in the lounge car or dome or whatever or do I return to my room and change back to casual? And of course THEN have to change again later for bed.

Also, one was at one time expected to be reasonably well dressed to check into hotels. Sooooooooooo, that meant dressiing in a suit AGAIN before you deboarded the train.Checking out of hotels casual, however, was not a problem.

All of this clothes changing while hurtling along at 70, or 80 or plus mph!!!

We don't have it so bad today, after all, just dressing for bed. And, I am no style expert (throw books at me if you wish) but I don't think we had quite as good of a selection of what might be called "business casual" back then, which would be ok almost anywhere. I seem to recall the distinctions between being dressed up and not were sharper than they are today. I might be wrong about that.

BYW remember as pointed out on other posts here, there were very few showers on trains back then, so mostly all of this clothes changing also could involve so-called sponge baths. (the doing of which felt even more ridiculous than a real shower)

All of this in the past. You should be clean and decent, you don't want an undershirt with seventeen spills, etcetc, on it, you get the idea.

 

[RailFanLNK]

IMHO....when you are on a LD train, you need to dress as comfortably as possible. About the only time I really get dressed "up" in life is to bury someone or Christmas Church services. I won't go to the Dining Car looking like a slob, I will at least be in baggy shorts, polo shirt (tucked in) and hair styled and combed. Otherwise, when I board at night, and relax in coach or a sleeper car, I'm usually in a hospital scrub suit (the pants are shorts) which is the most comfortable outfit I have.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

What I'm hearing here is really a discussion of dress from the standpoint of a sleeper passenger, who has a place to go (his compartment) to change comfortably, and a small suitcase to change from. And a shower. He/she has a place to hang clothes to get the wrinkles out. Coach passengers don't really have ANY of that. They are generally going to be wearing whatever they wore when they got on the train. Changing in a restroom at 70 mph isn't really fun, and can be messy, and even dangerous. And both sleeper and coach passengers eat at the same time in that diner. That all needs to be remembered before you start complaining about what people wear (ball caps excepted). And those coach passengers are the only ones bringing actual greenbacks into that diner system.

 

[rmgreenesq]

I must say at 32yo I kinda feel the same way as "x-press" in this situation, though I guess this is all just a sign of the times. But I will say this at least. Over here on "Silver Service" if you ever are (or have been) asked to politely to remove your hat/ballcap when in the dining car, you are most likely in the process of meeting (or already have met) me! OBS...

OBS... I'll be the one wearing the Red Sox ball cap in the diner on the Silver Star the week after labor day. Actually, I'll probably have the cap in my hand as between my mother and the US armed forces, hat etiquette has been pretty much been hard wired into my brain.

As to clothing customs and etiquette in the pre-Amtrak, pre-airline days, I'd be happy to talk to my grandmother and father about this. My grandmother is well into her 90's. She and my grandfather were the first members of my family tree to make it to the middle class. She rembmbers the great depression and world war 2 like it was yesterday. Always the social butterfly, she would know the fashion rules and customs of train travel back when it was the only way to travel.

My father worked for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Kansas City as a young man in the 1950s. I'm not sure what he did for them or even if he had any passenger contact, but there is no harm in asking. He might also have some insights.

They are both on the west coast where it is a little before 7:00 am. I'll call them later today.

Rick

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I must say at 32yo I kinda feel the same way as "x-press" in this situation, though I guess this is all just a sign of the times.

But I will say this at least. Over here on "Silver Service" if you ever are (or have been) asked to politely to remove your hat/ballcap when in the dining car, you are most likely in the process of meeting (or already have met) me! OBS...

OBS... I'll be the one wearing the Red Sox ball cap in the diner on the Silver Star the week after labor day. Actually, I'll probably have the cap in my hand as between my mother and the US armed forces, hat etiquette has been pretty much been hard wired into my brain.

As to clothing customs and etiquette in the pre-Amtrak, pre-airline days, I'd be happy to talk to my grandmother and father about this. My grandmother is well into her 90's. She and my grandfather were the first members of my family tree to make it to the middle class. She rembmbers the great depression and world war 2 like it was yesterday. Always the social butterfly, she would know the fashion rules and customs of train travel back when it was the only way to travel.

My father worked for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in Kansas City as a young man in the 1950s. I'm not sure what he did for them or even if he had any passenger contact, but there is no harm in asking. He might also have some insights.

They are both on the west coast where it is a little before 7:00 am. I'll call them later today.

Rick

It will be interesting to see what your grandparents say. Especially if they remember the open wndow non-air conditioned steam powered trains. Wonder what people wore then, knowing well that they would get dirty? Surely it was casual.

Guess times were already changing by the time I came along. To even feel like I had a choice to switch back and forth between dress and casual must have meant a relaxng of the rules. I suppose my first sleeper rides were about 1965, about 20 or so years old. I don't remember what I wore iin coach,probably casual.

 

[trainflyer]

I usually am wearing a suit and tie when I board, and I will leave the tie on until after dinner. The second day probably just the shirt and trousers. A good friend with whom I've taken the EB likes to wear kitten heels on the train (she usually wears high heels, but that's a bit much for Amtrak). I think passengers boarding directly from work in Chicago and NYC are more likely to be in a suit, as that is more of a standard dress code in those cities.

 

[Chatter163]

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Looks familiar. Tell us the date and the railroad.

 

[Palmland]

What I'm hearing here is really a discussion of dress from the standpoint of a sleeper passenger, who has a place to go (his compartment) to change comfortably, and a small suitcase to change from. And a shower. He/she has a place to hang clothes to get the wrinkles out. Coach passengers don't really have ANY of that. They are generally going to be wearing whatever they wore when they got on the train. Changing in a restroom at 70 mph isn't really fun, and can be messy, and even dangerous. And both sleeper and coach passengers eat at the same time in that diner. That all needs to be remembered before you start complaining about what people wear (ball caps excepted). And those coach passengers are the only ones bringing actual greenbacks into that diner system.

This a good argument to have separate dining for sleeper and coach passengers. Generally I think coach passengers want more of an inexpensive quick service meal - maybe along the lines of the old lunch counter cars where the kids can run around and you can get in and out fast. Because of the big bucks sleeper passengers spend, they want more of the traditional dining car experience. To me that means dressing up a bit with khaki pants, collared shirt and maybe even a sport jacket for dinner. I would certainly ban hairy guys (or anyone) in tank tops and gym attire before being upset with folks wearing caps.

 

[printman2000]

This a good argument to have separate dining for sleeper and coach passengers.

On the Cap Limited they sat all sleeper passengers on one side of the servers area and all coach passengers on the other.

 

[Guest]

I have never seen anyone in a tank top in the dining car, but I have sure seen some very casual ensembles - including baseball caps - backwards, sideways and pulled down over the eyes. Sloppy dress is certainly not limited to coach passengers - sports warm up pants and sweat shirts look good on some people, but if it is a XXXL/XXXXL - please eat at your seat or in your room.

Most of the passengers I have observed have been dressed in casual attire - but seldom have a I seen a sports coat of suit and tie - unless it is a breakfast meal - on a early arrival into the destination. I will almost always have on a suit/blazer and tie when arriving into New York or Washington, since I am going directly to meetings - however if I am going to Miami or some other warm weather climate - an open dress shirt and a sports coat will do.

 

[Anthony]

If the coach passenger has been onboard for a couple of days and hasn't had access to a shower, the cap could be the solution for a bad hair day!

 

[someguyintheusa]

Only person I've ever seen dress up for meals is a minister that put on slacks and a blazer for dinner.

I should point out he was also drinking bloody mary's with his wife at 1030AM in the lounge car :blink:

 

[Everydaymatters]

After years of wearing uncomfortable high heels, nylons, suits, dresses, earrings, necklaces, both in the office and when traveling, I am so very happy to be retired and not have to wear all that uncomfortable "professional looking" gear.

You'll find me in jogging outfits, sweats, and jeans. Broke and having no high wages anymore, you'll also find me in coach. In the same clothes I wore when I got on the train. Let's face it, there's no place to freshen up in coach.

 

[RailFanLNK]

Here in Nebraska we call it a "hat shower". Thats what it is called when you wake up, brush the teeth and throw a cap on your greasy hair as you stroll out the door 5 minutes after waking up! :lol:

 

[Windy City LSA]

On a training trip on the Texas Eagle, the LSA was all wound up on the topic of tank tops. Although there is no Amtrak rule prohibiting them, he claimed he would ask passengers in tank tops to go change. On the way home, I actually got to see him do it. It was a huge pet peeve of this guy!

On the subject of hats...In the Amtrak employee "bible", I for some odd reason retained to memory a "rule" where for reasons of "civility", (I love that word!!) Conductors were to remove their hats when passing through the Dining Car. So I'd always be watching them. I really liked it when they did. It's such a gentlemanly gesture. I would estimate maybe 80% of them actually would remove their hats when seated there or passing throgh. Maybe the rest of them skipped that chapter. :lol:

 

[1702]

What I'm hearing here is really a discussion of dress from the standpoint of a sleeper passenger, who has a place to go (his compartment) to change comfortably, and a small suitcase to change from. And a shower. He/she has a place to hang clothes to get the wrinkles out. Coach passengers don't really have ANY of that. They are generally going to be wearing whatever they wore when they got on the train. Changing in a restroom at 70 mph isn't really fun, and can be messy, and even dangerous. And both sleeper and coach passengers eat at the same time in that diner. That all needs to be remembered before you start complaining about what people wear (ball caps excepted). And those coach passengers are the only ones bringing actual greenbacks into that diner system.

This a good argument to have separate dining for sleeper and coach passengers. Generally I think coach passengers want more of an inexpensive quick service meal - maybe along the lines of the old lunch counter cars where the kids can run around and you can get in and out fast. Because of the big bucks sleeper passengers spend, they want more of the traditional dining car experience. To me that means dressing up a bit with khaki pants, collared shirt and maybe even a sport jacket for dinner. I would certainly ban hairy guys (or anyone) in tank tops and gym attire before being upset with folks wearing caps.

There are lots of folks (and their kids) traveling coach who manage to maintain a neat appearance thruout their trips (we're talking LD here). There are just as many sleeping car passengers who look like bums.

If you think you can tell by a person's appearance whether they're traveling coach or sleeper, you're delusional. If one is traveling Superliner coach, there are roomy restrooms where one can sit to change clothes. And washing up is simple enough also. On the other hand, many sleeping car passengers (yes, MANY) never use the shower facilities.

I completely agree with WPK's comment about the coach passengers putting cash into the system. As long as Amtrak is taxpayer-funded, there should never be separate dining service for coach and sleeping car passengers. Most coach passengers who patronize the dining car want to come in and have a nice meal experience also. Plus, this BS of "sleepers on one side, coach on the other" in a Superliner diner is just that, total BS. I have seen coach passengers put on a waiting list when there were seats available on the "sleeping car side". Sleeper passengers getting first shot on the meal reservations is OK, but that's as far as the diner discrimination should go.....and it is discrimination, no matter how you want to dress it up.