Kbyrdleroydogg
Train Attendant
Probably been asked before but besides looking out of the window, what other ways do you entertain yourselves on an Amtrak train, whether coach or sleeper? Watch movies on a laptop? Etc.
There used to be movies shown in the sightseer lounge car in the evening. We watched a movie when we were on the westbound Empire Builder departing Whitefish in 2001. However the movies were discontinued a few years later . There was a lot of discussion at the time and many people thought they were a distraction and were glad to see them go.It would be nice if there was a movie every night in the dining car for sleeper passengers. Even better would be TVs in every room like cruise ships. It could show progress along with shows and movies.
Well, I politely beg to differ. I have been on long distance trains that had movies in the observation car and they were extremely loud, and mostly geared towards kids. Made it almost impossible to have a conversation with anyone. And as for TV's in every room like cruise ships, why would you want to spend big bucks to do what you can do at home for free?It would be nice if there was a movie every night in the dining car for sleeper passengers. Even better would be TVs in every room like cruise ships. It could show progress along with shows and movies.
When I am planning a long distance trip on Amtrak, I will try to photocopy some pages from a pre-Amtrak timetable from the 1940s or 1950s and bring it along. For a trip on the Southwest Chief, I will bring along some photocopies of certain pages from a Santa Fe timetable from the 1950s. It provides information on many intermediate points and also contains an elevation chart. These older public timetables can also have information on river crossings and other sites. If I have access to an older employee timetable of the route I will photocopy parts of that and bring it along also.I used to bring along a timetable, too. Some trips I'd mark up the actual times. From that we learned things such as the fact that Amtrak has at least half an hour of padding in Train 27's schedule from Wishram to Portland.
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