Fast weekend trip to/from NYP

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mulveyr

Train Attendant
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
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26
Hi All:

My family and I took a semi-spur-of-the-moment trip from ROC to NYP and back again over this weekend. We've taken short train trips with a kid each before, but never the whole family at once, oddly enough.

I had asked last week about the best boarding process at NYP that would help ensure we could all sit together for our return, and several people commented that getting a redcap was the best bet.

The ROC->NYP segment was uneventful, with lovely weather to help enhance the scenery. We managed to snag seats on the right side of the train for the best view of the Erie Canal and Hudson. When we arrived at NYP, it was a bit of a zoo, but easy enough to navigate our way to our hotel, which was just one street over. ( As a side note, I recommend the "Executive suite" at the Hotel Stanford, which in spite of the name, is very affordable and fantastic for four people. It's literally less than a five minute walk from NYP ).

On the return trip we got to the station 45 minutes before the scheduled departure. One poster had mentioned that the Empire Service trains could only leave on tracks 5,6,7, or 8, so when I saw a couple of people queueing up at 5/6, I took a chance and asked if that was the correct. A couple of people said it was, so we stayed there and were very, very happy to avoid the massive crush when the track came up on the departure board. We easily got four seats together, in spite of the conductor telling us that the train was completely and utterly sold out, "So don't pretend you can't see the people standing in the aisle looking at the seat next to you. Get your stuff OFF THE SEATS."

The ride back had some hitches. The cafe car couldn't process credit cards, which caused some grumbling. On the segment from ALB to ROC we encountered some substantial delays because of track work, which ended up putting us an hour and a half behind schedule. There was a guy in the seat of us who was clearly not entirely in command of his faculties; He spent the entire trip mumbling to himself and on a cell phone complaining about anything and everything - and I have a suspicion that he wasn't actually talking to anyone on the other end. It didn't rise to the level where train staff needed to be involved, but it was quite odd.

Nonetheless, I spent a large portion of the trip being thankful that I wasn't on the NYS Thruway dealing with Labor Day weekend traffic ( to say nothing of having to navigate a car through Manhattan ). We'll definitely do it again.
 
Considering Amtrak NY crew base has been putting an emphasis, lately, on making sure Cafe attendants have working credit card machines, they probably would appreciate feed back from you regarding which train had an attendant with a machine that "didn't work".

If you could take the time to communicate with customer service by either phone or email, the info would probably be appreciated.

Glad you enjoyed your trip overall...
 
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