Hi everyboy

[PaulM]

I have started a list of must takes,so far duct tape,army knife, mini flashlite, binder clips.

I know I'm the odd ball here; but most of my Amtrak trips are merely the means (the most civilized in my opinion) to get to and from bike trips. I keep a detailed list of all the junk I need to carry; but the only thing in it remotely connected to the train portion of the trip is the ticket.

 

[emmy]

Thanks for the replies and I know I ask a lot of questions but the Amtrak web sight leaves a lot to be desired for someone who has never traveled by train any distance before and except for the Auto train one time we have never traveled overnight let alone two nights.

Hubby has a GPS and somewhere on line I read you can use it to track the stations we will be going to by using the Amtrak station guides in thier timetable so I downloaded the timetables but addresses of the stations aren't there.Am I looking in the wrong place and if so where can I find it???

 

[AlanB]

Thanks for the replies and I know I ask a lot of questions but the Amtrak web sight leaves a lot to be desired for someone who has never traveled by train any distance before and except for the Auto train one time we have never traveled overnight let alone two nights.

Emmy,

No worries! In fact, that's why this forum got started, because there was a lack of info on Amtrak's site many years ago and no place to ask questions. And 10 years ago, there was far less info on the Amtrak site than there is today.

Besides, I'm a firm believer that no question is ever too silly or stupid when one doesn't know the answer. The only silly thing is to not ask the question.

As for the addresses of the stations, you'll need to download the National Timetable. All the station addresses are in the first several pages. But be warned, this is a large 20 MB file, so it will take some time to download.

 

[Trainmans daughter]

Last week on our Coast Starlight trip, I used my duct tape for the first time. I had dutifully wrapped several inches of tape around my ball-point pen as instructed by someone on this site and also by my survivalist son.

The vent was blowing ice cold air into the upper bunk in our roomette and turning my granddaughter's tiny toes into ice cubes. The vent control wouldn't close, so I taped a couple of train schedules over the vents and "Voila"! Toes were thawed out and granddaughter now thinks I'm very smart.

Moral: Duct Tape...Don't leave home without it!

 

[sunchaser]

Last week on our Coast Starlight trip, I used my duct tape for the first time. I had dutifully wrapped several inches of tape around my ball-point pen as instructed by someone on this site and also by my survivalist son.
The vent was blowing ice cold air into the upper bunk in our roomette and turning my granddaughter's tiny toes into ice cubes. The vent control wouldn't close, so I taped a couple of train schedules over the vents and "Voila"! Toes were thawed out and granddaughter now thinks I'm very smart.

Moral: Duct Tape...Don't leave home without it!

Great story! I'm glad to hear the Duck Tape came in handy!!

 

[mercedeslove]

reading the topic of this title I can't help but to say

hi dr. nick

oh and I would also include a surge protecter stip for your room.

This names it easier to charge cell phones and other such items.

 

[emmy]

Thanks everybody.

Alan B 20 MB that's a lot of MB

Trainman's Daughter If that happens to us I sure will know how to fix it.Thanks for the tip.

 

[zephyr17]

You won't have trouble with scissors or an Army knife as either carry-on or in checked bags. Guns, bombs, that kind of thing are a different matter. Scroll down this page for list of prohibited items.

Guns will soon be allowed by Amtrak by decree of the American government. While most of our peacful civil liberties are being curtailed in the name of reactionairy rhetoric, the ability to bring deadly weapons anywhere we please is actually being expanded. Makes you wonder just what is going on in the heads of our leaders and those who voted for them.

Only as checked baggage, carrying guns on board will still be prohibited. This is no different than the domestic airline flights, where you can check guns as baggage as long as they are declared, and meet safety requirements (such as not being loaded).

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Only as checked baggage, carrying guns on board will still be prohibited. This is no different than the domestic airline flights, where you can check guns as baggage as long as they are declared, and meet safety requirements (such as not being loaded).

No different than airlines? Are airlines being forced to carry guns against their own internal policies as Amtrak is now being told to do? Not to mention that there is not much reason to assume the intrusion will stop here. Virtually every major gun control policy of the last century is either being challenged in court or being rewritten by the appropriate legislature at the behest of the NRA. I doubt Amtrak has any chance of refusing whatever else the pro-gun lobby decides to request of it, especially with Congress fully under the NRA's thumb at this point.

 

[sunchaser]

Only as checked baggage, carrying guns on board will still be prohibited. This is no different than the domestic airline flights, where you can check guns as baggage as long as they are declared, and meet safety requirements (such as not being loaded).

No different than airlines? Are airlines being forced to carry guns against their own internal policies as Amtrak is now being told to do? Not to mention that there is not much reason to assume the intrusion will stop here. Virtually every major gun control policy of the last century is either being challenged in court or being rewritten by the appropriate legislature at the behest of the NRA. I doubt Amtrak has any chance of refusing whatever else the pro-gun lobby decides to request of it, especially with Congress fully under the NRA's thumb at this point.

From what I understand, Airlines & Amtrak have allowed unloaded, locked up guns in the cargo hold or checked baggage for a long time. Amtrak voluntarily stopped doing that after September 11. I know someone who travels all over the world as a big game hunter, and takes his guns with him. There are very stringent rules about it. They even count his bullets.

 

[Sue in KY]

Thanks for the replies and I know I ask a lot of questions but the Amtrak web sight leaves a lot to be desired for someone who has never traveled by train any distance before and except for the Auto train one time we have never traveled overnight let alone two nights.Hubby has a GPS and somewhere on line I read you can use it to track the stations we will be going to by using the Amtrak station guides in thier timetable so I downloaded the timetables but addresses of the stations aren't there.Am I looking in the wrong place and if so where can I find it???

Emmy --

About that GPS -- we always take ours and simply "suction-cup" it to the window of our compartment. It tracks (along the railroad tracks!) us straight from one station to the next, so we always know where we are. And we never bothered plugging in the station addresses beforehand.

Also, one of the members here (I forgot who -- "Oldtimers' Memory Syndrome," y'know! ) put up a link several months ago to station GPS files that could be downloaded and ultimately transferred into your GPS. Try searching, both on this forum and in Google, for something like "GPS station files."

 

[emmy]

I don't think Hubby or I will be taking any guns on board a train or anything else just the thought gives me goosebumps. I have looked on this board but havn't come across the answer so far as what happens if a train is late getting to the station and you have a connecting train that has already left.We are on the Starlight and connecting in Portland on the Empire Builder with bedroom accommedations. Would we still have bedroom accommedations on another train or does this mean we will have to sit up in a seat all the way to Chicago and possibly to Philadelphia as well since we won't make that train either

 

[Cristobal]

I don't think Hubby or I will be taking any guns on board a train or anything else just the thought gives me goosebumps. I have looked on this board but havn't come across the answer so far as what happens if a train is late getting to the station and you have a connecting train that has already left.We are on the Starlight and connecting in Portland on the Empire Builder with bedroom accommedations. Would we still have bedroom accommedations on another train or does this mean we will have to sit up in a seat all the way to Chicago and possibly to Philadelphia as well since we won't make that train either

I believe that in this particular case (n/b CS to e/b EB connecting in PDX) if Amtrak knows soon enough that you would otherwise miss your connection they will pull you off the CS before PDX and bus you to intercept the EB somewhere down the line thus keeping your original accommodations.

 

[emmy]

Thanks Cristobal.

We were worried about that as there is a little more than an hour from the time we arrive in Portland and the Empire Builder leaves for Chicago.

 

[Cristobal]

Thanks Cristobal.We were worried about that as there is a little more than an hour from the time we arrive in Portland and the Empire Builder leaves for Chicago.

You are quite welcome...

While your layover may normally be a little on the short-side for peace-of-mind with Amtrak, I'm quite sure that they will do everything in their power to try to make your trip as seamless as possible.

While one can never know for sure what obstacles may lay in wait on any given day for any given train, the CS has more recently become a pretty good on-time performer (and a damn fine train to boot!).

Enjoy your trip and don't let the possibility of trouble eat at you.

Just go with the flow...

The odds are pretty good that any cause that you currently have for worry will be for naught.

 

[zephyr17]

Only as checked baggage, carrying guns on board will still be prohibited. This is no different than the domestic airline flights, where you can check guns as baggage as long as they are declared, and meet safety requirements (such as not being loaded).

No different than airlines? Are airlines being forced to carry guns against their own internal policies as Amtrak is now being told to do? Not to mention that there is not much reason to assume the intrusion will stop here. Virtually every major gun control policy of the last century is either being challenged in court or being rewritten by the appropriate legislature at the behest of the NRA. I doubt Amtrak has any chance of refusing whatever else the pro-gun lobby decides to request of it, especially with Congress fully under the NRA's thumb at this point.

From what I understand, Airlines & Amtrak have allowed unloaded, locked up guns in the cargo hold or checked baggage for a long time. Amtrak voluntarily stopped doing that after September 11. I know someone who travels all over the world as a big game hunter, and takes his guns with him. There are very stringent rules about it. They even count his bullets.

Amtrak is a regulated common carrier, with all that implies, including carrying a passenger's reasonable personal effects. Congress has the authority to regulate common carriers. An unloaded, properly packed gun in checked baggage presents a danger to no one.

I do find it more than a little disingenuous that the cry is always "They are going to let you carry guns on Amtrak!" implying that passengers will be packing onboard, obviously trying to incite hysteria. "They are going let you check unloaded guns as baggage on Amtrak!" just doesn't have the same ring (or have the desired impact), I guess.

Disclaimer: I do not now or ever have owned a gun of any sort. I am not a member of the NRA.

 

[Ispolkom]

I do find it more than a little disingenuous that the cry is always "They are going to let you carry guns on Amtrak!" implying that passengers will be packing onboard, obviously trying to incite hysteria. "They are going let you check unloaded guns as baggage on Amtrak!" just doesn't have the same ring (or have the desired impact), I guess.

Especially since right now you can get on an Amtrak train at almost any station carrying luggage containing any sort of firearm short of an RPG-7 without any problem. I'm not supporter of the NRA, but I do so dislike security theater.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I do find it more than a little disingenuous that the cry is always "They are going to let you carry guns on Amtrak!" implying that passengers will be packing onboard, obviously trying to incite hysteria. "They are going let you check unloaded guns as baggage on Amtrak!" just doesn't have the same ring (or have the desired impact), I guess.

So you're anti-hysteria eh? I live in Texas, where we have a hysterical "shoot first" law (not unlike Florida) that allows jumpy firearm owners to legally gun you down simply because they felt they were in danger, even if it's not an entirely logical concern based on reasonable assumptions. I don't want the rest of the country to live the under the same "Wild West" cowboy laws Texas does. But the trends are clear. Gun control is under attack on every level. The true hysteria is coming from the gun fanatics as they help write shoot first laws to protect themselves from any reasonable punishment and then go on hunting expeditions at the local Starbucks looking for anyone willing to challenge their unprovoked show of force. If you're truly against hysteria you'd be all over the gun fanatics who are fighting for continued access to untraceable guns that don't require even the most flimsy of background checks before purchase. But no, you'd rather attack the group that has virtually no influence and no ability to push the government around, because we're the true threat to a peaceful and respectful society. If you want to talk about being disingenuous then maybe you should read up on the bigger picture first.

 

[zephyr17]

I do find it more than a little disingenuous that the cry is always "They are going to let you carry guns on Amtrak!" implying that passengers will be packing onboard, obviously trying to incite hysteria. "They are going let you check unloaded guns as baggage on Amtrak!" just doesn't have the same ring (or have the desired impact), I guess.

So you're anti-hysteria eh? I live in Texas, where we have a hysterical "shoot first" law (not unlike Florida) that allows jumpy firearm owners to legally gun you down simply because they felt they were in danger, even if it's not an entirely logical concern based on reasonable assumptions. I don't want the rest of the country to live the under the same "Wild West" cowboy laws Texas does. But the trends are clear. Gun control is under attack on every level. The true hysteria is coming from the gun fanatics as they help write shoot first laws to protect themselves from any reasonable punishment and then go on hunting expeditions at the local Starbucks looking for anyone willing to challenge their unprovoked show of force. If you're truly against hysteria you'd be all over the gun fanatics who are fighting for continued access to untraceable guns that don't require even the most flimsy of background checks before purchase. But no, you'd rather attack the group that has virtually no influence and no ability to push the government around, because we're the true threat to a peaceful and respectful society. If you want to talk about being disingenuous then maybe you should read up on the bigger picture first.

Interesting that you chose to bring up all sorts of other points, but failed to respond to the point that implying guns would be allowed to be carried on by policy is misleading with the intent to raise a reaction. Ends justify the means, I guess. And what does a Texas "shoot first" law have to do with Amtrak, anyway?

I am perfectly open to debating the point, and, as a non-gun owner, am more than open to rational arguments pertaining to the actual subject at hand...allowing properly packed unloaded guns in checked baggage. But I find your method of argument, avoiding the point, unconvincing.

And finally, what group did I "attack"? I merely pointed out that your initial statement could well be misleading, and that seemed to me to be intentional.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Interesting that you chose to bring up all sorts of other points, but failed to respond to the point that implying guns would be allowed to be carried on by policy is misleading with the intent to raise a reaction.

I try to be a big-picture guy. Following broad movements, connecting dots, attempting to predict future trends, that kind of stuff. But perhaps I could have chosen a better angle to explain my concern. My comments don't specifically address checked luggage, and I largely agree that unreachable unloaded guns are not a huge issue in-and-of themselves, but it's part of the larger problem of responding to gun violence with ever more access to ever more guns. Amtrak decided they wanted to curtail some of this access (not as in direct access while on the train, just access in general) and they were rebuked by a federal law? That's just insane to me and it sets yet another absurd precedent. The slippery slope argument doesn't work for everything but I think we've seen enough pro-gun legislation to assume this isn't the last we'll hear from gun owners on Amtrak policies.

Personally, I think this country is just completely numb to gun violence at this point. No matter how many mass shootings we watch on TV we don't even consider imposing additional restrictions anymore. All we do now is just keep rolling back the restrictions imposed by previous administrations. Apparently we've just completely given up on trying to stem the tide of gun related deaths. Nearly every substantial change we've made in the last decade or so has been toward fewer restrictions and more protections for gun owners. There are likely to be many more roll-backs as recent rulings of the Roberts court begin to trickle down to lower courts. I have gun proponents tell me that if we remove access to guns we'll just trade them for knife deaths. Fine by me. All the extra guns in the world hasn't made America safer, so how long are we supposed to keep on waiting for the members of the pro-gun movement to finally start protecting us from their own kind?

 

[Ispolkom]

My comments don't specifically address checked luggage, and I largely agree that unreachable unloaded guns are not a huge issue in-and-of themselves,

Okay, and so why is this forum the best place to rant about gun laws? There are lots of places on the Web where you can go and do that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed your post, since it's not every day when I get to see at least three different rhetorical fallacies in one short space (poisoning the well, guilt by association, and the ever-popular slippery slope), but isn't this a place to talk about trains?

Or at least politics as it relates to trains?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Okay, and so why is this forum the best place to rant about gun laws?

Never said it was, but thanks for putting words in my mouth.

I have no problem dropping gun control from this thread, doesn't need to be here I agree.

If you have a specific place in mind where people enjoy debating gun laws I'm all ears. Err, eyes. ;-)

 

[Ispolkom]

Okay, and so why is this forum the best place to rant about gun laws?

I have no problem dropping gun control from this thread, doesn't need to be here I agree.

If you have a specific place in mind where people enjoy debating gun laws I'm all ears. Err, eyes. ;-)

I'm glad that we can agree on something. As for better venues, I'm sure that the Google can point out sites.

 

[emmy]

If I had thought by my asking questions about my trip would end up in such an arguement I would never have posted a single question.I feel very bad that my asking questions (and not about guns)has caused such a disruption on this board.Thank you (all) for the good advise you have given me and Happy Rails to you all.

Emmy

 

[Guest]

:hi: Please dont apologize for something you did not cause! People i n this country have strong opinions, especially about controversial subjects such as guns/gays/religion and politics! :excl:

Most folks on here are lovers of trains and really enjoy discussing their experiences,good and bad, and enjoy helping newbies! Please take opinions with a grain of salt and continue to enjoy,learn and contribute to this great forum! You won't regret it!