How well do you sleep on a train?

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Home versus Amtrak Coach?

  • I sleep better at home

    Votes: 27 100.0%

  • I sleep better in Amtrak Coach

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    27
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I fall asleep literally in about 30 seconds when I go to bed at night. I have hardly had a restless night unless there's been a death in the family. Allthough I have a hard time sleeping in roomette when its the first night of travel. Usually we board at midnight in LNK to go WB. Its not so much the train, but the excitement of the trip!
 
The poll results are interesting but its seldom that I speak with another train traveler that sleeps well on Amtrak. Here on this forum we have hard core train travelers (of which I should be one) so I suspect that there is a difference between polling the very occasional or first time train travelers and the people with many Amtrak trips under their belt.

At home I hit the bed and I'm asleep in about 1 minute and sleep sound 7-8 hours every night. In a hotel its the same. I guess that we haven't mastered the art of sleeping on a train but we keep trying.

When we travel we take our own down filled pillows. I also take an Herbal (homeopathic) sleeping tablet before bedtime. It is still very uncommon if we can manage more than a couple of hours of sleep.
 
I seem to sleep very, very well on a train! Sometimes the Clickety Clack, sometimes not, along with the whistle (horn) is like a pacifier! But, I always awake very early, shower & make my way to the SSL to see the Conductor poking all the Lounge Lizards so the early risers aren't dealing with them. (But, I can't sleep sittig up either).

I've only had the pleasure of the Amtrak Experience for a couple of years &, with only a few exceptions, have thoroughly enjoyed this form of travel!!!!!!

RF
 
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I always sleep best while moving whether on a bus or train. Aboard AMTRAK, the rocking motion of the rails just puts me to sleep. YES! - Even in coach!
 
AAARGH! said:
Rail Freak said:
I seem to sleep very, very well on a train! Sometimes the Clickety Clack, sometimes not, along with the whistle (horn) is like a pacifier!
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RF: What about if your roomate is snoring LOUDLY, do you sleep well then! :unsure: :blink:
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What if the sound of the snoring is the "clickely clack"? :lol: It must be, because there are very few places that have joined rails - most are CWR now. (One exception I can name is ND on the EB - at night! :eek: )
 
I'd rate coach about the same as sleeping on an air mattress while camping. I may sleep reasonably well but I am never going to sleep in late like I may at home. I really don't sleep late often at home but there is no chance I would on a train. I was able to nap on the train though so all was good. Only been on coach so that's my only train experience.

Dan
 
I can just about sleep anywhere. when i sleep coach on a train im up every couple hours even if laying on 2 seats.
 
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The roomettes are about equal with me, I mean I have never stayed in them for extended periods of time (like longer than a week). Maybe my outlook would change if I was looking to set a world record in that respect...
 
While I do sleep better at home, especially after retiring my waterbed of 13 years for an "air" bed, I do find I ENJOY sleeping on a train a lot more. With the bed down, a bottle of Cab, and a moonlit night, watching the scenery as the train rolls by is completely enjoyable. (But I miss the open-doors of the baggage cars from my college years while an employee......)
 
You forgot an option, lounge car table.
laugh.gif
Years ago when the Palmetto still ran to Miami I did a helluva day. I started with Tri-Rail from DLB to WPB, had lunch in West Palm, then back to FTL to catch the Palmetto. Took the Palmetto all the way to JAX, then sat in JAX for about three hours while the SB Palmetto had troubles making it from SAV-JAX. IIRC we finally pulled from JAX around 4 AM. I believe I fell asleep on a lounge car table somewhere just south of Baldwin and woke up to us bypassing Tampa and pulling in to Lakeland, effectively missing all of the S-Line on southbound trip. But man I slept good.
 
battalion51 said:
You forgot an option, lounge car table.
laugh.gif
Years ago when the Palmetto still ran to Miami I did a helluva day. I started with Tri-Rail from DLB to WPB, had lunch in West Palm, then back to FTL to catch the Palmetto. Took the Palmetto all the way to JAX, then sat in JAX for about three hours while the SB Palmetto had troubles making it from SAV-JAX. IIRC we finally pulled from JAX around 4 AM. I believe I fell asleep on a lounge car table somewhere just south of Baldwin and woke up to us bypassing Tampa and pulling in to Lakeland, effectively missing all of the S-Line on southbound trip. But man I slept good.
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Or luggage rack on the old pre-Heritage cars. Was on a trip back from Denver, was about 16 at the time, car was full of Navy recruits, beer was flowing, and I wanted to lay "down" flat. So I did, with a blanket and a pillow, and I woke up in Iowa...
 
I voted sleep better at home only because anytime I am on vacation all the excitement keeps me from getting a full nights sleep. I do, however, sleep better on a train than I do in a hotel room. The movement of the train rocks me to sleep and the distant sound of the horn is nice to hear.

Strange how I love to hear the horn. When I was little my grandmother lived right across the street from some train tracks near the intersection where the train blew the horn. When I spent the night with her the train would come by in the middle of the night and startle me. Of course hearing the horn while on the train is not quite as loud and is nice to hear.
 
Coach: I sleep horrible.

Roomette: OK, not as good as at home, but I can get a good nights sleep.

Bedroom: Never used one.

Amclub Bushiness Class on 66/67: Half dencent, not as good as a roomette. I wish they had these on long distance trains. Sleepers get out of my price range quickly and coach sucks at night.
 
Coach is fitful at best.

 

Sleepers are much better but being a

night person it takes awhile for sleep

to kick in.

 

I also don't sleep well in warm surroundings

with poor ventilation (roomettes). I learned

long ago to bring a small battery fan to circulate

the air and leave the door ajar w/cutain drawn.

The fan ideal has caught the attention

of numerous car attendants.

 

Biggest peeve: Getting woke up at

5-6 a.m. by the inconsiderates who

loudly talk and yuk it up oblivious to

those around them.

 

 
 
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Cho Cho Charlie said:
I don't sleep well anywhere, that is not home. Be it hotel, ship, or train.

I'm just too paranoid about the bed and the bedding to feel comfortable, especially after watching the 60 Minutes' exposé.
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Can't blame you. What did '60 Minutes' cover?

I rethought lounging around on top of hotel bedspeads.

My wakeup call came after watching a TV segment of the 'Forensic Files.' Nice hotel chain, sexual assault/homicide

victim on top of the bed. Crime lab used a ultraviolent light ) to see if potential suspects DNA was present. Photo

shown of results -- so many traces from previous guests it was impossible for them to make a determination -- YOWSA!!!

Though public surrounding will never be pristine, we sometimes forget about the potentials we expose ourselves to,

or what can be done to minimize it.

Past AU posters have mentioned they bring along disinfectants when they use sleeper facilities.

Flying one time, as I was dumping my belongings into those airport security bins it dawned on me those that put their

wallet, change, cell phone, etc. into them have also had the shoes of thousands of passengers before them that have

tramped throgh public restrooms, other lousy areas and third-world conditions....another YOWSA!! Now I carry small

plastic disposal bags if needed to place my items in to at least minimize needless exposure. I wonder if TSA has ever

thought it would be feasible to color-code bins designated for footwear. Or if they even disinfectant the bins on occasion.
 
Coach is okay ONLY IF, a) you are by the window, b) the train is not packed, c) there are no drunks or babies sitting around you. If you put your head near the curtain and lay the pillows down a certain way, you can actually get some shut eye. It's not going to be the most comfortable night of your life, but if you make it a point not to nap during the day, you can actually pass out through most of the night. Another reason to sleep in coach every once in awhile, when you do move to a sleeper it will feel like a 4 star hotel! I found that if I spend too much time in a sleeper, the novelty of it wares off and I get spoiled.
 
I'd be more worried about whatever cancers I might get from a lifetime of rampant disinfectant use than whatever is on the chairs. Not to mention that disinfectants aren't designed to work on cloth anyway, which is where I'd assume most of the dust and dirt is. Ideally the cushions and such would be in a form that could be quickly and easily cleaned in a washing machine and dryer.
 
Absolutely nothing is wrong. The forum is working exactly as it is supposed to.

The disparity that you're seeing is caused by people voting in the poll. Anytime someone votes, without regard to whether they actually make a post, the date and time stamp are updated with the current time.
 
My apartment can get get horribly noisy at times (old building in a downtown area with single glazed windows). I don't think it's worse than Amtrak cocach but sometimes I wish I failing to sleep on a train rather than failing to sleep in my bed.
 
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