Liquors aboard Amtrak

[fairviewroad]

Amtrak could make a lot of money if they got bar cars for NER and Acela trains.Offer larger varieties for everyone to enjoy. Its a fact that people spend a lot of money on alcohols.

They could certainly offer a larger variety of alcohol without specifically designating an entire car as a "bar car." Amtrak doesn't have the money to buy a few

dozen cars just to use as rolling taverns. There's no way you'd recover the capital costs of purchasing new equipment just by selling booze. And the trains

are so full that it would be foolish to re-designate existing equipment for such purposes.

 

[rile42]

Wow, good deal, they actually have something drinkable in FC on Acela? Now if it was only available on other trains. (not to worry, I bring my own if I choose to imbibe) I prefer a nice Islay scotch (Laphroaig 18 YO is my preference), but can drink Knob Creek in a pinch. Most bourbons are a bit too sweet for me, but I'm developing a taste for them. Delta FC does offer Glenlivit but seem to be out of it a lot....so, I've taken to enjoying Woodford Reserve. It's not to bad.

I think the last Amtrak train I was on and bought liquor, only had Dewars for scotch, and Jim Beam (or something equally un-drinkable!) for bourbon. Learned my lesson, now I bring my own if I will be wanting a beverage.

Glad I am not the only one to not like Jim Beam.

I wish I could bring Captain Morgan aboard though. Order some coke and...

My boarding station for all my trips is Cleveland. No matter which direction or which train (LSL or CL) I'm boarding it is always very late at night or very early in the morning. I have been known, not often, and with some trepidation because of violating Amtrak policy, to bring a rum and coke or two to my seat in coach to help calm me down from the excitement of the trip. Just mix it ahead of time in a bottle of coke. I also have pre-mixed a Bloody Mary or two in a small bottle of tomato juice.

If the cafe car was open for business when I board, I'd probably not violate the rule occasionally as I have.

 

[AlanB]

I wonder if New York State could do something with the Empire Service to have local New York State products once it has to take over state funding.

NY first needs to restore cafe service to the trains in order to start stocking local NYS products.

 

[Shortline]

I have been known, not often, and with some trepidation because of violating Amtrak policy, to bring a rum and coke or two to my seat in coach to help calm me down from the excitement of the trip.

I would worry about YOU violating Amtrak's policy, only when Amtrak worries about Amtrak violating Amtrak policies. See, we can be inconsistent too! (and, I am not paying $7/drink for crap liquor!)

 

[lthanlon]

I'll be riding the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Considering the train leaves at 10 p.m., is the cafe car closed? If so, I'm thinking of bringing a large bottle of Jack Daniel's and treating my fellow sleeping car passengers to before-bedtime shots.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'll be riding the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Considering the train leaves at 10 p.m., is the cafe car closed? If so, I'm thinking of bringing a large bottle of Jack Daniel's and treating my fellow sleeping car passengers to before-bedtime shots.

Yep, the Diner and Cafe Crew will be in their Rooms when the Sunset pulls out of LAX! They will Open for Breakfast and Cafe Service around 6-630AM in Arizona, usually between Maricopa and Tucson, depending on the OTP of the Train! Remember that there are some Wierd Time Changes in Arizona Depending on the Time of the Year and the Phases of the Moon! (is it Pacific Time? Mountain Time? Standard Time? Daylight Savings Time? :wacko: )

Since youre in a Sleeper shouldnt be any problem Partying with your Neighbors, just dont offer the Engineer a Drink! <_<

 

[Aaron]

I'll be riding the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Considering the train leaves at 10 p.m., is the cafe car closed? If so, I'm thinking of bringing a large bottle of Jack Daniel's and treating my fellow sleeping car passengers to before-bedtime shots.

Yep, the Diner and Cafe Crew will be in their Rooms when the Sunset pulls out of LAX! They will Open for Breakfast and Cafe Service around 6-630AM in Arizona, usually between Maricopa and Tucson, depending on the OTP of the Train! Remember that there are some Wierd Time Changes in Arizona Depending on the Time of the Year and the Phases of the Moon! (is it Pacific Time? Mountain Time? Standard Time? Daylight Savings Time? :wacko: )

Since youre in a Sleeper shouldnt be any problem Partying with your Neighbors, just dont offer the Engineer a Drink! <_<

I took the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle eastbound out of LAX last month, and even though the train was late departing (about 10:45 pm), the cafe car was definitely open once we left. It didn't stay open for long (maybe 15 minutes?), but it seemed to do a very brisk business during that time.

 

[Aaron]

...Remember that there are some Wierd Time Changes in Arizona Depending on the Time of the Year and the Phases of the Moon! (is it Pacific Time? Mountain Time? Standard Time? Daylight Savings Time? :wacko: )

This is a separate reply, since this is sort of off topic, but I just want to provide a quick correction. There are no time changes in Arizona. None.* We're always Mountain Standard Time. It's the rest of the country that can't decide how to set their clocks from one month to the next.

The end result is that Amtrak runs their trains through here at a different time in the summer than the winter, and that's a burden for some on the train I'm sure. However, that's nowhere near the burden of knowing that you're the only state in the continental US with the good sense to just leave the clocks alone!

*(Disclaimer: For the pedantic, the Navajo nation, most of which is in Arizona, does observe DST. Also, the aforementioned burden of the knowledge of superiority is usually outmatched by the burden of having to actually live here.)

 

[lthanlon]

I took the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle eastbound out of LAX last month, and even though the train was late departing (about 10:45 pm), the cafe car was definitely open once we left. It didn't stay open for long (maybe 15 minutes?), but it seemed to do a very brisk business during that time.

That's good to know, thanks. Is it unusual for the Eagle to leave late?

 

[lthanlon]

[The end result is that Amtrak runs their trains through here at a different time in the summer than the winter, and that's a burden for some on the train I'm sure. However, that's nowhere near the burden of knowing that you're the only state in the continental US with the good sense to just leave the clocks alone!

When I worked at a small daily newspaper in western Arizona, viewers in our circulation area received TV stations from Las Vegas, Nev., as well as from Phoenix. Coordinating those listings around the time-zone issues was a real treat.

 

[Aaron]

I took the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle eastbound out of LAX last month, and even though the train was late departing (about 10:45 pm), the cafe car was definitely open once we left. It didn't stay open for long (maybe 15 minutes?), but it seemed to do a very brisk business during that time.

That's good to know, thanks. Is it unusual for the Eagle to leave late?

I checked the last month or so at http://www.dixielandsoftware.com, and it seems like it usually leaves 1 or 2 minutes late at the most. The day I was traveling it left late because it hadn't got to LAX yet. Since LAX is the origination point, and it's not using some other train set from some other line, I assume the delay was just getting the train there from the maintenance yard or something. Engineer probably misplaced the keys to the locomotive or something.

Also, I found out the train I was on actually left at 11:01 PM. So, if the cafe is still open even after leaving that late, that bodes well for you.

 

[NW cannonball]

...Remember that there are some Wierd Time Changes in Arizona Depending on the Time of the Year and the Phases of the Moon! (is it Pacific Time? Mountain Time? Standard Time? Daylight Savings Time? :wacko: )

This is a separate reply, since this is sort of off topic, but I just want to provide a quick correction. There are no time changes in Arizona. None.* We're always Mountain Standard Time. It's the rest of the country that can't decide how to set their clocks from one month to the next.

The end result is that Amtrak runs their trains through here at a different time in the summer than the winter, and that's a burden for some on the train I'm sure. However, that's nowhere near the burden of knowing that you're the only state in the continental US with the good sense to just leave the clocks alone!

*(Disclaimer: For the pedantic, the Navajo nation, most of which is in Arizona, does observe DST. Also, the aforementioned burden of the knowledge of superiority is usually outmatched by the burden of having to actually live here.)

The whole time zone and "savings time" thing just makes my head hurt.

There's , for example all of India at UTC + 5.5 -- why a half-hour difference? For a billion people?

There's a friend who spent a year in Ecuador where Daylight Savings Time is something crazy foreigners just can't explain. The sun comes up at 06:30 and goes down at 18:30 - always. Changing clocks twice a year is something crazy foreigners might do -- maybe they are just pulling our leg.

The college I attended 40+ years ago had an observatory funded by JJ Hill for timekeeping for his railroads back in the 18++ when local Mean Solar Time couldn't run the railroad.

The Unix standard "tzdata" for worldwide timezone information has been growing for decades - it records the legal time changes for most jurisdictions worldwide - and the changes have been many.

Why can't we all just use UTC and get over the local time thing?

Veering off-topic again

 

[GG-1]

However, that's nowhere near the burden of knowing that you're the only state in the continental US with the good sense to just leave the clocks alone!

*(Disclaimer: For the pedantic, the Navajo nation, most of which is in Arizona, does observe DST. Also, the aforementioned burden of the knowledge of superiority is usually outmatched by the burden of having to actually live here.)

Aloha

They are not alone, Hawaii leave their clocks alone.

 

[SubwayNut]

I wonder if New York State could do something with the Empire Service to have local New York State products once it has to take over state funding.

NY first needs to restore cafe service to the trains in order to start stocking local NYS products.

I agree with that but I was thinking more about the two daily Empire Service trains that are extended to Niagara Falls, those are the ones I am basically always on, my final destination Syracuse. Wander if there is any clout right now on what the Adirondack serves that's presently our only state-supported train.

 

[TCRT]

The whole time zone and "savings time" thing just makes my head hurt.

There's , for example all of India at UTC + 5.5 -- why a half-hour difference? For a billion people?

I heard that this was set on purpose so that, in India, flipping your wristwatch upside down will yield the time in London.

 

[trainman74]

I heard that this was set on purpose so that, in India, flipping your wristwatch upside down will yield the time in London.

That sounds a little too "cute" (and have you actually tried to read a wristwatch upside-down while it's on your arm?).

The explanation I've heard is more simple: India "should" be split between UTC+5 and UTC+6, but they wanted to have the entire country be in the same time zone. If they'd chosen either UTC+5 or UTC+6, then sunrises or sunsets would be exceptionally early or late in parts of the country. Thus, they split the difference.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It will never cease to amaze me how people can become so fired up about something as simple as modern timekeeping. Compared to previous eras we have it easy. Very easy. For some reason Arizona has to do things differently than nearly everyone else. If anyone thinks that means Arizona represents the uniquely enlightened part of the country you might want to reconsider that view. Arizona has been in the news a lot in recent years but not for anything especially intelligent or enlightened.

 

[Aaron]

However, that's nowhere near the burden of knowing that you're the only state in the continental US with the good sense to just leave the clocks alone!

*(Disclaimer: For the pedantic, the Navajo nation, most of which is in Arizona, does observe DST. Also, the aforementioned burden of the knowledge of superiority is usually outmatched by the burden of having to actually live here.)

Aloha

They are not alone, Hawaii leave their clocks alone.

Hence my mention of "continental US".