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Trainmans daughter

Trainmans daughter

OBS Chief
Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Messages
987
Location
Paradise, CA.
I am so excited! In July, I get to travel the rails from California to Virginia. Isn't that just the best? But wait...it gets better. Accompanying me will be my great husband and our fantastic 7 year old granddaughter. We have reserved a family sleeper and will take all meals in the diner car. Now you've got to admit, life doesn't get any better than that. Although my dad (who was clerk-in-charge for the Railway Mail Service in the 1940's and 1950's) instilled in me the love of trains, I have never taken a real train trip before. Just the occasional touristy excusion train (Napa Valley Wine Train, Sacramento River Trian, etc). So I have lots of questions. I'll limit them to two topics right now.

(1). Climate control in the train: Can we expect hot? Cold? This only matters because we need to bring suitable clothes in our teeny little carry-on bags for 3 days.

(2). This is a larger question. Our baggage is checked through to D.C. There is no checked baggage service on the Northeast Regional from D.C. to Fredericksburg. We have a 3 hour layover in D.C. and want to do some sightseeing during that time. What do we do with our luggage? Is there a place to secure our suitcases and carry-ons? Also, how do we handle our luggage on the NE regional? I can picture us sitting on our luggage during that leg of our journey!

Thank you so much for answering these concerns and offering any additional wisdom that you know I'll need!!
 
Since you'll be traveling in July, the AC should be running on all trains. You can partially close the vent in your room, should you find yourself too cold, or you can ask the attendant to do so. But beyond that you really have no control over the temp in the room. There is only one temperature control for the entire car, and the attendant must do his/her best to hit a temp that pleases most people in the car.

And since the family room is on the lower level, the upper level is typically warmer than the lower. That means that the attendant has to leave the lower a bit cooler and the upper a bit warmer, in the hope of striking a happy balance. For that reason, I'd probably suggest that you pack a light sweater or jacket for everyone just in case. If you're worried about being too cool at night, ask the attendant for extra blankets.

I usually have no problems and I've been in the family room on several occasions, but what I'm happy with is no guarantee for you.

Regarding your luggage, you have to options. One, simply don't pick it up upon arrival into DC. Go do your sightseeing and then just make sure that you allow at least a half an hour to collect your luggage and board your train. You're second option is that you can pick up the bags upon arrival and take them to the Club Acela lounge, where you can store them for free. Personally I'd leave the bags in the checked baggage area, and pick them up later.

Having mentioned the Club Acela lounge, let me take a minute to tell you about that. As a sleeping class passenger you are entitled to utilize Amtrak's first class lounges in DC and Chicago. These lounges are a nice quiet refuge in the often-bustling train station. They have nice plush chairs, conference rooms, computer terminals, newspapers, TV's, luggage storage, free soft drinks, juices, coffee, tea, and clean safe bathrooms. They also allow you to board your train before the rest of the masses.

In DC the Club Acela Lounge is located behind the information kiosk, which is in the center of the waiting areas between gates D & E. There are two large wooden doors there, ring the bell to the right of the door and the attendant will let you in. Show your ticket stubs (make sure you hold onto them when the conductor gives them to you) and you’re in. They will escort you to your train when it’s time.

In Chicago the lounge is called the "Metropolitan Lounge". It is located on the lower level of Union Station, which is also the track level. If you are standing in front of the Amtrak ticket windows, then the Amtrak waiting area is to your left. When you enter the main Amtrak waiting area through a sliding glass door, just walk forward and slightly to the left. There should be another sliding glass door along with a sign, unless they've changed the entrance in the last few months. Again, just show your tickets and relax.

They'll also give you a card that contains the time that you need to return to the lounge by, in order to board the train and not miss it. If you do leave the lounge, take this card with you as it is also your pass for reentering the lounge. Just wave it at the attendants as you walk in and one will usually look up and acknowledge you and the card. Note the Chicago lounge can be very busy and it sometimes can be hard to get a seat, but you still get the free stuff and priority boarding.

Note: They may make you leave your carry-on bags in the luggage room inside the lounge, if the lounge is very crowded. There is a redcap manning this room who will give you a claim check for your bags, such that you can claim them shortly before you board the train. One nice advantage of this is the fact that you can park your carryon bags here, while you wander around Chicago and do lunch, assuming that your trains arrive on time.
 
As far as your luggage on the Regional, you are correct that there is no checked baggage on it, but there is plenty of room for it on the luggage rack above your seat (it is not like the small space on a plane) and there is also room for bags at the end of the car.
 
Bring a jacket and maybe an extra blanket if you get cold easily. I have worn a winter coat on the train in the summer. Sometimes it seems like they just turn the AC to max. Better than roasting though.
 
Trainmans daughter said:
I am so excited! In July, I get to travel the rails from California to Virginia. Isn't that just the best? But wait...it gets better. Accompanying me will be my great husband and our fantastic 7 year old granddaughter. We have reserved a family sleeper and will take all meals in the diner car. Now you've got to admit, life doesn't get any better than that. Although my dad (who was clerk-in-charge for the Railway Mail Service in the 1940's and 1950's) instilled in me the love of trains, I have never taken a real train trip before. Just the occasional touristy excusion train (Napa Valley Wine Train, Sacramento River Trian, etc). So I have lots of questions. I'll limit them to two topics right now.
(1). Climate control in the train: Can we expect hot? Cold? This only matters because we need to bring suitable clothes in our teeny little carry-on bags for 3 days.

(2). This is a larger question. Our baggage is checked through to D.C. There is no checked baggage service on the Northeast Regional from D.C. to Fredericksburg. We have a 3 hour layover in D.C. and want to do some sightseeing during that time. What do we do with our luggage? Is there a place to secure our suitcases and carry-ons? Also, how do we handle our luggage on the NE regional? I can picture us sitting on our luggage during that leg of our journey!

Thank you so much for answering these concerns and offering any additional wisdom that you know I'll need!!
Click to expand...

Re heat control, I don't do warm compartments well. I finally got with the program and pack a small battery operated fan to keep the air moving. At night I leave the door open with the curtain drawn to aid air movement.

I've seen some car attendants do the same thing in #1 roomette where they park themselves.
 
I read that duct tape is important. Why? (besides taping yourself to the train while you get off to buy a Coke at a station!).

Also, as far as a power strip goes, are the outlets configured for 3-prong plugs?

What type of GPS thing-a-ma-bob is recommended? I think it will be great to be able to track our progress across county, but balk at getting myself micro-chipped.

Thanks again, my rail friends.
 
Duct tape can be used at times to fix rattles, keep doors closed where the latch doesn't work, even keep curtains together if need be. I even used mine once to help a sleeping car attendant close off a garbage shoot that didn't actually have a garbage can under the shoot.

And yes, the outlets are 3 pronged.
 
If you want to be cheap(er), if you have a GPS for your car that you can take off, that will work fine. (I did just that last year.) Many of us have a GPS installed into our netbooks/laptops that we use. But either works fine.
 
To elaborate on the 3 prong outlets point: 3 pronged outlets were the standard in the US for new construction before Amtrak came into existance, most equipment Amtrak uses these days was bought new while Amtrak was in existance, and I've never seen evidence that any of the equipment Amtrak inherited had 120 volt outlets at all when Amtrak was formed.

One potential issue with a GPS reciever is that metal tends to block radio signals, which means the GPS will probably work better if it's near a window. If you happen to have a way to mount an antenna on the window and have it connected to the display unit with a cable, that may work best. However, my Amtrak travels have never included a GPS reciever.
 
Aha! Another use for duct tape! Thanks Joel. I told my husband about the duct tape issue and he said, "What's wrong with bailing wire?" I guess you can take the boy out of the farm but you can never take the farm out of the boy.
 
Trainmans daughter said:
Aha! Another use for duct tape! Thanks Joel. I told my husband about the duct tape issue and he said, "What's wrong with bailing wire?" I guess you can take the boy out of the farm but you can never take the farm out of the boy.
Click to expand...
I do remember the baling wire when I was little. It was discontinued when the plastic twines came into existence. Since the baling wire is gone, so I had to use the fence wire to make repairs around the farm.

As for the duct tape, it's the best insurance on train.
 
gswager said:
Trainmans daughter said:
Aha! Another use for duct tape! Thanks Joel. I told my husband about the duct tape issue and he said, "What's wrong with bailing wire?" I guess you can take the boy out of the farm but you can never take the farm out of the boy.
Click to expand...
I do remember the baling wire when I was little. It was discontinued when the plastic twines came into existence. Since the baling wire is gone, so I had to use the fence wire to make repairs around the farm.

As for the duct tape, it's the best insurance on train.
Click to expand...
Bailing wire gone, nah, just now gets called "Malable soft Iron Wire" You be surprised how often it gets used in theater. And construction also.

Aloha
 
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