Northeast Regional - luggage?

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

user 6862

Engineer
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
2,201
We've just bought our tickets for the last leg of our winter journey in America, it's a Northeast Regional train #174 from Washington DC to NYC. We'll be travelling with a couple of cases, plus a soft bag and a backpack.

Never ridden or even seen a NE Regional train, is there a dedicated luggage area or can we check our bags through?

Guessing that these trains are commuter trains without too many facilities? but be pleased to hear there are services on board.

Thanks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would suggest checking your cases, though only a few trains carry checked baggage on the northeast corridor, and your baggage may arrive at a different time than you do. You could check them earlier, even the day before, and pick them up when you arrive in NYC.
 
Unfortunately, #174 does not offer checked bag service (the overnight 65/66/67 trains are the only NERs that do). The Amfleet I cars used on the NER have a small baggage area at the end of the car, in addition to large overhead luggage racks above every seat, so you should be able to fit all your bags pretty easily.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Isn't there a relatively small two-shelf luggage area in one end of the car?
I'm pretty sure those are just on Amfleet IIs.

EDIT: Whoops, you're right. I was on the Downeaster the other day and would have sworn they didn't have 'em, but I just looked at a video and they are there. Sorry!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
174 starts from Richmond and stops at Alexandria before Washington, so will probably be fairly full by the time it gets there (although some may not have luggage and will get off at DC--looks like commuter time).

v.v., do you think you could get a redcap at Washington to take you down to the train? They usually have a good idea of which cars will be the least crowded, and you get to board earlier than the people in the line in the station. They will know best where to store your luggage on the train.

I don't know anything about the redcaps at DC, though, but many others on here I'm sure know how they work and where they are located.

I'm sorry that you will be on the Northeast Regional--it is the one that I am always tearing to pieces because it is so annoying. However, judging from your trip reports, you have dealt with much worse, so you will handle it well. Just don't expect luxury--"commuter trains without too many facilities" is a great description!
default_tongue.png
 
The touched up Am-1 s I've been on have been pretty decent for that trip (less than 4 hours) and the enroute cleaner has resulted in the NER's being cleaner than many other comparable longer distance services. I'm not an advocate of this behavior, but lots of people pile up bags in the space reserved for wheelchairs.If a wheelchair passenger boarded, those passengers would be forced to relocate their improperly stowed bags, but I don't think it happens too often.
 
You can check bags, but they won't travel with you on 174. Only the long distance trains and the overnight 66/67 carry checked baggage. It is likely the bags would be loaded onto one of the LDs in Washington, but may wait for the overnight. If you have bags that you must check, I would put a keep a day's worth of clothes in your soft bag/backpack carry ons and check the big ones the day before, that way they'd pretty much be guaranteed to be there when you get there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I second the advice of using a Red Cap at Washington. They can take you and your bags right to the train, and will also bring them aboard for you, if desired.

The Red Caps desk is located near the baggage claim in the center of the waiting area, near the information desk.

Prior to arrival in NYC, request a Red Cap from the Conductor and he or she will call ahead for one.
 
I second the advice of using a Red Cap at Washington. They can take you and your bags right to the train, and will also bring them aboard for you, if desired.

The Red Caps desk is located near the baggage claim in the center of the waiting area, near the information desk.

Prior to arrival in NYC, request a Red Cap from the Conductor and he or she will call ahead for one.

I've never utilized the services of a Red Cap, as I carry everything in a large backpack myself. Even the OBS employees don't handle my "baggage," as I'm wearing it. LOL

But I digress.

I've seen Red Caps at work, mostly in large urban train stations. How are the Red Caps compensated? Tipping? What is the fair-minded tip?
 
They should be able to route the bags on any long distance train using the corridor. With Train No. 174 I would try and see if they would route them on Train No. 20 which runs a few minutes earlier. That is if it's ontime.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The rides down Chicago's platforms would be at least 5 bucks at an old fashioned amusement park. With 2 bags I tip that amount, and they put the bags right in the Viewliner roomette.
 
They should be able to route the bags on any long distance train using the corridor. With Train No. 174 I would try and see if they would route them on Train No. 20 which runs a few minutes earlier. That is if it's ontime.
Checked bags within the NEC can go on any LD train. Personally I wouldn't bother checking bags on the NEC. I've only done it once. That was because my now Ex and I were on a cruise in and out of NYC, and when we got back to NYC we wanted to walk around the city a bit. So we checked them back to PHL and picked them up the next day.

They are compensated but do rely on tips to supplement their income. We usually give them $1 or 2 per bag.
Bill, I'm going to stop you there.. Red Caps don't make minimum wage. They are union employees who make a very nice salary. In fact I could tell you their hourly pay rate. But that's not appropriate. I tip them if I have a few singles on me. But I sure as hell don't feel guilty not tipping them.
 
Many thanks ladies and gentlemen, if the luggage racks are large that may well do it for us anyway. 1 x medium case and 1 x small case plus 2 soft bags/packs.

Like the idea of checking the cases in as per CCC1007 and Zephyr17, but we arrive NYC 30 January at 1:35pm and have to be at JFK by 8:30pm the same day for the flight to London. So if the bags don't turn up in time we don't have lots of options to wait. Checking them the day before has to more or less guarantee they are there the next day doesn't it which may be the best idea?

When we get to NYC we intend to spend the afternoon at the Empire State before a pizza at a famous? pizza parlour near Penn, so having checked our bags through would be good.

MRD, we try to remain totally independent and at the moment are adverse to using redcaps, but do see the advantage of boarding first so who knows. Thanks

Thanks for all the input
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Acela, although I know what you mean I don't understand.

Are you saying if there are say 10 cars the doors to maybe only 3 are open to board? If so, what is the point of that?
 
Acela, although I know what you mean I don't understand.

Are you saying if there are say 10 cars the doors to maybe only 3 are open to board? If so, what is the point of that?
Correct. Regional trains are normally 8 cars. 1 Business Class, 1 Cafe, 6 Coach Cars.

They’ll always have a door open at Business Class. And normally it’ll be 2 or 3 more. As to “the point”. On most Regional trains their are 2 Assistant Conductors and 1 Conductor. So three crew members can attend to the doors and trap steps. If they were to open more it would delay the train substantially.
 
Acela, although I know what you mean I don't understand.

Are you saying if there are say 10 cars the doors to maybe only 3 are open to board? If so, what is the point of that?
Correct. Regional trains are normally 8 cars. 1 Business Class, 1 Cafe, 6 Coach Cars.
They’ll always have a door open at Business Class. And normally it’ll be 2 or 3 more. As to “the point”. On most Regional trains their are 2 Assistant Conductors and 1 Conductor. So three crew members can attend to the doors and trap steps. If they were to open more it would delay the train substantially.
Trains like 94, or 172/162 which always get shanked and get put downstairs for boarding frequently open all (or most) doors, and just start closing up the closer departure time gets.
For 151 (which 99% of the time ends up going downstairs) management all but demanded ALL doors be opened, including the one end of the Cafe and the adjacent vestibule door by the LSA.

So you never know what's going to happen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I would suspect that 174 would have unattended doors open to expedite the boarding process.

Mystic River Dragon, I am rather curious what your issues are with the Regionals that make you tear up..?
 
OK, I've got it and thank you.

I know how it works with Amtrak LD trains boarding either coach or sleeper, I'm guessing the staff have a manifest that tells them if passengers are boarding or getting off their car(s) at any given station. Didn't have any idea how US commuter trains worked as the very few that we have boarded we haven't had bags so just went to the car we wanted to with an open door. Also have never ridden a NER so far.

Last Wednesday we used trains to visit a relative in Saxmundham, Suffolk, UK (very pretty ancient small town but hard to live in as it is not laid out for modern living). We would usually drive but the scenery is pretty in north Essex and Suffolk and we have become rail fans too, on top of that it was a treat for another relative who went with us. So trains from Brentwood, Essex to Saxmundham, Suffolk. It's a very fragmented journey involving 3 changes and 4 different trains each way, all commuter trains but of three types. It's a 2 hour journey, not long for so many changes. The number of cars varied from 2 up to about 12.

On all trains we could board into any car, there is only one conductor/car attendant for the whole train. The doors are opened or closed either manually by passengers with catches or electronically by passengers with a time limit controlled by the conductor. Can't say for certain if there is an electronic check if all manual doors are closed or not, but the conductor is usually at the rear of the train and sometimes walks forwards maybe to check that all doors look closed?

So I had assumed that a NER commuter train where getting on and off has to be fast as commuters are often in a hurry, and would be similar to the UK versions, but obviously not and closer to the LD train system, it's a good thing to know.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So I had assumed that a NER commuter train where getting on and off has to be fast as commuters are often in a hurry, and would be similar to the UK versions, but obviously not and closer to the LD train system, it's a good thing to know.
I disagree. The cars used on the Regionals have automatic motorized doors, so basically the moment the train comes to a stop, the doors open simultaneously. And I've found that in most stations, all or almost all of the doors and cars are open. And passengers' tickets are checked once they're onboard, which makes the process even faster. So I would say that the boarding process on the NER is pretty different and way faster than that of the LD trains.
 
So I had assumed that a NER commuter train where getting on and off has to be fast as commuters are often in a hurry, and would be similar to the UK versions, but obviously not and closer to the LD train system, it's a good thing to know.
I disagree. The cars used on the Regionals have automatic motorized doors, so basically the moment the train comes to a stop, the doors open simultaneously. And I've found that in most stations, all or almost all of the doors and cars are open. And passengers' tickets are checked once they're onboard, which makes the process even faster. So I would say that the boarding process on the NER is pretty different and way faster than that of the LD trains.
There is a part to keep in mind, and that is that the train has to be at a high level platform to use the automatic doors.
 
Back
Top