Pet peeves while riding amtrak

[dlagrua]

Yeah that will make a lot of people happy, and calling people names doesn't help any argument. Plus your not entitled to a seat in the lounge car, only the seat or room you purchased.

I am not talking about a lounge car but the cafe car used on the NE corridor trains. It is a lunch counter that serves sandwiches, light fare, coffee and drinks. You pay for everything that you purchase and the car has tables and booths. If a passenger buys a snadwich and a drink, they ARE entitied to eat at a table.

If you went into a fast food place and noticed that all of the tables were full and that people not eating or drinking anything would be staying there for hours how would you feel?. If it were my place I'd throw the lousy inconsiderate azzhats out. Thre is something in this world called manners. Its a shame that you do not understand this and I question what your upbringing was like. Were you taught anything about manners?

 

[Ryan]

Yeah that will make a lot of people happy, and calling people names doesn't help any argument. Plus your not entitled to a seat in the lounge car, only the seat or room you purchased.

I am not talking about a lounge car but the cafe car used on the NE corridor trains. It is a lunch counter that serves sandwiches, light fare, coffee and drinks. You pay for everything that you purchase and the car has tables and booths. If a passenger buys a snadwich and a drink, they ARE entitied to eat at a table.

Sure, there's a table conveniently located right at your seat.

If you went into a fast food place and noticed that all of the tables were full and that people not eating or drinking anything would be staying there for hours how would you feel?.

That doesn't matter, since we're talking about Amtrak pet peeves, not fast food restaurant pet peeves.

 

[Chepe2022]

My normal routine for any trip under five hours is to sit solely in the lounge/cafe car, whether its the Cascades, Starlate or CZ's.

I usually go right to the car immediately after boarding. I don't mind sharing my table, but in some cases I have been unfortunate to get a jesus freak or a nut of some type. So, I try and be careful as to who sits next to me. I always size people up when they enter the car, and then I start hoping for the best.

I also buy my fair share from the cafe guy, and give a good tip if their attitude is good. Plus, I try and notify the AC or conductor to tell them my seat is available for someone else.

Funny thing about this situation on long runs over five hours(when I like to keep my coach seat), often I come back to my seat to find someone else taking it. Doesn't perturb me if they are nice when I wake 'em up or ask them politely to leave, but for some reason a few seem to think they are Gods gift to the world and cannot believe I would want to sit in my own seat at their own inconvienence.

Asshats is too nice of a name for them, imo. More like throw 'em off the train whenever and wherever is what I say! :lol:

 

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

Yeah that will make a lot of people happy, and calling people names doesn't help any argument. Plus your not entitled to a seat in the lounge car, only the seat or room you purchased.

I am not talking about a lounge car but the cafe car used on the NE corridor trains. It is a lunch counter that serves sandwiches, light fare, coffee and drinks. You pay for everything that you purchase and the car has tables and booths. If a passenger buys a snadwich and a drink, they ARE entitied to eat at a table.

If you went into a fast food place and noticed that all of the tables were full and that people not eating or drinking anything would be staying there for hours how would you feel?. If it were my place I'd throw the lousy inconsiderate azzhats out. Thre is something in this world called manners. Its a shame that you do not understand this and I question what your upbringing was like. Were you taught anything about manners?

and your the one taking about manners, last I heard insulting someones parents is a not a very mannerly thing to do.

Also lets see what the Amtrak website has to say about it.

"Lounge and Cafe Cars provide roomy tables and comfortable, casual seating for enjoying your meals, writing, playing a hand of cards or a board game, or just sharing time with friends, family and new acquaintances."

No where do I see entitlement to table to eat at in the cafe car.

Also the terms of transportation

"Each passenger paying a fare will be entitled to a seat, to the extent coach seats are available."

"Passengers are entitled to one seat per fare, to ensure other paying passengers are not excluded."

"Unless specific seats are assigned, seating is on a first come - first served basis. On unreserved trains there are no guaranteed seats."

Again, no where do I see entitlement to table to eat at in the cafe car.

 

[PaulM]

The reason the Empire Service trains are Amtrak funded is that the service dates back to Amtrak Day One.

I'm sure CHI-STL service dates back to Amtrak Day One. But the state of Illinois still pays for all but the Texas Eagle.

 

[AlanB]

Unfortunately it now means that the longer trains have no place to restock along their runs. The Maple Leaf is almost always out of most food items by the time it hits Scranton on the return trip.

P.S. Does the Maple Leaf go through Scranton, PA ???

Oops!

It was late when I wrote that, I knew it began with an "s" and all I could think of was Scranton and Schenectady at the time, and I knew it wasn't the latter.

It should of course by Syracuse.

 

[newby]

Was on the CZ last month and there was one car that had a nasty stench. The horrific sweat and body odor eminating from that car was unbearable and unfortunately, the car was on our way to the lounge car. It is hard to hold ones breath from one end to the other, but I did it several times. NASTY!

 

[inspiration100]

Sorry, it was probably my car lol.

 

[spacecadet]

I am not talking about a lounge car but the cafe car used on the NE corridor trains. It is a lunch counter that serves sandwiches, light fare, coffee and drinks.

There is no distinction. They are all lounge/cafe cars. Amtrak does not make a distinction between them. (I am not saying there's no difference between different lounge/cafe cars, I am saying they all serve the same purpose to Amtrak.) You can talk about what they paint on the side of the car all you want; the fact is Amtrak uses the terms interchangeably. And I guarantee you that half the cars that say "cafe" on them right now said "lounge" at one point and vice versa, with no change in the internal configuration of the cars.

You pay for everything that you purchase and the car has tables and booths. If a passenger buys a snadwich and a drink, they ARE entitied to eat at a table. If you went into a fast food place and noticed that all of the tables were full and that people not eating or drinking anything would be staying there for hours how would you feel?.

Not the same thing.

Outside of a train, people have any number of places they can sit and socialize without buying anything. You can go to a park. You can go to someone's house. You can go to the mall and just wander around. You can't do that on the train. You have one place to go, and that's the lounge car.

This is why Amtrak wrote what they did on their site about the purpose of the lounge/cafe cars, which someone else quoted already. Note that they say lounge AND cafe cars provide seating for socializing; not only cars labeled "lounge" cars.

And as I said already, everyone is paying for the use of the lounge car as part of their ticket (and as part of their taxes). Paying for food in the lounge car entitles you to eat that food; it does not entitle you to a seat any more than any other paying customer on the train. You're not paying $5 for a seat when you buy a hamburger; you're paying $5 for a hamburger.

 

[Superliner]

My biggest pet peeve would be, parents that do not control their children from running up and down the aisles! My recent trip, on the CZ, had a couple of them running back and forth to the Sightseer Lounge Car (directly in front of my Coach) about every 10 minutes.

 

[inspiration100]

I think it is only fair to post this as I have read tons of posts about children and the parents not controlling the kids: I completely understand and relate to these being people's pet peeves but I want to tell you my story.

I was raised on Amtrak practically. We were not (still arn't ) a wealthy family by any means but my mother had a love for traveling which has been passed down for sure. Being raised in Seattle, we have the two main long distant routes, EB and CS. My mother was raised in Minnesota so she would frequent the Empire Builder to go see family and friends on that train. Me being a toddler, I was lucky enough to get to go such a long distance on the train. I was never a big fan of Thomas The Tank Engine since I was lucky enough to actually get to RIDE the REAL train. No fictional stuff for me, I got to live it. I remember telling my friends just what the train was like and they were amazed. 2 floors? No WAY! We always road coach and I had never done Sleeper until a couple years ago and of course I'm hooked on that, too.

I guess why I am typing this is to try and explain to those who don't want to deal with kids scremaing and running and what not. What I am trying to say is that the impressions that kids get on a train lasts a lifetime. I am probably a train fanatic because I was brought up with it and loved every minute of it. I know in the early 1990's people had to put up with me screaming, crying, crawling and running around the train too. I was not A.D.D. or anything, but all kids need to move around and LOVE attention. Because people were willing to put up with me when I was young, I am now a lifelong train rider. Remember that these kids you have to "deal with" right now very well might be the next generation conductor or head of Amtrak. I kid you not.

I would encourage everyone to be greatful for the young people who get the chance to experience the train at such an early age. They will be addicted just like the rest of us since it will be ingrained as a childhood memory just like mine. Some day, they might get the chance to serve you on an L.D. train. I know it is hard to put up with, but seriously, they are the next generation of train "gurus".

 

[amtrakwolverine]

How would you feel trying to sleep in coach or sleeper and have a child run screaming through the halls over and over while the parents ignored them. They may be a future generation of railfans but they need to be kept under controlled to some extent.Try to keep them busy.

 

[ayndim]

I'm a parent of 3 kids. I'm divorced and have them 99% of the time. I am also about 4 months from finishing my BCBA classes. My children would never be allowed to run through the halls/aisles and I doubt they would even try it. Why? Because they know there would be consequences to their ill behavior and they wouldn't like it. Getting children to respect the parents rules takes work. It doesn't happen magically. They tested the boundaries, I stuck to my rules and they learned. They still test the boundaries. It is part of growing up. I love electronics. A child starts to misbehave, mom eyes the kid's (cell phone/ds/psp/wii) and the behavior never happens. I once threw my daughters phone out the car window when she slapped her cell phone in my hand after I asked for it when she started getting mouthy. All my kids remember this and don't want it to happen to their stuff. They certainly don't want to risk mom throwing their stuff out a moving train. And yes I would do it if the conductor said I could. Certainly my kids aren't perfect but I don't tolerate poor behavior. My youngest has ADHD and ODD, so I don't accept the my kids has ADHD line or kids will be kids. We manage it with behavior modifcation and no meds. I didn't run wild, my kids don't run wild. The kids with autism I work with don't run wild. All it takes is to be a parent. You know make rules and enforce them. Too many parents don't want their kids to be mad at them. I personally consider it a compliment when my kids get mad at me. Means I'm doing my job. They still love me.

More importantly, there is praise for their good behavior. In my experience, most behavior problems in children without special needs is from desiring parent attention. Praise meets a need for attention. That kid running down the aisle is looking for attention from the parent who is ignoring them. Why isn't the parent reading them a book or something. If they ignore poor behavior, it is likely they ignore the kid at other times. Behavior is learned. If the child has gotten by with it in the past, they will continue in the future. Behavior serves a function and is either increased or decreased according to the consequence. So if the parent has the behavior of sitting on their butt while their child terrorizes the train and no one does anything then the parent gets peace and continues to ignore the kid. However, if the parent was told control your child or you will be asked to leave (and the conductor follows through), then said parent will not do it again if they want to take the train. It isn't really the child's behavior that is the problem. It is the parents! Of course kids need to move. That is when the parent can take them for a walk through the train. You can't just let them run on their own. I can't imagine it is safe to have a kid running in the train.

I really hate to see children not behaving as they should. Why? Because my big mouth would feel inclined to talk to the parents. I would tell them much of what I said above and then some. And it seems they don't like the truth. Your child isn't the problem, your parenting skills are.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I think it is only fair to post this as I have read tons of posts about children and the parents not controlling the kids: I completely understand and relate to these being people's pet peeves but I want to tell you my story.

I read your story. The kids crying and screaming and running around today are the future rail passengers or staff tomorrow. And to that I ask, how would expecting them to behave and be quiet STOP them from being the future rail passengers or staff? I believe you're presenting a false choice. We can have well behaved kids today who still become train fans tomorrow. In any case I'm not so wedded to Amtrak's future that I'm willing to put up with spoiled brats today on the off chance they might keep riding in the future.

 

[rrdude]

Bumping my head on the lowered upper berth when sitting up to put my slippers on, like I JUST DID at 8:38AM EST on the EB! )&)^(%%$&$R%@

My own dang fault tho, I knew it was there. Can't believe how much better the bathrooms are on these Beach Grove refurbed sleepers. I have to believe it's the same physical amount of space, but they feel twice as spacious as the original ones.

The Builder has been everything most posters have written about, only two hours late now, an hour + west of the Twin Cities.

Alas, my son doesn't share the enthusiasm I have, although there was a twinkle of it last nite, as he pointed out the numerous fires east of Williston, ND.

Anyone know what they are? Are they oil-field related? VERY black smoke, saw at least three of them, miles apart from each other........

 

[inspiration100]

I think it is only fair to post this as I have read tons of posts about children and the parents not controlling the kids: I completely understand and relate to these being people's pet peeves but I want to tell you my story.

I read your story. The kids crying and screaming and running around today are the future rail passengers or staff tomorrow. And to that I ask, how would expecting them to behave and be quiet STOP them from being the future rail passengers or staff? I believe you're presenting a false choice. We can have well behaved kids today who still become train fans tomorrow. In any case I'm not so wedded to Amtrak's future that I'm willing to put up with spoiled brats today on the off chance they might keep riding in the future.

I completely agree, but even the most well behaved kids will need to move around a bit on a 2 day train trip. I'm not saying that the parents are doing their jobs. I'm just suggesting that passengers do give the KIDS the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, someone put up with me walking through the trains (I just loved to walk through the cars when I was younger, pushing the button door and what not). Granted, I don't think I ever screamed once. I'm sure everyone else has done something when they were younger that they wouldn't do when they are older. Give the KIDS the benefit of the doubt and take it up with the parents. Just be happy we have youth riding the train.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

If they want to explore the train fine just keep a eye on them. don't let your kids run around un-supervised is all we ask. Asking kids to behave is not going to stop them from riding Amtrak again. Parents need to take responsibility for their kids actions. Kids will be kids does not cut it. If the train has a SSL take them there with a laptop or books or just let them hang out there supervised. Is that too much to ask.

 

[Dan O]

If they want to explore the train fine just keep a eye on them. don't let your kids run around un-supervised is all we ask.

Depending on their ages, kids walking around the train unsupervised should not be a problem. Older kids can behave and make a trip to the bathrooms, lounge car or snack bar w/o parental supervision. Younger kids are a different situation.

Asking kids to behave is not going to stop them from riding Amtrak again. Parents need to take responsibility for their kids actions.

True.

Kids will be kids does not cut it.

Younger kids do have to get up and move around some, getting off and running around when the train makes stops and moving more than most adults probably would on the train. Babies do tend to cry when they are tired and hungry and unfortunately fatigue and hunger are not uncommon when traveling, whether by train or other modes of transportation. To expect babies and children to act like adults is unreasonable. To expect them to behave is reasonable.

I have ridden commuter trains and Amtrak a bit and in my experience it has been adults that have been more irritating than kids. Usually adults greatly outnumber kids so maybe that's the reason.

Dan

 

[BigRedEO]

Pigs that mess up the bathroom and can't even clean up after themselves or flush!This happens in sleepers too but not as often! :angry:

Agreed.

Any I think the Viewliners are the very best design, hands down. Everyone has their own toilet, and how one takes care of it (or not), affects only that person.

I have changed my opinion 180 degrees on the toilet in the room, as the Viewliner roomette is configured.

Yuck with a cap Y!

Get that stink-factor OUT OF MY ROOM. Ever look at the area "around" the toilet, when the sun is shining in the window? I'll leave that to your imagination.

Let's just say that most males don't hit the target 100% of the time, even when standing still. Now add the train-movement factor in....

I won't go into detail, but put it rather bluntly. "There's pee and pee-spay" everywhere you don't want it to be in a Viewliner roomette. You just might not notice it.

I guess I'm the only guy who sits no matter what I have to do when I use the toilet on a train, simply because I know there's the possibility of being thrown off balance if I stand.

 

[George Harris]

My normal routine for any trip under five hours is to sit solely in the lounge/cafe car, whether its the Cascades, Starlate or CZ's.
I usually go right to the car immediately after boarding. I don't mind sharing my table, but in some cases I have been unfortunate to get a jesus freak or a nut of some type. So, I try and be careful as to who sits next to me. I always size people up when they enter the car, and then I start hoping for the best.

One of my pet peeves is someone that feels entitled to a seat in teh lounge/cafe car.

newss flash: The car is there for people to buy food/drinks, eat/imbibe, and then go back to there seats so there is space for others to do likewise.

 

[BigRedEO]

Coming home from the gathering on 352 the wolverine this child was crying on and off throughout the whole trip and the mother even changed the child's diaper ON THE SEAT YUCK.

I'm curious where on the train you'd have her change the kid, I have never seen a changing table on the wolverine line.

you could bring a towel and use it over the toilet bench in the bathroom to change the child with. Im with simpythy if the mother is doing everything to try and quit there child but not if they just ignore the problem like it will go away on its on. this wasn't a baby either it was a toddler.

And your suggestion is RIGHT ON, most parents WILL bring a changing pad or sheet, just for that purpose.

Put me in the "unsympathetic" camp but changing diapers in public places should just not happen IMHO. And while you can't control an infant when they cry, you can certainly keep a child from running and playing through the train.

On my last ride on the crescent there was a group of kids in the lounge car who were basically treating the booths like a playground while the parents played cards. The lounge attendant finally had enough and put them in their place. Of course there mom got most upset and told other passengers how rude he was. Funny, I thought what he did was perfect. ha.

I have run into moms like that at stores who let their kids run wild while they shop. And when I tell their kids to cool it because they're in a public place, if the mother tells me I have no right, I give it right back to her and tell her that SHE has no right to inflict her kids on people when out in public. I tell her that my mom had seven kids to raise and there is no way she would have put up with the behavior that her kids were showing and that she taught us to respect other people when we were out in public!

 

[PerRock]

My normal routine for any trip under five hours is to sit solely in the lounge/cafe car, whether its the Cascades, Starlate or CZ's.
I usually go right to the car immediately after boarding. I don't mind sharing my table, but in some cases I have been unfortunate to get a jesus freak or a nut of some type. So, I try and be careful as to who sits next to me. I always size people up when they enter the car, and then I start hoping for the best.

One of my pet peeves is someone that feels entitled to a seat in teh lounge/cafe car.

newss flash: The car is there for people to buy food/drinks, eat/imbibe, and then go back to there seats so there is space for others to do likewise.

So then why do they put tables & chairs (and power outlets) in the lounge car if no one is supposed to sit there?

peter

 

[boxcar479]

I'm going to chime in as well on the pigs who don't clean up after themselves in the shower. These are the creatures who will throw their towels on the floor and not in the bag, sling water everywhere and not dry up after themselves and leave slimy soap bars in the stall. I could go on about males with bad aim who leave the seat down but will leave it at that :angry2:

ME TOO! the only thing I can add to that is Hairy slimy soap bars. I always clean up after myself and usually others as well.

 

[BigRedEO]

I'm going to chime in as well on the pigs who don't clean up after themselves in the shower. These are the creatures who will throw their towels on the floor and not in the bag, sling water everywhere and not dry up after themselves and leave slimy soap bars in the stall. I could go on about males with bad aim who leave the seat down but will leave it at that :angry2:

ME TOO! the only thing I can add to that is Hairy slimy soap bars. I always clean up after myself and usually others as well.

That's one of the reasons I bring my own body wash, shampoo, etc.

 

[Jersey Jeff]

My biggest gripe is trying to find a seat on a sold-out train and getting a dirty look from the other passenger when you ask if the aisle seat next to him is taken. Then that passenger has to get up to use the restroom every 45 minutes due to age/medical condition and I am awakened from my peaceful nap.

The only other problem I've ever had with passengers were with a pair of senior citizens in the roommette next to mine on the Crescent who thought that arising at 5 a.m. and then complaining to each other LOUDLY in the hallway as they slammed their doors and tottered down the hall to lodge additional noisy complaints with the SCA was proper behavior.