Rude and insensitive passengers on board

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LILRACER

LILRACER

Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Lone Tree, Iowa
How many of you have had to deal with rude and/or unruly fellow passengers in your travels? Last January I rode the Texas Eagle from Arizona to Illinois. In LA, a woman got onboard in coach and when she found out that her seat companion was going to be of a race not her own, she REFUSED to let anyone sit in the seat next to her. SHE was escorted OFF the train in a town East of Tucson (that Amtrak doesn't regularly stop at) and met by uniformed officers. It was rumored she was dealing with mental issues.

We also had a drunk guy who fell down the stairs from top level to the lower level. HE was escorted off and cuffed in Del Rio, Texas-when his TICKET said Chicago!

Anyone else have any stories to share?

I APPLAUD the conductor and train personnel who don't put up with the crap of some passengers! We ALL pay for tickets and expect a safe and comfortable ride!
 
Well, just about anyone who has traveled Amtrak has stories about people who were overly choosy about who they sat with at dinner. Hubby and I have such stories, of course! A couple ahead of us in line refused to sit with a woman whose skin was, ahem, a darker shade than theirs. They were invited to eat elsewhere... at least, not in the diner. We sat down with the person in question, and found her to be a well-traveled professional and delightful conversationalist. Had a hard time getting up to leave and make room for the next seating.

Another time, we sat down with another man we'd noticed across the aisle from us at an earlier meal. His table then had been pretty silent, not so the case when we sat with him, ha, ha! What a wonderful and wide-ranging conversation. We just feel sorry for people who miss the opportunity to meet new people and enjoy exploring new horizons. If someone is quiet by nature, that's one thing, but to pre-judge the person across the table from you is to deny both of you an opportunity for an enjoyable meal.
 
On one of my first LD trips back in 2008 I was going coach from SEA to CHI and this Russian fellow was behind me carrying on about his days in the USSR, not that I believed half his drivel (at one point he claimed the KGB in America were after him, hence why he takes Amtrak). He progressively became drunker that first night out as he emptied the cafe car of (you guessed it) vodka. He was refused service and became belligerent however when the conductor explained he could have a sleeper and consume his beverage quietly by himself he flashed a huge wad of bills and paid for an on-board upgrade and then more booze. He was told to take it back to his sleeper and to not bug the crew. I didn't see him until we got off in Chicago.

The other week my friend and I were travelling coach on the Crescent and boarded in CLT. A number of pax from NOL had switched seats and so there was a 2:30AM seat shuffle. The woman behind my friend was quite friendly and polite but whenever we moved our seats back she kicked them, then smiled and act like nothing happened. She was at least 50, small little thing, and was acting like she was five!
 
Recently on the CL I had dinner, breakfast & lunch with the same crazy people at my table and the table across from me. Oh, wait. They were AUers returning from the gathering the same as I.

:giggle:
 
My wife and I's second long-distance trip together was on the CZ #5... last summer. We were in a bedroom... and almost right out of Chicago... we could hear someone getting sick to their stomach in the bedroom next to us. They looked like an older mother and middle aged daughter traveling together. You could hear the actual projectile vomiting in the bathroom and then them asking the attendant for some spray. This was about 1 hour out of Chicago. Well, they were at the same dinner sitting as us... and yes, they both went to dinner... and then we heard the vomiting again. This continued for all 3 meals the next day!!!!! Yes!!! Just the most horrible thing. My wife and I were just looking at each other --- if for 4 meals in a row --- one comes back and has to vomit --- maybe stay in your room for a meal and opt for some soup in the lounge car or something. It was pretty gross...
 
Dear rtabern,

Sorry to hear about your experience. Sounds very disturbing. Probably horrible for them as well. Do you think their problem was a result of over-consumption?
 
Not sure I'd call that vomiting "rude and insensitive", though perhaps her stomach was a tad sensitive.

Once I was having a whispered conversation with my seat mate around 8:30-9 on the Capitol Limited. A lady two rows up from us shushed us several times, the coach attendant was two rows behind us and politely asked the woman to leave us alone and reminded her that the lights wouldn't be turned down until 10.

Another time on a New York-bound regional I was seated in the vicinity of a young Italian man from New Jersey (supposition, he was 'the Situation' type though) and he was having a very long and... detailed... phone conversation with whom I assume was his girlfriend. I saw them meet at the platform at Newark, it didn't take a genius to figure what they were going to be doing for the next few hours, as he had told me (and everybody else around us) exactly what he was going to do to her...
 
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AH! I was on the 11 again from EUG to kalamth falls . * There is your first clue *

I dress in a very loud jacket as I am not the kind whom loves to be hit by cars .

10789826134_74d25c8726_z.jpg


First off the local lush drunks in the cafe car were all going nuts over me .

I am packing a hamradio on my sholder and I have a panasonic toughbook with me ( Cop laptop )

the dudes ask me . If I was a spy ..

then If i work for amtrak. ( I wish LOLS) I the LSA was just grining from ear to ear .

I said . " I am a engineer a electonics engineer whom is a hamradio operator and a photograher .

I am on my way to do some filming in K falls for my college of engineering Oregon tech .

* they are wayyy drunk so I doubt any of that made any sense *

Heck the conductor asked If was a amtrack engineer . WTH !!!!! I should have got the orange based jacket

OK soo back at my seat I had a dude whom was well obviously backpacking . With him was more then just banned butane cans

but some substance of the mind altering kind that grows .

Let me state ........... this is southern oregon ......... Need I say more .
 
ALC Rail Writer said:
Shawn Ryu said:
^Was he a nice dude?

I enjoy meeting loonies like those to be honest, he sounds harmless.
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Harmless, yes. Insensitive though. One quote sticks in my head, but you'll have to PM me for it.. much too hot for Amtrak Unlimited.
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Dont need to hear the details since I know where you are gonna go with it.

But I would have laughed to be honest with you. But yea I can see how some would be offended
 
Shawn Ryu said:
But I would have laughed to be honest with you. But yea I can see how some would be offended
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Offended? Nah. What's fun is feeling like you're on stage as everyone watches to see how you answer your kids' questions...
 
Hi,

I guess one just gets a cross section of the wider society aboard trains. I think the world a brighter place for all the odd and interesting folk, although I do concede that I may not want to spend all of the 50 hours trip sitting next to them on a long distance train!

From the UK, I was intrigued to see a guy taken off the Amtrak train for smoking, in the middle of nowhere by a Sherrif driving a Ford Mustang police car... seemed surreal overlkill, like a scene from a movie.

Ed :cool:
 
This brings back a memory of leaving Seattle in coach. There were a lot of Mariners fans on that train. I was in the lower level, which is more confined and has fewer occupants. Four fans were sitting in the back seats. There was one other man in the lower level and all of the rest were women.

One of the four fans spouted four-letter words at least once in every sentence. As the trip progressed, he became louder and more vulgar. This went on for at least 45 minutes until I calmly asked him to please watch what he was saying as there were others here that found his words offensive. He snarled back at me that he was more intelligent than I was. I said "I am sure you are and I'm not disputing that, but please watch what you are saying." Again he went on and again included how much smarter he was than I am. I again told him that he probably was much smarter. Finally, after much back-and-forth about his intelligence, he quieted down and stopped using foul language.

Before he and his companions left the train he apologized to me. Wow. That surprised me.
 
rtabern said:
My wife and I's second long-distance trip together was on the CZ #5... last summer. We were in a bedroom... and almost right out of Chicago... we could hear someone getting sick to their stomach in the bedroom next to us. They looked like an older mother and middle aged daughter traveling together. You could hear the actual projectile vomiting in the bathroom and then them asking the attendant for some spray. This was about 1 hour out of Chicago. Well, they were at the same dinner sitting as us... and yes, they both went to dinner... and then we heard the vomiting again. This continued for all 3 meals the next day!!!!! Yes!!! Just the most horrible thing. My wife and I were just looking at each other --- if for 4 meals in a row --- one comes back and has to vomit --- maybe stay in your room for a meal and opt for some soup in the lounge car or something. It was pretty gross...
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Given that this was happening after each meal, I would be willing to bet that one of the ladies was going through chemotherapy or something similar, that would have caused the severe stomach upset.
 
On one trip to CHI we encountered one moron in the sleeper car who decided that he would play his CD player at high volume late into the evening. After asking him politely three times, I told him that if he kept me awake all night I'd come out of my bedroom and break his face.. He turned the box off. In the morning I encountered the SCA in the hall and told him about my encounter. He told me that in the future please let him handle events like this. The SCA was a big man 6'2" and about 275 lbs. I told him OK.
 
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It's 2013. The folks who have a "problem" with sitting near or next to people of a different ethnic background from them (whatever the combination may be) need to either get over it, or travel by their own personal car. Yes, in some cases there are "mental issues" involved, but still.

Personally, I have problems with the super-demanding people. Like the woman traveling with her (adult) son in the sleeper once who (a) complained that neither of them could climb into the top bunk in the roommette they bought, (b) missed their dinner reservation (a call was made, twice) and insisted that the attendant should have come and got them, and © missed the breakfast call, insisted in breakfast in their room, told the attendant when he brought it that he needed to make up their beds first, and then complained that the eggs were cold (!)

I HOPE they tipped him generously but in my experience demanding people usually do not tip well, if at all.
 
Ted Bell said:
Is it such a big deal if someone has a few drinks and gets a little carried away? Maybe a little compassion?
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Compassion? No. They chose to drink and are responsible for their actions.

Amusement? Perhaps, depending on what they're doing. Happy drunks are funny sometimes. :)

Annoyance? Yes, if they are the type to get belligerent, loud, angry, etc.
 
Ted Bell said:
Is it such a big deal if someone has a few drinks and gets a little carried away? Maybe a little compassion?
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Do it in the privacy of your home, or friends house, or suffer the potential consequences. I have been on BOTH sides, several X in my life and travels. As a guest aboard/at Amtrak/United/Applebee's/Ruth's Chris, The last thing I want to put up with is some obnoxious drunk, who gets "carried away"
 
I think compassion only comes in to play if someone is legitimately sick.

Cant stand drunks vomiting.

Although that did make me a hypocrite in my high school days.
 
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