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Seatmate Stories
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The best seatmate I ever had was Jason on the Maple Leaf which was the second Amtrak train I ever rode. This was October 2001 about 6 weeks after 9/11. Jason was very glad he was late to work in the WTC on the morning of 9/11. He had (and possibly still) a Guinnes World record for being the youngest to pass the Stock Broker exam and become one at about 17.5 years old.
He is still my friend on Facebook. He founded a company and is still CEO of 1800GOTMOLD. He has a dog named Oreo that is trained to sniff out mold in walls.
We rode together on the ViaRail Canadian all the way to Winnipeg too.
Last December I sat with my wife but a couple seats ahead of me was what I kindly refer to as a nut case. I saw him in Sacramento before we got on the train and figured he was trouble.
He had a nice carved walking stick which he almost lost in Winnemucca. He apparently had a nicotine addiction. His ticket was to Denver but was taken off the train in Granby by police after he opened the window downstairs to smoke his e-cigarette. He was not arrested but had to wait in Granby until his girlfriend came from Denver to pick him up.
He is still my friend on Facebook. He founded a company and is still CEO of 1800GOTMOLD. He has a dog named Oreo that is trained to sniff out mold in walls.
We rode together on the ViaRail Canadian all the way to Winnipeg too.
Last December I sat with my wife but a couple seats ahead of me was what I kindly refer to as a nut case. I saw him in Sacramento before we got on the train and figured he was trouble.
He had a nice carved walking stick which he almost lost in Winnemucca. He apparently had a nicotine addiction. His ticket was to Denver but was taken off the train in Granby by police after he opened the window downstairs to smoke his e-cigarette. He was not arrested but had to wait in Granby until his girlfriend came from Denver to pick him up.
Ryan
Court Jester
Nope. We'll be old and gray, arguing over how much better the Acela 3 was than the stupid Acela 4's are, and wondering if BNSF is *ever* going to finish the 7th track on the hi-line so the damned Empire Builder can get though South Dakota on time and I'll still be looking for the stupid lake.
As if by magic, a photo of that fateful day popped up in my Facebook feed this evening.
I've mentioned this several times but while on the SWC from Chicago to Los Angeles, not at all by choice, I was stuck next to a guy who reeked of BO and cigarettes. While it wasn't for a great distance as he moved one row ahead of me, the odor lingered. And as he wore the same clothes over the entire length of the trip, the aroma didn't get any better. What was more annoying was that he was on his blippty-blipping cell phone all the time. And didn't have enough sense to douse the volume on the phone's ringer. All night, constantly. And the car steward was no help in shutting him up. His "old lady" was supposed to have joined him on the trip but didn't show. He was constantly on the phone with her, offering her first $50 towards a ticket for her to join him. The amount kept going up, and by the time we got to L.A. it was up to $150. Who knows how much his offer would have been if the trip had lasted longer. He would occasionally go to the lounge car to do his negotiations but unfortunately would come back. At one point, he said he was "through with his old lady" and was going to start a new life with his "other old lady" in Los Angeles. The last I saw of him was at LAUS when he put his luggage out on the curb while waiting for a cab. And then wandered away, leaving the luggage and a very confused cabbie wondering why there was luggage on the curb and no one with it.
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
Sounds like a ideal seatmate to me!
Normally I'd agree if he had taken a bath in the past decade and the SCA had passed out Gas Masks! LOL
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the_traveler
Engineer
Here & there! I think some people are still lost and trying to find the way out! :giggle:Just Like Penny's wrong Turn, Now when was that?
fillyjonk
OBS Chief
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2011
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- 582
Oh gads. Seatmates. I've had a few experiences with 'em, which is why I now spring for the sleeper:
- back before they were more restrictive about on-board alcohol, when I was on a train VERY delayed (because of a derailment ahead of it, and also speed restrictions due to an ice storm), two guys near me who got on with a full bottle of Jack Daniels gradually emptied it. They got louder and "friendlier" as time wore on until I finally decamped to the lounge car. I wound up standing for a while before I could get a seat there but it was worth it.
- back when they still allowed smoking in a separate compartment, a seatmate who insisted on the window seat crawled over me (what seemed like) every 45 minutes during the night for a cig and came back reeking of smoke. (He had a leather jacket that was steeped in it. Needless to say, I'm a non smoker).
- The real tipping point though was the guy who kept trying to press his address on me; he wanted me to mail him my ponytail if I ever cut it off (!) Yeah, I spent the rest of that trip in the lounge also, and told the conductor/attendant (I forget who) just why. He was a good guy and kind of watched out for me.
I swear I have a crazy magnet. I'm also very touch-averse, noise-averse, and an extreme introvert, so crowded coach is really unpleasant for me.
- back before they were more restrictive about on-board alcohol, when I was on a train VERY delayed (because of a derailment ahead of it, and also speed restrictions due to an ice storm), two guys near me who got on with a full bottle of Jack Daniels gradually emptied it. They got louder and "friendlier" as time wore on until I finally decamped to the lounge car. I wound up standing for a while before I could get a seat there but it was worth it.
- back when they still allowed smoking in a separate compartment, a seatmate who insisted on the window seat crawled over me (what seemed like) every 45 minutes during the night for a cig and came back reeking of smoke. (He had a leather jacket that was steeped in it. Needless to say, I'm a non smoker).
- The real tipping point though was the guy who kept trying to press his address on me; he wanted me to mail him my ponytail if I ever cut it off (!) Yeah, I spent the rest of that trip in the lounge also, and told the conductor/attendant (I forget who) just why. He was a good guy and kind of watched out for me.
I swear I have a crazy magnet. I'm also very touch-averse, noise-averse, and an extreme introvert, so crowded coach is really unpleasant for me.
fillyjonk
OBS Chief
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2011
- Messages
- 582
Though now I think of it, there was one really good one, not a seatmate, but across the aisle: a dad traveling with his two young kids, probably about 6 and 8. The were so well behaved, and they seemed to have so much fun on the trip - coloring in coloring books, looking out the window, playing.
When I got off I quietly told the dad that his kids were really well behaved and it was a pleasure to travel near them. He smiled.
When I got off I quietly told the dad that his kids were really well behaved and it was a pleasure to travel near them. He smiled.
Silver Star rider
Service Attendant
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2010
- Messages
- 236
My horror stories has to deal with dining car companions. Most of my meals I was seated with pleasant people who understood the main idea was to eat, so they weren't too chatty besides, 'hi I am so and so from somewhere heading there' type of chatting. I like to look out the window at the sights while dining. Not really into chatting, following a conversation. If someone is talking to you, I feel it is ill of you to ignore them.
One time I was seated next to someone who didn't understand the unwritten rule that on a seat for two, you should take up one half of it, not two thirds. I sat with a portion of my backside off the seat.
Another time a woman had to tell me her life story in between bites of food. Like I said, I had to pay attention to her words. But when she went outside for a smoking break, I gobbled the rest of my food and dessert and left before she came back on board to finish her meal.
And file this under lesson learnt. My first trip on the Star, I ordered my tickets over the phone. I was advised when going to the dining car, not to leave any valuables in the sleeper compartment. I carry with me a laptop and maybe a 1/2 dozen different sorts of digital cameras, camcorders, etc. The person in the sleeper across the way was also a newbie. Me being too nice, I suggested to him, while one person is in the dining car, the other should be in the sleeper keeping an eye to make sure no one is stealing anything from the other compartment. I decided to let him go first, me being nice. Well, he took his time, couldn't care less that I was waiting to eat. That was also the last time I suggested to do something like this on that trip or future trips.
Bruce-SSR
One time I was seated next to someone who didn't understand the unwritten rule that on a seat for two, you should take up one half of it, not two thirds. I sat with a portion of my backside off the seat.
Another time a woman had to tell me her life story in between bites of food. Like I said, I had to pay attention to her words. But when she went outside for a smoking break, I gobbled the rest of my food and dessert and left before she came back on board to finish her meal.
And file this under lesson learnt. My first trip on the Star, I ordered my tickets over the phone. I was advised when going to the dining car, not to leave any valuables in the sleeper compartment. I carry with me a laptop and maybe a 1/2 dozen different sorts of digital cameras, camcorders, etc. The person in the sleeper across the way was also a newbie. Me being too nice, I suggested to him, while one person is in the dining car, the other should be in the sleeper keeping an eye to make sure no one is stealing anything from the other compartment. I decided to let him go first, me being nice. Well, he took his time, couldn't care less that I was waiting to eat. That was also the last time I suggested to do something like this on that trip or future trips.
Bruce-SSR
pianocat
Lead Service Attendant
I was riding coach on the CZ to SLC in 2011, my first LD Amtrak trip. Started out with a seat to myself, but by time the train left CUS, there was a nice young man sat down next to me because it was the last seat in the car. I was playing "Angry Birds" at the time, and turns out he was also a fan. When he said he'd be getting off the train in about 45 min. I thought WhooHoot!!! From his departure until SLC, I didn't get anyone else in the other seat! Being only 5 ft. tall, I was able to sleep quite well in a fetal position with a pillow and blanket offered by the attendant. That was the last time I took coach on a LD train. I got spoiled when I took the EB to SPK and back to CHI in summer 2013 in a roomette, and though I had to ride coach on the MRR in December of 2013, it was a fairly short trip and my seatmate was a fellow teacher! We had much to talk about for the entire trip, til I transferred to the SWC roomette in KCY. I wouldn't do well with a stinky seatmate, or otherwise obnoxious person in such close proximity to me. If it's simply a 4-5 hour daytime trip, I can stand it. Not overnight, though. These stories are really fascinating, Love reading them
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NorthShore
Conductor
A guy who I met in the lounge car quickly decided he needed to pull out his smart phone and show me his **** shot. When I nervously smirked out of embarrassing shock, he interpreted it as a sign of approval, then spent the rest of the trip trying to get me to come down to his lower level coach section to hang out. I had to find continued excuses to avoid this, though he did really freak me out when I woke up one night briefly and saw him hovering over my seat/row from the aisle.
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andersone
Conductor
Not really a seatmate story, but not once, but twice I had the privilege of riding in the same sleeper with John Madden from SF to CUS. We have meals together and it was, as my sainted mother would have said, the most pleasant of times. The second time he actually remembered me from the first as the"crazy librarian" Bother of these trips were in the 80's.
That guy should have been reported to the conductor.
Agree
Our most recent trip on SWC #3 in May was a pleasant experience in the SSL with the boy scouts. They were quiet, talked with each other and seemed to enjoy the train ride. They are teenagers so one does need to have a little tolerance but overall I would say they were generally polite and did not cause any problems.
A whole lot better than the guy we encountered a few years ago on a LSL coach to Chicago who put his feet over the seat behind us and snored most of the trip. Those feet definitely needed some time in a shower.. :angry:
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Ryan
Court Jester
Agree2
I'd like to think that we were well behaved angels on our train trip out there, and for the most part we probably were. I do feel bad for anyone else trying to sit in the dome on the Capitol Limited with us, between 20 Boy Scouts on the way to Philmont and about the same number of Campfire Girls returning to Spokane after a visit to DC, it may or may not have gotten a little loud.
I thought that problem could be solved by the use of some Vicks Vapo-Rub, which is what I was advised by AU folks to get when I had to do a 21 hour ride on the Silver Star and all the sleepers were booked. I still have the jar of Vapo-rub, I didn't need it, my seatmate was a nice single mom who took the aisle seat the better to ride herd on her two kids across the aisle. Actually, the kids were pretty well behaved, so I consider myself to be lucky.
Hey, I was once a scout taking a train to Philmont! It was back in 1968, and the rail leg was on the Denver Zephyr between CHI and DEN. (We took charter buses between PHL and CHI, apparently the Pennsylvania RR had no interest in hosting Scouts, or the service was so lousy that our council didn't want to deal with them. We lso took charter buses between Denver and Philmont.) The Denver Zephyr was a great ride, even if they put us in the older coaches that didn't have leg rests. It seemed like the ride on the Burlington was smoother and quieter than anything I ever experienced on the Pennsy on the NEC. We also had a separate dining car where the food wasn't anything to write home about. No problem, I went to the "Chuckwagon" car, a sort of cafe car, where I got a $5.00 pizza. (that's $34.00 in today's money, don't complain about Amtrak prices
! ) (It was a better pizza than you get in an Amtrak cafe car nowadays, though.) Then I went up into the dome car and spent several hours chilling out in the dark, watching the signals ahead turn from green to red as the engine passed them. It was pretty cool. I believe we were pretty well behaved, as we were read the riot act about our behavior, and also our leaders were two police officers.
VentureForth
Engineer
I thought that John Madden was a great guy. No need to report him.
OH - the perv from the previous post. Never mind.
Yes. Most definitely not john madden. Sorry about the confusion.
I rode the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago in 2008. Had an interesting person sit next to me. I was sitting in the window seat behind my two older children (age 20 and 16). She appeared to be about age 50 and was able to get up and down the stairs on the train fine. The following occurred in the first evening:
* Before the train started, she asked me to open the CD player she bought. It came in hard, thick plastic but I was able to puncture the plastic with a key and give her the CD player.
* After I handed it to her, she made no move to take the plastic trash and instructions despite me holding them right in front of her for a minute or two. I placed the trash at our feet and one of my kids tossed it in the trash can a few minutes later.
* She treated me and all in the area to a serenade as she sung along to the CDs she was playing. This went on for a few hours. She was not very loud but she was mouthing the words loud enough for many to hear. I assume that was so because she had headphones on and could not hear herself singing aloud.
* She invaded my territory (seat) and used my leg as a table for her to place her purse while she was looking for something. I didn't mind but I thought she might ask before doing so. When she slept, she was pushed up against me.
* While I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom downstairs, she asked my daughter where the snack bar was. My daughter gave her the directions (we were in the last coach car). The woman asked if my daughter could take her to the snack bar. She did. When my daughter took her there, my daughter turned to go back to her seat. The woman said not to leave her as she was not sure she could find her way back to her seat. (Up the stairs and go to the last coach car....oh well.)
* She ate her snacks on the tray and fell asleep with some food on the tray. I had to use the restroom about 11:30 PM. My kids helped me lift her food off of the tray, fold up the tray and I stepped over her. I felt like Mr. Bean and my kids had a hard time not laughing their heads off at what happened. When I returned to my seat, we had to lower the tray and put her food back on it again. She woke up around midnight and offered me some of her food. "No thanks."
* A bit later that evening, she woke my daughter up to ask where the bathrooms were. At least she didn't insist on my daughter taking her to and from the restroom.
The next day--
My kids and I spent almost the entire day in the observation car. I found a seat across the aisle from my kids that was completely empty and slept there.
* When one of my kids went back to the seat to get an item, the woman asked if my kid could bring her a fork from the snack bar. "Okay, but I don't plan on being back here for several hours." The woman said that was okay. (NOTE--she did not appear to have a disability or mobility issue/)
* As I said above, we spent most of the second day in the observation car. We got off at Albuquerque and walked around some. She ran into us near the train and said, "Oh my gosh I am glad you are here. I thought maybe I had missed my stop." NOTE--Her stop was Chicago, same as ours. It was also the last possible stop for the train. I would think even the most geographically challenged person may see that Albuquerque and it's dry, dusty appearance is NOT Chicago.
Anyway, I only had to spend one evening and night next to her. She wasn't horrible but she was quite an experience.
Dan
PS I believe I posted this here 6 years ago but what the heck, here goes again.
* Before the train started, she asked me to open the CD player she bought. It came in hard, thick plastic but I was able to puncture the plastic with a key and give her the CD player.
* After I handed it to her, she made no move to take the plastic trash and instructions despite me holding them right in front of her for a minute or two. I placed the trash at our feet and one of my kids tossed it in the trash can a few minutes later.
* She treated me and all in the area to a serenade as she sung along to the CDs she was playing. This went on for a few hours. She was not very loud but she was mouthing the words loud enough for many to hear. I assume that was so because she had headphones on and could not hear herself singing aloud.
* She invaded my territory (seat) and used my leg as a table for her to place her purse while she was looking for something. I didn't mind but I thought she might ask before doing so. When she slept, she was pushed up against me.
* While I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom downstairs, she asked my daughter where the snack bar was. My daughter gave her the directions (we were in the last coach car). The woman asked if my daughter could take her to the snack bar. She did. When my daughter took her there, my daughter turned to go back to her seat. The woman said not to leave her as she was not sure she could find her way back to her seat. (Up the stairs and go to the last coach car....oh well.)
* She ate her snacks on the tray and fell asleep with some food on the tray. I had to use the restroom about 11:30 PM. My kids helped me lift her food off of the tray, fold up the tray and I stepped over her. I felt like Mr. Bean and my kids had a hard time not laughing their heads off at what happened. When I returned to my seat, we had to lower the tray and put her food back on it again. She woke up around midnight and offered me some of her food. "No thanks."
* A bit later that evening, she woke my daughter up to ask where the bathrooms were. At least she didn't insist on my daughter taking her to and from the restroom.
The next day--
My kids and I spent almost the entire day in the observation car. I found a seat across the aisle from my kids that was completely empty and slept there.
* When one of my kids went back to the seat to get an item, the woman asked if my kid could bring her a fork from the snack bar. "Okay, but I don't plan on being back here for several hours." The woman said that was okay. (NOTE--she did not appear to have a disability or mobility issue/)
* As I said above, we spent most of the second day in the observation car. We got off at Albuquerque and walked around some. She ran into us near the train and said, "Oh my gosh I am glad you are here. I thought maybe I had missed my stop." NOTE--Her stop was Chicago, same as ours. It was also the last possible stop for the train. I would think even the most geographically challenged person may see that Albuquerque and it's dry, dusty appearance is NOT Chicago.
Anyway, I only had to spend one evening and night next to her. She wasn't horrible but she was quite an experience.
Dan
PS I believe I posted this here 6 years ago but what the heck, here goes again.
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