Some questions from a first time Amtrak traveler

[CarolynG]

I'm cursed with extremely oily hair and can't stand unwashed hair. I was still able to shampoo my hair adequately in the bathroom. The environment within a coach is such that you shouldn't have much trouble staying clean.

This stuff isn't a 100% substitute, but it does help cut down with being oily in between shampoos.

http://www.amazon.com/Naturelle-Biotera-Dry-Shampoo/dp/B003JN69AA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332125922&sr=8-1

 

[AlanB]

Reserved Coach (upper level). Go to www.rrpicturearchives.com for pictures of Amtrak railcars. Lower level seats are for people who have mobility difficulties.

Actually a certain number of Lower Level (LL) seats are set aside specifically for those with mobility issues and can only be booked with a live agent, either in person or by phone. The rest of the LL seats can be purchased by anyone.

 

[jb64]

I really appreciate the help and patience with all my questions.

I have a couple more:

I've been looking the Amtrak site over, for meals and dining it states that credit cards are accepted. I do feel silly asking this but they do take cash, right? We were thinking about taking a couple hundred dollars in cash with us on the trip so we wouldn't have to bother using our VISA debit cards. What is everyone's opinion(s) on using cash or credit cards for their train travels?

If we do decide or manage to get a roomette on the last half of our trip, is it safe to leave personal belongings in the room (laptop, camera, purse or wallet, anything of value) if we decide to go to other parts of the train? I haven't experienced to many trips or vacations in the past and have always been paranoid with leaving my belongings unattended at hotels or other places.

EDIT:

Oh! Another question! :lol: We will be traveling on the 51 Cardinal when heading to WV and then again when heading back on our way to Chicago, the exchange to the 3 Southwest Chief for the last part of our trip. I've read that certain sides of the train are best for viewing scenery. Has anyone rode either of these trains before and recommend the best place to sit?

Cash is most certainly accepted. In fact, you won't be able to use your debit card if it requires a pin as they can only process cards that do not require a pin.

You may leave some belongings in your room but I would not leave your purse or cameras. Your other things will likely be okay as long as they are not in plain view. We also always shut our door and curtains so that no one can tell whether we are there or not.

I just rode both of these trains last week. For the Cardinal, there is a better side but for you getting off in Thurmond it probably won't make much difference as you will be getting off in the scenic area. It also will be getting dark and hard to see the scenery, anyway. For the Southwest Chief, much of the beautiful southwest can be seen from either side of the train, so it doesn't really matter which side. j Besides, you can always sit in the sightseer lounge car and enjoy both sides.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I have ridden the SouthWest Chief a couple of times. There are great views on both sides. One of the best places is Lamy, NM, where you will want t be on the north side of the train (right side as you travel westward). As you approach Lamy, watch for a community of off-grid homes with small wind generators and solar panels (both hot water and electric panels). At the Lamy station, there are some neat old cars on short tracks to the side. I think someone lives in at least one of them. Coming down the long, long mountain into L.A. you may want to be on the left (south) side. Just go to the cafe car if you want to watch out both sides.

I have also traveled coach. As I get older, I like the roomettes better, but here are some tips for coach survival:

Unfortunately, your boyfriend will have to figure out how to get clean in a closet of a bathroom, but you'll have it pretty good. At the end of the downstairs bathrooms, there is a ladies lounge/dressing room. There is room to set your suitcase on the bench, and a vanity with two sinks where you can get your hair clean. For more intimate washing, use the inner toilet room (which also has a sink). Taking rags you can throw away after washing is a good idea, but I have washed with the paper towels.

Be sure and take plenty of snack foods. Perhaps your friends in WV can set you up with a bag of veggies, you can take fruit and protein bars, granola or cereal for breakfast, PB&J on bread, you get the idea. The less you have to rely on the food service, the less it will cost you. The food can actually be pretty good (and the dining car serves healthier options), but it costs more than a restaurant for the same thing. If you are well set-up, you can treat yourself to a really nice dinner in the dining car, instead of nickel-and-diming it in the cafe car. Oh, and take at least a gallon jug of drinking water. In Chicago, you can walk north from the station and get more water in the stores. Trains provide drinking water, but I don't like the taste of the iodine they often put in it, and the bottled water in the cafe can be your biggest expense!

Which bring me to why people are recommending the roomettes: if you figured the cost of a motel and three meals a day for two people, the roomette is actually a good deal (a rolling room with meals and a great view). It is RELATIVELY secure, just pull the curtains and close the door when you leave, don't leave valuables visible and DO take your money, ID and tickets unless you are just headed to the bathroom. I have left my laptop out and running, and never had a problem (even in coach, after all, no one can get off till the next stop). But of course, not everyone has the money for a rolling room, and I know it can be done "on the cheap" because I have done it and REALLY enjoyed myself.

 

[me_little_me]

You may leave some belongings in your room but I would not leave your purse or cameras. Your other things will likely be okay as long as they are not in plain view. We also always shut our door and curtains so that no one can tell whether we are there or not.

I disagree somewhat. I would take the purse (or at least the wallet) with me but cameras and computers I always leave in the room although I do put them inside the luggage and, as you, close the door and curtains. I check for them when I return to the room. Heck, in the '80s, we left the kids (under 6) in the room as we went off to meals and fed them from the cooler we kept. In those days, meals were not included.

 

[Shoog]

Thanks for all the advice and tips everyone! I have a feeling that this trip is going to be an amazing and extremely fun experience! I'm getting really hyped just thinking about it and can't wait for the next few weeks to fly by so we can start our trip, lol.

We did decide on getting a roomette on the last half of our trip so I wanted to get everyone's opinions or advice about the room. What are the opinions on roomette location? I did find a few threads discussing roomettes, found a sleeper car diagram, and checked out the virtual tour on Amtraks site. Which is preferable? Lower or upper level roomettes? I read things such as that upper level gives a better site seeing experience or how lower levels may have more noise while upper levels have more sway.

Thanks!

 

[Ryan]

I think that it's really a wash - the differences in the rooms are really minor when you come down to it.

 

[white rabbitt]

just have a great time and enjoy the train :hi:

 

[Bob Dylan]

As a First Time Rider, Id suggest you choose an Upper Level Roomette (Best are #2-#6 IMO).

The SCA has Room #1 , youre close to the Coffee/Juice/Water/Ice,a Bathroom, the View is Better and you dont have to Go Up and Down the Less than Grand Staircase to go to the Diner/Lounge etc. Sometimes the people Downstairs are forgottern about by the Crew (LSA/SCA, even the Conductors usually only come Downstairs @ Stops!)Everyone has their own Favorite but you can Check it Out on your Trip for yourself!

 

[the_traveler]

Heck, in the '80s, we left the kids (under 6) in the room as we went off to meals

And they were still there when you returned?

I bet you were hoping otherwise!

(j/k)

 

[Shoog]

I made our reservation a couple weeks ago and managed to get the low bucket rate for our roomette on the last half of our trip. With only a week and a half to go before our trip starts, we are getting very excited and restless lol. I'll make sure to post back after the trip to let everyone know how things went along the way. Again, thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone has given!

 

[Shoog]

Hi everyone!! Just wanted to update my post about our trip. The first half of it, which we took a week and a half ago, was really fun. We had a 13 hour travel from Newark, NJ to Thurmond, WV. The first crew we had from NJ to PA were nice but the second crew from PA on to our stop in WV were amazing! They were more active than the first crew, meaning, they constantly checked the cars to make sure they had every single passenger accounted for during every station stop and would stop and talk with the passengers for a few moments when they were not to busy (the first crew didn't do any of this but I assume they were tired from their shifts). That didn't bother us though! It was a fun trip!

There was some really interesting and nice scenery along the way. At one point in Virginia, there had been a lot of wood smoke for several miles, when we thought it started to clear up it suddenly came back thicker and was even seeping into the train cars. The train stopped in that area for 20 minutes but we were told that there was a wait for a freight train to pass. When it did pass, our train started traveling again and surprisingly about 5 minutes later we traveled through a low burning forest fire which was on both sides of the tracks. My family later told me that this fire had been burning for few days and burned through several miles of forest. I tried to take a few pictures with my cell phone but they turned out way to blurry.

Today we will be leaving for the second half of our trip, from Thurmond, WV to Riverside, California. I didn't pay much attention to the time frame on our tickets but just noticed today that we are going to have a 5 hour lay over in Chicago. We have no idea what to do for those 5 hours. We don't really want to go far from the station since we have never been to Chicago and don't want to get lost lol. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do while waiting? Even if it's just hanging out around the station?

We leave this evening around 7pm from Thurmond. Since it is a flag stop (which I think I mentioned in earlier posts) I wanted to ask how will the train know to stop to pick us up? Do we need to call Amtrak an hr or two before the scheduled pick up time and remind them that we will be at the station? Do we need to flag down the train when it approaches like you would a public bus lol? :lol:

 

[jebr]

Hi everyone!! Just wanted to update my post about our trip. The first half of it, which we took a week and a half ago, was really fun. We had a 13 hour travel from Newark, NJ to Thurmond, WV. The first crew we had from NJ to PA were nice but the second crew from PA on to our stop in WV were amazing! They were more active than the first crew, meaning, they constantly checked the cars to make sure they had every single passenger accounted for during every station stop and would stop and talk with the passengers for a few moments when they were not to busy (the first crew didn't do any of this but I assume they were tired from their shifts). That didn't bother us though! It was a fun trip!

There was some really interesting and nice scenery along the way. At one point in Virginia, there had been a lot of wood smoke for several miles, when we thought it started to clear up it suddenly came back thicker and was even seeping into the train cars. The train stopped in that area for 20 minutes but we were told that there was a wait for a freight train to pass. When it did pass, our train started traveling again and surprisingly about 5 minutes later we traveled through a low burning forest fire which was on both sides of the tracks. My family later told me that this fire had been burning for few days and burned through several miles of forest. I tried to take a few pictures with my cell phone but they turned out way to blurry.

Today we will be leaving for the second half of our trip, from Thurmond, WV to Riverside, California. I didn't pay much attention to the time frame on our tickets but just noticed today that we are going to have a 5 hour lay over in Chicago. We have no idea what to do for those 5 hours. We don't really want to go far from the station since we have never been to Chicago and don't want to get lost lol. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do while waiting? Even if it's just hanging out around the station?

We leave this evening around 7pm from Thurmond. Since it is a flag stop (which I think I mentioned in earlier posts) I wanted to ask how will the train know to stop to pick us up? Do we need to call Amtrak an hr or two before the scheduled pick up time and remind them that we will be at the station? Do we need to flag down the train when it approaches like you would a public bus lol? :lol:

Navy Pier is fairly interesting to walk through, and pretty easy to get to (especially via public transit), though I don't remember the bus line. Another option is to just ride on the "L" for a couple hours, which is two blocks south of Union Station.

 

[dabrilloman]

Hi everyone!! Just wanted to update my post about our trip. The first half of it, which we took a week and a half ago, was really fun. We had a 13 hour travel from Newark, NJ to Thurmond, WV. The first crew we had from NJ to PA were nice but the second crew from PA on to our stop in WV were amazing! They were more active than the first crew, meaning, they constantly checked the cars to make sure they had every single passenger accounted for during every station stop and would stop and talk with the passengers for a few moments when they were not to busy (the first crew didn't do any of this but I assume they were tired from their shifts). That didn't bother us though! It was a fun trip!

There was some really interesting and nice scenery along the way. At one point in Virginia, there had been a lot of wood smoke for several miles, when we thought it started to clear up it suddenly came back thicker and was even seeping into the train cars. The train stopped in that area for 20 minutes but we were told that there was a wait for a freight train to pass. When it did pass, our train started traveling again and surprisingly about 5 minutes later we traveled through a low burning forest fire which was on both sides of the tracks. My family later told me that this fire had been burning for few days and burned through several miles of forest. I tried to take a few pictures with my cell phone but they turned out way to blurry.

Today we will be leaving for the second half of our trip, from Thurmond, WV to Riverside, California. I didn't pay much attention to the time frame on our tickets but just noticed today that we are going to have a 5 hour lay over in Chicago. We have no idea what to do for those 5 hours. We don't really want to go far from the station since we have never been to Chicago and don't want to get lost lol. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do while waiting? Even if it's just hanging out around the station?

We leave this evening around 7pm from Thurmond. Since it is a flag stop (which I think I mentioned in earlier posts) I wanted to ask how will the train know to stop to pick us up? Do we need to call Amtrak an hr or two before the scheduled pick up time and remind them that we will be at the station? Do we need to flag down the train when it approaches like you would a public bus lol? :lol:

The Willis Tower (formerly Sears) is about a 4 block walk basically due east of Union Station. You can easily get there and go up to the sky deck in 5 hours.

 

[trainman74]

We leave this evening around 7pm from Thurmond. Since it is a flag stop (which I think I mentioned in earlier posts) I wanted to ask how will the train know to stop to pick us up? Do we need to call Amtrak an hr or two before the scheduled pick up time and remind them that we will be at the station? Do we need to flag down the train when it approaches like you would a public bus lol? :lol:

You did remember to bring a red flag with you, right?

Seriously, the train crew will have lists of the passengers whose reservations show them getting on and off at each station -- they'll know that you're set to get on at Thurmond, so they'll know to stop the train.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Don't worry about the Train stopping, if you have a Reservation and your Tickets the Conductor will know y'all are there and will stop the Train! Be sure and check the "Train Stauus" either by calling "Julie" @ 1-800-USA-RAIL or using Train Staus or Amtrak.com to see how the OTP of your Train is! Be sure and be there on Time,as they say, next Train in 24 hours! :giggle:

As to the Chicago Layover, check out Union Station, cross the Chicago River next to the Station to Willis (Sears)Tower, take the trip to the top for a great View of Chicago IF the weather is good! Or you could ride one of the Double Decker London-Type Sightseeing Busses that Load in front of the Tower or even ride a Riverboat for a Tour of Downtown from the water! Id also suggest eating a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, many opinions on which is best, but Girodanos is right across the River from Union Station and its darn good! If Pizza isnt your thing there is a Food Court Upstairs in Union Station and Gold Coast Hot Dogs are really tasty! :wub: You can check your Bags in the Metro Lounge while you sightsee(tip the RedCap) and enjoy the TV,Free Snacks, Clean Bathrooms and Slooooooooow Internet! A Redcap will take you to the Train on a Cart with your Luggage which is a good way to beat the Crowd, let the Attendant in the Lounge know you want one and listen for their Announcements! Enjoy the Journey, we're envious!

 

[Trainmans daughter]

Getting to Navy Pier from Union Station is easy and fun on Chicago River's water taxi. The dock is right across the river from Union Station (under the Adams Street Bridge). Here is a link: http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com/watertaximap.html

 

[PaulM]

We don't really want to go far from the station since we have never been to Chicago and don't want to get lost lol.

If you can figure out how to get out of Union Station you should have no problem. The Loop (Chicago jargon for downtown) is a checker board and a piece of cake. I would at least try to find the Adams Street exit and walk up to the bridge over the Chicago River. Then head east toward Lake Michigan and retrace your steps heading west, perhaps on Jackson, to the river. The station is on the Chicago River between Adams and Jackson.