Suggestions/Tips for Family Bedroom?

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ljohn2030

Train Attendant
Joined
Jan 7, 2015
Messages
24
Location
Lubbock, Texas
Hello All! My Wife, daughter (2 1/2) and I will be traveling in the Family Bedroom from Fort Worth, TX (Texas Eagle) to Pittsburgh, PA (Capitol Limited). We have traveled in the bedrooms and roomettes before, but wanted the extra space for our daughter to run around. Are there any tips/tricks or suggestions for the Family bedroom? Will the SCA still bring you your meals in the Family Bedroom?

Thank you in advance!
 
You will be in the lower level of the S-L sleeper. Let the SCA know when you board that you are interested in meals in the room, and try to set up a time, it makes it easier....There is now a children's corner in the new Met Lounge in Chicago....
 
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Yes, the TA-SC should bring your meals to the Family Bedroom.

I don't know of any other tips.

The windows will be smaller than the windows in bedrooms and roomettes, but you have one on each side of the car, and a fold out table under each window.
 
Bring some duct tape. I keep a 'smashed down' partial roll in a zip lock baggie to prevent the glue contacting clothing, etc. When I'm riding in a Superliner, I request roomette #14 or #13, next to the family room. This past summer, due to change of plans a week before travelling, I was in the family room for a day on train #422. I experienced the 'vent that would not close' in that FR and witnessed the car attendant supplying their own duct tape a couple of times in the past 6-7 years.
 
You may want a bed made down just for naps. Since there are two small beds this is possible so you have the full couch. Be sure to tell the SCA up front about your needs. They may bring you a menu so you can plan ahead for what you want to order. Also, you can look up the menus on line so you are prepared. Most SCA's are great so they will help you, just go over meals and other needs.
 
The Children's Corner is great. I sat there while waiting for my train last month because 1) it was empty, 2) it was far away from the TVs showing 24-hour news programs, and 3) the TV was tuned to a really cute cartoon about a vampire.
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(I realize that is not a vampire. They were showing a commercial for "P J Masks".)
 
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As opposed to duct tape, I have a small roll of "gaffer's tape" which is used to tape down wires in film and tv production and rarely leaves the sticky residue that duct tape may leave. Depending on where you live and/or who you know it may not be so easy or inexpensive to obtain, so most folks use good old duct tape. A little rubber door stop can come in handy if you have a rattle prone door, a multi tap plug strip if you travel with lots of plug in (low wattage) devices.
 
We take carpenters plastic door wedges to stop rattling. These are much flatter than the door stops and can fit into smaller openings. They are sold at Home Depot and Lowes for about $2.a package. Since everyone in your family will have their own bed, I suggest having the bed made so that your head is facing your little daughters bed. While there is plenty of hall space on the lower level I would be cautious about allowing your daughter to run out there unsupervised. The doors to the outside are right off the hall and while they are almost always locked, there is a remote possibility that they could open by unlatching.
 
Door stops are also good for preventing injury.

Sometimes, the door will slam shut if the train hits a rough patch or a tight curve. If your daughter is playing on the floor near the door, the door stop could prevent her hand from getting smashed.

Barring that, you could always set a small piece of luggage there instead. I hate packing extra items.
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The FB is good for a family your size. You can use the unused top kids bunk to store your gear and the bottom for naps. That said there will not be a whole lot of room for a small child to run around but it will be better than a roomette. We had a FB on the CZ from Chicago to SF and had the whole bottom level of the train car to ourselves for much of the trip. It's super convenient for using the bathrooms and the decent sized shower. The windows are smaller which was a negative when going through the really scenic parts of the trip (SSL was full). I think our SCA was relatively new. She did bring me ice the couple of times I requested it but she had to get the conductor to fix the main couch cushion that kept falling off ("use the gray tape" was the conductors fix, gray tape=duct tape) other than that we did not really see her. I had to track her down to give her a tip at the end of the line.
 

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