K
kendoggbyrd
Guest
Does Amtrak do tours of their various trains? Is this only on "train Day?" Can you arrange a tour?
I doubt if any Amtrak employee would allow a non-passenger aboard a train, even during a crew change stop. They would be responsible for any problems that "visitor" might cause. Just because Lonestar got to show someone around his car doesn't mean it happens on a regular basis.I didn't know Amtrak would sometimes allow a non-ticketed person to see what a sleeper car looked like. Interesting. I wonder if Amtrak has ever permitted that, in the middle of the day in Chicago after the inbound long distance cars were cleaned, but before they started to board outbound long distance trains for the day? Of course they do restrict who can enter the gate areas in Chicago for Amtrak except when the train is boarding, so who knows how employees in CHI would handle that. And I worry that with the Amtrak security I always see walking around that station, that it probably wouldn't be allowed.
Maybe the Amtrak employees would be more open to showing a customer what a sleeper was like, at a longer service stop station in the middle of a long distance route? (I.e. Denver, Albuquerque, Tucson, KC, etc)
Not sure if it's a rule or not... But I've seen it happen several times in both sleeper and coach. Sometimes it's a family helping other family members onto the train. Once, last November, my sleeper attendant let a regular Railfan on to the sleeper to get an apple and some juice from the sleeper. So yeah... It happens. As with everything on Amtrak, ymmv.I doubt if any Amtrak employee would allow a non-passenger aboard a train, even during a crew change stop. They would be responsible for any problems that "visitor" might cause. Just because Lonestar got to show someone around his car doesn't mean it happens on a regular basis.I didn't know Amtrak would sometimes allow a non-ticketed person to see what a sleeper car looked like. Interesting. I wonder if Amtrak has ever permitted that, in the middle of the day in Chicago after the inbound long distance cars were cleaned, but before they started to board outbound long distance trains for the day? Of course they do restrict who can enter the gate areas in Chicago for Amtrak except when the train is boarding, so who knows how employees in CHI would handle that. And I worry that with the Amtrak security I always see walking around that station, that it probably wouldn't be allowed.
Maybe the Amtrak employees would be more open to showing a customer what a sleeper was like, at a longer service stop station in the middle of a long distance route? (I.e. Denver, Albuquerque, Tucson, KC, etc)
It honestly isn't worth going to the Conductor for an upgrade these days. It's easier to call Amtrak to do it. The conductor can get the updated info on his or her device.If you are traveling Coach (or Business if available) on a long distance train and are interested in what the Sleepers are like, ask the Conductor or a crew member. If space is available they will likely escort you there for a look, hoping you may end up doing an upgrade. Up until a few years ago, the Conductor had flexibility to charge what (s)he thought was reasonable for a Sleeper upgrade and good deals could be had. But now they are forced to comply with the current available bucket.
Unless, of course, you are in an area where there is no cell service.It honestly isn't worth going to the Conductor for an upgrade these days. It's easier to call Amtrak to do it. The conductor can get the updated info on his or her device.If you are traveling Coach (or Business if available) on a long distance train and are interested in what the Sleepers are like, ask the Conductor or a crew member. If space is available they will likely escort you there for a look, hoping you may end up doing an upgrade. Up until a few years ago, the Conductor had flexibility to charge what (s)he thought was reasonable for a Sleeper upgrade and good deals could be had. But now they are forced to comply with the current available bucket.
[Preferably after the next crew change!]...and is going to ask you to come back later.
Enter your email address to join: