Amtrak: a partial trip report

FWIW, if you run into issues like this, talk to the Conductor. The Conductor is the "boss" of the train, and they will put off drunk and unruly passengers at the next station. Sometimes with an accompanying "free" trip to the gray bar hotel!

They did -- many did -- and he would throw him out of the car, but he'd return. It was the autotrain, so there were no stops.
 
They did -- many did -- and he would throw him out of the car, but he'd return. It was the autotrain, so there were no stops.

I'm really sad to hear that. Most conductors don't put up with that garbage. I've even heard of trains making unscheduled stops at rural grade crossings to meet a City PD or Sheriff's car that can take the drunk to jail.
 
I'm really sad to hear that. Most conductors don't put up with that garbage. I've even heard of trains making unscheduled stops at rural grade crossings to meet a City PD or Sheriff's car that can take the drunk to jail.

No, apparently they were stuck with him in and out all night! Guess he was traveling alone as family never came looking for him either. Just hope he didn't have a car onboard cause I don't think he should be driving LOL
 
They did -- many did -- and he would throw him out of the car, but he'd return. It was the autotrain, so there were no stops.

If there's a serious issue they can stop almost anywhere and call for local law enforcement (or preferentially Amtrak Police) to meet them. While there are no scheduled stops (there is a service stop that I understand can also be used as a smoking break), there is nothing that really keeps them from stopping at a station in case of an urgent need. The preference is to put someone off at a staffed station, but in some cases they will do it almost anywhere if someone is considered dangerous.

Of course there's one issue with regards to the Auto Train, which is a requirement that passengers must have a vehicle. So they'd be putting someone off and their vehicle would be going on without them. Fortunately the keys are required to be handed over for Amtrak personnel to load and unload the vehicles. It would probably be impounded at the destination until the passenger could retrieve it.
 


I'm really sad to hear that. Most conductors don't put up with that garbage. I've even heard of trains making unscheduled stops at rural grade crossings to meet a City PD or Sheriff's car that can take the drunk to jail.

I've never really encountered an unscheduled stop where the doors were opened for any reason, except for what's euphemistically called a "trespasser incident". I've had plenty of cases where dispatch held our train though.

That was interesting. Apparently the conductor is required to go out and survey the scene. We were stuck there for over an hour. We all could get a $3 voucher for the cafe car. There was local police all over, and then I noticed what looked like Union Pacific Police, since it was their tracks.

Fortunately these are rare, but they end up in the news from time to time.
 
I personally really look forward to doing a dedicated sleeper car trip sometime, ideally out West.
 


QUESTION: This is going to sound paranoid, but for those above who mentioned the ability on viewliners to put your luggage in bins in the hall, did you ever worry about someone walking with your bag since they are not secured? Or did you have a way to secure them? Thanks.
 
QUESTION: This is going to sound paranoid, but for those above who mentioned the ability on viewliners to put your luggage in bins in the hall, did you ever worry about someone walking with your bag since they are not secured? Or did you have a way to secure them? Thanks.

Sure that's in the back of the mind of anyone traveling anywhere with carry-on. If it were something like a station open to the public I wouldn't just leave stuff, but on Amtrak it's not that big a deal. Perhaps there should be worries about someone mistakenly picking up your stuff, but it might help to tag it with something unique - like stickers. If you're really that paranoid there are luggage loop combination locks or just a cable and a padlock, and the racks/bins typically have poles that you can strap down a lock to the handle.

s-l300.jpg


However, it's on a train and everyone else on the train is a passenger or an employee. Theft of stuff on Amtrak is exceedingly rare. I'm far more concerned with picking up my baggage at an airport baggage carousel since very few have entry controls or check baggage claim tags any more.
 
Sure that's in the back of the mind of anyone traveling anywhere with carry-on. If it were something like a station open to the public I wouldn't just leave stuff, but on Amtrak it's not that big a deal. Perhaps there should be worries about someone mistakenly picking up your stuff, but it might help to tag it with something unique - like stickers. If you're really that paranoid there are luggage loop combination locks or just a cable and a padlock, and the racks/bins typically have poles that you can strap down a lock to the handle.

s-l300.jpg


However, it's on a train and everyone else on the train is a passenger or an employee. Theft of stuff on Amtrak is exceedingly rare. I'm far more concerned with picking up my baggage at an airport baggage carousel since very few have entry controls or check baggage claim tags any more.

Thanks much. Yes, I remember the days when they used to check your luggage claim tag at airports! That does seem like a much easier place to walk with luggage. I guess my concern was that our train makes 10 or 12 stops, unlike the auto train.
 
Thanks much. Yes, I remember the days when they used to check your luggage claim tag at airports! That does seem like a much easier place to walk with luggage. I guess my concern was that our train makes 10 or 12 stops, unlike the auto train.

Getting on a train is a little bit more difficult than at an airport. It's tighter quarters and any kind of repeat offenders would be noticed. And they can stop the train and not open the doors until the cops show up if they find a thief. Thieves don't like that when there are no escape routes. It's not unthinkable and theft does happen, but it's rare enough that I wouldn't be concerned. If you have anything valuable, keep it close to yourself. I have a computer storage bag and all my personal electronics go there. On the train it will always be with me, even when sleeping.
 
Here's a Viewliner coach car. The railing would be ideal to lock a handle using some sort of cable.

2013-03-04_20-50-53_742.jpg


Not sure about the ends though. I would think they have these adjustable bins where the racks are made stainless steel poles that can be lifted out of the way for oversized stuff.

I've only been on Amfleet cars on the East Coast.
 
We each checked luggage and had a carry on in our roomette- there was plenty of room up above door for our carry on's- unfortunately when we got off the train in Florida only my checked luggage made it off, my daughters continued on. We did get it back but not until the next day- so in the meantime we had dinner reservations that night and were going swimming so we had to make a quick stop out to the store to buy my daughter a bathing suit and something to wear that night.
 
We each checked luggage and had a carry on in our roomette- there was plenty of room up above door for our carry on's- unfortunately when we got off the train in Florida only my checked luggage made it off, my daughters continued on. We did get it back but not until the next day- so in the meantime we had dinner reservations that night and were going swimming so we had to make a quick stop out to the store to buy my daughter a bathing suit and something to wear that night.

Kind of random since it doesn't apply to the OP, but when you check in baggage it may not be on the same train that you take. Sometimes the baggage takes a different route or might go on a train that leaves before the passenger. One is supposed to be able to check in baggage up to 24 hours before a train is scheduled to depart, and on a busy route it may just go out on the first available train. Occasionally baggage doesn't get on a train and might need to be claimed when it does arrive at the destination.

I remember claiming my bags directly from the baggage cart, after seeing them come off the baggage car. It was at a bus loading area, and the tags were matched to my claim check. The bags that were going forward were also claimed and then loaded onto the bus, although I've heard they sometimes just go automatically. However, if it's not claimed it goes to storage area to be claimed later.

I haven't been to a station with one, but some have airport style baggage carousels.
 
I think one of the reasons this train route does not check bags -- in either direction -- is all the stops it makes. Some of the stations are unmanned and they may not have enough staff onboard to keep taking luggage off or putting it on :confused3 It's odd though because on our short 4-hour Amtrak ride from Seattle to Vancouver, they checked our bags!
 
I think one of the reasons this train route does not check bags -- in either direction -- is all the stops it makes. Some of the stations are unmanned and they may not have enough staff onboard to keep taking luggage off or putting it on :confused3 It's odd though because on our short 4-hour Amtrak ride from Seattle to Vancouver, they checked our bags!

Which Vancouver? Amtrak actually has Vancouver, BC and Vancouver, WA on the Cascades route.

Silver Service does have a baggage car and checked baggage service. It may say "no checked bags" on your itinerary, but it's because Palatka is unstaffed. Usually - only station staff is allowed to handle baggage; there's no baggage handlers on the train. On top of that baggage may just go to the destination and be held there. They certainly don't want to leave the baggage on the platform, and if they went to a trackside claims system, they have a mess if one goes unclaimed. Amtrak has some experimental trackside check-in (departure only) at certain stations, but I don't think Palatka is one of them.

You can look at the schedule, and there's a little icon for a piece of luggage for every station that has baggage service. The stations just before and after Palatka both have baggage service. I've heard that you could theoretically ask to get it checked in to Jacksonville if you have some way to pick it up.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...s/Silver-Service-Palmetto-Schedule-110216.pdf

They don't really need more than one station employee to handle baggage at smaller staffed stations. I was at a station early and chatted with the single Amtrak employee working at that station. She said it was only two employees - each 5 days a week with overlaps most days. If she was working alone, she was responsible for everything including ticketing, announcements, and baggage handling.

I've heard of some bags checked in for a really short trip - like Los Angeles to Van Nuys. The rationale I heard for that was to avoid a baggage storage fee, where there's that 24 hours to claim a piece. There are some really short trips where baggage could theoretically be checked, such as Emeryville to Oakland (5 minutes), or Anaheim to Santa Ana (8 minutes).
 
Here's a Viewliner coach car. The railing would be ideal to lock a handle using some sort of cable.

2013-03-04_20-50-53_742.jpg


Not sure about the ends though. I would think they have these adjustable bins where the racks are made stainless steel poles that can be lifted out of the way for oversized stuff.

I've only been on Amfleet cars on the East Coast.
At the front ends of the East Coast coach car there are 2 over sized seating areas for the physically disabled and at least one end has a bin for luggage that yes is made of steel poles. Never realised they are adjustable but does make sense.
@bcla- ingenious idea to lock your luggage to a pole for added security.
 
At the front ends of the East Coast coach car there are 2 over sized seating areas for the physically disabled and at least one end has a bin for luggage that yes is made of steel poles. Never realised they are adjustable but does make sense.
@bcla- ingenious idea to lock your luggage to a pole for added security.

I’ve heard it mentioned before on another forum. I’m most familiar with California Cars, which have these tall bins that can be separated into three sections with stainless steel separators that can fold up on a hinge. The separators would be perfect to attach a cable since they're essentially bars. The overheads are a combination of airline style bins and open bins where there's a curved pole every 5 ft or so serving as some sort of support for the rack. Superliner overheads are a bit different, but have a combination of poles (on some cars) and dividers made of tubular steel. Here's a low-res picture that sort of shows where one might attach a cable:

83b00a382fc3b9c83dde5c57aa355873--train-travel-travel-bug.jpg
 
Which Vancouver? Amtrak actually has Vancouver, BC and Vancouver, WA on the Cascades route.

Silver Service does have a baggage car and checked baggage service. It may say "no checked bags" on your itinerary, but it's because Palatka is unstaffed. Usually - only station staff is allowed to handle baggage; there's no baggage handlers on the train. On top of that baggage may just go to the destination and be held there. They certainly don't want to leave the baggage on the platform, and if they went to a trackside claims system, they have a mess if one goes unclaimed. Amtrak has some experimental trackside check-in (departure only) at certain stations, but I don't think Palatka is one of them.

You can look at the schedule, and there's a little icon for a piece of luggage for every station that has baggage service. The stations just before and after Palatka both have baggage service. I've heard that you could theoretically ask to get it checked in to Jacksonville if you have some way to pick it up.

https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/...s/Silver-Service-Palmetto-Schedule-110216.pdf

They don't really need more than one station employee to handle baggage at smaller staffed stations. I was at a station early and chatted with the single Amtrak employee working at that station. She said it was only two employees - each 5 days a week with overlaps most days. If she was working alone, she was responsible for everything including ticketing, announcements, and baggage handling.

I've heard of some bags checked in for a really short trip - like Los Angeles to Van Nuys. The rationale I heard for that was to avoid a baggage storage fee, where there's that 24 hours to claim a piece. There are some really short trips where baggage could theoretically be checked, such as Emeryville to Oakland (5 minutes), or Anaheim to Santa Ana (8 minutes).

Vancouver, BC. It was actually cheaper to fly into Seattle for a cruise leaving Vancouver and take the train. But then again, I am a train nut so I was thrilled to do that trip -- just gorgeous scenery!
 

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