lynn Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 any suggestions or guidelines. I am confused on their website. Some places have hours of layovers through the night. How do you handle that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Sorry I can't be of much help. My father likes to travel by Amtrak (to many parts of the country), but I'm not sure how he makes his arrangements. You could try calling Amtrak and asking what they recommend for stopovers (does the station have lockers, is there security in the waiting rooms, etc.). Train travel is great, but not always the most convenient. BTW, Amtrak sometimes (often?) runs behind, so maybe the 2 hr. stopover won't really be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeteranMom Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My family traveled from CO to NY a few years ago. The schedule was poorly kept by Amtrak. I recall the train not moving for many, many hours. We would just sit. We missed one of our connections due to delays and had to spend the night in Chicago. Amtrak paid for our hotel room. I remember a lounge for one of our stops, so they do have a place to watch t.v. and sit. Amtrak is definitely not about comfort or convenience, but it is a unique experience to travel by train. I wouldn't worry too much about the layovers. They probably put those hours in there, because they can't keep their schedules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Dd & I are going from WI to WA next Monday. We LOVE Amtrak. For us, being on the train is part of the vacation, so we don't worry if it's running late. Sometimes, when we've taken trips that require going to Chicago to make a connection, we'll go to Milwaukee and spend the night at MIL's, then catch a commuter train from there to Chicago to avoid the long layover there. Not sure what I'd do if I didn't have that option. If you want to PM me with your starting & ending stations, I can take a look at the site and see if I can be of help. I've booked a lot of trips using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 If I heard correctly, one reason that Amtrak runs behind schedule is because they rent the tracks from freight companies (like CSX, etc.) and have to give right-of-way to the freight trains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 If I heard correctly, one reason that Amtrak runs behind schedule is because they rent the tracks from freight companies (like CSX, etc.) and have to give right-of-way to the freight trains. I believe that that is correct. So, if they (Amtrak) get a bit off-schedule and a freight is coming, Amtrak has to give them right of way and gets more off-schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamagirl Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We've taken a few trips on Amtrak. Yes, they do run behind but we like to get a sleeper car on long trips, so it's never been a big deal to us. It's a great way to travel with kids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We've taken a few trips on Amtrak. Yes, they do run behind but we like to get a sleeper car on long trips, so it's never been a big deal to us. It's a great way to travel with kids! :iagree:We traveled from New Orleans to Chicago last year, and we had a sleeper car. The kids loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 When my DS was a newborn, I traveled from CT to PA on Amtrak. The only difficult part was that I had a stroller in Penn Station NYC, but they found someone easily to escort me directly to my train and I was able to board about 20 minutes before the train left the station. I loved traveling my train, and I did a lot of it when DS was little because it was so easy and convenient. Especially with kids. That being said, I also flew (by myself) with my DS when he was the same age, and I definitely preferred the train. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuzor Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 We've taken a few trips on Amtrak. Yes, they do run behind but we like to get a sleeper car on long trips, so it's never been a big deal to us. It's a great way to travel with kids! :iagree:We traveled from New Orleans to Chicago last year, and we had a sleeper car. The kids loved it! I would like to book a sleeper car but how is it traveling in a sleeper car with a family of five. What is in the sleeper car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I would like to book a sleeper car but how is it traveling in a sleeper car with a family of five. What is in the sleeper car? Here is some info on rooms. Basically, you buy your tickets, then pay a fee for the room. It includes all meals, which is nice. The prices change a lot. Dd & I have a roomette for our upcoming trip. The price for the room dropped over $200 from one day to the next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamagirl Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I would like to book a sleeper car but how is it traveling in a sleeper car with a family of five. What is in the sleeper car? We've always stayed in the Bedroom car and I don't think you would be comfortable with 5...it has a couch that converts to about the size of a full bed for sleeping and then has an upper bunk that pulls down. If I were you, I would go for at least the Bedroom Suite...it's double the size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 My dream trip is with our family from Seattle to Chicago. I'm so hoping we can do this in the next year or two. It's a 48 hour trip (+/-) and we wouldn't have a sleeper car, so just plan to sleep in seats. I have a girlfriend at the other end at whose house we can stay and we'll just CRASH for the first day. Then enjoy Chicago for a time, heading home again afterwards. As someone said above, the train trip is part of the vacation, not just a way to get from here to Chicago and back. We're looking forward to it ~ it'll sure be an adventure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gisel_le Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 We are going to California from Ohio next month by Amtrak. We are all so very excited and are calling it Our Adventure! We did not get a room; we're bringing pillows and blankets and will sleep in our seats. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 It is Amtrak. I believe they must pay consultants to make the website as confusing and difficult to use as humanly possible. We most often only do short trips, like Seattle to Vancouver or Seattle to Portland, but for the few longer ones, we have always been able to stay on the train during layovers so it is not like sitting in an airport. But without a sleeper car for those several day excursions it is arguably worse that sitting in an airport due to lack of space and amenities like decent food. Amtrak food is really not good. Pack a picnic. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in OR Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) I think it depends so much on the time of the trip. We have taken it a couple of times to my in-laws and it requires that we get on it at 9:00 at night and travel through the night until 7:30 am. I hate it. Absolutely hate it. Unless you have a sleeper car, you will have to deal with lights on in the cabins, loud and sometimes obnoxious people, stops so intermittent that even supposing you can get to sleep with the aforementioned issues, just about the time you would want to doze off, you will stop, lots of lights at the stop, more noise, people getting off and on. Occasionally someone so drunk, they will throw up on themselves and have to be escorted off by the police. Or have the guy who runs the breakfast kiosk chase your dh down and yell at him in front of everyone in the car for stealing a cell phone, which happens to be your dh's own phone that he left at the kiosk and went back to retrieve it. If you are traveling with kids, you get all this fun plus the anxiety of knowing that they are also not able to sleep with all the goings on. I have told my husband I would rather ride a bike carrying all of our luggage and kids before I will step foot on an Amtrak again. A least, for the trip to my in-laws. If we could travel during the day or have a sleeper car, I think it might be ok. But never, ever, ever will I ride in the coach cars for a through-the-night trip. I don't even know if I responded to your query..I saw Amtrak and I had this immediate, visceral response. Aye-yi-yi. I think I might have some PTSD I need to look at :). Edited March 28, 2012 by Debbie in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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