8 Things First Time Amtrak Riders Get Wrong

I would disagree with one thing. If all you are going to do is work on your laptop, be courteous to other passengers. The seats with big windows in the Superlounge are in very short supply. If you are more concerned with working on your laptop, stay in your seat or take seats on the lower level where it will be quieter anyway. Let people who want to view our beautiful country have a chance at the big windows.

6:38: Showing up too early: If you have a sleeper, you can use the lounges at major train stations like Penn station and Union Station, Chicago. They have nice, comfortable seats and free food, and they will announce when your train is ready to board, and even take you to the train.

Regarding the rocking or bouncy motion of the train being more noticeable on the lower level, that’s exactly backwards. The higher up you are in a train, or a cruise ship for that matter, the more side to side or “sway” motion you will feel. It is a little noisier on the lower level, though not significantly, but in terms of motion the upper level is actually more pronounced, again, not significantly. I have ridden each of the Western trains hundreds of times over 30 years, both in the lower and the upper rooms, and I know this to be true. It’s simply a matter of physics. The best thing you can do to get the smoothest, quietest ride possible is to try and reserve rooms that are in the middle of the car as opposed to rooms over the trucks “wheels”, which are to some degree rougher and noisier than rooms between the wheels. Also, in my hundreds of train trips, more often than not the trains were on time or within an hour of on time. But yes, sometimes they are definitely late, so it’s true, you cannot count on your train arriving on time.

We were 9.5hrs late going from Sacramento to Chicago. Plan accordingly! Reasons: rubber tires on the tracks that disconnected the lines between the cars, freight trains take priority, train stopped in a town where a passenger was removed from the train, break checks needing to be performed, conductor/crew reached allotted hours and could no longer drive the train had to wait for the west bound train to deliver a fresh/rested crew (in the middle of nowhere), engine issues….etc. honestly, we couldn’t make this stuff up - but it happens. Our room (bedroom A) was so cold because of the air conditioning that our car attendant kept extra rolls of duct tape and covered the vent in the ceiling and all of the cracks with air coming in. We called the trip the “polar express”. Now with all that being said, in April we are taking the Empire Builder, room E from Seattle to Chicago. With everything we experienced previously, it is still a great way to see the country.

I bring a power strip to keep my iPad tablet charged, whether coach or roomette. While with an overnight train journey I book a roomette to sleep better, if the train journey is during the day only I book coach. When connecting with another train I spend a day/night at that city and catch the next train the next day. Enjoy that city for a day/night, visit some museums or restaurants/clubs. But most of all, always book to get to your final destination a day earlier than you need to be there. A wedding, graduation, funeral, birthday, or anniversary. If you do this simple get there one day early recommendation, you won't fret over any of the delays that pop up... All it takes is for one of the axles wheel bearings on any train car to get very hot to delay your train ten hours or more... If not your train, the freight train ahead of your train... While there aren't that many axles on a passenger train, most of these mainline freight trains have over one hundred freight cars...

I was so surprised out of 8 trains on my trip only 2 were late, The Cardinal 4 hours late which left me 1 minute to connect to the Northeast Regional,  then NE Regional was 1 hour late. So yes! I agree with you don't think you are going to be on time. Your videos prepared me for this issue, so thank you!! I agree on sitting on bottom, I had to sit on bottom of Pacfic Surfliner and it is way different than upper level. I would also make a suggestion to bring some cleaning wipes, I found some of my roommates and bedrooms needed a little TLC. Again thank you for your videos, I did 8 trains in 11 days, East Coast to West Coast and back, Solo! It was the BEST trip I have ever taken and I am eager to go again.

I'm about to move halfway across the country in nothing more than an Amtrak, wish me luck & that they'll let me bring a wheeled utility cart as a carry on y'all 😂

Thank you Allie and Rob! I’m on my first multi-segment trip down the east coast and, having watched all of your videos for the past year, I felt that I was very well prepared. Used my Amtrak MC lounge pass for the Metropolitan lounge in NY and LOVED it! You are so right about the spotty cell coverage south of DC - luckily I had downloaded a book to get me through that stretch. A shout-out to the awesome Amtrak employees - great service!

This is AWESOME Information!!! All of it!! So important to know!!

Your channel is so helpful! I’m riding coach from NOLA to La sometime in a couple months. I was really nervous so I want to be as prepared as possible and your channel has been a great help!!

Good points! My 1 time on Amtrak was to catch the 1am Crescent in Charlotte. It didn’t arrive until after 3am! Unfortunately I didn’t nap during the wait and was wide awake for an hour after boarding. Very little sleep that night, and 3 hours late arrival into NYC! Good thing I didn’t plan for an immediate tour upon arriving.

My friend & I learned our lesson from sharing a roomette from Chicago to Flagstaff, AZ. We now each book a roomette across from each other. Perfect! Earplugs or noise cancelling buds help with all of the horn blowing at road crossings, sometimes every 1/2 hr. or more, to sleep a little more soundly. (pun intended)

Thank you! We have received our Amtrak credit card because of your advice.

There are some advantages to the downstairs roomettes. There are more bathrooms (3 vs. 1). They are closer to the shower. They are closer to the exit for fresh air breaks. They are closer to the luggage racks if you want something out of your suitcase. A disadvantage not mentioned is that the family room is downstairs, so sometimes there will be small children making noise in the hall.

Many great points! Regarding checked baggage: If you're on a long trip and have big, heavy suitcases (50 lb. limit per suitcase, and they WILL weigh it) and you don't check them, you may have to lift it/them up into your car's luggage rack, wrestle it into place if it's nearly full, or keep it in your room. Let Amtrak do the lifting! Of course, pack an overnight bag with essentials (medicine, snacks, chargers/power strip, anything you may need if you're in a sleeper) as you won't have any access to your checked luggage en route. Also, many rural and smaller cities on long-haul routes don't have checked baggage service, any many regional "feeder" trains don't have checked baggage service at all (even if long-haul trains on the same route do.)

The quality of your film is superb. Pretty colors outdoors and on the train.

I took Amtrak a couple of times going from Savannah GA to Jacksonville Florida visiting my brother and it's was a smooth trip. I eat in the snack bar.

Regarding speakers in Viewliner sleeping cars, so far we are .000 for in-room speakers working. So being prepared by knowing your route and knowing that there are speakers in the halls of sleeping cars really helps. We were able to get anything vital from the speaker in the hall, but one of them was faulty, too. Our only loss was missing out on a fresh air break that I really wanted, because we weren't prepared for the stop to be a longer one. I did get to step out, walk a quick circlet, and then board again--in my bedroom slippers. 😊

Thank you for sharing this really useful info! I appreciated this. 🙂

I've been traveling annually on Amtrak long distance since 2007. One of the trips I make every year is Chicago to Albuquerque, NM. That train has NEVER been on time in either direction. When I am talking to my family and discussing the planned arrival time there is a moment of silence and then we all burst out laughing. To be fair to Amtrak, the problem is freight trains. They are supposed to, by law, prioritize Amtrak service and they just ignore the rule. No one enforces it so you are either stuck on sidings or creeping along behind a slow freight. when I ride the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle, by exception, it is usually very good at staying on schedule because there isn't that much north/south freight. If you are traveling out of Chicago to anywhere west, though, expect delays, sometimes huge ones. All that said, once you have built that into your plans, there is no more fun and fascinating way to travel then on Amtrak. I love them. I'll be back on the train this summer.