This might be a long shot but...Amtrak fans?

chocolategirl74

Experienced
Joined
May 26, 2016
Posts
46
Hello All,

I was watching a movie and inspiration struck. I'm writing a story that takes place partly on an Amtrak train.

I'm not that much of a train rider, so I need some help.

If you have ever taking one of those long Amtrak big picture window train trips - like the California Zephyr - could you post about it or PM me? I have a few questions. Want the story to sound good.

thanks!

cg74
 
I have taken the long haul train several times

-Southwest Chief - Iowa (FT. Madison) to Raton (New Mexico) -
Raton's station is only open in the summer and is only open then to serve the hundreds of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch.
The scout groups traveling are usually seated in the last coach car in the train.
SW Chief is a former Santa Fe passenger line and has a storied past.
The route climes up through Raton Pass and through a short tunnel there.
As with any travel in the plains states, the plains can be visually boring, though there is beauty in watching the landscape and weather roll by.
Once into the foothills and mountains the landscape becomes more interesting.


- California Zephyr - Iowa (Des Moines) to Sacremento -
I have read that the section from Sacremento to Denver on this route is arguably the most beautiful route that Amtrack has to offer.
Numerous times the rail line is the only path through the canyons - no road (maybe a dirt road for MOW activity).
The route passes through Moffat Tunnel, Winter Park, Salt Lake City, and Donner Pass.
I've only traveled the route in the winter. Still stunning views. Would like to travel it in the summer when there are longer days.

Comments about all Amtrak long haul trains:
- Do not count on being on time. Out of 14 rides, (seven round trips), 3 have been an hour late picking us up.
One was 3 hours late picking us up, and one was 24 hours late delivering us.
To be fair, the 24 hour late trip was west bound through a blizzard. Crew had to get out and chip ice off every switch throw in Nebraska.

- The train consists of (from front to back)
-- one or more locomotives
-- baggage cars
-- staff sleeper car
-- passenger sleeper car(s)
-- dining car
-- observation / lounge / cafe car
-- coach cars
-- possibly private passenger cars or inspection cars
As a coach passenger, I could move around from the last coach car to the dining car.
Sleeper passengers can move through the sleeper cars and to the last coach car.
Coach passengers are assigned a seat in a particular car, but you can move around and sit pretty much anywhere there is an open seat.

All the cars are two levels - there is a circular stair in the middle of each car to climb to the second level.

Lower level in the coach cars has some seating (H/C and limited mobility passengers are seated here), several rest rooms (range from tiny like airplane toilets to large enough for wheelchairs). (the toilets them selves are same as airline toliets).
The upper level in a coach car are all seats.
You move from car to car on the upper level only.

The observation / lounge / cafe car has the big glassed dome, upper level has love seats and booths. There is a mini bar too, but I never saw it staffed.
The lower level is booths and the cafe (microwaved food - pizza, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Drinks, soft and beer/wine/mixed drinks -- alcohol sales depend on the state... so sometimes you can purchase, sometime not)

Dining car is booths for four the length of the car. Kitchen is in the lower level.
Expect to be seated with strangers unless your party is 4. And there is no way to seat 5... the isle is just wide enough for the servers to move through.
The Dining car serves three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The steward will come through and take time slot reservations, starting with the sleeper cars and working back to the coach cars. Last time slot is open call, and sometimes a time slot will have open seats.
Sleeper car tickets INCLUDE dining car meals in the price of the ticket.
Coach seats do not.

In general, expect to interact with strangers throughout the trip. Either due to being seated next to someone or due to the limited seating in the cafe/observation car or the dining car.

Crew
There is a Conductor, who is in charge of the train.
Engineer and fireman -- usually you don't see these people, they are in the locomotive and don't generally interact with the passengers.
There are car stewards - one for one or two coach cars
There is the cafe car attendant - runs the food stand in the cafe car
and the dining car staff.

There is one train each day each direction on the routes. Takes roughly two days to run from LA to Chicago (SW Chief) or San Francisco to Chicago (Cal Zephyr) so there are four train crews.
Quality and happiness of the crew can vary. My experience has been that usually the crew members are easy to deal with. But drunk, druggy, or stupid passengers can change that.

Excitement on the train... besides the weather.
Medical emergency or stupid drunk or criminal behavior will cause the train to radio ahead and arrange a meeting with EMS or Law enforcement at a mutually agreed grade crossing. The train will stop, there will be blinky lights outside, then the train will move on. You may or may not know what is happening.

There are a couple of station stops where they will let the passengers off for a smoke break and leg stretch. 10 minutes tops.

There are floor plans and pictures of the various cars on the Amtrak web site.

Hope this helps
 
Just don't put a sex scene in an Amtrak bathroom unless your characters can levitate off sticky, disgusting floors. Cleanliness has been low priority on most of the Amtrak trains I've been on.

But the vibration of the train and the rhythmic thump-thump over sections of tracks could be rather sexy for a female character in particular. Make the sex happen on the exterior coupling end of a car and you could have an erotic thriller story.
 
The Love Train!

Here's a story from Washington Post a couple of years ago you made me think of.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life.../gIQAebSjmR_story.html?utm_term=.9aa02c440730

Although, I guess it's not always all that with a side of fries.

http://www.afrobella.com/2010/06/23/amtrak-sucks/

Either way, best of luck with your story. And, hey! You now have a reason to go on a vacay and take the tax deduction since it's research! :D


Thank you so much. This is very very helpful.

And yep, I'm thinking that a trip is in order...for research. LOL

cg74
 
I have taken the long haul train several times

-Southwest Chief - Iowa (FT. Madison) to Raton (New Mexico) -
Raton's station is only open in the summer and is only open then to serve the hundreds of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch.
The scout groups traveling are usually seated in the last coach car in the train.
SW Chief is a former Santa Fe passenger line and has a storied past.
The route climes up through Raton Pass and through a short tunnel there.
As with any travel in the plains states, the plains can be visually boring, though there is beauty in watching the landscape and weather roll by.
Once into the foothills and mountains the landscape becomes more interesting.


- California Zephyr - Iowa (Des Moines) to Sacremento -
I have read that the section from Sacremento to Denver on this route is arguably the most beautiful route that Amtrack has to offer.
Numerous times the rail line is the only path through the canyons - no road (maybe a dirt road for MOW activity).
The route passes through Moffat Tunnel, Winter Park, Salt Lake City, and Donner Pass.
I've only traveled the route in the winter. Still stunning views. Would like to travel it in the summer when there are longer days.

Comments about all Amtrak long haul trains:
- Do not count on being on time. Out of 14 rides, (seven round trips), 3 have been an hour late picking us up.
One was 3 hours late picking us up, and one was 24 hours late delivering us.
To be fair, the 24 hour late trip was west bound through a blizzard. Crew had to get out and chip ice off every switch throw in Nebraska.

- The train consists of (from front to back)
-- one or more locomotives
-- baggage cars
-- staff sleeper car
-- passenger sleeper car(s)
-- dining car
-- observation / lounge / cafe car
-- coach cars
-- possibly private passenger cars or inspection cars
As a coach passenger, I could move around from the last coach car to the dining car.
Sleeper passengers can move through the sleeper cars and to the last coach car.
Coach passengers are assigned a seat in a particular car, but you can move around and sit pretty much anywhere there is an open seat.

All the cars are two levels - there is a circular stair in the middle of each car to climb to the second level.

Lower level in the coach cars has some seating (H/C and limited mobility passengers are seated here), several rest rooms (range from tiny like airplane toilets to large enough for wheelchairs). (the toilets them selves are same as airline toliets).
The upper level in a coach car are all seats.
You move from car to car on the upper level only.

The observation / lounge / cafe car has the big glassed dome, upper level has love seats and booths. There is a mini bar too, but I never saw it staffed.
The lower level is booths and the cafe (microwaved food - pizza, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Drinks, soft and beer/wine/mixed drinks -- alcohol sales depend on the state... so sometimes you can purchase, sometime not)

Dining car is booths for four the length of the car. Kitchen is in the lower level.
Expect to be seated with strangers unless your party is 4. And there is no way to seat 5... the isle is just wide enough for the servers to move through.
The Dining car serves three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The steward will come through and take time slot reservations, starting with the sleeper cars and working back to the coach cars. Last time slot is open call, and sometimes a time slot will have open seats.
Sleeper car tickets INCLUDE dining car meals in the price of the ticket.
Coach seats do not.

In general, expect to interact with strangers throughout the trip. Either due to being seated next to someone or due to the limited seating in the cafe/observation car or the dining car.

Crew
There is a Conductor, who is in charge of the train.
Engineer and fireman -- usually you don't see these people, they are in the locomotive and don't generally interact with the passengers.
There are car stewards - one for one or two coach cars
There is the cafe car attendant - runs the food stand in the cafe car
and the dining car staff.

There is one train each day each direction on the routes. Takes roughly two days to run from LA to Chicago (SW Chief) or San Francisco to Chicago (Cal Zephyr) so there are four train crews.
Quality and happiness of the crew can vary. My experience has been that usually the crew members are easy to deal with. But drunk, druggy, or stupid passengers can change that.

Excitement on the train... besides the weather.
Medical emergency or stupid drunk or criminal behavior will cause the train to radio ahead and arrange a meeting with EMS or Law enforcement at a mutually agreed grade crossing. The train will stop, there will be blinky lights outside, then the train will move on. You may or may not know what is happening.

There are a couple of station stops where they will let the passengers off for a smoke break and leg stretch. 10 minutes tops.

There are floor plans and pictures of the various cars on the Amtrak web site.

Hope this helps


This is INCREDIBLY helpful. Thank you so much. I've been looking at the Amtrak website and watching YouTube videos to get the logistics correct, but this is even more helpful.

I truly thank you.
cg74
 
Just don't put a sex scene in an Amtrak bathroom unless your characters can levitate off sticky, disgusting floors. Cleanliness has been low priority on most of the Amtrak trains I've been on.

But the vibration of the train and the rhythmic thump-thump over sections of tracks could be rather sexy for a female character in particular. Make the sex happen on the exterior coupling end of a car and you could have an erotic thriller story.

Yeah..no bathroom sex. I was thinking more about the logistics of having two or three people having sex in an Amtrak cabin. Even on the website they don't look large, and most of them are bunks. It doesn't look easy.

But it's funny you should mention thriller - that wasn't the first thought I had when I started writing but the more I wrote the more it turned into a Nick and Nora on a train kinda thing. I'm excited to finish it and share it with you all.

thank you for your help. :)

cg74
 
I used to ride Amtrak a lot, including the Pacific Coastliner, California Corridor, Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and Cascades.

I’ve stopped because of three issues that you might want to add for a touch of realism.

-The trains are constantly late. The long haul trains can be as much as twelve hours late.

-The employees are cold and sometimes rude.

-The prices are increasing as the quality of service is decreasing.

Might be helpful in getting more detail into your story.
 
I used to ride Amtrak a lot, including the Pacific Coastliner, California Corridor, Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and Cascades.

I’ve stopped because of three issues that you might want to add for a touch of realism.

-The trains are constantly late. The long haul trains can be as much as twelve hours late.

-The employees are cold and sometimes rude.

-The prices are increasing as the quality of service is decreasing.

Might be helpful in getting more detail into your story.

12 hours late? Oh my. This is also helpful.

Thanks!
cg74
 
Amtrak...

I’ve ridden Amtrak across country and on shorter trips quite a bit. The previous poster gave a very good description of the general setting.

The rock and rumble do something to me still, though it’s been a long time since I had much erotic interaction on board. As a younger, wilder thing, I would often enjoy finding someone to play with along the way.

You are right about the regular sleeping bunks...hard to see how that would work out well for sexual purposes. But it’s possible to get down in the coach seats. Sometimes they’d hand out blankets or you could bring your own to maintain a legal amount of nonexposure. Sometimes you can find a lot of space to yourself, but if not, fondling in the seats is plenty fun. I’ve never played around in the “family” sleeping quarters, but they look like there’s plenty of space. Diagrams are on the website, from within the accommodations links. I have been invited to the staff sleeping cars several times. The ones I was in had the bed perpendicular to the aisleway, to the right or left of the doorway. They folded out from the wall, two on a side, but the upper one could be left folded up. Across from the beds there was a bench seat, and it seems like some had a table surface and a small sink as well. I remember the lower bunk being at a very good height for face-to-face or rear-entry standing connections, but not as wonderful for horizontal options. Fine for one person to lie on, but narrower than a twin bed and not as long, with no standing room at either end.

I’ve flirted but no more than that in dining and club cars. The accessible restrooms are spacious but not always clean; the regular restrooms are too small and icky for much fun, like the other writer said. Between cars is an interesting place for making out or groping, but it is often bumpy, moreso than inside the cars. For story purposes, you might consider possibilities related to strolling the coach cars. You have narrow aisles with row after row of two people on each side. Some are sleeping or otherwise engaged, in conversation or reading or on their screens, but always some are watching who goes by. Eye contact as you walk the aisle can be intense. Scanning or scouting for a certain someone could happen as you (a character) walk, or you can walk in a way that calls for interest, or you could have a walk of shame (or pride or jealousy, as the case may be)....lots of possibilities, depending on your story aims.

Hope this helps. Looking forward to your story!

PS. There are private places in Union Station, Chicago, that employers have access to. I know for sure of a utility closet, an office, and some kind of lounge. Probably the same at other stations.
 
Back when I was still married, my wife and I took an Amtrak sleeping car from New York to Montreal and back; we did that round-trip a couple of times. And yes, it is completely feasible to have sex in there. Once you close the door to the compartment, it's like a hotel room in the sense that have rented the space for your private use. It's not like attempting sex in a coach car or a rest room which are considered public spaces on the train.

American railroads have had private sleeping compartments going back long before Amtrak. In the first part of the 20th Century they also offered "open" berths that only had curtains, not doors. You may see these in some old Hollywood movies.

In Europe and other parts of the world "shared" sleeping rooms were offered (I think this is still true) in which different customers could buy space - there were upper and lower or side by side beds. Paul Theroux describes these in some of his travel books.

I believe the Amtrak website has diagrams showing the layouts of their present sleeping cars. There is also information about which routes now offer the service.

P.S.Via Rail Canada also has sleeping cars.
 
I have taken the long haul train several times

-Southwest Chief - Iowa (FT. Madison) to Raton (New Mexico) -
Raton's station is only open in the summer and is only open then to serve the hundreds of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch.
The scout groups traveling are usually seated in the last coach car in the train.
SW Chief is a former Santa Fe passenger line and has a storied past.
The route climes up through Raton Pass and through a short tunnel there.
As with any travel in the plains states, the plains can be visually boring, though there is beauty in watching the landscape and weather roll by.
Once into the foothills and mountains the landscape becomes more interesting.


- California Zephyr - Iowa (Des Moines) to Sacremento -
I have read that the section from Sacremento to Denver on this route is arguably the most beautiful route that Amtrack has to offer.
Numerous times the rail line is the only path through the canyons - no road (maybe a dirt road for MOW activity).
The route passes through Moffat Tunnel, Winter Park, Salt Lake City, and Donner Pass.
I've only traveled the route in the winter. Still stunning views. Would like to travel it in the summer when there are longer days.

Comments about all Amtrak long haul trains:
- Do not count on being on time. Out of 14 rides, (seven round trips), 3 have been an hour late picking us up.
One was 3 hours late picking us up, and one was 24 hours late delivering us.
To be fair, the 24 hour late trip was west bound through a blizzard. Crew had to get out and chip ice off every switch throw in Nebraska.

- The train consists of (from front to back)
-- one or more locomotives
-- baggage cars
-- staff sleeper car
-- passenger sleeper car(s)
-- dining car
-- observation / lounge / cafe car
-- coach cars
-- possibly private passenger cars or inspection cars
As a coach passenger, I could move around from the last coach car to the dining car.
Sleeper passengers can move through the sleeper cars and to the last coach car.
Coach passengers are assigned a seat in a particular car, but you can move around and sit pretty much anywhere there is an open seat.

All the cars are two levels - there is a circular stair in the middle of each car to climb to the second level.

Lower level in the coach cars has some seating (H/C and limited mobility passengers are seated here), several rest rooms (range from tiny like airplane toilets to large enough for wheelchairs). (the toilets them selves are same as airline toliets).
The upper level in a coach car are all seats.
You move from car to car on the upper level only.

The observation / lounge / cafe car has the big glassed dome, upper level has love seats and booths. There is a mini bar too, but I never saw it staffed.
The lower level is booths and the cafe (microwaved food - pizza, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Drinks, soft and beer/wine/mixed drinks -- alcohol sales depend on the state... so sometimes you can purchase, sometime not)

Dining car is booths for four the length of the car. Kitchen is in the lower level.
Expect to be seated with strangers unless your party is 4. And there is no way to seat 5... the isle is just wide enough for the servers to move through.
The Dining car serves three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The steward will come through and take time slot reservations, starting with the sleeper cars and working back to the coach cars. Last time slot is open call, and sometimes a time slot will have open seats.
Sleeper car tickets INCLUDE dining car meals in the price of the ticket.
Coach seats do not.

In general, expect to interact with strangers throughout the trip. Either due to being seated next to someone or due to the limited seating in the cafe/observation car or the dining car.

Crew
There is a Conductor, who is in charge of the train.
Engineer and fireman -- usually you don't see these people, they are in the locomotive and don't generally interact with the passengers.
There are car stewards - one for one or two coach cars
There is the cafe car attendant - runs the food stand in the cafe car
and the dining car staff.

There is one train each day each direction on the routes. Takes roughly two days to run from LA to Chicago (SW Chief) or San Francisco to Chicago (Cal Zephyr) so there are four train crews.
Quality and happiness of the crew can vary. My experience has been that usually the crew members are easy to deal with. But drunk, druggy, or stupid passengers can change that.

Excitement on the train... besides the weather.
Medical emergency or stupid drunk or criminal behavior will cause the train to radio ahead and arrange a meeting with EMS or Law enforcement at a mutually agreed grade crossing. The train will stop, there will be blinky lights outside, then the train will move on. You may or may not know what is happening.

There are a couple of station stops where they will let the passengers off for a smoke break and leg stretch. 10 minutes tops.

There are floor plans and pictures of the various cars on the Amtrak web site.

Hope this helps
.


Nice info!

:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:
 
Yes, very good info - I just have a few additions.

1. Amtrak long-distance trains west of Chicago are the ones with double-deck cars. Trains in the east are generally single-level because of tight clearances along the right-of-way. An exception is The Cardinal between Washington, DC and Chicago which has double-deck cars (Superliners).

2. Sleeping cars have their own attendants (once the legendary "Pullman Porters"). At one time this was one of the few decent-paying jobs that Blacks could get - starting in the 19th Century I believe.
 
Definitely an Amtrak supporter. (Northeast corridor frequently, Southwest Chief twice)

Compared to driving, I like the train because it provides time and some opportunities for sexy fantasies and encounters. (I had some ideas, but never did get around to writing a story set on a train, though.)
 
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