Kula's Addenda to Medinger's Rules of Traveling Amtrak
Years ago my friend Nick sent out an e-mail of rules and guidelines for traveling on Amtrak, stuff he had noted while taking them on a long trip and wanted to share with other people. The first time I rode Amtrak I made sure to read that e-mail a couple of times, and it was useful information to have.
Now, as a semi-frequent traveler on Amtrak (which I absolutely love, by the way), I've garnered a few guidelines myself. Most of these come from the long trip I took from Omaha to Klamath Falls, Oregon, and were first jotted down while killing time in the Sacramento station, waiting for the train to Klamath Falls.
- Buy one of those $5 travel pillows --- the ones that inflate into a U-shape collar that fits around your neck. The pillows that Amtrak provides are worse than no pillow at all, since it gets your hope up that you will be comfortable, then drags you down into the maw of sleepless dispair, since they really are useless. Trust me, the travel pillow will be the best $5 you have ever spent.
- There is a fruit and vegetable stand at Grand Junction, Colorado. Buy something there, as it is fresh produce, something lacking on long train trips.
- Treat your snack-bar attendent very well. I have experienced surly Amtrak employees, but never the snack bar attendent. This person's sole job is to provide you with snack food. While most of it is overpriced, it is usually pretty decent quality, and there is a limit to how much you can take along with you. This person, most importantly, also controls your coffee supply.
- Take along an emergency coffee supply, those little bags, or if you must, instant powder. The coffee pot at the snack bar, like all Amtrak equipment, will eventually break down, and you will be without coffee. Since sleep on a train, especially if you share a seat with someone you don't know and isn't all that attractive, is usually limited to a couple hour naps at best. You will be drinking a lot of coffee. As a side note, when your snack-bar attendent fixes the shorting coffee pot with his bare hands, tip him well.
- Amtrak's new policy forbids all smoking on trains. No longer are there the smoking rooms they used to have in the lower part of the Superliner trains. This is good for two reasons. First, you would always end up sitting above said smoking room and would have been breathing smoke anyways. Secondly, they now schedule random 5 minute stops at some stations for smoke breaks.
- Take every opportunity to get off the train. You are sitting in a large metal box for hours on end. While you can get up and move around, it is no replacement for getting off the train and getting some fresh air. Even if it is just a 5 minute smoke break, get out.
- Amtrak trains are very dry, and tend to extremes in temperature. They are either chilly or overheated. Be expecting both, and dress accordingly. Also make sure you have a water bottle, and drink a lot of water.
- Aside from the snack bar and what you bring along, your other option for food on the train is the dining car. Now, the food will be expensive, but it is also pretty good. It's also a nice experience to be eating as the country goes past. You should do it at least once. On my trip back, on the last day I was on the train for dinner I treated myself to the dining car. I was getting tired of my snack food and it was a nice break.
- If you are on the train for more than a day and aren't rich enough to get a sleeper car with a shower, be prepared to be smelly after a while. There are changing rooms in the bottom of the Superliner cars, which is nice, since the normal bathrooms are tiny.
Even with its problems, traveling by train is one of the most civilized ways to travel. You are not treated like a terrorist, you can get up and walk about and get food and have occasional breaks, your el-cheapo coach seat is roomier than a first-class seat, and if the train runs out of gas, it just stops. Sure, it will take you a couple days to go long distances but it is worth it. You will see some beautiful scenery, and it's one of the best ways to see the country, since you aren't flying over it or having to drive it. The California Zephyr run between Denver and Salt Lake City is absolutely beautiful, the Rocky Mountains it goes through is quite simply the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Everyone should take this trip at least once.
