Train Anecdotes

[astra_nomer]

More anecdotes from my holiday travels.

We took an overnight train to travel between DC and Chicago. I went ahead and splurged on a room with a bathroom, which turns out to be really useful when you are traveling with two small children sans spouse, because you don't have to worry about where to stash the kids when you have to use the bathroom, whether it be in the usual sense of the phrase or to deal with a severe bout of motion sickness.

DS1 got it into his head that he and his little brother would share the upper (narrower) bunk, sleeping facing opposite ends, just like the Pig kids do in "What Do People Do All Day" by Richard Scarry. However, DS2 did not get the memo and kicked DS1 until he was forced to come down. Poor DS1 was stuck in the role of being the more mature one and agreed to share the lower bunk with me. On the return trip, I somehow managed to get DS2 to sleep below without him throwing a huge fit, so DS1 did get his turn at the top bunk in the end.

We also somehow managed to end up with the same train crew on both trips, and both the dining car server and the sleeping car attendant recognized us as we boarded the train on the return journey. That was pretty nifty.

If it weren't for the expense and amount of time it takes, I'd opt to travel by train all the time.

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun!

What's DS1's shirt say in the above picture?

[unclenomer.livejournal.com]

"My Mom is an Iron Girl"

DS2 is wearing the same shirt. Taken at the triathalon.

[dmaze]

I had a sleeper between Albany and Chicago on the Lake Shore Limited last spring. It was a lot of space for just one person; couldn't figure out how the mechanics of having a single toilet actually in the berth would work if two were sharing it. The sleeper is pricey, but happens to include full meals (no alcohol IIRC) in the diner, which makes up for it a little.

It's good to hear you had a positive experience with the crew. Coming back there was a derailment on NS in Indiana, so they bussed people from Chicago to Toledo. The first-class lounge in Chicago was noticably uncoordinated (I give the staff actually in the lounge credit for trying at least). Being on a bus for four hours wasn't fun, even a normal Amtrak coach seat would have had more space. Then at 1 AM in Toledo the sleeper attendant was noticably cranky about being awake ("but it's your job, sorry"). At least the waiter made up for it, and I did get three hours of solid sleep while we were waiting for the train to finally get going.

Still on my list is to take the big cross-country train trip; this might involve the 30-day North American rail pass, going Toronto to Vancouver on VIA, or I might stay in the United States (and with a sufficient group play Empire Builder on the Empire Builder).

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

I suspect you had one of the roomettes, where the corridor runs down between roomettes to either side. Our room took up most of the width of the train car, leaving room for a windowed corridor, so it's twice as big as a roomette. In daytime mode, there's plenty of room for 1 adult and 2 kids to move around and scatter toys all over the floor. When the beds are pulled out, it is a bit tight getting into the bathroom, but there's just enough floor space to open the door.

Our car attendant was remarkably cheerful - I heard him whistling along the corridor in the morning. I, on the hand, was somewhat cranky since DS2 woke me up early.

A big cross-country train trip sounds like fun. But I'd have to stock up on dramamine beforehand.

[cecilyanne.livejournal.com]

We took the train to Atlanta when the kiddo was just barely a month old. (Big mistake, never to be repeated, at least not with a tiny baby. I thought it was a good alternative to taking a plane (i.e., a big, flying can o' germs), but really the good alternative was to stay home.)

We had a roomette, but ours actually had a toilet and sink. Weirdly, the toilet was just out in the open in our tiny room, so if one of us wanted to use it, the other had to go take a stroll. It was really pretty gross, actually. I'm glad they've rethought that idea.

I'm curious, though, how the toilet/shower combo works. Does the toilet just get wet when you take a shower?

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

The open toilet sounds like a terrible idea. Especially of you have curious toddlers.

The toilet/shower combo is a basically a tiny toilet stall with a shower head in it. The toilet paper has a metal cover that opens at the bottom to prevent it from getting wet. You close the toilet lid, turn on the shower, and go to town. I didn't actually use the shower this time around, but yeah, if you want to take a shower, you end up with a wet bathroom. Luckily, they provide plenty of towels.