I published another version of this post over at My Mind's Eye on Thursday. So today's post will be slightly different. It was video I shot going through Arizona on the way to California.
[VIDEO] Unlike the other video which shows the landscape outside of the train through the windows of the observation lounge, this video is of the inside of the consist that most Amtrak passengers will have access to. Seems to be a fitting video to give you an idea of what you can expect aboard a train. I shot this on the way to the west coast in 2016 aboard the Southwest Chief.
I start off in a coach car on the lower level where I take a shot of the rolling landscape. I head up stairs where you see the coach accommodations before heading towards the observation lounge. The observation lounge is where many passengers sit around to look at the landscape or often socialize with other passengers. What I didn't document was the cafe downstairs where passengers can purchase snacks and beverages from the lounge attendant.
Beyond the observation lounge is the dining car where passengers take their meals. If you have coach accommodations your meals are extra, when I travel by coach I wouldn't be as willing to eat in the dining car. They won't cost an arm and a leg but often they're not cheap. However, you will at least have breakfast, lunch and dinner and often require a reservation. As you may see in another video shared here on this blog, the seating is often communal meaning you will be meeting your fellow passengers as you take your mean. Well that is assuming you're not seating with a young person who is more interested in their mobile phones as happened at one point during my trip....
Anyway if you travel by coach you will have to pay for your meals, however, if you have a sleeper car accommodation meals are complimentary. The accommodation fee for a sleeper is what pays for your meals although think of a dining car as a restaurant. You may not have to pay out of pocket for your meals, however, you still should tip your server just to let them know you like the service. I would like to explain at length making your train reservations at a later time.
Beyond the dining car are the sleepers here I go through two of them until I had downstairs to look out both sides of the train at the rolling landscape. On this trip I was in a roomette with my mother and it was definitely cramped space. It was adequate though I would've liked my own roomette just didn't work out for this trip. The cramped space meant I'd have to take the upper bunk while my mother slept on the lower bunk. At least there were another place on the car for other carry-ons that it wouldn't be feasible to put in the roomette. I would like to explain the sleeper accommodation also at a later time.
This three minute video in a nutshell is documentation of riding a long-distance Amtrak train.
[VIDEO] Unlike the other video which shows the landscape outside of the train through the windows of the observation lounge, this video is of the inside of the consist that most Amtrak passengers will have access to. Seems to be a fitting video to give you an idea of what you can expect aboard a train. I shot this on the way to the west coast in 2016 aboard the Southwest Chief.
I start off in a coach car on the lower level where I take a shot of the rolling landscape. I head up stairs where you see the coach accommodations before heading towards the observation lounge. The observation lounge is where many passengers sit around to look at the landscape or often socialize with other passengers. What I didn't document was the cafe downstairs where passengers can purchase snacks and beverages from the lounge attendant.
Beyond the observation lounge is the dining car where passengers take their meals. If you have coach accommodations your meals are extra, when I travel by coach I wouldn't be as willing to eat in the dining car. They won't cost an arm and a leg but often they're not cheap. However, you will at least have breakfast, lunch and dinner and often require a reservation. As you may see in another video shared here on this blog, the seating is often communal meaning you will be meeting your fellow passengers as you take your mean. Well that is assuming you're not seating with a young person who is more interested in their mobile phones as happened at one point during my trip....
Anyway if you travel by coach you will have to pay for your meals, however, if you have a sleeper car accommodation meals are complimentary. The accommodation fee for a sleeper is what pays for your meals although think of a dining car as a restaurant. You may not have to pay out of pocket for your meals, however, you still should tip your server just to let them know you like the service. I would like to explain at length making your train reservations at a later time.
Beyond the dining car are the sleepers here I go through two of them until I had downstairs to look out both sides of the train at the rolling landscape. On this trip I was in a roomette with my mother and it was definitely cramped space. It was adequate though I would've liked my own roomette just didn't work out for this trip. The cramped space meant I'd have to take the upper bunk while my mother slept on the lower bunk. At least there were another place on the car for other carry-ons that it wouldn't be feasible to put in the roomette. I would like to explain the sleeper accommodation also at a later time.
This three minute video in a nutshell is documentation of riding a long-distance Amtrak train.
