My wife and I are planning a trip from Los Angles to Pittsburgh actually, but have an overnight transfer at Chicago to Pittsburgh. Anyway we are thinking of traveling in the “Superliner Roomette” and I’m curious if we are confined to the room or can we walk around and even set in other seats. I want to be able to stretch out to sleep during our 40+ hour trip, but I’m having second thoughts about being confined to a room the whole time. I know we have to leave the room to use the bathroom so we must be able to walk around. I just don’t know what to expect.
Oh Ok, thanks Rick. I wasn’t sure because I was on another train that didn’t have an observation deck and they didn’t allow us to travel between cars and we had to stay in our own seats except to use the restroom. Do you know if they have WiFi on board?
And the diner. Being "First Class" passengers, you can take off and walk through most of the cars in the entire train if you like.
And, if the dining car is really crowded, you can ask your porter to bring your meal to your room. Food is included for first class passengers Except snack bar and alcohol, those are cash
thanks I found a whole lot of YouTube videos of the room. this is just one of them: [video=youtube;3rxqeOBJULA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rxqeOBJULA[/video] I also found out that there isn't any WiFi available on this train.
I also think they went to airline type food where as everything is pre prepd and microwaved in a way.
It's not going to happen until next year because I have too much going on this year, but I'm getting pretty excited about it after watching the YouTube videos. I was worried about the return trip and was thinking about flying back from Pittsburgh. I hate flying ever since TSA took over and its just too frustrating and stressful for me anymore. I haven't decided yet but I might return on the same train if all goes well although I wish I could drive back just for a change in pace. To bad I can't take my car with me LOL.
Johnny, trains have no "seat belts and tray tables", so you can wander almost anywhere you want. You even can walk to the rear of the train and watch the scenery disappear to the horizon through the window of the vestibule door.
Thanks Hytec, Can someone tell me what the difference is between “3 Southwest Chief” and the “4 Southwest Chief”? I noticed that there was a difference in price.
Train #3 is westbound and #4 is eastbound. AMTRAK uses an airline-like pricing structure based on time of year, number of reservations (seats), and other factors known only to a bunch of wizards in dark smoke-filled rooms, so it's nearly impossible to determine what future prices will be.
It looks like a return trip by train from Pittsburgh is out of the question because of a 6 hr layover in Chicago. I just don’t know what to do in that amount of time while carrying bags, so I guess I’ll have to fly back. Ugh!
I can always find things to do for a few hours in Chicago. I think Amtrak may be able to hold your bags for you or at least point you to a locker. (Do they still have public lockers available after 911?)
Johnny, being a sleeper passenger you can use the first-class lounge in Chicago. The lounge has free baggage storage, so you can sight-see Chicago without toting your bags. Also, lounge passengers are escorted to their cars before the "ordinary" coach passengers.
Well if I can ditch the bags, I would not mind checking out Chicago. I just don't want to drag suit cases around the streets and into restaurants like a homeless person.
Johnny, See my Across America - Buffalo to San Francisco by Amtrak thread for our adventure this summer. I thought I would have 4 hours of layover in Chicago to explore a bit, but instead had only 15 minutes. Don't assume you will have much, if any, of your "6 hour layover". The 1st class lounge is nice, but gets very crowded.
