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Post by jason1980s on Jun 11, 2022 18:41:16 GMT -5
I am trying to book a trip through Amtrak to travel from MD to NC in October. It's not like it's one day notice but it won't let me do anything, it says trips are unavailable. Are things blocked out that late in advance or do I just not know what I'm doing (probably my fault...)
I am planning on seeing elderly family and can not go by car and my regular ride is ill himself. I can't imagine it should be THIS difficult to book a few day trip!
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Post by BlackoutCreature on Jun 11, 2022 18:59:11 GMT -5
I just went on the Amtrak website and tried to do a generic Baltimore to Charlotte trip on October 17 just to see what it would tell me. I didn't go all the way through to checkout since, you know, I'm not actually looking to take that trip, but it didn't give me any issues at any point (it would cost $75 for a coach ticket if you're curious).
The only thing I can think of is you're looking to leave from some station that doesn't get regular service, or maybe you tried closer to Halloween and they consider those black-out dates?
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tirtefaa
Unicron
If you wanna know the truth, you gotta dig up Johnny Booth.
Posts: 3,265
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Post by tirtefaa on Jun 11, 2022 19:12:05 GMT -5
I would try to fly if that's a possibility.
Amtrak is terrible. Riding trains long distance is terrible.
I took a trip with my dad on an Amtrak to go to Massachusetts about 10 years ago. We get there at 7:30 am and our train was set to arrive 9:00 am. At 8:45 we get a broadcast saying that the train will now arrive at noon.
After about an hour, there was another broadcast stating the train wouldn't be there until 3 pm.
3 pm rolls around and they say the train will be there at 3:30. The train finally gets there at 4 pm, they board everyone and right away I knew it was a mistake.
A lot of people there were riding cross country, and had been on the train for several days. The smell was really bad. I'm glad I had the foresight to eat lunch before we boarded as well as bring snacks because the food on the train was a la carte, and very minimal. They were also out of several things.
Anyways, we were on the train for roughly an hour, but then they stop the train due to a heat index. The train sat there for almost 5 hours before we got going again.
We had to switch trains in Chicago and we did not arrive there until almost 1 am. On the Chicago Amtrak, it smelled even worse and was incredibly crowded, hot and dirty. There wasn't assigned seating, so you had to sit wherever there was an open spot, so my dad and I ended up separated until midday the next day. Thankfully the train only made a couple unscheduled stops, but we didn't make it to Massachusetts until another day. So in the end, we lost two days of our trip.
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 11, 2022 19:44:31 GMT -5
I appreciate the responses. I guess I'm of the mindset of always wanting to travel by train but never doing so. I went by plane once and it went well but I kind of want to take all the time I can on a train, just being able to sleep.
The food situation does scare me, now that it's mentioned because one of the problems with this same trip the last two times is pretty much having garbage places to eat on stops and me getting very sick both trips.
I would also be having to have an 80 year old family member deal with picking me up and taking me back on stops, plane or train so want to have her do the bare minimum.
I kept fiddling with dates in October and it was mid month rather than Halloween season. I'm probably doing something wrong or it could be a slower service place.
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 11, 2022 19:45:54 GMT -5
I just went on the Amtrak website and tried to do a generic Baltimore to Charlotte trip on October 17 just to see what it would tell me. I didn't go all the way through to checkout since, you know, I'm not actually looking to take that trip, but it didn't give me any issues at any point (it would cost $75 for a coach ticket if you're curious). The only thing I can think of is you're looking to leave from some station that doesn't get regular service, or maybe you tried closer to Halloween and they consider those black-out dates? I may reach out again as $75 sounds pretty ideal but would need to do Winston or Greensboro. I should have said that previously but I guess just needed a generic starting point. |
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Post by BlackoutCreature on Jun 11, 2022 20:00:56 GMT -5
I appreciate the responses. I guess I'm of the mindset of always wanting to travel by train but never doing so. I went by plane once and it went well but I kind of want to take all the time I can on a train, just being able to sleep. The food situation does scare me, now that it's mentioned because one of the problems with this same trip the last two times is pretty much having garbage places to eat on stops and me getting very sick both trips. I would also be having to have an 80 year old family member deal with picking me up and taking me back on stops, plane or train so want to have her do the bare minimum. I kept fiddling with dates in October and it was mid month rather than Halloween season. I'm probably doing something wrong or it could be a slower service place. I always wanted to take a long train trip too. At one point me and my ex-fiancé planned to take a cross country trip from NYC to Seattle for our Honeymoon, but the fact that I referred to her as my "ex-fiancé" should tell you what happened to those plans. I finally decided to do a short trip by myself for WrestleMania 27 from NYC to Atlanta. I decided to splurge on a sleeping car (I think they're called "roomettes"?) with its own built in toilet. It was kinda fun. There was no internet on the train at the time, so once the novelty wore off and I finished watching the DVD's I brought with me it got pretty boring. Tried it the following year for WrestleMania in Miami, it wasn't as fun. Done a couple of short trips in the Coach section from NYC to DC and NYC to Philly as well. Those were cool, but mostly because by then those trains had Wi-Fi. |
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 11, 2022 20:20:27 GMT -5
Done a couple of short trips in the Coach section from NYC to DC and NYC to Philly as well. Those were cool, but mostly because by then those trains had Wi-Fi. Funnily enough this would be a wrestling related trip. I go to see my friend Jimmy, a WWE Hall of Famer every few years and then the widow of an Eagles hall of fame football player. Jimmy will be 80 and my friend Donna is I think 81. They are in such good health but I'm scared to miss a trip. My pop who used to take me has died and my uncle is very ill and last two trips we both got sick for various reasons. So I'd just rather put my life in someone else's hands other than his truck and taking chances with roadside eateries or places to drink. A previous car accident has destroyed my ability to think logically on the road unless I'm going somewhere local. I'm not liking that I can't figure out the trip but will keep trying. The only time I took a plane was to a show my friend Nikolai was doing where I got to meet George Steele the only time and last time I got to see Bobby Heenan. But the promoter for the show handled all the arrangements though I paid for my ticket. It was like $500+ and that was 2014. So really hoping a train works out! I may reach out again because I could sure use the help to figure this one out! And I grew up watching so many "travel by train" movies, I'm hoping it's just as cool as I thought it was. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2022 22:09:48 GMT -5
Welcome to American train travel, buddy.
The problem you are experiencing is that Amtrak operates most train routes every other day or once every few days, so what you are probably seeing is the train not being available on certain days or not accessible based on the places you're going between. Unless you live in the Northeast Corridor, service is... spotty.
Now, Amtrak sort of works with other companies, like Greyhound, to get clients to locations that don't have train access if they do take trains part of the way there.
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
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Post by chrom on Jun 12, 2022 2:42:17 GMT -5
I would try to fly if that's a possibility. Amtrak is terrible. Riding trains long distance is terrible. I took a trip with my dad on an Amtrak to go to Massachusetts about 10 years ago. We get there at 7:30 am and our train was set to arrive 9:00 am. At 8:45 we get a broadcast saying that the train will now arrive at noon. After about an hour, there was another broadcast stating the train wouldn't be there until 3 pm. 3 pm rolls around and they say the train will be there at 3:30. The train finally gets there at 4 pm, they board everyone and right away I knew it was a mistake. A lot of people there were riding cross country, and had been on the train for several days. The smell was really bad. I'm glad I had the foresight to eat lunch before we boarded as well as bring snacks because the food on the train was a la carte, and very minimal. They were also out of several things. Anyways, we were on the train for roughly an hour, but then they stop the train due to a heat index. The train sat there for almost 5 hours before we got going again. We had to switch trains in Chicago and we did not arrive there until almost 1 am. On the Chicago Amtrak, it smelled even worse and was incredibly crowded, hot and dirty. There wasn't assigned seating, so you had to sit wherever there was an open spot, so my dad and I ended up separated until midday the next day. Thankfully the train only made a couple unscheduled stops, but we didn't make it to Massachusetts until another day. So in the end, we lost two days of our trip. Sounds like The Train Ride from Hell |
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Post by Big BosskMan on Jun 12, 2022 5:59:21 GMT -5
Welcome to American train travel, buddy. The problem you are experiencing is that Amtrak operates most train routes every other day or once every few days, so what you are probably seeing is the train not being available on certain days or not accessible based on the places you're going between. Unless you live in the Northeast Corridor, service is... spotty. Now, Amtrak sort of works with other companies, like Greyhound, to get clients to locations that don't have train access if they do take trains part of the way there. This is most likely the case. Not all traina available all days. I looked on their website and used October 17 as a departure date. There are two trains, the Carolinian and the Crescent, running from Union Station in DC to Charlotte - just as a test to see what's available. Not knowing where you are in Maryland, you might want to think about taking the MART into DC and using union station as your main departure point. There are other destination cities than Charlotte depending on where you're actually going. For anyone else in the northeast corridor, Amtrak still has good rates. Ive gotta go to DC this week for work and it's only costing me a little more than $100 for Acela round trip. Prior to pandemic, one way on Acela would have run me $130+. |
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 12, 2022 13:02:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I really appreciate the advice and the kindness in taking to figure out the website.
I live next to BWI airport so would be departing there. I would need to go to Winston-Salem or Greensboro since I don't want my friend to go too far.
I guess I need to rethink things.
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Post by Big BosskMan on Jun 12, 2022 15:04:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I really appreciate the advice and the kindness in taking to figure out the website. I live next to BWI airport so would be departing there. I would need to go to Winston-Salem or Greensboro since I don't want my friend to go too far. I guess I need to rethink things. Again I really think you should consider the MTA MARC line from bwi into union station. Just checked and it's an hour ride in. Rates as low as $12 depending on time of travel. From Union Station to the Winston Salem transportation center, it's 8 hours 23 minutes to High Point, NC with 15 stops in between. High Point to Winston Salem is a little over an hour by bus. |
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Post by jason1980s on Jun 12, 2022 16:38:22 GMT -5
Again I really think you should consider the MTA MARC line from bwi into union station. Just checked and it's an hour ride in. Rates as low as $12 depending on time of travel. From Union Station to the Winston Salem transportation center, it's 8 hours 23 minutes to High Point, NC with 15 stops in between. High Point to Winston Salem is a little over an hour by bus. The price sounds like a dream but the stops would be probably be a disaster, based simply on me probably screwing something up. 10 years ago I could have done it but a bad car accident has left my brain a bit damaged. It might turn into a Planes, Trains and Automobiles movie. |
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Post by edgestar on Jun 13, 2022 18:03:52 GMT -5
Again I really think you should consider the MTA MARC line from bwi into union station. Just checked and it's an hour ride in. Rates as low as $12 depending on time of travel. From Union Station to the Winston Salem transportation center, it's 8 hours 23 minutes to High Point, NC with 15 stops in between. High Point to Winston Salem is a little over an hour by bus. The price sounds like a dream but the stops would be probably be a disaster, based simply on me probably screwing something up. 10 years ago I could have done it but a bad car accident has left my brain a bit damaged. It might turn into a Planes, Trains and Automobiles movie. I've had brain surgery, and injuries after, and taking the train was easy for me. Good luck with your trip!! |
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Post by jason1980s on Oct 13, 2022 20:45:39 GMT -5
I just wanted to thank everyone for their replies. I was able to figure out a train trip for November to NC. It requires me doing two extra days than usual but I won't be cramming a long trip in just 2 days. I will have lots of time for more travel in state. I'll also only be having to do one straight trip coming and going. And I thank you all again for replying. This is my first train trip but if all goes well I may do several a year.
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Post by Display Name on Oct 14, 2022 3:03:22 GMT -5
I’ve been on a couple of 2-3 day train travel days and it’s for the most part pretty relaxing. Only thing that’s rough is the lack of showers.
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Post by Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster on Oct 16, 2022 3:44:32 GMT -5
I’ve been on a couple of 2-3 day train travel days and it’s for the most part pretty relaxing. Only thing that’s rough is the lack of showers. I took the California Zephyr about 6 years ago and I was seated behind an Amish family for the entire trip. Don't get me wrong they were absolutely lovely people but oh boy their clothes aren't designed for long trips. By the second night they smelt so bad I thought I was going to gag. |
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Post by Display Name on Oct 16, 2022 4:25:44 GMT -5
I’ve been on a couple of 2-3 day train travel days and it’s for the most part pretty relaxing. Only thing that’s rough is the lack of showers. I took the California Zephyr about 6 years ago and I was seated behind an Amish family for the entire trip. Don't get me wrong they were absolutely lovely people but oh boy their clothes aren't designed for long trips. By the second night they smelt so bad I thought I was going to gag. Had the same experience going back home to California from Chicago. It was like a family of 10 Amish. |
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