One fo Carl....

[FranTastic444]

Not sure if this will be viewable as the site sits behind a firewall, but here goes....

Why weary passengers are waking up to sleeper trains

[crfriend]

It's wonderful to know that they're not just still around but actually gaining in popularity.

I've been all over the USA on trains, and for overnight segments always book a sleeping compartment even with the high cost. For one, if you're not feeling entirely social, you've got a compartment to yourself -- and if you are, you're free to roam about the train or sit in the lounge and have a beer or two and perhaps a conversation. Mealtimes are a bit of a treat as you get sat four to a table and at that point you pretty much get into conversations with the folks sat with you. The food in the dining-cars east of the Mississippi is now fairly grim, and consists of boxed "entrées" but the trains west of the Mississippi still have on-board cooks that prepare stuff to order. So, "Go West young man!"

I still recall a business trip to Atlanta, GA which was couple with several days' training in Huntsville, AL, and I finagled a deal with my boss to sign off on me going by rail from Boston to Atlanta in a sleeper, an extra couple of days in a hotel, a rental car, and a sleeper back to Boston because it was going to be cheaper that way than to fly me from Boston to Atlanta, back, and then from Boston to Huntsville and back. I need to find the journal I kept on that trip. (I drove from Atlanta to Huntsville, touching Chattanoogam, TN in the process, notching another state that I've set foot in by getting there "on the ground". Jetting in and then jetting out doesn't count in my book.)

[beachlion]

I did a few sleeper trips in Europe in the early 90s. They felt quite adventurous because it reminded me of my time in the military. We had compartments for 6 people. The seats and part of the wall were converted into 6 beds. My partner and I had to sleep in the same compartment with 4 strangers.

A trip to the South of France, Menton near Italy, was quite remarkable. A guy had beside a suitcase also a weekend bag that made strange noises when he moved it. It appeared to contain bottles of booze. During the 12+ hours of travel, he emptied 3 or 4 bottles of high octane liquor. He did not appear to be drunk but moved like a zombie when going to the dining car or toilet. When we went back a week later we had the same guy again in our compartment. The guy debarked at an earlier stop and left the weekend bag behind with only empty bottles.

[Fred in Skirts]

Nice way to obtain a weekend bag!

[beachlion]

Nice way to obtain a weekend bag!

Not when it stinks like an exploded liquor store or Jack Daniels after the recent fire.

[Sinned]

I once remember doing an overnight train from London to York with MOH after being at a concert as we had missed our scheduled train. It called at just about every station and was probably a mail train. No beds, we just had to sleep on the benches and it wasn't very comfortable. It took about 8 hours IIRC.