Passenger Trains > Meal Service on #449/#49

A long time ago, I reserved a bedroom on #49 from New York to Toledo departing on July 20. Of course, Amtrak has
terminated service on #49 from NYP and given me an option to ride from Grand Central to Rensselear when I can
get a room on #449 westbound after waiting for quite some time. What is the meal service these days on
#449? Does the Pullman porter give you a cold box lunch for dinner? If the train is late west of
Sandusky, does the Pullman porter give you a box with a cold breakfast? Is warm coffee available at an
early hour before alighting at Toledo or has Mr. Anderson cut that out also as an economy measure?

Thank you.

renf Wrote:
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> A long time ago, I reserved a bedroom on #49 from
> New York to Toledo departing on July 20. Of
> course, Amtrak has
> terminated service on #49 from NYP and given me an
> option to ride from Grand Central to Rensselear
> when I can
> get a room on #449 westbound after waiting for
> quite some time. What is the meal service these
> days on
> #449? Does the Pullman porter give you a cold box
> lunch for dinner? If the train is late west of
> Sandusky, does the Pullman porter give you a box
> with a cold breakfast? Is warm coffee available
> at an
> early hour before alighting at Toledo or has Mr.
> Anderson cut that out also as an economy measure?
>
> Thank you.


Pullman Porter???

Strictly anecdotal...but this is a message I received today from a
regular Lake Shore passenger planning a trip on the Lake Shore
and City of New Orleans:

"By the way the few reports I have seen indicate that sleeping car
passengers on the Lake Shore are eating their so-called meals in the
vacant dining car and that attendants are not serving the meals in
the room contrary to the impression in the Amtrak press."

On my recent trip, the attendant did offer to bring my box meal to me, but I found it easier to wander one car over and get the box myself.

Coffee was still available in the sleeper when I rode a few days ago. Our attendant was pretty friendly and helpful.

Kevin

The solution is simple--if you want hot, freshly-prepared meals then bring your own food and prepare your own meals on-board. There are very small microwave ovens available which you can plug into the 120 volt outlet in your roomette. The link below provides a selection of them.

https://www.microwaveovencentral.com/smallest-microwave-best-compact-countertop/

seaboardc30-7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The solution is simple--if you want hot,
> freshly-prepared meals then bring your own food
> and prepare your own meals on-board. There are
> very small microwave ovens available which you can
> plug into the 120 volt outlet in your roomette.
> The link below provides a selection of them.
>
> https://www.microwaveovencentral.com/smallest-micr
> owave-best-compact-countertop/

. . . or perhaps go back to the pre-WW2 Tourist Sleepers, some of which had a communal kitchen for use by the passengers. Amtrak could convert one of the Deluxe Bedrooms of Viewliner sleeping cars into a food prep area with a couple of serious microwaves, a drink vending machine and room for several paper trash bags. :-)

Gordon

I don't think the outlets in a sleeping car room are good for 750 watts. And even if they are, carrying a microwave, even a small one, is one heavy piece of luggage.

march_hare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think the outlets in a sleeping car room
> are good for 750 watts. And even if they are,
> carrying a microwave, even a small one, is one
> heavy piece of luggage.


I could see schlepping one in an automobile, but on a train? No, not really.

With efforts to lop them off with single, clean cuts having failed, long-distance trains will be killed by a thousand smaller cuts.