Should I contact Amtrak by phone before I leave and "book" my room on into LA, or simply inform the conductor of my wish and pay the additional charge to him/her right on the train once it enters the area ?

SURELY, I will NOT be charged any extra fee , besides the rail fee , for the additional short ride.

I PRESUME that my charge would be the SAME whether I book the change before I leave, or wait until I am actually on the train.

Have any of you ever done this before ?

What do you all suggest ?

It may already be booked. You don't have to travel overnight to book a standard bedroom for a short ride.

Once I was at a Yankee game with a friend on a humid night in August. We had the cheapest seats. They were high up in the bleachers.

The start of the game was delayed somewhat by a thunderstorm. Many people left the stadium during the rain. By the time the first pitch was thrown the stands were only about a quarter full. The field and the crowd's spirits seemed equally dampened. The game didn't go well. By the Seventh inning the Yankees were down, 7-2.

My friend and I decided to sneak down from the bleachers into one of the box seats. It seemed unlikely that the chairman of United Toilet Paper or whoever owned those box seats was going to show up that night.

Shortly after settling into the box we were confronted by stadium police. When we couldn't produce ticket stubs and started stumbling over our attempted alibis the cops got excited and drew their pistols. We were ordered to lie face down on the ground. I got sticky soda goo and peanut shells stuck on my face. We were handcuffed and led to a security office deep beneath the grandstands.

We were confined in a small cage with only a hard wooden bench to sit on. The small pen was tightly packed with other ballpark offenders: graffiti artists, dopers, drunk and disorderlies, public urinators, bathroom pervs, parking lot vandals. One guy had been busted videotaping the game without express written consent.

It seemed like we waited an eternity, but eventually our parents came and picked us up. We were just about to try tunneling out, like those guys in Shawshank Redemption.

So, in short, I'd make sure you have your tickets in order. Don't go where your tickets don't entitle you to go. Who knows? You might have to spend the night in the nearest Amtrak police bullpen or maybe even the county jail.

The sheriff might sick the boys on you and bring you on down.

[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 10-31-2003).]

2. Call Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL), have the agent access your record, and ask for the additional fare to change the destination. Again, chances are it is zero or real low and the agent will put a waiver in the record (especially if you are in the Guest Rewards program).

Especially in the dense areas, it is advisable to ticket to the furthest destination as you can board and disembark at intermediate (shorter) stations without penalty. A few times a year I visit friends in South Florida who are at the Hollywood, Delray Beach, and Palm Beach stations. When I see a Rail Sale, I ticket to Hollywood and work out the pickups and dropoffs later.

Iv alyas thought those amtrak cops were coolo!

Dave

When someone is arrested they are usually brought first to a local police precinct house or headquarters where they are held in a temporary jail cell while the arresting officer prepares the charges against them. This temporary jail cell is sometimes nicknamed the bullpen.

I doubt Amtrak has bullpens, except perhaps at its larger terminals. Amtrak police officers probably transfer persons they arrest to local police or the FBI, as the case warrants.

dave

I'll probably get bored with Amtrak and move on soon enough. Meanwhile I gotta keep you happy! It's all about you!

Take it easy!

Dave

PS - Did I ever tell you guys about the time I was touring Australia by rail and our train across The Outback was attacked by rabies-crazed Aborigine tribesmen? I stood on the roof of The Ghan's diner, AK-47's blazing from both my hands, a machete in my belt, my shirt torn wide open, and a bandana 'round my head to keep the blood from tricklin' down from where a flaming spear had grazed my left ear. Then they got the engineer, and I had to swing down from the roof into the sidewindow of the cab and drive the train myself, shootin this way and that all the while. We must've been doing 80 or 90 mph. They'd burned the 200' trestle over Dundee Creek to try and stop us, but I jumped the whole train consist from one side of the creek to the other. That's how darn fast we was going! In the end we went back in a chopper and sprayed anti-rabies aerosol over the tribesmen and they came back to their senses and said they were sorry. I got a medal from Olivia Newton-John. That trip was really something, I'll tell you.

[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-13-2003).]