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This was to revolting to put in my prior post. On the Sunset on the way home...there was NO WATER! Someone left the shower running it in all night and depleted the water. So people were brushing their teeth w/ bottled water...but here is the worst...
When there is no water...the toilets do not flush! Someone on my train had watery poop/diareah (sp). And they used EVERY toilet on the car! So every toilet I opened had this mess in it and smelled horrible. What a health hazzard!
Here is another good one: they did not have cheese for the chilli..but they had grilled cheese sandwiches! ( I know Easy Riderish!) And then after we ordered the chilli with no cheese...they were OUT of chilli!
CK Member # 589
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I don't think your story will be appearing in any Amtrak travel brochures anytime soon!
Doesn't Amtrak have the ability to simply add water to a car when stopped at a station along the route?
vthokie Member # 1456
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Sounds like someone might have eaten too much of that chilli!
yummykaz Member # 475
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CK:
What I was told is train was late pulling into El Paso cause of busted toilet. When I went to use facilities right after we pulled out...this crappy crap (!) was in EVERY toilet!
I figured that there was STILL something wrong w/ toilets. But when only air came out of faucets and water fountains the next day, I asked about it. I wanted to jump off and go inside to go to restroom in San Antonio!
But there was no time for that I wa told. ( yes there was!). So this is when I heard someone left the shower running. There is only one stop between El Paso and San Antonio ( Alpine) and I do not know if they realized the situation yet as it was in the middle of the night.
CK Member # 589
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Okay, I can see repairing a toilet may delay a train from leaving a station but why would a broken toilet delay a train in arriving at a station?
I learned another thing....don't eat the chilli!
MPALMER Member # 125
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This goes to show that Amtrak is running right "on the edge" as far as services, quality, etc. goes. Do you think the irresponsible sleaze-balls that left the shower running and messed up the toilets did it on purpose?
Geoff Mayo Member # 153
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They can't water the train anywhere. The water has to be potable, ie safe to drink from a hygenic tap and hose.
When I was last on the Sunset, somebody was supposed to empty the "honeybuckets" at El Paso. They didn't turn up, so they had to arrange for it to be done at San Antonio. Whether they can fill water there I don't know.
Geoff M.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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Pointing out the obvious... All one needs to do in that situation is to go to another car.
I believe they add water at scheduled service stops en route. Don't know where that is on the Sunset. On the CZ I saw them adding water at Salt Lake City and again at Grand Junction.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
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I was on the Coast Starlight and the electricity broke down for several hours. All of the toilets quit working. This was a few years ago when they still had some Santa Fe Hi Level cars. Those toilets dumped right onto the track and did not need electricity to work. They told us to use the toilets in those cars. Unfortunately, since the entire train was using only two cars for toilets, they were crowded with a waiting line. I don't know how they would handle that situation now that there are no longer Hi Level cars on most trains.
yummykaz Member # 475
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Mr. Toy...
We did use another car! The pooper used all the toilets on the train! Using the other car was suggested by our car attnedent, but I think everyone else was doing the same as well.
CK Member # 589
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"The pooper used all toilets on the train"...that's one heck of an accomplishment! This sounds like "Ripley's Believe it or Not" stuff!
Fumes5 Member # 1437
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This reminds me of the time I was waiting for the Zephyr to arrive in Sparks, Nevada heading twords Marteniz, CA and the train arrived 4 hours late and the rear engin was haveing trouble (ie. no water, refigeration, air, and heat) so evrybody got off. they replaced the last engin with a gp9 yard withcher to help with pow to bing it to SF. seince there was no refigeration they were giving away free food, the train was empty, and the staff was more than helpful it was great. of course that was when Amtrak had $$$
-Fumes5
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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quote:Originally posted by yummykaz: Mr. Toy...
We did use another car! The pooper used all the toilets on the train!
I assume that he was able to flush in those other cars so it was not as much of a problem. Those other cars had water, no?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
posted
I seem to recall that when I use the shower in the deluxe bedrooms it is necessary to push a button to receive about a minute's worth of water. In order to keep showering you must keep hitting this button or the water stops automatically. Has Amtrak changed this "must push button" feature? Also given what little water you receive from the showers, I strongly suspect that the water tanks were not properly filled when they should have been.
yummykaz Member # 475
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To all who replied with reason:
I am just telling you my experience. I have no idea why there was no water in other car. Maybe it was because everyone was going to that car to use toilets. Several of the lavatories on the train were permantly "occupied" or locked. This meant that people from all cars were searching for usable toilets. In my car 2 of the three toliets were unavailable. The other was revolting, I had to cover my face with a towel to use.
The one toilet upstairs had a line all the time.
The one available in cafe car area was disgusting as well.
So maybe paying the hundreds of dollars extra for a toilet in deluxe is worth it. But a lady in deluxe told me there was no water in her room.
CK Member # 589
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I believe, as with Amtrak, as in life, having a good sense of humor helps to overcome many trials.
KA6BGJ Member # 662
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CK, Although what you say (about having a good sense of humor in stressful situations) might be true in most cases, in some situations, however that might be next to impossible to do.
In my opinion, there is no excuse for AMTRAK to neglect the maintainance of the Restroom facilities. Especially on long distance trains (CZ, EB, SWC, SL ETC) where passengers are on board for at least 24 hrs, it would be unreasonable for AMTRAK or any one else for that matter to expect anyone to have a good sense of humor due to the fact that they are unable to use the restroom on board the train.
When you have to go, you have to go. You simply CANNOT have a sense of humor when you have the urge to go and cannot because the restrooms are out of order. Im sure that you know that the longer you have to hold it, the more unconfortable you become.
It seems to me that the car attendant should be responsible for seeing that the restroom facilities in his area are always in working order. This would include keeping track of the water supply. It is a wonder that AMTRAK doesnt have a warning device that will alert the crew whenever the water supply falls below a certain level. We as paying passengers are paying good money to travel on the train.
I am sure that it would be fairly simple to install a warning device designed to alert the crew whenever the water level drops to a certain level.
I think that the water supply on any train should NEVER drop below the 40% level of storage capacity. Much like the fact that there is NO EXCUSE to run out of gas on the freeway, the same should hold true for the water supply on a train.
This is just my 2 cents to the discussion.
CK Member # 589
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KA6BGJ, I understand your position. However, as "Disgusted" has pointed out on other posts, somethings are beyond the control of the employee. In this case, that may or may not have been true. Either way, getting mad or upset will not solve the problem & will probably just make the person need to run to the restroom that much faster. I can't help but think of the phrase "s___ happens". This is just my one penny to add to this discussion.
JAChooChoo Member # 723
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quote:Originally posted by yummykaz: ..........When there is no water...the toilets do not flush! [/B]
As far as I know, the chemical waste treatment system is completely separate from the potable water system.
locomotiveguy Member # 1445
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Nope one water supply. I've been a carguy a little to.
Derek Fenton Member # 1483
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One possible explaination:
On some roads HEP is either shut off or fails during a layover when the ambient temperature is below freezing. Since there is no HEP to heat the cars, pipes freeze and burst. Considering that all toilets were dead on the train in question this seems to be a feasible explaination. Was it cold when you took the trip?
Note that I am not making excuses for Amtrak. I'm just curious about what really happened.
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