First Major Trip on AMTRAK - Trains Magazine

Sounds like fun.  It's been nine months since my last trip from Washington, DC, to Dallas.  At that time they told me that they quit showing movies because the movie studios charged them over $1000 each.  Imagine that!

I can't get comfortable sleeping in the seat, so I usually stretch out on the floor of the lounge with a big (full size) pillow.  Even though I've traveled on AMTRAK at least once a year for the last ten years, I still spend most of my time with my nose pressed to the window or taking pictures/videos and sleep only about four hours each night.

The passenger cars on the Northeast Corridor usually have several electric outlets, so you may be able to find a seat with one.  Makes it easier if you have a lot of electronic gadgets like I do.  I was surprised (and it was my only complaint) that the cars on the Texas Eagle and the Capitol Limited did not have outlets.  Everyone went to the lounge car to share the couple of outlets there to charge laptops, cell phones, etc.  On one trip a church youth group had a long extension cord to run from one of the few outlets in the car to where they were all seated.  The outlet they used was at my seat, but they had anticipated that and had a multi-outlet plug so I could still get power while their cord was plugged in.  Worked out well.

I usually travel with my scanner, GPS, a laptop (does movies and music, too), cell phone, and cameras, so electricity is important.  The GPS once recorded 124 MPH on a normal (not ACELA) AMTRAK electric train between Wilmington and Philadelphia.

I use a pair of comfortable headphones rather than a single earphone.  It's good manners always to use an earphone/headphones with a scanner while on board. 

I always try to buy a meal outside the train and bring it aboard for supper and midnight snack.  I'm particularly fond of Subway, Blimpies, and Chinese.  In Washington, DC, Union Station there is a food court downstairs with a wide variety of fast foods.  There are coffee/doughnut places and McD's at the gate area. 

I wish you a very enjoyable trip.  Let us all know how it went.