Amtrak Guest Rewards - Trip Report - Coast Starlight Apr 16-17 2012

I wanted to share some of my thoughts about my first over nighter on Amtrak in one of the
Superliner bedrooms. This review is more for the curious first time traveler who is thinking about
something similar more than for the experienced rider.
My companion and I are 64 & 70. We boarded in Vancouver Washington for a final destination in
Santa Barbara. The train was only a few minutes late and basically stayed on schedule for the entire trip.
All I can say is we were lucky as I watched this train's schedule for months prior and arrival
and departures were all over the place. When the train stopped to pick up the dozen or so
passengers we were the only ones boarding a Superliner car. There were three of them
and none of the numbers on the outside matched up with the one on our tickets. The attendant
who was standing on the platform to take our ticket seemed very bored and offered no real
assistance as to if the car we were boarding was ours. I knew our room was on the upper level
but once inside we were on our own. I finally had to go find her and ask where we were
to go. She showed us to the room, gave a brief speech about the room and meals and off she went.
I only saw her once more for the entire trip.
I would advise first time travelers not to expect the kind of service a room steward on a
cruise ship provides. Far from it. If you leave crumbs on the floor or any kind of empty container
or papers it will be there when you return. Although there were two small bottles of water
in the room when we boarded they were never replaced after being used.

The shower is a real horror story. In fact the entire room is ridiculously small. But the toilet/shower
is smaller than the bathroom you'd find on an airplane! Imagine stradeling a toilet and trying
to use a handheld shower. It was impossible to use once but for a longer trip BE AWARE!
At night when the beds were folded down the top bunk was almost impossible to
climb into and with the lower bed in place there was no way to get out of the room and
virtually no place to standing when you did wiggle out. For anyone other than teenagers
this room, and it's the largest, is very hard to navigate.

One of the main reasons for taking this trip was to see the scenery and that was hit and miss.
The Coast Starlight winds it's way through the backsides of industrial buildings and
ramshackle housing for most of the Northern and central part of Oregon. Not until the early
evening when we were far away from any cities did the view turn dramatic. We passed by
several mountain lakes and snow covered hills. Definitely the highlight. Then darkness
fell and so that was the end of any view. When we awoke at 6AM we were in Sacramento
California and back to grafitti lined walls and back yards of homes along the tracks. Naming
this the Coast Starlight is ridiculous. We never saw the Pacific Ocean until we were an hour
or so from Santa Barbara and then the train only continues along the coast for a short
distance before turning inland to Los Angeles. The Valley Starlight would be more honest.
Another point of contention was all of the bedrooms on the superliner were on the opposite
side of the coast. So we had views of rock walls or open fields from our bedroom while
the passage way faced the ocean.
These are the premium rooms on the train yet no one gave any thought to insuring the
most expensive rooms faced the only short amount of ocean viewing on the entire route.
Management should instruct whoever stages these cars to insure the Superliner
bedrooms face the ocean on both the North and Southern routes.

My other randoms thoughts are that the dining car was nice. We had a really good dinner but
awful breakfast and lunch. If you want eggs they only come scrambled. Rubbery,
overcooked and barely warm. Toast cold. The hamburger at lunch was lukewarm
to the touch, dry and tasteless. The Parlor Car was a novelty but they ran out of gin
at 5pm the first night. The lounge car for all passengers is a much better place to watch the view.
Upon arriving into Santa Barbara the attendant never came to say anything to us. We only
saw her for the second time when we were stepping off. Needless to say we walked right
past her without either saying a word. If she wanted some little tip she didn't seem at all interested.
In summary. Train travel is not a very comfortable experience unless you are a kid. The scenery
on this route is not a good enough reason to have a train experience. The idea of having a
sleeping car and leisurely riding the rails is more of an illusion than the real thing. Did it
once...will never do it again. Creature comforts are more important for us and a train
doesn't come close to providing that.

Always good to read an Amtrak trip report, even if it's negative.

A couple of points I wanted to address:

-It sounds like you got a mediocre attendant. There are, unfortunately, a few of these. Most are very good and some are stellar. The good ones outnumber the lackadaisical ones, though.
-Logistics really don't allow orienting the Superliner sleepers in any particular direction without a significant amount of work to turn them around, potentially delaying the departure out of Seattle. It really isn't feasible.
-The name "Coast Starlight" is in homage to the Southern Pacific's old Coast Daylight train, which ran between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the route that you traveled. It's not intentionally false advertising.

sorry your trip wasn't the best....

i've had lousy attendants too, though luckily the 2 i had on the CS were awesome!! The description of yours is very similar to one I had on the EB...i even asked one WHY he wasn't helping with my stuff...he said it wasn't his job...i said..Dear Amtrak...:rolleyes:

as far as the mediocre food...i would have sent it back.....

thanks for the trip report...you might want to call amtrak or write them if you haven't already.....they need to know when their crews fall short...AND when they exceed expectations...(which some do...hopefully you'll get a chance for another trip with better crew...)

I am curious as to how the OP was served toast. IIRC, toast is not an option at all on any amtrak train right now.

Sorry that you didn't enjoy your trip - overnight/LD train travel is not for everyone. I can understand how you felt underwhelmed, especially when the trips in the bedrooms can be quite expensive.

However, just logistically speaking, it isn't really possible for amtrak to rearrange the cars so that the bedrooms face the water. If you didn't like the view, you can always sit in the PPC or the lounge car.

That being said, there is no excuse for the disappearing sleeping car attendant. Sorry that you didn't receive the proper service. She should have welcomed you on board and then let you know when you were detraining. They are not supposed to be entering your room to clean it up, though, mid-trip.

Always good to read an Amtrak trip report, even if it's negative.

A couple of points I wanted to address:

-It sounds like you got a mediocre attendant. There are, unfortunately, a few of these. Most are very good and some are stellar. The good ones outnumber the lackadaisical ones, though.
-Logistics really don't allow orienting the Superliner sleepers in any particular direction without a significant amount of work to turn them around, potentially delaying the departure out of Seattle. It really isn't feasible.
-The name "Coast Starlight" is in homage to the Southern Pacific's old Coast Daylight train, which ran between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the route that you traveled. It's not intentionally false advertising.

Wanted to add, too:
-There is some nice coastal scenery in the Tacoma area as the train runs along Point Defiance. So the "Coast" part does ring true at the two bookends of the trip.
-The shower/toilet in the rooms is admittedly very small. Even when traveling in a bedroom, I typically use the full-size shared shower downstairs. Much more comfortable, and it's kept pretty clean and there's not usually a wait for it.

-Logistics really don't allow orienting the Superliner sleepers in any particular direction without a significant amount of work to turn them around, potentially delaying the departure out of Seattle. It really isn't feasible.


Doesn't the Northbound Coast Starlight (14) overnight in Seattle for 12+ hours before the morning departure? That isn't enough time to rotate three cars?

I am curious as to how the OP was served toast. IIRC, toast is not an option at all on any amtrak train right now.

There was some type of bread ie roll, muffin, biscuit I really can't remember. Whatever
it was it was cold.


However, just logistically speaking, it isn't really possible for amtrak to rearrange the cars so that the bedrooms face the water. If you didn't like the view, you can always sit in the PPC or the lounge car.

I think it could be done if management cared enough or the unions would comply. It was
nice to relax in our own car to view the scenery. It would have been nicer to have been
facing the ocean.

They are not supposed to be entering your room to clean it up, though, mid-trip.

Besides lowering the bunks and standing by the open doors while passengers enter
and leave, what else are they suppose to be doing? We never saw her or any other attendant
doing much of anything. No cleaning, checking to see if we needed something, offering
to bring food. Again, is it a union thing?

Doesn't the Northbound Coast Starlight (14) overnight in Seattle for 12+ hours before the morning departure? That isn't enough time to rotate three cars?

Having worked as a railroader, I can tell you that what sounds like a simple movement is far from it.

Let's assume there are three sleepers. The two outside ones (closest to the diner and closest to the engine) are oriented the wrong way. The one in the middle is oriented the correct way.

First, you have to tie down the handbrakes on all of the cars you aren't moving (the coaches, lounges, and dining car).

Then, you have to cut away from the coach cars you're leaving behind. On passenger cars, this is a slow process, because there are a number of air and electrical connections between the cars that must all have valves closed and be disconnected

Then, you have to set the two cars facing the wrong direction out. First, you pull out of the track that you're leaving the coach/diner/lounges on. Then, you have to throw the switch, reverse direction, and shove into another track (probably stopping to throw the switch off the lead into the other holding track). Then you have to tie down the handbrakes of and cut off the last car. Then you pull forward out of that track, throw the switch, and shove up the lead a few car lengths. Then you cut off the next sleeper car (tying the handbrake and disconnecting the electrical/air connections), leaving it on the lead. Then you pull forward again past the switch to the track you left the first sleeper on. You throw that switch and shove into that track, cutting off the last sleeper. (If the order of the cars doesn't matter--and on Amtrak, it usually doesn't--it would be simpler at this point just to hook the two sleepers on that track together; otherwise, you'd need to repeat all of the above later after turning around.) Then, you pull back out of the track, throw the switch, back the engine (now with just the baggage cars and the trans-dorm) up the lead and hook back onto the correctly-oriented sleeper.

Then, you pull your engine, baggage cars, and correctly-oriented sleeper over to the balloon loop or the wye. (This is assuming the yard that the train overnights in even has these facilities. Certainly King Street Station doesn't, so all of this movement would have to be done at perhaps the BNSF yard in the SoDo district, adding yet more time to the maneuver.)

Going around the loop (if there is one) is relatively fast and easy; a wye requires a few back-and-forth moves and throwing of switches to get the train oriented the other way. Either way, once your train is facing the opposite direction, you can head back over to the track you left your other two sleepers in. Enter from the other end (pausing along the way several times to throw switches to get to where you want to go). Hook onto those cars (Amtrak regulations may require a double stretch to test the connection--we always did when dealing with passenger cars--and then hook up the air and let the brake system charge. (The assistant conductor will probably have to walk to the far end to close the angle cock on the brake pipe, since it would have been left open when disconnecting from that end.)

But now the part of the train you're dragging around is backwards--you could hook onto the back of the train (i.e. leave the Pacific Parlour Car at the tail end of the train), but that won't work. So, it's back around the loop or wye to get your whole consist back to the right direction, at which point you can hook back onto the diner/lounges/coaches you left behind earlier.

All of that would require a good few hours (especially with passenger cars, which have stricter policies about switching with air brakes [which take time to charge up and otherwise deal with]), plus travel time to whichever yard has the loop/wye, and the work of a three-man crew. It also cuts into the time that the coach cleaners and any carmen who need to do light repairs on bad-order equipment on the train have to do their jobs.

And that's not even the worst-case scenario. I could think of a few times when an additional set of moves would be needed. Of course, the simplest case (all three cars are oriented the same direction and just need to be flipped around as a group) is a good bit simpler, but it still requires several moves (if using a loop; more if it's a wye) just to do that.

So, is it possible? Yes. The cost is a lot of time, a lot of labor, a lot of money (not something Amtrak has an extra stash of), and the possibility that the plugged toilet in your bedroom may not get fixed due to a lack of time.

Instead, plan to go sit in the Parlour Car or Sightseer Lounge from about 4pm to 7pm (actually, go earlier to enjoy the scenery through Cuesta Grade north of San Luis Obispo). :)

@jackal - Wonderful description of how it's done! I've never thought about this before in too much detail, but that was absolutely fantastic. Thanks for taking the time!

Besides lowering the bunks and standing by the open doors while passengers enter
and leave, what else are they suppose to be doing? We never saw her or any other attendant
doing much of anything. No cleaning, checking to see if we needed something, offering
to bring food. Again, is it a union thing?

The sleeping car attendant should be standing at the door of your car to gret you at your originating station. Then once you've boarded and the train has left the station, they should give you an overview of the train and what they can do for you. If you are boarding at a midpoint, they should have made dining reservations for you in the dining car.

Their other duties include putting down and putting up the beds, setting out refreshments such as ice, cofee and juice in the center of the car, and bringing meals to passengers that aren't able to make it to the dining car.

They should also clean the restrooms that are shared with everyone in the car.

I have never heard of an SCA going in to rooms to clean them mid-trip. I am pretty sure that is not in their job description.

If you wanted more water, did you ring the call button in your room? Did you go their room and ask them for what you wanted?

I don't condone poor service and I am sorry that you had one of the not-so stellar attendants, but I do think that perhaps your expectations might need to be adjusted as well.

An amtrak trip is not a land cruise and one should not expect cruise line service while on amtrak.

...
I have never heard of an SCA going in to rooms to clean them mid-trip. I am pretty sure that is not in their job description.
...

While I have never had an attendant clean a room mid-trip, I have had them come in and replace used towels and empty the trash can.

@jackal - Wonderful description of how it's done! I've never thought about this before in too much detail, but that was absolutely fantastic. Thanks for taking the time!

Thumbs up from me also @jackal. For the record all three of the sleepers were oriented in
the same direction. I wonder when they turn around the train in Los Angeles if the Northbound
cars then face the ocean. If the entire Southbound Coast Starlight uses a horseshoe shaped
track in LAX then at least half the time those cars would have the nicer views. From your
description I can't imagine they would want to touch the consist unless there was a car
that had to be pulled for repairs.

The sleeping car attendant should be standing at the door of your car to gret you at your originating station. Then once you've boarded and the train has left the station, they should give you an overview of the train and what they can do for you. If you are boarding at a midpoint, they should have made dining reservations for you in the dining car.

She took our ticket but didn't say anything. After wandering around trying to decide if
we were in our assigned car I went downstairs to ask her. She then walked us to our
room told us to press a button when we wanted the beds dropped but not after 10PM
as she would be sleeping. Never offered to make any dining reservations.

Their other duties include putting down and putting up the beds, setting out refreshments such as ice, cofee and juice in the center of the car, and bringing meals to passengers that aren't able to make it to the dining car.

She did put the beds down but we had to put them back up in the morning.

They should also clean the restrooms that are shared with everyone in the car.

I have never heard of an SCA going in to rooms to clean them mid-trip. I am pretty sure that is not in their job description.

If you wanted more water, did you ring the call button in your room? Did you go their room and ask them for what you wanted?

I really didn't feel like ringing her for water. In my opinion she should have walked through
the car and replace empty bottles and carried away any used ones.

I don't condone poor service and I am sorry that you had one of the not-so stellar attendants, but I do think that perhaps your expectations might need to be adjusted as well.

An amtrak trip is not a land cruise and one should not expect cruise line service while on amtrak.

I now understand completely and hope to reduce the expectations for any first time
travelers. If you think by paying a premium for a bedroom sleeper will come with anything
other than meals, beds and a bathroom think again.

I now understand completely and hope to reduce the expectations for any first time
travelers. If you think by paying a premium for a bedroom sleeper will come with anything
other than meals, beds and a bathroom think again.

To be fair, a lot of TR's I've read (haven't traveled, so can't speak from experience) have had wonderful experiences with the same. It seems to be more of a random bad apple case, IMO.

Unfortunate that it seems to be diluting the reputation of what is otherwise supposed to be a great set of attendants.

atanac,

First, let me echo what someone else mentioned briefly in passing and in fact let me stress it. Please call Amtrak to let them know about your basically unseen attendant. The only way that Amtrak can fix things is if people let them know when things went wrong. It's also helpful for them to know when things went right too, so if there are any good things or good employees that you did meet, let them know that too.

You can send an letter if you like, fill out a form right on Amtrak's website, but I'd recommend calling. Simply call the toll free number, when Julie the automated assistant answers, say "agent." Once you get an agent on the line, ask for customer service.

The CS people can take down your ticket information if you've saved your stub, and track down that attendant. Explain what didn't happen and your general dissatisfaction with her performance. In particular mentioning her failure to put up the beds in the morning, which is something that you should never have needed to do. The CS agent will document all of this and it will find its way back to that employee's supervisor. If she's got enough complaints, the she could well be sent for retraining or perhaps receive further discipline. At the very least your report could be the first nail in the coffin of what sounds like a bad egg.

And while I can't promise you anything, you may well be offered some compensation in the form of a voucher for the trouble.

Second, in addition to the process described by the Jackal to move cars around, there is yet another factor that must be considered. Those cars cannot be moved while they're being worked on. That means that no cleaning can be taking place, no minor repairs to broken things like even replacing a burnt out light. And those crews have several other trains that all must be cleaned each night, so disrupting their cleaning for switching could well see a train not getting properly cleaned.

Based on what I read the OP would not have enjoyed the trip even if the attendant was as good as they get on Amtrak. Many years ago I lived in Australia and talked four of my colleagues into taking a trip on the overnight train from Melbourne to Sydney (with sleepers and dinning car… service no longer exists). I had already done this trip and loved it. Anyway… one loved it, one thought it OK, and two would have rather flown (glad they tried once, never again sort of thing). These were all reasonable people that I knew and respected… so I could not write them off as internet odd balls with their heads screwed on backwards.

I for one have very little desire to travel by cruise ship… figure I’ll save that until I’m too old and fat to do anything else. But I understand millions of people love it (even young thin ones).

Some people just do not enjoy long distance train travel and that’s the way it is.

Based on what I read the OP would not have enjoyed the trip even if the attendant was as good as they get on Amtrak. Many years ago I lived in Australia and talked four of my colleagues into taking a trip on the overnight sleeper service from Melbourne to Sydney. I had already done this trip and loved it. Anyway… one loved it, one thought it OK, and two would have rather flown (glad they tried once, never again sort of thing). These were all reasonable people that I knew and respected… so I could not write them off as internet odd balls with their heads screwed on backwards.

I for one have very little desire to travel by cruise ship… figure I’ll save that until I’m too old and fat to do anything else. But I understand millions of people love it (even young thin ones).

Some people just do not enjoy long distance train travel and that’s the way it is.

There is a lot of truth to this statement.

Among those whom I have met on the train or who enjoy long-distance train travel, one common characteristic seems to be a bit of a love for adventure--not necessarily in that thrill-seeking way or in that willing-to-put-up-with-horrible-things way (like budget accommodations in tropical places where snakes and bugs can crawl all over you ;)), but just in that likes-to-see-and-do-new-things sort of way.

It's a foreign concept to me, but there's a large segment (maybe even a supermajority) of the population who finds the idea of lying on the beach for endless weeks the perfect vacation. I can lie on a beach for about 30 minutes before my mind goes stir-crazy craving stimulation. :)

I can lie on a beach for about 30 minutes before my mind goes stir-crazy craving stimulation. :)

Wow, that's pretty good. I can only stand about 10 minutes. :)

... yet I can sit in an Amtrak bedroom for 24 hours doing nothing and enjoy every second of it... :confused:

... yet I can sit in an Amtrak bedroom for 24 hours doing nothing and enjoy every second of it... :confused:

Not only that, but I'm always shocked when the trip ends. "What do you mean it's been three days?!"

Let's assume there are three sleepers. The two outside ones (closest to the diner and closest to the engine) are oriented the wrong way. The one in the middle is oriented the correct way.



One thing I don't quite understand. Why would the sleepers in a 3-sleeper consist be oriented 2 wrong/1 right? Why wouldn't they all be oriented in the same direction (i.e. all "wrong" or all "right")?

(As an aside...somebody ought to design a sleeping car where the bedrooms can be "flipped" in the same way that some coach seats can be reversed depending on the direction of travel. At the end of the route, someone walks through and shoves all the bedrooms to the other side of the car. That would solve the problem right there! I'll let others sort out the logistics of this but I'm happy to take credit for the idea.)

One thing I don't quite understand. Why would the sleepers in a 3-sleeper consist be oriented 2 wrong/1 right? Why wouldn't they all be oriented in the same direction (i.e. all "wrong" or all "right")?


Because one got bad ordered and the available replacement was oriented in the opposite way. When the crew is rushing to get a train out, especially if the problem was discovered less than two hours before a scheduled departure, they're not worrying about trying to wye that car so it faces the wrong way. Their only concern is to get that bad car cut out and the new one hooked in as fast as possible and with as little interruption of the other servicing of the train going on.

And remember, in order to switch cars they must drop the power to the train and put up a blue flag. As soon as that happens, any employee cleaning must sit down and wait for the switching to stop. It's a safety issue. Any loading of food & supplies must stop for safety reasons.

So the switcher crew isn't interested in wasting time to flip the car, they must get it replaced quickly!

Finally, for some people the highlight is the ocean. For other's its the mountains. If you orientate the cars to the ocean, then you upset those who wanted to look at Mount Shasta for example. There is no way for Amtrak to win in this scenario. Different strokes for different folks is always going to mean that someone wants the car the other way.

One thing I don't quite understand. Why would the sleepers in a 3-sleeper consist be oriented 2 wrong/1 right? Why wouldn't they all be oriented in the same direction (i.e. all "wrong" or all "right")?

On a unit train that is never broken apart, that should be the case. However, train cars are moved around the railyards as they go through the cars hops, are set out waiting for replacement parts, are exchanged on other trains for trips to other parts of the country, etc. A car that came in on the Sunset Limited may be used on the next morning's Starlight and exchanged with a bad-order Starlight car that needs to head to Beech Grove (Indiana) for repairs.

(As an aside...somebody ought to design a sleeping car where the bedrooms can be "flipped" in the same way that some coach seats can be reversed depending on the direction of travel. At the end of the route, someone walks through and shoves all the bedrooms to the other side of the car. That would solve the problem right there! I'll let others sort out the logistics of this but I'm happy to take credit for the idea.)

Better patent that idea. Don't hold your breath waiting for any applications to use your patent, though. ;)

I'm sorry the OP has a less than enjoyable trip. As someone who grew up in Europe, I find Amtrak a bit of a strange beast: it's neither particularly fast, convenient or even affordable, and so plays an incredibly small role in America's transportation sytem; nor does it really offer than kind of luxury experience that certain named train routes around the world do.

I've done the Coast Starlight myself between Portland and Oakland, and loved the scenery. The fact that it doesn't go particularly near the coast isn't really Amtrak's fault (and is also fairly easy to research beforehand). The Willamette Valley has an understated, unspoilt agricultural beauty to it, and the climb into the mountains after Eugene has quite a few stunning moments. The highlight for me was eating dinner as the sun set over Klamath Lake, feeling like I was Cary Grant in North by Northwest. It was the middle of the summer when I did this though, so the sun must have set somewhat earlier during the OP's first night onboard.

The fact that it doesn't go particularly near the coast isn't really Amtrak's fault (and is also fairly easy to research beforehand).

That part of the route doesn't go near the coast, but if you ride between LA and SF you're near the Pacific for several hours. Same applies to the line from LA to San Diego.

Bob H

Well, I'm not sure whether this inquiry belongs here; however, when I performed a search for "Amtrak Coast Starlight", this thread appeared. So, mods, please move my post if it belongs elsewhere.

We will be traveling on the "Coast Starlight" from L.A. Union Station to San Luis Obispo on Dec. 26. This is a relatively short journey so my thought was: no need for a sleeper berth. So we are now ticketed with "reserved coach seats".

Question: what can we expect with regard to this reserved coach seating and, if available, are better seats offered for sale as paid upgrades on board the "Coast Starlight"? The Amtrak website was not very clear about this.

BTW, our return journey from San Luis Obispo to L.A. will be on board the Pacific Surfliner with business class seats already ticketed.

Thanks! :)

Well, I'm not sure whether this inquiry belongs here; however, when I performed a search for "Amtrak Coast Starlight", this thread appeared. So, mods, please move my post if it belongs elsewhere.

We will be traveling on the "Coast Starlight" from L.A. Union Station to San Luis Obispo on Dec. 26. This is a relatively short journey so my thought was: no need for a sleeper berth. So we are now ticketed with "reserved coach seats".

Question: what can we expect with regard to this reserved coach seating and, if available, are better seats offered for sale as paid upgrades on board the "Coast Starlight"? The Amtrak website was not very clear about this.

BTW, our return journey from San Luis Obispo to L.A. will be on board the Pacific Surfliner with business class seats already ticketed.

Thanks! :)

I've done that route several times, seeing as how I used to live between SLO and PRB. :) The only reason you may want to spring for a sleeper is that the Coast Starlight includes the unique and historic Pacific Parlour Car. Getting off at SLO, though, means you'll miss the wine tasting (which is usually done just north of SLO). Aside from that, though, coach seats are fine.

Seats are not pre-assigned. Depending on the conductor and/or car attendants working your train, you may be assigned a seat at the door to board the car, or you may just be able to choose open seating. Regardless, you can usually move on-board to any other seat. There is no need to purchase a better seat. (All seats are pretty darn good.)

Enjoy your trip! Very scenic country (although the segment north of SLO is my favorite ;)).

Question: what can we expect with regard to this reserved coach seating and, if available, are better seats offered for sale as paid upgrades on board the "Coast Starlight"?



There are no "better seats" on the Coast Starlight. You're either in coach or in a sleeping car. Theoretically one can purchase an on-board upgrade from coach to sleeper but that's only if there is a sleeping compartment available, and you find a conductor willing to process the paperwork. But there's little financial incentive to do this on board anyhow. So if you want a sleeping compartment it's better to purchase it before you leave. But it's really not worth it for such a short segment.

I've done that route several times, seeing as how I used to live between SLO and PRB. :) The only reason you may want to spring for a sleeper is that the Coast Starlight includes the unique and historic Pacific Parlour Car. Getting off at SLO, though, means you'll miss the wine tasting (which is usually done just north of SLO). Aside from that, though, coach seats are fine.

Seats are not pre-assigned. Depending on the conductor and/or car attendants working your train, you may be assigned a seat at the door to board the car, or you may just be able to choose open seating. Regardless, you can usually move on-board to any other seat. There is no need to purchase a better seat. (All seats are pretty darn good.)

Enjoy your trip! Very scenic country (although the segment north of SLO is my favorite ;)).

Thanks for that, jackal! I lived in San Luis Obispo County for many years myself, mainly in Shell Beach. We usually drive up the coast from L.A. on U.S. 101 (and take SR 154 over San Marcos Pass if we are feeling especially reckless). However, my fiancee has never journeyed by rail in the Golden State so I thought it would be nice to do so - and we hope there will be no fog hugging the coast between Ventura and Vandenberg AFB!

And as for the wine tasting, it will be great to see my old friends at Adelaida Cellars and Caparone Winery in the hills near Paso Robles!

Thanks for that, jackal! I lived in San Luis Obispo County for many years myself, mainly in Shell Beach. We usually drive up the coast from L.A. on U.S. 101 (and take SR 154 over San Marcos Pass if we are feeling especially reckless). However, my fiancee has never journeyed by rail in the Golden State so I thought it would be nice to do so - and we hope there will be no fog hugging the coast between Ventura and Vandenberg AFB!

And as for the wine tasting, it will be great to see my old friends at Adelaida Cellars and Caparone Winery in the hills near Paso Robles!
I meant to add, too, that you only get access to the Pacific Parlour Car (PPC) (and the wine tasting, which is held in the PPC) if you are in a sleeping compartment, which is why I mentioned that. As fairviewroad mentioned, it's not really the best use of upgrade money, though. I did it once and probably wouldn't do it again unless I were either splitting the compartment (the additional cost is per compartment, not per person) or I were going further up the coast.

The seats you get in your coach car really don't matter much, anyway, because you'll likely spend most of your time in the Sightseer Lounge car (big, wraparound panoramic windows), especially for the section between Ventura and Vandenberg.

If you do move to another coach seat, though, be sure to take your seat check the conductor places over your seat with you.

Apologies for the abbreviated post. I was on an Amtrak train myself (Keystone, here in PA) and approaching my stop. I literally clicked reply and then jumped out of my seat holding my laptop as I stepped off the train, hoping it submitted before the train pulled away and I lost my wifi signal! :D