Used search, couldn't find an answer so here goes:
I'm going between Baltimore and DC on the Northeast Regional and need to check two bags. Someone told me that I may not get the bags until the next day. I need the bags the same day however, preferably as soon as I get off the train. Also, do I need to check the bags really early to make the train? Thanks for helping an Amtrak first-timer!

Northeast Regional trains don't offer checked baggage service, so you'll have to carry them on. You can carry on much larger bags than are allowed on planes, though.

And obviously, if you carry them on you'll have them with you when you get off the train.

Cityboy,

As mentioned, Amtrak doesn't carry checked baggage on Regional trains. You are allowed 2 carryon's, so if you don't have anything else you could consider just carrying them on with you.

If there is some reason that you must check bags, then Amtrak would put those bags on one of the long distance trains when they come by. If you want them to be waiting for you in DC, then you'll have to look at the schedule and arrive at least 30 minutes before the closest long distance train to your train. The alternative is to wait in DC until the next LD train comes by. But either way you're going to have to wait on one end or the other if you check your bags.

I should also mention that being you're only going Baltimore to DC that you may find the agents in Baltimore reluctant to check your bags for such a short journey.

Are you connecting to another Amtrak train in DC? Because that would change things!

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If it's convenient, the OP can also drop the bags at BAL the day before his departure, and the bags would then be available for pick up at WAS upon his arrival.

My understanding is that if Amtrak offers checked baggage service between two stations, then it must accept checked baggage on the route, regardless of how short the distance between the two stations. A call to Amtrak should confirm this. If the Amtrak baggage agent at BAL balks, speak to the station manager. I had to do that once at BOS when I was traveling on a Regional day train, and wanted to check a bag to NYP. Ultimately, the station manager instructed the baggage agent to accept the bag, and it made it to NYP just fine.

According to Amtrak's website some of the earliest departures for the NE Regional take checked baggage. If you could check it the night before then it could work.
I've been advised to do that when i take the NE Regional in July, except we're going from NYC- WAS

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Just a technical point: the early trains that carry baggage between NYP and WAS are not Regionals; they are long-distance trains. The only Regional that carries checked baggage is the overnight train which runs in both directions between BOS and WAS.

The Amtrak website mentions the 3am NE Regional as taking checked baggage and also the Carolinian?

Right. The Carolinian isn't a NE Regional train, and the 3 am train is the overnight train. As guv1976 said, that's the only NE Regional that takes checked baggage.

I can't really understand why an agent would balk at checking a bag for a short distance. It's not like the distance the bag will travel has anything to do with the amount of hassle involved in placing the bag on the train.

Check the bags the day before; that way, they'll be waiting for you at WAS when you get there (although you'll likely need to ask someone to help you find them and/or unlock wherever they've been stored). You'll also save yourself any potential hassle of having to show up very early to check them. Also, Amtrak has rather more lenient carry-on policies than airlines do -- pretty much anything that you can carry without assistance can be brought aboard.

Unless, due to the short distance, your bags are the only ones the baggage attendant will have to take and check that day (not many other people will be checking bags on a southbound Regional departing BAL), and he/she's looking to get out of work. It takes energy to get up from the chair and wheel the baggage cart out to the side of the train, ya know.

Indeed. Amtrak's carry-on policy = airlines' checked baggage policy. That is, basically, Amtrak allows you to carry on the same amount of stuff that airlines allow you to check. There's usually plenty of room on-board for your baggage, as long as you can easily handle it yourself and aren't asking everyone around you or the conductors to help you carry it all.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

jackal, no one will be checking bags on the southbound Regional that the OP will be taking, as the only Regional that takes checked baggage is the overnight train. But there are several southbound long-distance trains that serve BAL -- including two to Florida -- and they do take checked baggage, as well as small-package freight, I believe. So I would be surprised if there would be no other items to be loaded on a southbound train from BAL.