Train5 DEN>EMY in 2 weeks - Roomette Cold?
 

Taking California Zephyr from Denver to Emeryville early February (over 2 mtn ranges,dead of winter).
Booked an upper level Superliner Roomette for myself.
Any recent reports of the roomette being cold overnight?

Thanks in advance.

-Peter

Heat is provided through electric wall heaters that run along the baseboard. There is a control for the car that the attendant sets a base, as well as an individual control in each room (which may or may not do anything). I've traveled on the Empire Builder in the dead of winter through North Dakota several times and there was only one time I had a problem. In that case the problem was runaway heat, not being too cold. The floor heater basically went nuts in roomettes 1 & 2 (attendant had to abandon roomette 1 because of it), who knows why, and it was like being on the inside of a toaster. In that case the attendant moved me to the H room which had been vacated because the heater there did NOT work, and the attendant provided extra blankets. That was much better than being in a room that was well over 90 degrees.

I have had functioning room controls, but more often, they seem to do nothing. This contradicts nothing that zephyr17 said, but emphasizes the "not" part of the description.

Thank you both for the quick replies.

I've done that exact route in January (the snow makes for a beautiful ride, but it's still worth also doing in the summer for a completely different experience). I don't recall being uncomfortably cold. In fact, most times on Amtrak I find the rooms slightly too warm at night, so at worst, it might have been comfortably cool, but it certainly wasn't chilly.

The temp. dial only controls the baseboard heating, which IME definitely works unless the heat for your entire zone of the car isn't working. If you want cooler air, you need to open the ceiling vent lever (which, again, should work unless the A/C is kaput).

The heat capacity of the central system and individually controlled systems is adequate to temps well below zero - if they are functioning properly. If you're chilly, call for an attendant immediately.

I understand the theory as you describe it, and stand by my assertion that practice does not always match the theory.

Forecast for the next two weeks is for average to warmer than average. BTW low temps in the great basin between SLC and RNO are often colder than mountain passes in Rockies and Sierra. I would be more concerned about too hot bedrooms/roomettes.