Preparing to ride....

Since I knew the dates of Susan's conference a year in advance I was able to make able to make Amtrak reservations early enough to secure a roomette. I knew that I certainly did not want to ride coach for a two night trip (observations of the discomfort of coach riders later validated my decision!) and that I'd appreciate having my own space. The roomette is a small room designed for two people although I really think it's best suited for one. The seats fold down to convert into a bed and there is a fold down berth for the second person that has them sleeping very close to the ceiling. Couples I encountered who shared a roomette complained that the person on the top bunk felt pretty claustrophobic.

As I said though, the roomette seemed perfect for one person. I had plenty of space and could put my feet up on the seat in front of me. The bed was reasonably comfortable. I was impressed with the clever use of space, including the narrow closet just to the side of the entry door that could accommodate two suits, or maybe a heavy coat. A small fold out table can be set up between the seats for meals, writing, or even a game of checkers since the table top has a board grid on it. There were plenty of lights and options to set some brighter or softer.

Here is a link to Amtrak's page with pictures and descriptions of a roomette.:
http://www.amtrak.com/server/contentserver?c=am2Copy&pagename=Amtrak%2Fam2Copy
Hmmmm. OK it seems when you click on this you get a message from Amtrak that it can't find the page but you can click on "Traveling with Amtrak" above on that page to get to "Sleeping accommodations. That'll get you to the roomette pictures and description.

My roomette was in a Superliner car. The Viewliner cars have similar roomettes but they include a personal sink and toilet in the room. I'm a little dubious about having a toilet in one's roomette but it would save you the experience of using the shared bathrooms which sometimes may not be left in the best condition by previous users. Fortunately most of the time my fellow passengers did heed the signs in the bathrooms asking people to be considerate of each other.

I did some online searching to learn as much as I could about Amtrak travel and found this great forum that welcomes posts with tips and shared experiences. http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?showforum=78

It includes a lengthy thread for first time riders with plenty of advice. Among the more interesting suggestions was creating a survival kit that includes duct tape, a pen light, safety pins, etc. to deal with rattling objects, occasional power outages, and curtains that don't completely close. I actually did take along some duct tape wrapped around a pen as one poster recommended but neglected to bring a small flashlight which really would have come in handy.
More on that later...

I'm not sure what the fare for a roomette from St. Paul to Portland is in today's world of high fuel prices but last August I secured mine for $313 one way. This entitles you to a private sleeping space, meals comped in the dining car, the services of the car attendant, and even access to events like a wine and cheese tasting.

Making the reservation was easy on Amtrak's website.