RE: [Philmont]: Train travel

In addition to the other advice given:
 
Bring earplugs
People get on and off, especially in Kansas City heading to Raton from
Chicago. I slept through the clatter.
 
Bring a pair of mocs or slippers.
You wear your boots on the train so you don't forget to pack them (it
has happened). But they are uncomfortable to wear for 20 hours on the
train so pack something you can slip into comfortably while on the
train. Stocking feet are not allowed on the train for safety reasons.
You could bring your camp shoes in your daypack, but my slip on mocs
worked fine an packed small to fit in the crew locker at Philmont.
 
Bring your fleece
It can get cold at night on the train. I brought my trail fleece jacket
in my daypack and it kept me cozy. And cheap inflatable air pillow
might have been nice. You can borrow pillows from the train too, but I
would have rather have my inflatable I use on my commuter train (but I
forgot it). You can bring a blanket too, but remember that it will have
to fit in your crew lockers (we were issued 2).
 
Turn off your cell phone
I didn't and I ran my battery down the first 24 hours. There's not a lot
of digital signals on the plains so the phone switches to analog and
burns through the battery as it increases it's power seeking towers. In
fact, there's not a lot of analog signals out there either. So turn it
off and use it only periodically as needed to to check messages. Also,
make a calling tree to make emergency communications easier. Our return
train was late (see below) so we had to call all of the parents to let
them know of the change in our arrival home. A simple calling tree would
have eliminated the hassle. It's ironic how I overlooked a simple, basic
technique we teach our patrol leader after spending hours planning trek
selection, gear selection and purchases, tickets, crew gear, etc.
 
Bring snacks
Food on the train can get expensive. There's the dining car, which I
think everyone should plan on experiencing at least once, and a snack
car that fairly well stocked. However, beware on your return trip. Our
train was seven hours late coming into Raton. That added two extra
meals for the train crew to prepare (and for our boys to buy so make
sure you boys have some "emergency funds" for the ride home.) For as
often as Amtrak runs late, I am really surprised they don't manage their
food inventories better. Our dinning car was closed to regular
passengers because they ran out of food, even though we spent 45 minutes
in Kansas City where they easily could have restocked. (only sleeper
passengers got to eat as the meals are part of their ticket price). And
even the snack bar ran low on the decent microwave foods. So pick up
some snacks in Cimarron if you can for the trip home.
 
BTW, Logistics will call Amtrak the morning of your departure and let
you know if the train is on time or late. They told us that it was
already five hours late around 11:00 a.m. (I think it's scheduled to
arrive around 5:00 p.m.) Unfortunately, Philmont only has the one
scheduled run in the afternoon to Raton, around 3:00 p.m. I believe, and
they must make the trip at that time even if they know your train will
be late. So be prepared to spend some time in Raton. We were lucky, the
agent at the station, who is part time and will only be there around the
scheduled arrival time and later at the actual arrival time, called the
Raton fire department and arranged for us to spend the evening at the
station. We also visited the Scout museum, where you can also watch a
few videos of past Jamborees, and had sandwiches at Mona Lisa Pizza,
which I understand is out of business now. Too bad as they were very
accommodating to our crew. There's not much else to do in that section
of town. I wasn't up for exploring unknown neighborhoods so there may be
more places to waste time before the train.
 
Overall, the train was a positive experience. Some of our boys will
disagree because of the length of the delay and long hours on the train.
Many wanted to fly, but we, the advisors, strongly urged for the train
for two reasons. One, it was far cheaper than plane fare and bus or van
rentals. Two, even though some of the boys had never been on a plane
before, air travel is fairly common and they they will get that
experience in the future. But folks rarely get an opportunity to ride
the rails on a long trip and the trip to Philmont may be their only such
experience. BTW, it was very cool nearing the mountains at the end of
the day and riding up the pass that many pioneers followed heading west.
Unfortunately, the late arrival heading home stole the mountain views
coming home as it was pitch black at that time.
 
Overall, it was a good experience. We are heading back next year an I'm
going to strongly urge the crew to take the train again.
Willie Vannerson
Asst. Scoutmaster
Troop 149, McHenry, IL

http://www.troop149mchenry.org <http://www.troop149mchenry.org/>

Save Owasippe Scout Reservation
Owasippe Outdoor Education Center
    www.ooec.org <http://www.ooec.org/>
Owasippe Staff Association
    www.owasippe.com <http://www.owasippe.com/>

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of cletus robinson
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 5:22 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Train travel

Do what we do via plane - put them in a duffel, the boys take a day
pack, and you bring an Action Packer for the bulky stuff.

Uncle Cletus

On 3/28/06, Robert Chaney <rchaney52@yahoo.com> wrote:

Our troop will be traveling to Philmont this summer on
the train. Our question is what do we do with our
packs? Do we need to put them in duffel bag or
something similar? Will they be safe in the baggage car?

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Received on Wed Mar 29 14:04:53 2006