Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You can buy a serviceable scanner in most any electronics
store for around $150. They run on batteries but can also be
operated by being plugged into the electric receptacle in your
room (if you're traveling in a sleeping car). Just be sure the model
you buy will pick up the frequencies commonly used by the rail-
roads (160.215 to 161.565 megahertz). You can find a listing
of specific frequencies on all the various Amtrak routes at www
.on-track-on-line.com.
There's Romance on the Rails—Literally
For some passengers, an overnight train trip seems to have a
direct effect on the libido. Train crews grin and shake their heads
when asked about some of the more inventive means taken by
passengers to have sex onboard a long-distance train. Amorous
couples have been discovered in the baggage car, in vestibules,
in the lounge car, in the washrooms (quite a trick, given their
size), and anywhere elsewhere opportunity, desire, and, I suspect,
a sense of mischief or daring collide.
Because of the lack of privacy at their assigned seats, coach
passengers are most often the ones who seek somewhat more
secluded locations for these activities. But not always. Sleeping-
car passengers are occasionally discovered having sex outside of
their rooms in other parts of the train. And it's not unknown
for couples safely ensconced in private accommodations to delib-
erately leave their window shades up during their lovemaking
as the train flashes—sorry, I couldn't resist that—through small
towns.
For the most part, Amtrak crews try to look the other way
when encountering these situations. This unofficial common-
sense attitude has a lot to do with whether other passengers are
being disturbed or offended.
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