# Greetings from Alexandria VA! Our Crescent car has no freaking HEAT! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 24, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480 "2008-12-24T00:43:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/1 "2008-12-24T00:43:48Z")
AmTrakking it from NYC down to Georgia to visit the ancestral village and eat the seasonal cuisine and visit the ancestors. We’re in a sleeper car. Sleeper cars are not cheap accomodations (we’re paying $1023.40 for this experience) It’s 32° Fahrenheit out there according to my WeatherPop menubar widget. To the annoyance of my girlfriend and me, it’s _also_ 32° F here in the damn train car. They can’t get the heat working! We’re dressed in our sweaters and coats and hats and wrapped up in flannel blankets. My gf is She Who Doth Extract Refunds and Considerations and she says AmTrak is going to be crediting our account, she’s just wondering how _much_ she should tell them they will be out to make up for our shivery miseries. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/2 "2008-12-24T00:49:40Z")
That sucks. I’d see what they offer, first, then decide if it sounds fair or not. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/3 "2008-12-24T02:33:30Z")
Heh. I keep it 32° F in my apartment on purpose, weather permitting of course. Crawl under that blanket with your g/f and snuggle up your own warmth, ya slacker. 😉 In all seriousness, that does suck. It seems like Amtrak has had at least one major problem every time I’ve taken it. Last time – Clifton Forge to Washington about two months ago – the phone reps had managed to book my seatmate a ticket to the wrong station, a return on a train _that didn’t exist_, and, according to the conductor, had charged her almost twice the actual price for the privelege. (Where he got a price quote on the ghost train, I don’t know, but I suppose he knows these things.) Hope they make up for your Polar Express ride one way or another. Happy travels. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/4 "2008-12-24T08:28:43Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > My gf is She Who Doth Extract Refunds and Considerations She should here. Good for you that she has that ability. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/5 "2008-12-24T12:00:59Z")
My daughter is on an Amtrak train travelling from Chicago to Cincinnati. She was scheduled to leave at 5:45 PM last night and arrive at 3:19 AM this morning. She left some four hours late, and has been sitting motionless in Dyer, IN since then, 10 hours ago. For the record, Dyer is around 35 miles from Chicago. There is no food or alcohol left, and the passengers have been given no information at all. The only reason they know it’s Dyer is that another passenger has GPS capability on his cell phone. As Amtrak updates their website with later and later estimated arrival times I text message her the bad news. The current ETA is 3:59 PM. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/6 "2008-12-24T12:28:47Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > My daughter is on an Amtrak train travelling from Chicago to Cincinnati. She was scheduled to leave at 5:45 PM last night and arrive at 3:19 AM this morning. She left some four hours late, and has been sitting motionless in Dyer, IN since then, 10 hours ago. For the record, Dyer is around 35 miles from Chicago. > > There is no food or alcohol left, and the passengers have been given no information at all. The only reason they know it’s Dyer is that another passenger has GPS capability on his cell phone. As Amtrak updates their website with later and later estimated arrival times I text message her the bad news. The current ETA is 3:59 PM. Ummm… you haven’t seen any construction workers jumping off of buildings, have you? ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/7 "2008-12-24T12:37:10Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > Ummm… you haven’t seen any construction workers jumping off of buildings, have you? That was a silly joke. It’s a reference to The Happening. I didn’t mean to alarm anyone. Happy holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/8 "2008-12-24T17:59:40Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > My daughter is on an Amtrak train travelling from Chicago to Cincinnati. She was scheduled to leave at 5:45 PM last night and arrive at 3:19 AM this morning. She left some four hours late, and has been sitting motionless in Dyer, IN since then, 10 hours ago. For the record, Dyer is around 35 miles from Chicago. > > There is no food or alcohol left, and the passengers have been given no information at all. The only reason they know it’s Dyer is that another passenger has GPS capability on his cell phone. As Amtrak updates their website with later and later estimated arrival times I text message her the bad news. The current ETA is 3:59 PM. Must be the effects from that 22 hour delay I heard about. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/9 "2008-12-25T00:21:57Z")
I think you’re supposed to go down to the club car and sing “Snow, Snow, Snow, Sno-o-o-www” with the Haynes sisters. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/10 "2008-12-25T00:33:46Z")
At least you’re not going to a VA hospital. In that sense, you’re blessed. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/11 "2008-12-29T02:01:30Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > Heh. I keep it 32° F in my apartment on purpose, weather permitting of course. Crawl under that blanket with your g/f and snuggle up your own warmth, ya slacker. 😉 > … Amtrak accommodations aren’t exactly conducive to sharing a bunk, as they’re a tight fit (tighter than would remotely be considered fun). Sorry to hear about your lack of heat! If you had a long enough layover we’d offer to bring you a bunsen burner or something! (strange: not sure why this thread appeared when the last posting was 4 days ago… presumably the heat is long since become a non-issue one way or the other). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/12 "2008-12-29T02:35:28Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > My daughter is on an Amtrak train travelling from Chicago to Cincinnati. She was scheduled to leave at 5:45 PM last night and arrive at 3:19 AM this morning. She left some four hours late, and has been sitting motionless in Dyer, IN since then, 10 hours ago. For the record, Dyer is around 35 miles from Chicago. > > There is no food or alcohol left, and the passengers have been given no information at all. The only reason they know it’s Dyer is that another passenger has GPS capability on his cell phone. As Amtrak updates their website with later and later estimated arrival times I text message her the bad news. The current ETA is 3:59 PM. Whatever happened about this? I’d seriously wonder just what the eff was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/13 "2008-12-29T02:49:56Z")
I think that a switch was frozen solid. It took them hours to thaw it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greetings-from-alexandria-va-our-crescent-car-has-no-freaking-heat/478480/14 "2008-12-29T12:59:03Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Whatever happened about this? I’d seriously wonder just what the eff was going on. They were told it was a mechanical problem, but no details. They ended up arriving in Cincinnati at just after 4:00 PM, 13 hours behind schedule. Elapsed time from the 5:45 departure time was 22:15, an average speed of 13.25 miles per hour. A lot of the problem is that most of the track from Dyer, IN to Cincinnati is CSX and once the train is behind schedule freight trains have the right of way. Even once underway they spent hours stuck on sidings.