posted
I read on the AMTRAK website that as the train goes through national parks, there is information given to passengers. Has anyone experienced this? I am trying to envision: DOes a ranger set up in the club car? intercom announcements? literature?
Posts: 5 | From: Tampa | Registered: Apr 2012
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posted
It varies by time of year, and route. I have seen/heard them setup in the lounge car on the upper level in that area that looks like a bar but is never used. There is no microphone in that location for the PA, so they usually bring their own little boom box with a microphone and talk about the sights as you cruise through.
On other trains, such as the CA Zephyr, they have docents from the CA State Railroad Museum in Sacramento talk and talk and talk and talk and bug the hell out of people from Sacramento to Reno (and vice versa) EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, and they use the entire train's PA system. If you are in one of the newly refurbished sleepers with the "touch" switches, there is no PA on/off switch and there is no volume control. So you have to hear every word for several hours by a monotone voice reading from a script about back in 1878 when a moose walked across the tracks and pooped. I can't stand how they do this on that train.
But on other trains, it's done well because it's only in one car.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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From what I've seen, the ranger/tour guide feature is mainly a summer thing on the routes that feature it. Unfortunately, I've encountered only one or two guides who were genuinely "gifted" in terms of their showmanship and overall delivery.
As for the rest, I always appreciate the effort. But I find actually listening to a ranger drone away in a folksy monotone profoundly distracting -- almost as irritating as listening to a passenger yak away on a cell phone.
More often than not, I politely listen for a minute or two, and then head for the door.
Personally, I wish that Amtrak offered a non-stop audiotour for each route, triggered by GPS, that you could access at will during your trip simply by plugging in your headphones.
posted
The Agawa Canyon Tour Train on the Algoma Central Ry. north of Sault Ste. Marie, ON, tackles this problem very well. It has a GPS-triggered audio/video narration about the history of the line piped to about 18-20 flat-screen TVs in each car. A printed script of the narration is provided for deaf and hearing-impaired passengers if they ask at the ticket window.
From time to time the narration pauses for a while and the video changes to the view forward from the locomotive. This is handy for photographers because one can spot the trestle ties ahead and be ready to fire the camera out the side window as the train rolls over a river and the high green curtain of trees suddenly—and oh so briefly—parts.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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A professionally done video of the highlights of the route, as Henry describes, would be a great idea for a large screen in the lounge car of superliner trains. The trick would be managing the audio so you could 'tune it out' if you were so inclined.
With or without a video, the on board GPS is fascinating for those of us who are into maps. Perhaps these features should be incorporated into the new Viewliners (although the first effort was certainly a failure). Once again, managing the audio is the key. It might also make the premium fare in business class more palatable for some if we had the option of using a seat back video.
For me, window gazing is sufficient (along with a good route guide), although I did find the EB ranger narration interesting, for a while.
Maybe those little audio players you get in museums would be the best of both worlds - turn it on when you want while window gazing - if it was somehow indexed to your current location. Make them available to all, but with a hefty deposit to insure they are returned. A printed version should also be available in an e-reader format for those needing it.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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A GPS on a video screen would be a really great idea. Think about how often you have heard other passengers saying, "Where are we right now?", followed by, "I have no idea". A GPS would be great to have! On almost all PV's I've been on, they have had a GPS connected to a laptop computer and they just leave that running the whole time so that people can walk up and take a look at where they are.
As far as Amtrak handing out an electronic "techy" device, unfortunately, I have to say that it won't work. I know AmEmployees too well, and that equipment will be broken or stolen not long after they debut. If the park ranger (or whomever) handled them, brought them on-board, issued them, and then collected them at the end---that might work. But leaving something like that in the hands of Amtrak employees has disaster written all over it.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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