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bikes on amtrak

Rikiarnie · 2004-06-16T20:02:10+00:00

I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?

Started by Rikiarnie · 16 June 2004 · Last activity 12 July 2004 · 15 posts · 4,302 views

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01 / Original postbikes on amtrakRikiarnie · 16 Jun 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–15Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #15Mike Vermeulen · 12 Jul 2004

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Original section: rec.bicycles.rides archive
Published: 16 June 2004
Last activity: 12 July 2004
Original author: Rikiarnie
Posts: 15
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 4,302
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Commuting Frame sizing

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Original post
Rikiarnie
Archived post

16 June 2004, 20:02 UTC #1

I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are no
trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?

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Norm
Archived post

16 June 2004, 23:03 UTC #2

X-No-Archive: Yes
Rikiarnie said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are
no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?
Someone must have the scoop on this. Last I knew they were
allowed on most Amtraks, maybe there's a procedure to follow
--
"The web has got me caught. I'd rather have the blues than what I've
got." <via Nat King Cole

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Tim McNamara
Archived post

17 June 2004, 03:03 UTC #3

Norm said:
Rikiarnie said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are
no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?
Someone must have the scoop on this. Last I knew they
were allowed on most Amtraks, maybe there's a procedure
to follow
Gee, maybe someone should check with Amtrak's Web site and
see what their baggage policies are.
amtrak.combaggage checked.html

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Mike Vermeulen
Archived post

17 June 2004, 03:49 UTC #4

Quoted message said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are
no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?
As far as ideas go, consider a bus or bicycle both ways :-).
Also check Amtrak's site.
I have traveled on Amtrak at least half a dozen times
including from Savannah, Georgia to Burlington, Vermont (a
while ago in '95) and San Diego to Denver (my most recent
Amtrak trip in '03). Bicycles were only allowed to
board/unboard at stations that had "baggage service". They
needed to be boxed and boxes were sold at those stations.
[Some exceptions, the train between San Luis Obispo and San
Jose seemed to allow unboxed and non-Amtrak trains in
California prefered bicycles *not in boxes*]. Prices for
boxes and bike travel were much more reasonable on Amtrak
than domestic US airlines (~$5-10 for the box and no
additional fee for the bike]. Also, plan on the luggage
driver placing your bike box on a cart and loading luggage
*on top* of the box, so prepare accordingly.
--mev, Mike Vermeulen

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Nyrides
Archived post

17 June 2004, 17:10 UTC #5

If I remember correctly, you might have to ship the bike a
day or two in advance and pick it up at the station. Check
with Amtrack.
And be sure to check out the Old Montreal to Lachine bikeway
while you're there. It'll be a wimpy ride after riding all
the way to Montreal, but it might give you a vision for
NYC's bicycling future! "Rikiarnie" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com...
Quoted message said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by

Amtrak. I
Quoted message said:
have now found out that there are no trains that will take
bike. Any

ideas out
Quoted message said:
there?

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Comcast News
Archived post

17 June 2004, 22:33 UTC #6

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0021_01C45496.846ED4A0 Content-Type:
text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-
Encoding: quoted-printable
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston
is their = commuter route, their only profitable route
and it does not have luggage = cars. It does not allow
bicycles last I knew...I doubt it's changed. =
Briefcases...not bikes 🙂
From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North Railroad's
NewHaven = Line...some trains (non-commuter and at certain
times) will take bikes. "Rikiarnie" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message = news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com... I had planned on cycling from NYC to
Montreal, and then returning by = Amtrak. I have now found
out that there are no trains that will take bike. Any =
ideas out there? ------=_NextPart_000_0021_01C45496.846ED4A0
Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-
Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0
Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-
Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Dwindows-1252"> <META
content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington
D.C. to Boston is = their=20 commuter route, their
only profitable route and it does not have luggage
= cars.=20 It does not allow bicycles last I
knew...I doubt it's changed. = Briefcases...not=20
bikes 🙂</DIV>
<DV> </DIV>
<DVI>From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's = NewHaven=20 Line...some trains (non-
commuter and at certain times) will take = bikes.</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-
LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DVII>"Rikiarnie" <<A=20 href=3D"mailto:rikiarnie@ao-
l.com">[email hidden]</A>> wrote in =
message <A=20
=
href=3D"news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com">news:200406161= 44430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com</A>...</DIV>I=20 had planned on cycling from NYC
to Montreal, and then returning by=20 Amtrak.
I<BR>have now found out that there are no trains that = will
take=20 bike. Any ideas
out<BR>there?</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_0021_01C45496.846ED4A0--

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William Holiday
Archived post

18 June 2004, 06:49 UTC #7

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 18:11:31 -0400, "Comcast News" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
<Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston is
their commuter route, their only profitable route and it
does not have luggage cars. It does not allow bicycles last
I knew...I doubt it's changed. Briefcases...not bikes 🙂 <
<From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's NewHaven Line...some trains (non-commuter and at
certain times) will take bikes. < "Rikiarnie"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com...
< Ihad planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I < have now found out that
there are no trains that will take bike. Any ideas
out < there?
You might want to contact the author of this web site
home.att.netmontrealrideback.html

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Pat Clancy
Archived post

18 June 2004, 16:48 UTC #8

"Comcast News" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston
is their commuter route, their only profitable route and
it does not have luggage cars. It does not allow bicycles
last I knew...I doubt it's changed. Briefcases...not
bikes 🙂
From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's NewHaven Line...some trains (non-commuter and
at certain times) will take bikes. "Rikiarnie"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com... I had planned on cycling from NYC to
Montreal, and then returning by Amtrak. I have now found
out that there are no trains that will take bike. Any
ideas out there?
--
As of two or three years ago there was an Amtrak train, the
Vermonter, that ran from D.C. via NYC to St. Albans, VT, and
accepted bicycles. It's still listed as active on the Amtrak
web site. Two friends and I took the train from Hartford to
St. Albans and then rode our bikes back to Conn. St. Albans
is only 10 miles or so short of the Canadian border and
maybe 70 miles from Montreal. It would be an easy day's ride
from Montreal to St. Albans to pick it up.
Pat Clancy [email hidden]

Report
Comcast News
Archived post

19 June 2004, 01:03 UTC #9

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0038_01C45561.3E0E74E0 Content-Type:
text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding:
quoted-printable
That's not the same train. You have to change trains in New
Haven CT for = the Vermonter. It would take him too far
inland. That train has baggage = cars. See the schedule.
www.amtrak.com or = cwrr.come vermt.html
You go north from New Haven to Hartford, rather than along
the coast to = Providence and Boston "Pat Clancy"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message =
"]news:[email hidden]...
"Comcast News" <[email hidden]> wrote in message =
news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston
is their=20 commuter route, their only profitable route
and it does not have =

luggage=20
Quoted message said:
cars. It does not allow bicycles last I knew...I doubt
it's changed. =
Quoted message said:
Briefcases...not bikes 🙂
=20
From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's =

NewHaven=20
Quoted message said:
Line...some trains (non-commuter and at certain times)
will take =

bikes.
Quoted message said:
"Rikiarnie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message=20
"]news:[email hidden]... I
had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning =

by=20
Quoted message said:
Amtrak. I have now found out that there are no trains
that will take bike. =

Any=20
Quoted message said:
ideas out
there?
--
As of two or three years ago there was an Amtrak train,
the Vermonter, that ran from D.C. via NYC to St. Albans,
VT, and accepted bicycles.=20 It's still listed as active
on the Amtrak web site. Two friends and I took the train
from Hartford to St. Albans and then rode our bikes back
to Conn. St. Albans is only 10 miles or so short of the
Canadian border and maybe 70 miles from Montreal. It
would be an easy day's ride from Montreal to St. Albans
to pick it up.
Pat Clancy [email hidden] ------
=_NextPart_000_0038_01C45561.3E0E74E0 Content-Type:
text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding:
quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0
Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-
Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META
content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>That's not the same train. You have to change trains in
New Haven = CT for=20 the Vermonter. It would take him
too far inland. That train has = baggage=20 cars.
See the schedule. <A=20 href=3D"amtrak.comamtrak.com"-
Quoted message said:
www.amtrak.com</A> or <A=20 href=3D"c-c-

wrr.com/Amtrak/e_vermt.html">cwrr.comAmtr=
ak/e_vermt.html</A></DIV>
<DV> </DIV>
<DVI>You go north from New Haven to Hartford, rather than
along the = coast to=20 Providence and Boston</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-
LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DVII>"Pat Clancy" <<A = href=3D"-"][email hidden]-
">[email hidden]</A>>=20 wrote in message <A=20
=
href=3D""]news:[email hidden]"-
Quoted message said:
news:b44eb5f.= [email hidden]</A>..-

.</DIV>"Comcast=20 News" <<A=20 href=3D"mailto:shartm279-
[email hidden]">[email hidden]</A>> = wrote in=20
message <A=20
=
href=3D"news:<L62dnW8kmp-Lik_dRVn-
[email hidden]">news:<L62dnW8kmp-Lik= _dRVn-
[email hidden]</A>>...<BR>>=20 Amtrak's Northeast
Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston is their =
<BR>> commuter route, their only profitable route and
it does not = have=20 luggage <BR>> cars. It does not
allow bicycles last I knew...I = doubt it's=20 changed.
<BR>> Briefcases...not bikes 🙂<BR>> <BR>> From
NYC = to New=20 Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's NewHaven <BR>> = Line...some=20 trains (non-
commuter and at certain times) will take=20
bikes.<BR>> "Rikiarnie" <<A=20 href=3D"-
"][email hidden]">[email hidden]</A>> wrote
in = message=20 <BR>> <A=20
=
href=3D"news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com">news:200406161= 44430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com</A>...<BR>> =20 I had planned on
cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then returning by =
<BR>>=20 Amtrak. I<BR>> have now
found out that there are = no=20 trains that will take
bike. Any <BR>> ideas = out<BR>> =20
there?<BR>> --<BR><BR>As of two or three years ago there
was an = Amtrak=20 train, the Vermonter,<BR>that ran from
D.C. via NYC to St. Albans, VT, = and=20 accepted bicycles.
<BR>It's still listed as active on the Amtrak web=20
site. Two friends and I<BR>took the train from
Hartford to St. = Albans=20 and then rode our bikes<BR>back
to Conn. St. Albans is only 10 = miles or=20 so short
of the Canadian<BR>border and maybe 70 miles from =
Montreal. It=20 would be an easy day's<BR>ride from
Montreal to St. Albans to pick it=20 up.<BR><BR>Pat
Clancy<BR><A=20 href=3D""][email hidden]">[email hidden]-
om</A></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HT=
ML>
------=_NextPart_000_0038_01C45561.3E0E74E0--

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Ed
Archived post

19 June 2004, 16:03 UTC #10

[email hidden] (Rikiarnie) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are
no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?
Amtrack stopped carrying bikes on the Vermonter some time
ago. You could try Peter Pan / Greyhound. Depending on the
bus load you may take a bike unboxed if there is room and
the driver says ok. Ceck Peter Pan site. Adventure Cycling
Assoc. has a shiping deal for members through another firm.
ed

Report
Ed
Archived post

22 June 2004, 22:07 UTC #11

"Comcast News" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
That's not the same train. You have to change trains in
New Haven CT for the Vermonter. It would take him too far
inland. That train has baggage cars. See the schedule.
www.amtrak.com or cwrr.come vermt.html
You go north from New Haven to Hartford, rather than along
the coast to Providence and Boston "Pat Clancy"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
"Comcast News" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<L62dnW8kmp-Lik [email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to
Boston is their commuter route, their only profitable
route and it does not have

luggage
Quoted message said:
cars. It does not allow bicycles last I knew...I doubt
it's changed.
Quoted message said:
Briefcases...not bikes 🙂
From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's

NewHaven
Quoted message said:
Line...some trains (non-commuter and at certain times)
will take

bikes.
Quoted message said:
"Rikiarnie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com... I had planned on cycling from NYC to
Montreal, and then returning

by
Quoted message said:
Amtrak. I have now found out that there are no trains
that will take bike.

Any
Quoted message said:
ideas out
there?
--
As of two or three years ago there was an Amtrak train,
the Vermonter, that ran from D.C. via NYC to St. Albans,
VT, and accepted bicycles. It's still listed as active
on the Amtrak web site. Two friends and I took the train
from Hartford to St. Albans and then rode our bikes back
to Conn. St. Albans is only 10 miles or so short of the
Canadian border and maybe 70 miles from Montreal. It
would be an easy day's ride from Montreal to St. Albans
to pick it up.
Pat Clancy [email hidden]
--
Check out Sports Express through Adventure Cycling Assoc. a
service offered to members for shipping your bike.
ed

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William Holiday
Archived post

23 June 2004, 05:15 UTC #12

On 18 Jun 2004 04:30:19 -0700, [email hidden] (Pat Clancy) wrote:
<"Comcast News" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>... <> Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor - Washington D.C. to Boston is their <>
commuter route, their only profitable route and it does not
have luggage <> cars. It does not allow bicycles last I
knew...I doubt it's changed. <> Briefcases...not bikes 🙂 <>
<> From NYC to New Haven CT there is the Metro North
Railroad's NewHaven <> Line...some trains (non-commuter and
at certain times) will take bikes. <> "Rikiarnie"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message <> news:20040616144430.13554.00000058@mb-
m12.aol.com... <> I had planned on cycling from NYC to
Montreal, and then returning by <> Amtrak. I <> have now
found out that there are no trains that will take bike. Any
<> ideas out <> there? <> -- < <As of two or three years ago
there was an Amtrak train, the Vermonter, <that ran from
D.C. via NYC to St. Albans, VT, and accepted bicycles. <It's
still listed as active on the Amtrak web site. Two friends
and I <took the train from Hartford to St. Albans and then
rode our bikes <back to Conn. St. Albans is only 10 miles or
so short of the Canadian <border and maybe 70 miles from
Montreal. It would be an easy day's <ride from Montreal to
St. Albans to pick it up.
I took that train, The Vermonter, to Montreal back in the
80's. IIRC, it went slower than a bike 8) There were
stretches, along river banks and beside rock ledges, that
had a conductor walking ahead of the train and inspecting
the condition of the tracks.

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Elwood Blues
Archived post

27 June 2004, 09:00 UTC #13

Rikiarnie said:
I had planned on cycling from NYC to Montreal, and then
returning by Amtrak. I have now found out that there are
no trains that will take bike. Any ideas out there?
UPS/Fed Ex should work - you just have to get a bike box and
disassemble the bicycle
--
Elwood Blues

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Rick Warner
Archived post

2 July 2004, 20:49 UTC #14

Mike Vermeulen <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
the train between San Luis Obispo and San Jose seemed to
allow unboxed
Boy is that information way out of date. North of San Luis
Obispo bikes *must* be boxed. From SLO southward the
Surfliner takes roll-on (un-boxed) bikes, up to 8 per train.
The difference is due to state participation in the
Surfliner, which is considered a commuter train for SoCal.
Also, since last fall *all* baggage pieces on Amtrak must be
less than 50 lbs; over 50 lbs and it does not get accepted -
no exceptions
(i.e., you can no longer pay an overweight fee and get
the bag on).
The Amtrak boxes are big - much bigger than your
typical airline or LBS provided bike box, so less
disassembly is needed.
- rick

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Mike Vermeulen
Archived post

12 July 2004, 03:50 UTC #15

Quoted message said:
The Amtrak boxes are big - much bigger than your
typical airline or LBS provided bike box, so less
disassembly is needed.
The Amtrak boxes I've gotten are same size as airline boxes
from United, Continental, Delta, etc. In both cases wheels
stay on, but pedals are removed and handle bars turned.
Boxes I got from Quantas were shorter and fatter than the
other airline boxes.
--mev, Mike Vermeulen

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