Bass on Amtrak

salcott · #1 02-07-2011, 05:03 AM

Has anyone traveled between NY and Boston via Amtrak with a bass lately? Any hassles/adventures?

Matt Weiner · #2 02-11-2011, 11:37 AM

Steve,

(full disclosure: I subbed for you in Western Caravan a few times in the late '90s.)

I've taken Amtrak several times Seattle to Portland and back with various basses, so I don't know if all this applies to the NE corridor:

1) There is a 50lb max rule for checked baggage. So, if you don't have a super light flight case, you are out of luck.

2) The official policy (out here at least) is that you have to buy an extra seat for the instrument. That's fine, but I didn't find that the coach seats were really big enough, unless I got certain seats on certain cars. Upgrading to business class solved that, but it starts to get pricey.

3) There was very reasonable and very nice conductor, who whenever he saw me, would find a safe corner on the train for my bass (often boarding me first before anybody else), and then would refund my extra ticket! What a cool guy! Of course, it was hard to know this guy's schedule, so I couldn't count on this.

Extra editorial: The AFM and ISB should be in talks with Amtrak about creating a reasonable bag policy for musicians, especially bassists. Presenting this as a simple, civilized alternative to airplanes would seem to be a win/win situation for everybody. Except airlines. But, they've had their chance and have shown that they don't want us.

salcott · #3 02-11-2011, 09:00 PM

Turned out not to be an issue after all-thanks, Matt.

Brian K · #4 03-07-2011, 02:30 PM

I've taken my bass on Amtrak a few times in the last couple years, between NYC and Toronto, and Memphis to Chicago. VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto and Montreal to Toronto too.

Yes the policy is you need a separate seat. I've always been able to get on without an extra seat or extra fees every time though, but you don't know until you show the bass to the conductor or baggage handlers. I've had it in the same car as me, in the baggage car, or in a closet in the dining car. It's been in a gig bag and in a flight case at different times.

darkbassline · #5 03-07-2011, 02:37 PM

My drummer and I travel from Buffalo to NYC a couple times a month. Never been asked, never had a problem.

He would have cymbal bag and case with some stands. I would travel with flight case and book bag.

x2bassplayer · #6 06-16-2011, 04:22 PM

I left Amtrak out of Worcester. I was told the policy for a double Bass was to buy an extra ticket. I didn't want to buy a last minute ticket for a ton of money so I showed up to the Worcester station a few days early with my bass. I showed the man at the window what a double bass in a soft case looked like and asked him his opinion. He said he would need to get his answer from the actual conductor of the train on the day I left. The man said he'd check for me and got back to me later that night. Sure enough they didn't make me 'check' the bass. I found out a few days early that I wouldn't have to buy a last minute ticket. Granted Worcester is a smaller stop than most cities, and I'm sure a busier Amtrak agent might not have taken the time to help..... Well...I hope my story is helpful to somebody.

GerardSamija · #7 06-21-2011, 01:49 AM

I took my new bass down to the ISB this month for the makers' competition, going by bus from Vancouver to Seattle as that's Amtrak's deal here, then train to Emeryville and then a short bus hop across the bay to San Francisco. My bass neck comes off the instrument easily so I made a travel box about the size of a bike box - less than a foot thick by 32" x 48". No serious problem on the way down. I helped load it on and take it off the buses. At Seattle they charged a $5 fee for 'instrument handling' and made a fuss over getting it safely onto the train. The box took a beating anyway, but nothing fatal.

On the way back the Emeryville baggage handler made a HUGE deal over the extra few pounds - I think it showed 58pounds on his scale, where on my home scale it was 56. I knew about the 50pound limit, but really had no way to make it lighter overall. So he made me take out the neck, which I stowed wrapped in clothing on the overhead. That took the total down into the 40's so no problem.

The trunk I made was a last minute affair constructed of 1/4" expanded PVC sheet, something I tracked down a couple of weeks before the trip and learned to bend and glue and rivet. I don't recommend it as the weight is still obviously a bit high. If I make another trunk, it'll likely be some sort of hollow core plastic sheet like Lemur's using for their travel bass with some rigid framework in a couple of places around the body, perhaps CF, to prevent pressure on the bass. Got to get that overall weight down below 50pounds. Then the Amtrak guys are apparently happy enough to stow it, so long as it's compact enough. A standard 7' tall DB case goes way beyond the numbers I was told here in Vancouver so I can see charging for a seat. They said so long as it was 4' or less on the longest part and not thicker than a foot it should be okay, and that part at least turned out to be okay in my case. But the impression I'm left with is of inconsistencies, somewhat like the airlines. Except WestJet. Seems they're generally better than most from what my clients have told me.