Traveling by Amtrak

[LPark]

I have a long distance train trip booked and I'm thinking about traveling enfem. Well, I'm not cute anymore. At 71 I'm overflowing in the middle but I have longish silver hair I can style. I'm thinking about just a casual look, jeans, sweaters, boots and light makeup. The question arises in me will the car attendant of the conductor drop me off in the middle of nowhere as I don't look right to them?

Does anyone have experience with Amtrak?

LP

[Meghan4now]

AMTRAK does not care. They have the most lax security I've seen, bar Greyhound. Seriously, I would not worry one bit. When you see who else rides, you'll understand. I actually think they should have better security, it is pretty poor.

[Jackie7]

You will be fine. Just be sure to have your real ID and buy your ticket in your real name.

[Sky]

Of course not. You will be treated like any other passenger... which might fall a tad short of great, since Amtrak has gone to the dogs. Also bear in mind a sizable number of "unusual" people take Amtrak -lotsa Amish- so you might very well look the most normal of them all ;-)

[bok4fun]

Are you saying Amish don't look normal??? I find that very offensive and derogatory! I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!! I got that response on another post recently, and was blown away by it.

I do agree with what you are saying. Riding the rails is an inexpensive way to go across the country, and the clientele can rank very close to buses. You may be the best dressed person on the train!

[sara.rafaela]

You will be fine on Amtrak. I have done it once. I was in San Francisco. I had been dressed the night before and just did not want it to end, so I decided to travel enfem. I walked from the hotel to the BART station, towing a piece of luggage. It was unusually warm and I thought I would melt. I took the BART to Richmond. There were no events worth noticing. I then had about a twenty minute wait for the train. There were some workers on the tracks and one kept checking me out. I did not know if he made me, or if he was just checking out my legs. I was wearing a blue long sleeve wrap top, black miniskirt, high heel ankle boots, and black tights. On the train, after ten minutes or so, I decided to go to the restroom and change. When I dress I go for the padding, corset, etc... Sad to say, this is not as comfortable as drab clothing.

[bok4fun]

... Sad to say, this is not as comfortable as drab clothing.

The things we go through to enjoy our alter egos! But when wearing shape wear, I would agree 100%.

[brenda_s]

Of all the public transit modes, Amtrak is IMHO the safest to travel enfem. Large coaches give a little extra space and no one checks much of anything except that your ticket (if paid by CC) is signed.

[Beverley Sims]

Are we bagging AMTRAK here?

I traveled 20,000 miles in six weeks 12 months ago and could not have felt more safer, Amish and all.

An interesting group to talk with for sure.

Seattle, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles and all points in between.

Great conversations with everyone and a couple of doubtful females as well.

Traveling CD on AMTRAK?

Safer than flying that's for sure.

[bok4fun]

I'm certainly not bagging them. Just recently, I have been considering a trip with them to the west coast, just as an opportunity to get away and relax. And I find the clickity clack to be a relaxing white noise.

[jackielou]

great way to see America i went all the way across the us from south Carolina to Seattle Washington en-route to Alaska on Amtrak, beautiful scenic cars ,great food with excellent service was under dressed full time no problems look forward to going again

[Lauri K]

Great conversations with everyone and a couple of doubtful females as well.

Traveling CD on AMTRAK?

Safer than flying that's for sure.

I am for any travel that does not involve the TSA strip you down and humiliate you drill, grab your boobs, rub all over you and make you feel like a criminal for wanting to board a aircraft.

Will not get into to it all of it here but lets just say the TSA has gone way too far when it comes to transgender screening, aXXhoXes.

I would love to ride the Amtrak dressed up, sounds like a fun time.

[Krisi]

People make the mistake of blaming TSA agents for these screenings when it's our enemies who are the cause of it all. The TSA person is doing nothing more than doing his or her job to protect you and others from those who would harm us. Your left boob could be silicone or it could just as easily be an explosive.

[Lauri K]

Your left boob could be silicone or it could just as easily be an explosive.

Krisi you cannot take up for the TSA agents who are just preverts and want to get a feel of everyone that they can. Sure most of them are probably trying to do their jobs and keep us safe, but many are just nasty perverts wanting to touch our bodies to see what we are really made of.

The TSA knows way in advance of passengers actually showing up who has bought tickets to fly, with exception of last minute counter purchases.

My 40B left boob is the same as my right boob, and they are naturally all mine and not silicone.

I am going to get my TSA pre-pass, but not everyone can afford or travels enough to warrant one. I see this as the only viable solution to avoid the TSA perverts. Sorry but flying plane sucks these days.

[Krisi]

I don't think you can provide proof that TSA agents are perverts who want to get a feel of everyone they can. Perhaps you had an unpleasant experience.

And again, it's not their fault that this has to be done, it's the fault of the enemy who is willing to blow him/herself up just to kill people who don't believe the same way they do.

But why don't you just drive yourself around or take the train or bus if this is such a problem for you?

[Tracii G]

The TSA does have a track record of pervy behavior Krisi or did you miss that in the news.
I believe Lauri can travel anyway she wants to.

[RADER]

In late July; I plan to take Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle, Then down to Frisco, then the
Zephyr back to Chicago. Six days on a train, in a roomette.
I will be under dressed all the way; Just not a Fem type to pull off dressing all the way.
Rader

[Tracii G]

There are plenty of unethical TSA frisking stories Krisi and I'm sure you being frisked enfemme in front of a large group of people would piss you off too.
The body scanners reveal a lot so just picking one person out to get your jollies isn't right and you know it.
And don't say the TSA agents don't do that kind of thing because plenty have been caught doing it.
The pool of candidates the TSA has to choose from isn't the cream of the crop and are more like security guard types that get off on "I have a badge" power trips.
I have one of those TSA agents/ mall cop living just down the street from me and he is the only one of my neighbors that has a problem with a tranny living in the neighborhood.

[heatherdress]

Wow -some nasty remarks about the Amish and the TSA which seem unfair and insulting.

TSA screening is unfortunately necessary for safe travel. Would anyone get on a plane without TSA screening? All TSA screening is done in public and there are rigid procedures. If you are required to be physically searched, you can request to be searched by a female agent. All TSA agents are trained, supervised and frequently evaluated. If you don't want to risk being searched enfemme, you can travel in male attire.

[AngelaYVR]

My only concern about spending a lot of time in one space is dealing with beard regrowth. With a super close shave I can go 12 to maybe 14 hours on a good day before it starts to ruin the makeup. Just something for you to consider as I can't imagine they'd like you hogging the bathroom for a long time to refemulate yourself.

[Kevyn53]

The TSA recently failed to catch 99 out of 100 pieces of contraband (knives, guns, fake bombs) run through tests in real airports. The TSA isn't protecting anything, they are just reacting. As John Oliver says, we've got all these mass shootings and no new gun laws. One person tries to blow up a plane with his shoes and we all have to take them off at the airport. Terrorists aren't going to use the same trick twice, so the TSA is way behind the curve.

My wife and I are planning to try Amtrak next summer, if it ever comes.

[Krisi]

Wow -some nasty remarks about the Amish and the TSA which seem unfair and insulting.

TSA screening is unfortunately necessary for safe travel. Would anyone get on a plane without TSA screening? All TSA screening is done in public and there are rigid procedures. If you are required to be physically searched, you can request to be searched by a female agent. All TSA agents are trained, supervised and frequently evaluated. If you don't want to risk being searched enfemme, you can travel in male attire.

Thank you!

[Beverley Sims]

Watching this topic getting slowly derailed.....

LP,
To answer your question, if you go out regularly dressed you should have no trouble traveling AMTRAK. As long as you are not intoxicated, rowdy or creating a nuisance you will not be removed from the train. Being dressed is not a bar from being on the train. The Amish are interesting people to talk with, they have many anecdotes to relate to us "normal" people and will gladly share their experiences.

Others you may meet are coloured people ranging from bright white to dark black and all colours in between. There are two days travel between Chicago / Seattle, Los Angeles or Sanfrancisco /Chicago.... Three days to get to know your neighbour if you go LA to NOLA.

I always travel coach class as if you have the luxury of a sleeper you tend to keep to yourself and only meet in the observation car and diner.

Have a good trip and go so as to enjoy yourself.

[Judith96a]

LP,
From what everyone else has said, I'd say "Go for it". It sounds like you'll have as much fun as you're up for.

As for the hassles of air travel...


But why don't you just drive yourself around or take the train or bus if this is such a problem for you?
Krisi, Have you tried getting from London (England) to Vegas without encountering the 'joy' that is TSA (or indeed the equivalent at UK airports)? The level of screening that takes place at airports is arguably so invasive that it denies the very values that it is allegedly deployed to protect. And we can't simply blame it on our enemies. It is our governments , not our enemies, who determine the level of perceived threat and the response. Airport screening is probably a moderately effective deterrent against the nutjob - who will find him/herself a softer target. It also "reassures" the "travelling public" that they are "safe". Whether it ever has resulted in a device being successfully intercepted we will probably never know.
As for the pervy behaviour of TSA and equivalent... Know your rights (such as they are), keep your cool, etc.

[Krisi]

You could take a ship and a train.

You are wrong blaming the government(s) for screening. One of a government's legitimate functions is protecting its citizens and the screenings are necessary to protect the citizens because of the threats from our enemies. As late as the 1970s or 1980s you could buy a ticket and get on the plane. No hassle. I did it. I travelled with a group and a female traveled with us using a ticket purchased by a male. The name on the ticket was "David". That's before our enemies were so committed to their cause that they were willing to blow themselves up if it also took out some of us.

I won't mention any groups by name but you know who they are and it's because of them that air travel has become a hassle.

[Lauri K]

You could take a ship and a train.

Thanks for the advice, guess I had better contact my stock broker and invest in ships and trains, also I need to advise my boss that my travel is going to take a couple of weeks now instead of 1 day.

Oh by the way the TSA was back in the news on Wednesday, they found a real criminal........ a 10 year old girl with a juice box in her purse, I feel safer knowing that juice box did not make it thru security.

My apologies to the OP and others as I did not meant to hijack this thread, but having been a victim of the TSA this really hits a nerve with me, and if it ever happens to you I am sure you will see my side of this too.

[Tracii G]

Oh my those damn juice boxes they need stiffer background checks on those fo sho'.

[Rhonda Darling]

Lest anyone not take the TSA BUL__HIT as a serious matter, watch the video of the grotesque groping of a 10 year old young girl by a TSA thuggette. See: http://www.flyertalk.com/articles/father-outraged-at-tsas-uncomfortable-pat-down-of-his-10-year-old-daughter.html

TSA is lawless, since all their standard procedures are secret and they are virtually unassailable! They changed their website this past year and took down the very detailed instructions and statements about the rights of TG women going through the checkpoints. Can't even locate an archived copy. Instead there is the new generic policy that seems to imply grab your ankles and hold on, here we come.

Also, search "transgender" on the www.flyertalk.com website. Some scary stuff.

[Tracii G]

You will get comments from the armchair quarterbacks here so be ready Rhonda.The poo is about to hit hit the fan.

[Krisi]

Does the one who posts last win?

[Tracii G]

I like cheetos too

[Judith96a]

Krisi,
Have you tried your ship+train option - even by formulating a hypothetical itinerary? I suggest that you take the advice of your own strap-line.

The same advice applies if you imagine that it is anybody other than our governments who evaluate the threat level and decide how to respond. It is our governments (principally the US and UK) who have decided to implement screening as a response to the perceived threat of terrorists attempting to down aircraft.

Is the screening either necessary (as you assert) or effective? Screening is certainly effective at giving travellers a, possibly false, sense of security - a warm fuzzy feeling that their government is "doing something". It also appears to be effective at intercepting harmless juice cartons. Whether it is has ever successfully intercepted an explosive device we may never know (I suspect that would make the front pages worldwide). Is it necessary? Only if it's actually effective at reducing or eliminating the real threat. I think that the jury is out on that.

By the way, being searched and scanned is nothing new. Where I grew up, from the age of 10, I was searched every time I entered a store or public building. My mother had her handbag searched - by hand - every time - even if we knew the searcher! That was 40+ years ago. It demonstrably worked. Thankfully such searching is no longer necessary. And, if we got on an aircraft, our bags were scanned, we were scanned and patted down too! So, I'm not necessarily anti-screening so much as anti unnecessarily invasive screening that is of dubious benefit. I'm definitely anti giving carte Blanche to hastily recruited individuals, some of whom are of dubious morals, just because there is a terrorist threat. TSA have to be accountable otherwise you have the beginnings of a police state.

In a feeble attempt to get this thread back on track (deliberate pun) - when it's practical, travelling by train is the way to go. There's nothing like it.

[Lorileah]

One: The Federal Railroad Administration provides analytical support to the Secretary or designee, as a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors. FRA is also responsible for administering federal grants to Amtrak , which has led to increased FRA oversight of Amtrak spending since Fiscal Year 2003. Thus is regulated by the federal government which has protective status to Trans people. Two: this thread isn't about TSA or how they handle transpeople. It was about Amtrak. Three: since you all can't stay with the MTF part of this thread. It's done