Boarding and deboarding always seems to be a mad scramble. Boarding the Northeast Regional at Union Station in Washington, the station agent told me to roll the bike to the platform and that there was no luggage car. The conductor, busy overseeing boarding and deboarding, quickly found a car where the wheelchair area was not being used and directed me to put the bike there - but was off to oversee the boarding and deboarding of others before I could even consider asking for help. I've got fashionably wide handlebars so it was a tight squeeze lifting the bike up the steps AND negotiating a 90 degree left while wearing an oversized backpack containing my panniers and other bags. My rear rack got caught up on a handle but thankfully my girlfriend spotted the problem.

Low platforms. High platforms. Short platforms. Long platforms. There are so many variables on Amtrak that it's best to be as flexible as possible, asks the staff at the station what the process is, and hope that you have a helpful conductor. Folding a bike and carrying it like luggage may in fact be the easiest way, but on this trip, my Bike Friday was festooned with bags and cages that inhibited a full fold and I didn't love the idea of carrying two train bags on a weeklong bike trip just to make the endpoints easier. But next time, I may try it that way and outfit the bike accordingly.