Originally Posted by
feijai
Acela does not have a baggage car: everything is carry-on. Amtrak's rules for carry-on is that folding bikes are allowed but only if they are bagged. Whether folding bikes are allowed on Acela is still an open question, but *if* they're allowed (and they probably are), they have to be in bags.
As far as bags are concerned,
Amtrak's folder policy makes no mention of them.
As far as which trains permit folders as carry-on baggage, the only thing mentioned is "certain passenger cars". Reading between the lines, this would include
Amfleet I coaches - NE Regional service and a few other NE trains, e.g., Adirondack.
Amfleet II coaches - east of the Mississippi overnight trains
Superliner coaches and sleepers - mostly west of the Mississippi + the Capitol Limited - Chicago to DC
Talgos - Pacific Northwest (I believe these also have bike racks for regular bikes)
California bi-levels (these also have bike racks for regular bikes)
Horizon coaches - midwest corridor service.
The only thing it would seem to leave out are Viewliner sleepers used on east of the Mississippi overnight trains since they don't have luggage racks. However, I'm sure a folder would fit in a bedroom (formerly called deluxe bedroom). As for a roomettes are concerned, I'll find out next month when I take the Lake Shore Limited to Buffalo, bike the Erie Canal path, and return from Albany.
As far as Acela is concerned, my guess is that folders are ok. Since Acela is Amtrak's feature attraction, they tend to mention it if there is anything different.
The above being said, rule number one among old Amtrak hands is that, whether you are dealing with phone reservations or on-board personnel, they can give you wrong answers (compared to published policy); and if you don't get the answer you want, try again with someone else. Cases in point:
I recently boarded what used to be called the Missouri Mule for a ride on the Katy trail with a regular bike ($10 ticket). The conductor instructed me to put it in the overhead rack.
Even more recently I boarded the Illinois Zephyr with a folder without a bag. No problem with the folder. But as we were about to board, an employee approached my son who had a regular bike plus the required ticket and reservation and said he would not be able to take it on board unless there were room. My son played it cool; and of course there was room. But I blew my stack because for 20 years my wife and I had taken regular bikes on this train on the first leg of 2-3 week bike tours with no problem. I could see us left on the platform, our tour ruined. Turned out this was a supervisor or trainer, not a regular conductor (who have always been more than cordual when confronted by a bike). I later had a long talk with Amtrak's Customer Relations (a good number to know), who agreed that I had a beef.