Amtrak: Front racks and fenders?

[ke3z]

Excited to see that Amtrak has expanded bicycle service!

What is your experience with having front racks and fenders on the bike on Amtrak? I suspect they may prove a problem, especially on the trains where you have to remove the front wheel. (I have low-rider racks on my Salsa and I'm sure those would be a problem.) What about trains with checked bike service?

[aggie]

I've traveled on Amtrak with fenders with no problem.  I haven't ridden on trains that require the front wheel off though.  The bike box does require you turn/remove the handle bars and remove the pedals but other than that I had no issues when I used a bike box.  Actually if you have a trip with multiple trains it is actually cheaper to use a bike box.

[canalligators]

The latest accommodation is a rack on the Amfleet coach cars that can be used for baggage or switched to use for a bike.  These cars are mostly used for regional trains in the northeast.  That's the one that requires removing the front wheel, the bike is hung by its rear wheel.  The racks in the baggage cars just hang the completed bike by its front wheel.  There are other car types that I'm not familiar with.