If it is at all possible. DON'T mix the two!
OK, OK, It isn't all that bad. I'm just recovering from a bad train experience from Shrewsbury to London this past Sunday. We ended up sitting on the floor in the tiny floor area before the food cart of the train because there was no place for the stroller and almost all of the seats were reserved. This had not happened to me before: I had been lucky enough to get the handicapped space for the stroller on both legs of the journey, but this time there were not only strollers in that space, but I had to share the tiny floor space area I mentioned before with another mother and baby with stroller for half of the ride from Birmingham to London. Aside from it being a massive fire hazard, it was also embarrassing to have to inch the stroller over for people to get by to the food cart area and back. The only consolation I had was that I could see through the sliding doors to people sitting on the floor in the next train over. Its amazing what the British people will put up with. We all spent fifty pounds each for this luxury. So I am a little burnt from my latest experience with Virgin rail.
However, I haven't been able to avoid going on the train since I've been here, and I know that I'll be using it again since we won't have a car for quite a while, so I guess it's better to focus on the positive and give out some good advice.
1. If you can, reserve a seat even if you don't think you are going to need one. This would not have helped us much with Older Son, since because children can ride free you can't reserve a seat for them, but if you have only one baby its worth it.
2. Get to the train station at least 20 minutes early for the train. Sometimes that helps you get that coveted handicapped area to fit your stroller into. The train system is definitely NOT family friendly in that regard. For all but this last trip I was able to get a spot there. This time even though we arrived early at the Shrewsbury station, the spot was taken by a family who had gotten on the stop before. Forget about Birmingham. We had twenty minutes to get to the train and ten of that was taken up with getting there. We were lucky to get the crappy floor area.
3. Take your time getting a stroller off the train. That gap is the perfect sized space to trap the stroller's wheels and keep them stuck in there while your baby is hanging in space and your trapped behind the stroller and people are behind you and you're wondering if the train is going to start moving with the stroller trapped like that......wondering how I know this? Yep, happened to me and Younger Son. Luckily the people on the trains are usually friendly and helpful and I got help from some folks on the platform. I've also gotten help getting the stroller off the train by a good Samaritan pretty much every time.
4. Treat it like a plane ride. Lots of snacks and things for the little ones to do.
5. If you can keep your toddler in the stroller, do so. I've found that the best thing to do is just not take my Younger Son out for any reason other than a diaper change. If he knows that that's how it is, there's less crying to get out. Every mom that I've seen on the train who has taken her toddler out of the stroller for a cuddle or just to sit on her lap has ended up with a toddler running up and down the aisle and screaming bloody murder when he or she has to be put back.
6. If at all possible, don't travel on a Friday or Sunday afternoon/night. You'll avoid the weekend rushes.
It looks like I won't have to take a trip up north until around Christmas time. Maybe we'll splash out for the holidays and rent a car for the weekend? One can only hope.
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