Hi, I would be exploring the west coast of USA for about a month in August with another friend. We are from Asia and would then proceed to Canada for our University Exchange. Hence we would probably have two suitcases each. At least for me, my suitcase would be 24" and 28" respectively. I have never been to the US/ taken Amtrak before. It would be helpful if someone could share with me about the Carry-on items (I know it's two 28" items and 23lbs each) and Checked baggage, and how check in works.

I have already checked the Amtrak routes between my destinations and it often include a Thruway Bus, followed by Train and Thruway Bus again. Would it be wise to check in my baggage for bus ride/ train? How long would it take for me to collect my baggage afterwards? As the transfer time is often only about 20 minutes or less.

Also, for the train rides. How much time does it usually stay in one station? As it would probably be quite a challenge for me to move around with my suitcases.

Thank you! I would really need some help and advice!

I suggest you look into divesting yourself of the largest piece of luggage, packing it with things you won't need while traveling. On arrival on the West Coast, ship the bag with a carrier that will hold it long enough for your arrival in, for instance, Seattle. Also compare that with shipping it directly to your final destination in Canada where it can be held for your arrival.

There's also the possibility that shipping it from Asia will be easiest and even cost-effective. I've mailed innumerable boxes to go by sea from Asia at very reasonable cost and if you send them in advance of your travel the timing could work.

A little pre-planning and effort at the beginning will save you a great deal of bother trying to handle so much luggage.

Amtrak is late a fair amount of the time (freight trains have priority since they own the tracks) so do not schedule things too close together. Pity you will miss the Big Sur drive.
tomfuller, who is a regular poster on here, is a big Amtrak fan and can probably offer good advice if you post your itinerary.

Regarding checking your bags, not all Amtrak stations have checked bag drop-off or pick-up. Look at the train schedule and you will see a little suitcase symbol denoting if the station offers checked-bag service.

If you are starting and ending at a station that offers checked-bag service, by all means check your bags!

I would very seriously consider Mme Perdu's suggestion and ship all your school clothes/equipment/stuff ahead to the school and ONLY travel w/ the small suitcases you'd need for your month-long touring.

Not only will all that luggage be a pain on some of your train journeys . . . it will be next to impossible shlepping around to hotels/hostels, on buses or other public transport, etc.

Don't be pack animals -- ship everything ahead.

For most Amtrak there is no luggage checking. You just have to haul it around with you - on and off the train. Small bags go overhead - larger ike yours have to go at the end of the car (or under the bus).

Second the suggestion to send the larger bag ahead to Canada and bring only what you will need in a 24 or smaller case on the trains and buses.

That's far too much luggage for a single person to handle on Amtrak trains. Far far too much. You won't even be able to lift both of those bags much less move them quickly on and off trains.

Definitely ship the big bags ahead to your college and travel with a single small (no larger than 22 inches) carry-on and perhaps a small day bag. You'll be much happier.

On the buses, you have to check your bags in the sense that you have to put them in the luggage compartment under the bus. Retrieving them at the end of your journey takes maybe 5 minutes. But you don't check them and not see them until the end of your journey. You have to pick them up at every single transfer point.

Except on a few long-haul routes, you can't actually check your bags, so you're going to have to deal with them daily if you take several train trips.

If you were older, I'd recommend that you rent a car for a month rather than take trains, but if you're under 25 (likely) that might not work.

Also many amtrak stations are inconvenient with luggage. Sacramento for example -- you have a 200 yard walk from the station to the platforms.

Penn Station in NYC, long flights of stairs.

Penn Station?

As far as how long the train stays in the station, for most trains and stations, it's 5-10 minutes, and in some cases as much as 20-30 minutes. The conductors will get off the train & stand on the platform, check your tickets before you board, and tell you which car to sit in. In this case as long as you are on the platform, the train will not leave without you. On some corridor trains sometimes things are a bit less controlled and the stop may only be a few minutes, but if you're on the platform clearly trying to board it's very unlikely the train would leave without you.

I assume your 20-minute connections are between a train and bus. If that's the case this is fine since the bus will wait for the train. If the 20 minutes is between 2 trains, that's much too short. Give yourself at least a couple of hours.

Although I have seen people successfully bring way too much with them on a train, I'll echo what others have said about trying to ship some of your stuff in advance. Even on long trips I keep it to a small suitcase and a backpack. Any more that that becomes unwieldy. Enjoy your trip.