I do think the sandwiches with chips and fruit are enough. BUT, if you want to bring something else, just buy a disposable foil tin that come with a cardboard lid. Or some of them come with foil lids. Lightweight and disposable. You can find them in all different sizes. I buy the big ones with foil lids at Sams for the food I make for family gatherings, so no one has to worry about washing dishes and then getting them back to me.

Yes, thanks, i just couldnt think of any kind of container expect non disposible.

I like to have fresh fruit, and it's easier to manage than a salad.

I agree friut is easier than salad. I was over thinking it. We will have sandwiches, fruit, brownie, cheese and crackers and nuts.

Thanks everyone for your help

You can make a fantastic picnic - make it a meal to remember rather than a sandwich. Chicken skewers, scotch eggs, filled croissants" made with puff pastry, tapas-type bites, fruit salad cups, a side salad in foil, lots of lovely things. And a lovely bottle of something you like!

What are your seats like? Do you have a table? Is the whole party together? And remember other passengers. Sitting near eaters can be unpleasant if they're consuming smelly foods like egg or fish or noisy stuff like chips. No way would I attempt salad on a train. Or crumbly stuff like puff pastry.

Eta I would not take plastic utensils. I'd use compostable paper, card and wood plates, cutlery and containers.

Food on the train depends on the train. Last train trip I took--The Cardinal from southern WV to Manhattan--the food was appalling--vending machines essentially. And the bathrooms were full and unusable north of DC.

What train is it and where does it go? I always loved the food that I had on trains and especially liked eating in the dining cars. However, that was before Amtrak, but if you will be on a Canadian train and it has a proper dining car, it might also have better food than Amtrak.

When taking trains in Mexico in the 1970s, I bought food through the windows from vendors who would come up to the train or else from vendors who would walk through the trains. I got some very good food that way.

You might be able to buy just a salad on the train, but I would not try to take a salad, as the lettuce tends to wilt.

I wish the U.S. had better train service.

I did take a train from Vancouver to Squamish and then a cruise from Squamish back to Vancouver one summer, but that was a very short trip and did not require food. I used to fly on Canadian Pacific from San Francisco to Vancouver, and I had very good food on that flight, which makes me think that Canadian trains will have better food than Amtrak.

Here's a Viarail menu for a train between Vancouver and Toronto. Perhaps you would be able to get a Chef's Salad on your train as well. For me, eating in a dining car has always been a wonderful experience, but I've done it mostly on the train between Houston and Temple, TX when I was at university and would go to visit my parents. That was the Santa Fe Texas Chief, 1968-1972.

We are on Amtrak , from Portland to Vancouver and i looked at the menu; it is essentially vending food type food. I would haver rather eaten on the train but really the food they offer is not good.

We will not have assigned seats but will sit together. We cant eat food brought from home in the dining car but I think there is an observation - type car where we can sit and eat.

I agree, I don't want smelly food, so no eggs, but I dont think chips will be too noisy

I've eaten my own food many times on trains. And I have sat near to people eating highly flavoured chips. Both the smell and noise can be off-putting. If you don't have assigned seats how do you know you will be able to sit together? And if you do not have reserved seats with a table you need to stick strictly to easy to hold food and nothing that is likely to fall on your lap or the floor.

My best trip was when a woman sat next to me and asked if I'd like to share her bottle of wine. Then she produced salted nuts too. It was a very pleasant journey home.

I dont anticipate the train will be full. I could be wrong.

I didn't mention the flavor of chips just responded to your comment about the noise.

The food will be handheld and I anticipate on 10 hour trip there will be opportunities for us all to sit together. The train makes several stops and people get off and on.

My favorite memory of a train trip was traveling from Bangkok to Chaing Mai. Venders walked by selling food. Me and my travel companion bought a delicious meal with rice and some kind of meat. It was a dollar. The thing I remenber the most is there was a bean, it looked like an ordinary green bean. Oh man! It was the hottest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.

Later on the same trip, I was in India and served the same bean again. I didn’t believe my experience the first time, so I tried it again. Still the hottest thing I’ve ever eaten.

Be prepared to eat in your seats. The Cascades route is not one of the Superliner routes, and the Superliner routes are the ones with the observation lounge you can eat personal food in. Also keep in mind that if you pack food in a cooler, that cooler counts as a carry-on bag.

Yes,one of my biggest dilemmas is packing food on a train and flying back.

Thanks for the information about no observation car, that is helpful

For a lunch on a road trip... I usually make sandwiches and pack them in baggies or aluminum foil, and I pack individual servings of garden or other salad in deli/plastic containers that then serve as a bowl. I pack any salad dressing or condiments separately, along with some kind of chips, forks, napkins, and anything else we might need. Even if you don't toss the deli/plastic containers after eating they can be stacked to take minimal space.

eta: and yes to bringing brownies and little extras, like pickles and hot peppers. :) I try to always bring healthy snacks like bananas, granola bars, nuts, cheese... and for cravings: something sweet, hot, sour, salty and/or crunchy. lol!

Buy a prepared lidded salad at the grocery store. when done, wash it out. voila voila. ihave a small stack of them which i re use.

I'll weigh in because I rode Amtrak from Seattle to Chicago last October and I know it's not comparable to your trip because it's 2 nights on the train but the dining car food was good ! I shopped at Delaurenti in Pike Market beforehand and I brought an assortment of hard cheese, bread (I did make crumbs, oops), and a few olive/dolma type things for breakfast/lunch - 3 meals a day were included with my roomette but I can't even eat 3 meals a day so the snacks were helpful .

Just out of curiosity, I googled and the menu on Cascades looks nice, if it's the current correct menu: If this menu is legit, I'd skip the carry-on food

https://www.amtrakcascades.com/menu

I took the train from San Francisco to Vancouver in 1982 (or 81), but of course I got on the train in Oakland, since there are no train tracks going north from SF. There was an observation car with domed skylights that were nice, but I did eat in the dining car.

I think the menu on your train looks acceptable, considering how pleasant the dining car is - I would put up with mediocre food just to be able to eat in the dining car - it is a very nice and rare experience.

The Cascade train has a bistro car not a dining car. They do not offer sit down meals.

I found this review of the Amtrak Cafe Car, which I assume would be similar to the bistro car. It's a bit more grim than I expected but it might help know what to expect.

Anything is possible ( with lots of napkins and wet wipes for every part of the body LOL. I have a picnic bag that opens up to become a table cloth then all the rubbish gets folded back inside. Crumbs are not a problem. Then, when it's cleaned out, it folds flat and weighs nothing. There are solutions to every problem! I have this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPzXe3_1GPc

Lars, thank you. Exactly why I prefer to bring food on the train instead of buying it.

Isllay, I really like that picnic bag. What a great idea.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but you may not be able to transport apples (and maybe other fresh fruit) into Canada from the US. So unless you're going to eat it on the way...

I remembered hearing the food was good on this route, so checked the menu...it looks pretty good to me! But maybe you want fine dining? I wouldn't have guessed that based on the food you plan to pack. I guess they had me at Ivar's Clam chowder,and Chicken Caesar salad. Hummus and pretzels, breakfast burrito, lol. https://www.amtrakcascades.com/menu