Luggage on Euro Rail

Not exactly sure what you are referring to about Euro Rail. There is no such thing as Euro Rail. I think that is a travel agency. Second, what countries are you travel in and when? All trains are operated by various companies within each country with different coach configurations. There is not a single answer.

Regardless of trains or countries you are always responsible for handling your own luggage. There is no check in service or anyone else to handle your bags. The typical rail car - but not all - will have overhead racks that can hold a carryon size bag. Anything large will have to be storage in luggage shelves near the entrance to the car. Some cars will have seats back to back forming an "A" shaped space between seats that sometimes will allow a larger bag to slide into. But not always.

For a two week trip most people could easily get by with one carry on size bag each. It can be done. If you believe you have to have larger bags consider taking two smaller bags in place of one large bag. Having a lot of luggage or big bags to handle just sets yourself up for other problems. If you understand to pack light, then why would you have to have larger suitcases?

Eurailpasses are used on regular trains, they sell tickets and passes but do not operate the trains.

There are luggage bins at each end of every train car, some trains have racks in the middle of the car. Some cars have back-to-back seats with room for a small to medium size suitcase. All cars hsve luggage racks overhead.

There are no baggage cars or porters. You have to wrangle your own luggage.

A few tips: take travel-size bottles or jars of things like shampoo, not full-sizes. You won't use a whole bottle in two weeks, even if there are several of you sharing. Common American brands are available in Europe. Take enough clothing for one week and plan to do laundry once during your trip.

Instead of a large suitcase and a purse, take a smaller suitcase and a daybag or messenger bag as your personal item. I pack my messenger bag inside my personal item (daybag) and take a 20" rolling carryon (for about 100 days). I dinkeash a few items every few days and do a real laundry trip every couple of weeks.

You will not regret packing lighter. It's schlepping the luggage from train to train or hotel that makes it painful.

Edit: Frank and I were typing at the same time. I have seen people hoist relatively large suitcases and duffle bags into the overhead racks, but I can't do it.

There are luggage bins at each end of every train car, some trains have racks in the middle of the car.
This is only true for long-distance trains, such as the French TGV or the German ICE. The overhead luggage rack is standard. My 60 * 40 * 25 cm suitcase fits almost all of them. Much larger is problematic.

Read more train travel basics in our All Aboard section. You can see some views inside trains in the first segment of Rick's Travel Skills video trio. Many national railway web sites (www.trenitalia.com, etc) will provide good views of their newest, proudest train cars, as well as the Man in Seat 61 site has a lot of photos, again by country or route.

Our goal is to use one airline carry-on sized bag that's packed lightly enough that you can handle it yourself in a variety of situations, ranging from stairs to cobblestones to overhead luggage racks. We tend to pack the same for two weeks or two months.

You handle it yourself. There are no baggage handlers, luggage check, or flight attendants to help you manage your luggage. Its like getting on a local bus. Just don't block the doorway getting on or off.

Make sure not to block the aisles, either - or the conductor might make you put your luggage in another wagon.
Most people bring too much luggage, and if there isn't enough room in the racks or under your seat, you might risk having it stolen - especially if there are some stops along the way.
Do not bring cable ties or any locks to secure your luggage to the racks - it's selfish and not terribly secure.
The goal is to have only what you can lift comfortably - those stairs up into the train are steep - and what you can keep an eye on at all times.

This is the Seat61 website Laura mentioned. Choose the countries you're visiting from the list along the left edge, then keep scrolling down for pictures of a variety of train carriages in those countries.

You are getting some helpful input, yes, steep (and narrow) stairs to get into the train, and on some cars the rack is a LONG way up,,,,,im spoiled by the short heave to the arline over head (Im 5,2), another concern if your lugagge isnt secured.....it may migraate around on the floor on a fast moving train. Some on this site make a near religion out of packing light, but clothes for a week (perhaps one more pair of skivvies) & then do laundry and you'll be fine. Also stairs in the train stations can be a hassle (up and over tracks, etc)

One of my favorite Rick quotes, "Have you ever known anyone to come back from a trip and say 'Next time, I'm taking more stuff!'."

You will thank yourself later for sticking to a carry on size bag. There are many posts in the "Packing" topic with strategies for packing light. While we did see elevators at many rail platforms, they are not practical for tight connections - you will be hefting your bag up plenty of stairs.

It depends on how much "larger" your larger suitcase is. I used to travel with a 24 inch bag, and if it didn't fit over the seat, it would fit in the rack at the end of the car, or in the space between the seats. But a 30 inch bag could be hard to fit on some trains.

Even more important than size is weight. Since you have to heft your own stuff - there are no porters, separate luggage compartments, checked luggage, etc. - make sure it's not too heavy.

The Man in Seat 61, referenced in several replies above, is a great resource, but be careful - you can spend days reading it, as there's so much there. Start with his great answer to your question - how is luggage handled on European trains? http://seat61.com/luggage-on-european-trains.htm

And yes, Eurail is a pass, but there is no such thing as "the Euro Rail." There are national rail companies (Renfe for Spain, Trenitalia for Italy, etc); there are competitors on some routes in some countries (like Italo in Italy); there are private lines on routes where the national rail company doesn't go (like FEVE in Spain or Trenord or Circumvesuviana in Italy), and there are multinational corsortia that run trains through several countries (like Eurostar from England to France and Belgium, or Thalys from Belgium to France, Netherlands, or Germany).

To find train schedules for almost all of Europe in one easy-to-use place, use the Bahn (German Rail) website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules

One way to think of it - there is no such thing as "two weeks of luggage". Pack a carry-on size suitcase and a small personal item, like a purse or messenger bag. Weighing no more than you can lift over your head and carry up stairs.

Do laundry once - either do it yourself at a laundromat, stay at an apartment with its own washer, pay the hotel to do it (mainly an option at big hotels), or find a laundry service that does it for you - drop off one morning, pick up the next. I usually either have an airbnb with a machine or find a service. Time is valuable on vacation, as is packing light. Some people do laundry in the hotel sink - I will do this for underwear and socks sometimes.
There are plenty of resources about packing out there - my technique is a strict limit of 10 CLOTHING items (plus underwear, swimsuit, scarf, and light jacket) and two pairs of shoes - this includes what I wear on the plane.

Regarding trains - you can pretty much count on an overhead rack that will be fine for a carry on size bag, and your day bag can stay by your feet. I have always seen a luggage rack at the back of each car, as well, but this may vary - look at themaninseat61.com The rack at the back sometimes fills up, so if you have a big bag it might need to be in a different car, which can be worrying. Lugging a big bag through the station, into the train and through the aisles is a hassle and it's all on you - there is no one to help you find space or anything like that.

As a solo traveler it always causes me just a bit of anxiety--first heaving my suitcase and carry-on tote onto the train, then either hoisting it overhead or finding a spot in the bigger luggage area, worrying about leaving my suitcase if I need the restroom (never leave my tote), and then getting it off the train. Thus I have a smaller, lighter suitcase I use when train travel is involved, and it made me realize how much stuff I didn't need to bring. You might want to make a packing list and pare it down, and consider smaller luggage.

Everyone is telling you how to pack. Before our trip, my wife and seven year old could not grasp packing light. We packed our suit cases and then I took them on a walk. I found a set of stairs, about two stories tall and made them carry their own luggage. Up and down, then walk a half mile then up and down again. I received lots of complaints. When we got home my seven lost half her weight and my wife lost a third of her pretrip weight. The following weekend we went back and they enjoyed packing light. We carry clothes for a week and wash them.

Hello!
I agree with most on here, less really is more. I made the mistake of taking waaay too much stuff the first time I went and boy was getting all that in and out of the train a hassle. I hated myself every second of the time.
Heave, ho, heave, ho.
Nightmare.
Not to mention, if you are on a busy train that does have the bins at the end of the car, they are often taken up by other people's very large luggage and...they can't block the way. So...you wind up sitting with them. In between the cars, or in the little areas that are large enough to fit you and the bag. Not fun. Done it 3 or 4 times.

As everyone says, just do laundry and bring enough for one week max. Tide makes great little individual soap packs so you can do your washing in the sink if you want and hang dry. Less luggage = happier/less cranky/uncomfortable/tired/annoyed you, I promise!! :o)
Happy travels!

This is an excellent idea - do a "trial run" with the items you think you need now.
If you don't have stairs handy, go to a shopping mall or train station - with lots of stairs - and try to deal with the luggage you have planned to take with you.

Then, go back home and unpack 2/3 of the stuff you thought you needed.
Laundromats are inexpensive, you can buy detergent there, and they take much less time than apartment-sized washers do. Plus, you can actually dry your clothes - apartment washers only spin-dry.

Nobody needs to "mix and match" outfits, or have more than 2 pair of shoes or multitudes of accessories. Nobody will care what you are wearing, even if you wear it 3 days in a row.

Me and the Better Half always take four pieces of luggage, 2-26" and 2-21". The small ones fit atop the big ones. Is it a pain? At times, but not stressful, and not worrisome. Yes, we lug them up and down train stations, subways, and hotels. If we weren't in shape, it would be a sore point, I'm certain. Learned on our second trip how to deal with them on crowded trains. The few minutes of hassle over a month's vacation is worth it to us. To each his own.

"You will be hefting your bag up plenty of stairs." How true! If the locals can do that, so can you. I carry a lot more stuff now especially with this spinner than I did on trips in my younger days.

I realize this might be considered a "rant" but it is my one pet peeve when traveling to Europe - people bringing large suitcases onto trains that they cannot handle. In general most trains don't stop for terribly long for boarding - thus if you are blocking the entrance with your bags, trying to figure out how to store them in the small oversized luggage storage area (which is typically just beyond the entrance to the train car) no one else can board that car. A couple of years ago, I almost missed my train to Avignon due to a family blocking the stairs onto the train with their large suitcases that they couldn't manage. Don't be those people!!! For a two week trip, you can easily do it with a 20" carry on and a "personal" item. European hotel rooms (especially those in the larger cities) are typically smaller than their U.S. counterparts - thus smaller luggage means more room in the hotel room and less stuff to keep track of.

True, totally agreed when those with a ton of luggage cannot manage it themselves, thus delaying the boarding. And how many times have we seen that!

Teachermjo, are you there?

It is hard to imagine traveling carry-on only if you have never done it. It's also hard to realize that you will have to lug what you brung yourself. The pack light advice you are getting is spot on.

Beyond that, there's lots more, on the Packing Forum, in the Travel Talks under Watch, Read, Listen and in the Travel Tips section of this RS website. It would be good for all those in your "we" to read and watch the excellent information there.

Personally, in the past my "big" bag has been a 22" backpack or roller bag, limited to a total of 20 pounds. My personal item has been a cross-body tote. Next trip I'll have the same kind of tote, but I hope to limit myself to this smaller backpack.

Like others, I pack for a week and a day and do my own laundry or have it done for me as needed along the way. Since 2009, my shortest trip has been 4 weeks and the longest was 8 weeks. I'm with Mira on the 10 garment limit.

...always take four pieces of luggage, 2-26" and 2-21".... I cannot begin to imagine how much stuff that is or why it would even be needed but if it floats your boat, it is fine with me.

We are seniors and have managed to get our packing to 2 small carry-ons and a small personal bag. We honestly aren't on the trips to impress anyone and can travel and do a bit of laundry mid-way. We agree that getting off and on trains can be an issue if you're hauling "luggage". Friends almost didn't make it on and off in Rome and Florence on previous trips - too much stuff, too big, and one person couldn't manage her "big" suitcase.