Whenever I fly somewhere, especially these days when flying is such a miserable cramped experience, I always feel like my vacation starts after I endure the entire airport + plane experience. The whole travel part is in the same "chore" bucket as packing, finding a pet sitter, etc.
With a train, the second we reached the train station, it felt like the trip had started. Many train stations are beautiful historical buildings right in the heart of downtown, so you're already experiencing a city and cool architecture. The staff and the whole process is very laid back without all of the security theatre nonsense of the TSA. It's about as formal as going to a play.
Then you get on the train and you get to completely relax. I brought a book to read and some stuff like that, but I spent more than half the time literally just looking out the windows. Train tracks don't need much surrounding infrastructure, unlike freeways, so their routes often go right through little towns, along the coast, etc. You'll be seeing into people's backyards, storage area for businesses, farmland, everything. It's like a perfect cross-section of the entire US experience.
And it's quiet. No constant roar of engines like a jet. You can talk at quiet volumes. The observation car feels like a chill coffee shop with an amazing always-refreshing-itself view.
Time slows down. You watch the sun set and then watch the light leak out of the sky. You go to bed and get rocked to sleep.
Taking a sleeper car train ride isn't cheap in terms of time or money, but I would highly recommend it. I can't wait to do it again.
I was only in business class but that got me access to the dining car. Since I was alone they sat me with different people for each meal and the food was actually really good!
Of the 5 or 6 times I've taken Amtrak only once has the trip not been delayed or screwed up in a way that horribly affected the trip.
I would love to do more train travel but my experiences have been so bad I can't imagine doing it much more than I have to, especially when it's way more expensive and takes way longer than driving a car.
I rode the Coast Starlight north through the Sierra Nevadas(?) 15-20 years ago. It was a 24hour trip, and I was delayed 24hours. We hit a pedestrian then an avalanche had us back up 2-3 hours until a Greyhound picked us up and took us the rest of the way.
Adventure: Check
I didn’t mind one bit.
Great people.
Your whole comment brought back so many great memories for me, but this hits the nail on the head. I've only done one long train ride but the experience was so great that I'm eager to do it again. Being able to take a shower and lie down at night was a game changer - I slept so well. For me it was sort of a working trip in that I brought my laptop and did some emailing and light development, but I spent way more time just looking out the window and relaxing.
Depends what part of the US you’re going through! East Coast, sure, the train scenery might be a bit plain. But the Mountain West is absolutely gorgeous. And the Coast Starlight goes right along the California coast, hugging cliffs the entire way - it’s completely surreal. I believe that the scenery is nice along that route in China, but if you think the US doesn’t have anything that can match it, you haven’t seen the US.
In every single town along Amtrak routes in the United States?
Note that TSA is working to change this. They've wanted to add airport-style security at all train stations for a while now. If we ever have a shooting on an Amtrak train it'll happen right away.
> Then you get on the train and you get to completely relax. I brought a book to read and some stuff like that, but I spent more than half the time literally just looking out the windows.
One of my dreams was doing a transcontinental train trip in the US, and in the months before our child was born, my wife sensibly let me know that "now" was a great time to do it, so I took a 10 day trip around the country that would start in Boston and end in San Antonio, where my wife was traveling for work.
As it turned out, her trip was cancelled, so I made a round trip: Boston -> Washington DC -> Chicago -> Sacramento -> Los Angeles -> Chicago (via Texas) -> Boston.
The trip took 10 days and nights, 7 of which were on the train. I loaded my Zune with as many Sopranos episodes and movies as it would carry, and had some books to pass away the time. I'm pretty sure I made it through about 30 minutes of one Sopranos episode. I went to bed near dusk, awoke and showered at dawn, and spent the rest of the time chatting with folks in the lounge or diner, or watched the world go by from my room. Total cost at the time was $1800 for the entire trip, including hotels and meals for non-train nights.
One moment really stood out to me. We were in the Nevada desert somewhere (this is early 2000's, so no smart phone or GPS for me), and I didn't know where I was, what time it was, or even what day it was. What I did know was that I had a 5pm dinner in the dining car. It was, by several orders of magnitude, the most relaxed I've ever been in my entire life.
Time and life move differently from the overnight train. When a leg of your trip is a 24 or 48 hour end-to-end journey, a couple hours delay on either end doesn't make much of a difference. Seeing the US from this perspective is amazing, from fields to factories to mountains to deserts to valleys and everything else.
>Taking a sleeper car train ride isn't cheap in terms of time or money, but I would highly recommend it. I can't wait to do it again.
I have the benefit of in-laws living in FL in a town that has a train stop, so I managed to convince my family to take the train one time. They liked it, though they did think it got a little long in the end. However, given that our last trip via an airline took 20 hours, including sleeping on benches in an airport, I might be able to convince them to take the train again. Being late isn't fun, but it's far more palatable in a conveyance where you have your own room, can get up and walk around, and has both seated dining and a cafe.
But googling it says 1 in 3 people experience motion sickness. Maybe mine is just really severe? Without Dramamine or meclazine I’m hopeless on a train.
No, no issues with the motion at all. And absolutely none of that onboard a cruise ship for me either.
> But googling it says 1 in 3 people experience motion sickness. Maybe mine is just really severe?
That sounds to be the case. Perhaps discuss with your MD?
I've heard that seasickness is caused by a mismatch between what the vestibular system senses, and what the eyes sense. So, on a boat, you don't go belowdecks; you go up top and keep your eyes on the horizon. I wonder if even just looking out the window more would be of any help to you.
For example, I usually have a hard time reading when riding in a car, but not on a train.
But the truth is that you are in an extremely heavy, expensive, and slow vehicle that requires over 1000 man-hours to carry fewer than 300 seats the whole length of the ride. That doesn't account for the capital costs of the vehicle or maintenance on the route, or overhead for the stations.
Loosening regulations to reduce the staff, making the train itself go faster (if possible), and allowing for lower cost and lighter weight cars (possibly to include the much denser sleeping cars found on Chinese and Swedish railroads) would change the economics from 'taxpayer subsidized cruise' to 'reasonable form of luxury transit'
On the other hand, a train where you are crammed in like an airplane with no amenities but can travel quickly on high speed rail would be a lot more cost efficient, but at that point you're basically replicating the airline experience except that it will never be as fast over medium or long distances even with high speed rail.
Trains are already more than 6 times as dangerous as planes (0.43 vs 0.07 deaths per billion passenger-miles, according to https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/ipsavage/436-appendix....). Those ideas sound like they'd make them even worse.
Increasing passenger miles covered will lower the final rates far more than increased safety.
Especially when the lowered safety is likely also a result of low usage and low funding thanks to low usage.
This is before we even talk about how much price gouging and other cost reductions our current train networks already get away with thanks to private ownership. I'm assuming you must've been asleep at the wheel considering the railroad strike and the conditions that the workers are put thru.
The majority of Amtrak's usage outside of the Northeast Corridor is providing transport to small, underserved communities, not vacation trips like in this post.
Taking a train vs plane can cut your CO2 emission quite a bit: https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm
What are the regulations on staff? I'm not aware of what Amtrak is required, currently. I'd imagine that's their biggest cost, not weight. Although, I do like the idea of having a more compact/denser sleeping cars. The Roomettes are really small, but they come with attendants, etc.
Amtrak is currently upgrading some of their long distance cars: https://www.travelandleisure.com/amtrak-upgrades-overnight-t...
There's something magical about getting off the train in a different state with your bicycle ready to go no worse for wear. Especially at smaller stations, where the conductor or luggage handler will directly hand you the bicycle from the luggage car. It's just such a personal and practical experience compared to flying.
This fall I rode the Zephyr from CHI to SAC with my Ibis Mojo checked, with just a backpack and helmet. The conductor handed me my bike at the luggage car in SAC, and I immediately pedaled right out the station, through town, and along the American River for a beautiful day of riding east into the Sierra Nevada towards my friends' home in Pollock Pines. No TSA, no implications of being some kind of terrorist or criminal, it was rather incredible by today's standards... especially considering it cost me like $120 for the ticket+checked bike.
Edit: I also just wanted to remind folks that train stations have the luxury of residing smack dab in city centers. Good luck de-planing with a bicycle directly into an urban center. On a train it's basically the default.
Or just skip the mountain biking and take the train out and bike the silver comet all the way back home.
But! Amtrak won't let you take your bike off the train at Anniston. You have to go all the way to new orleans. It's really dumb and frustrating.
With some chatting up of the staff/conductor before you reach your actual desired premature destination, it's not uncommon for them to be cooperative on getting the bike out of the luggage car and into one of the entrances near the other carry-on luggage for you to get off prematurely with it.
But you have to talk to them early enough in the ride but not so early that they've been replaced, and it probably won't work out if the train is packed and they're understaffed or otherwise super busy.
On my aforementioned Zephyr trip the conductor offered to let me off with the checked bike @ Colfax when he learned I had a bike and SAC ticket intending to ride to Pollock Pines.
They're entirely capable of getting you off with the bike prematurely at any stop, you just gotta talk to them and give them enough advance notice. Agreed that it's annoying Amtrak can't officially offer it for all stops...
Depends where you are of course. I used to ride Amtrak a lot between Orlando and Miami. In neither city is the station particularly convenient to downtown, especially in Miami.
However I think it is a mistake to focus on profitability here. These trains are a public utility, and should be treated as such. We are spending way more money into maintaining the super inefficient transportation system of private automobiles, and you are paying for it even if you don’t own a car your self, that is both thorough direct taxes, but also in increased property/rent prices to accommodate parking, or with the climate disaster.
Ideally I wouldn’t mind Amtrak canceling most of these routes if they were replaced by something better.
I think many shorter but well connected routes throughout these corridors would be better (I mean, one train a day between Seattle and Spokane is not enough). For example, if the Coast Starlight had it’s infrastructure upgraded, tracks straightened with overhead electrical wires, would interline with future Cascadia High Speed Rail to Eugene, run through Medford (as opposed to Klamath Falls) and finally stop in Sacramento where you could transfer to the future California High Speed Rail if you wanted to continue to LA or the Capitol Corridor to San Francisco. This would be way better then a single Coast Starlight train a day between Seattle and LA in 36 hours.
43 hours for what would be a 4 hr flight plus it’s more expensive to boot.
So should such long distance train rides actually be compared to transit or golfing?
The Northeastern Corridor is their most profitable section, as the ridership is much higher and they own their own tracks.
What could they do to become profitable? Not sure. Assuming they magically got their own set of tracks for free, they then wouldn't have to pay the railroads for using theirs. But they'd have to pay to maintain all that right-of-way (tracks, bridges, tunnels, signals, etc.) At least they'd be on time though (not blocked by massively long freight trains like they are today).
Greyhound as a de facto everywhere to everywhere bus service has declined as well.
Hah! The credit card rewards ruined these. Now they're all crowded and it's just as hard to find a seat as it is outside the lounge. Plus the food in them isn't that great anymore. The best benefit is usually a better view out the window. Real frequent fliers just get PreCheck+Clear and arrive at the airport closer to departure time.
I did this same train journey myself back in 2012. Great memories! I just wish 2 things:
1) Amtrak wouldn't recycle the air on train carriages, it gets really stuffy. The downstairs washroom smells get mixed in too.
2) Single riders should be given both seats on these journeys. I was like 19 when I did this journey and an unusual middle aged lady was placed next to me. She kept asking me for medicines and fell asleep on my shoulder.
Riding through the desert outside of Albuquerque during sunset was the highlight. Walk all the way to the back of the train, look at the back window, get a rare listen of the jointed (not welded) tracks. Here's my video of it -https://vimeo.com/57261056
I was the opposite of you; I was the young man who fell asleep on the shoulder of the woman next to me. She was nice about it but it was really embarrassing! Sleepers were cheaper, then, too, so I didn't save much by riding coach.
The conversation with one of my breakfast table partners was the trip highlight. He was an elderly widower whose ride cross-country was a gift from his family. Good storyteller and he was pleased that I was happy to join him at his table, as opposed to a couple other introverts who scanned the dining car and left in a panic.
on one hand, I get it -- that experience would drive me nuts and I have had similar stuff occur.
On the other hand , I've had a few good conversations with row-mates in planes.
the forced interaction is getting more and more rare; personally I think it's fun to be taken out of my comfort zone and be shoved into it once in awhile -- plus Amtrak tickets don't need any more excuses to be as poorly priced as possible.
The first time I had to travel for work after having kids was maybe the first time I'd actually enjoyed flying since pre-9/11. My point here isn't to crap on my kids, I love them dearly. But boy do they adjust your perception of everything.
While I don't disagree with you, the seats in the lounges are still more comfortable than anything outside the lounges. Probably the only thing I still try them for at this point... maybe stronger wifi, depending on the airport.
By law, passenger travel is expected to have "precedence."
Read: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
I didn't know this, and it makes me even madder! But as far as an explanation for why Amtrak trains are so often delayed (which is how it appeared in OP?), it appears to be correct that it's because freight trains are given priority. It's just that... they're not supposed to be, right?
At least according to Amtrak? I wonder if anyone has a third-party analysis of what's going on? I'm surprised I've never heard this before, thank you for bringing it up.
> The leading cause of delay to Amtrak passengers is “freight train interference”...
> ...Myth: “Amtrak already has the highest priority of all trains on freight rail lines.”
> Truth: Freight trains represent the largest cause of delay to passengers.
In other words, freight rail has optimized very hard on saving costs, and since they own the tracks, there's not much Amtrak can do to win.
I think the only real solution is dedicated, grade-separated tracks for passenger trains (ideally high speed), but that's unfortunately a pipe dream :(
There have been bills to allow Amtrak to file civil suits but as far as I know they haven’t passed.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/24308
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=24308&f=treesort&fq=...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ztWNJYFrU
The greatest train song of all time. Arlo Guthrie talking about how Steve came to him with that song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZx7xCK6yfo. (at 2:09)
That city of New Orleans song was great but his ‘would you like to learn to dance’ was hauntingly beautiful.
And such a tragic loss so young.
I'm not crying. You're crying.
Otherwise, have a great trip, don't be attached to arriving on time, and enjoy that observation car!
They still aren’t offering access, and at this point, it doesn’t seem like it will return.
You’re limited to what you bring with you, or the snack car which is essentially a vending machine
> Also, economy does not include meals in the dining car and gets you no access to the observation car.
I'm pretty sure observation cars are open to all passengers, regardless of ticket status. Certainly nobody's ever asked me for a ticket when going into one.
Hope you enjoyed your Malort.
As someone who's done the Crescent (30 hours) and City of New Orleans + Lake Shore Limited (38 hours + layover) on Economy, you get about the same comfort sleeping, just none of the privacy. The seats in Economy are close to the ones in the bedrooms, you just can't lay them completely flat.
What you're paying $1,000 for is privacy and access to a shower.
Also:
> You can get a bedroom or roomette on an Amtrak sleeper car. A roomette fits two people, with the second person having to sleep on a bunk bed contraption under the room’s ceiling. I was going alone on this trip, and a roomette seemed to be the best choice.
The standard bedroom also sleeps two, and all Amtrak beds are "bunk bed contraptions". The bedroom gets you an in-room shower.
Indeed, there are four types of bedrooms:
- bedroom (seat and sofa that convert to beds, in-room shower)
- bedroom suite (two adjoining bedrooms, including both in-room bathrooms)
- family bedroom (4 seats that fold to beds, using the roomette shower shared with the car)
- accessible bedroom (larger wheelchair-friendlier roomette with its own sink, using the roomette shower shared with the car)
> I didn’t care much about which side of the train I was on because the scenery is very similar, no matter which way you look. This is more important if you take a train along the coastline
If you're on a north-south route, sunrises and sunsets matter a lot, not just for viewing but also determining when you wake up and go to sleep.
> I was happy to learn that Chicago has a decent public transit system.
I mean... which one? ;) Glad he did a shot of Malört before he left though, and Union Station is beautiful.
> I immediately noticed a lot of Amish people sitting in the large hall. This is because travel by plane is considered too modern and travel by train appears to be very popular amongst them.
They might've been Mennonites or Hutterites, who are also Anabaptists but don't have Amish rules on public electrical grids or motorized vehicles.
> I had a 7pm reservation and walked over to the car right in front of mine, the restaurant car. Because space is limited, you will sit with other passengers at tables holding 4 people. ... This is why the food is surprisingly delicious.
Some context: This traditional Amtrak dinner service is very recently back after several years of being cut, especially on the west coast. Availability varies by route and ticket type. It used to be on almost all long routes and available to coach passengers too; it might be back for coach passengers on some routes by now, it's been in the works on eastern trains since 2021.
> I spent almost the entire day in the observation car
This is really the key. The observation car, if your line has one, is the best part of the trip.
> For dinner, we closed the place down. The friendly staff had a bottle of wine to empty, and we were there, talking until almost midnight.
This is the thing too, unlike planes where the crews turn over pretty often between flights, a train line's crew is often on for the whole ride and pretty regular. You can get to know them pretty well if you make the effort, and they'll often remember you if you take the same route again.
I'm from Houston. I'll take any public transport. ;)
And meals, which are included in the fare for sleeper cars but not economy.
I'm sure you know that, but not everyone who reads your comment will. Whether this comment was soon enough to be useful, idk.
Best advice if meals are meaningful is to ask before you book.
Amtrack is really going downhill.
somehow technology became "evil" in those 100 years
human indoctrination is mind-boggling, sets back entire civilization
The reason why they do it overall is less to do with technology in and of itself. By the way, they can ride in cars too. This seems paradoxical, but they don't need to drive and they already carve out exceptions for some things.
Practically speaking, it's about sovereignty. Not outsourcing "everything but your core competency" and becoming too dependent on others, just to be setup for a rugpull. Like the Hasidics, Muslims, Japanese, and Chinese, Amish are very adept at using social firewalls (even using things like language as a barrier) to keep mental viruses and bad actors out of their social networks. The aforementioned groups also very savvy at business. In these ways they are further ahead in social technologies, and the West at large has regressed.
They have even considered how they would adapt if cash was finally removed and there were a digital-only currency. They are aware of these things and their very religion was created as a "fork" out of necessity.
There's some valuable lessons in there, as walled-garden internet intensifies and every week more and more HN entrepreneurs get locked out of their frozen PayPal, Stripe, Gmail, etc and [beg for help / shame the company] on the front page as the only means of customer service. And as US has its supply chain threatened by increased tensions with their biggest supplier.
100% impossible to argue otherwise without believing in the woo-woo
Hell, orthodox believe their god gave them freaking LOOPHOLES like there is strict law but if they are clever enough they can defeat the word of god?
Really?
Like how they can use machinery and elevators and stuff on their sabbath despite being strictly forbidden as long as they magically string a WIRE AROUND THEIR BLOCK. Suddenly their entire block is now allowed as a loophole for machinery (something about it becoming their home or possession or some nonsense)
Women are second class citizens in all Abrahamic religions, if they become reform enough to include women in worship they technically are now a different religion just using the same name.
Utter nonsense, all of them. Grabbing society by the ankles and preventing all progress.
If they restricted themselves to 1830 technology in medicine like trains they'd have a life expectancy of 45 (had to double-check that, yup 45)
Utter hypocrisy.
They can still live a simple life if they want even with technology. I feel like I do that every day. I don't even use a cellphone.
Oh that's another thing, they use cellphones for business. They keep them in sheds out of their house and check them weekly for orders and other work stuff.
Everything is a loophole with these kinds of religions except freedom for women and other diversity.
But really, after recent air travel, I’m like who wants to fly when they can take Amtrak?
A sleeper car sounds posh, but 5x the cost, can you travel first class if you're able to nap on a plane typically?
Also at the time we traveled coach folks were allowed access to the observation car which was great to switch your environment.
I will say both Des Moines and Omaha are surprisingly nice to visit even as an awful "coastal elitist". Had some wonderful experiences in both.
I would guess maybe in American culture, people would not be willing to sleep in a room with strangers, too bad, because it seems that the USA in the past had developed exactly this type of sleeper car: http://streamlinermemories.info/?p=5983
I've come close to booking a long haul with roomette, when I've had the time and could work on the train. In the end always decided the cost was too much, and at the same time sleeping in coach on Amtrak is not a nice experience.
Some renders with highlights can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e54969RNVs
...and also sometimes you'll get a passenger who talks about chemtrails, a concessions stand worker who's Officially Had Enough Bullshit, a locomotive that stops working, and someone dying of a heart attack in the middle of nowhere. But I'd like to think that these are more exceptional circumstances.
I have had some interesting tablemates in the restaurant car though - they always fill all seats so you never know who you’ll be sitting next to for a meal! In retrospect maybe that actually was part of the charm too?…
"Also, economy does not include meals in the dining car and gets you no access to the observation car."
This is not true. Anyone on the train can sit in the observation car. Downstairs from the observation car is the snack bar, which was the only source of food for coach travelers when Covid otherwise closed the diner to non-sleeper passengers.
Source: I've ridden the Zephyr many times, the Southwest Chief is the same.
Once you get into it, statements like the article's sound funny: "three days is definitely doable for onebag trip!" Hah, get your kit right and you can basically travel indefinitely, although you'll probably get bored of your limited outfits.
If others are into this scene I'd love to know what you're carrying. I've had a Tom binh synapse 25 for nearly 7 years now and the damn thing looks new as the day I got it despite being my daily carry and travel bag that entire time.
If you're going to invest $1,200+ in a sleeper car, consider just driving. You can stop anywhere, eat anything, sleep in "luxurious" 2-star hotels (or obscure themed motels, like a desert strip full of Airstreams in Taos, NM), pick up souvenirs, meet locals. And you'd still save money.
I got really excited that they brought back the dining car, but then I remembered it's only for sleeper car people now. Bummer :/
Also driving and rail aren't really comparable. To each their own, but driving is very stressful to me, even along desolate stretches of Nebraska or Wyoming or whatever where there's no traffic. It's easy to get drowsy on a long haul. And it only takes one moron or sudden severe weather event to ruin your day/life. But, you're right, you do get the tradeoff of complete freedom. It's just a different thing. One is a chance to fully relax and unplug and just be carried along, one is an opportunity to explore.
> economy ... gets you no access to the observation car
This wasn't true many years ago. Is this a recent change? Maybe Covid related to keep the amount of contacts down?
Also if you're in coach, you can still reserve a spot in the dining car and pay for your meal (or at least you could). I did that a few times over the course of a trip. Lots of weird characters in coach, for better and for worse. But at least you know why the train is stopped in a crossing to let Amtrak police board, or who the FBI agents are looking for.
I'd describe taking the train as like a condensed driving trip. If you've got a few days to spare getting to your destination, but not the month required for a full cross country road trip, it's definitely worth doing!
Memorable travel, not just memorable destinations.
In 2021, I returned home from India to Australia once I could, but with quarantine arrangements at the time, had to land in Darwin. I knew there was a train from Darwin to Adelaide, but sadly discovered it’s exclusively targeted at tourists, something like $1,200. So I flew to Melbourne instead, around $450. Disappointing.
Rail is delightful stuff. I live out in western Victoria, and vastly prefer taking the train from Ballarat to Melbourne, rather than driving. It’s often 5–10km from the highway and goes through beautifully picturesque areas, whereas the highway is comparatively boring.
Going slow is also great. I’ve made a few multi-week cycling trips now, in the USA and New Zealand (and single-week in Australia). Take the different way you experience things by rail, and amplify that considerably further, though in slightly different directions as you’re still largely tied to roads. Recumbent tricycles are particularly excellent for the endeavour, with their inherent stability, high capacity and greater comfort. (I use a Greenspeed GT-3: for air/rail conveyance, fold it in half and wrap it up in a tarp which can serve as a ground sheet when camping. Treat the rope you wrap it all up in to be consumable if dealing with the TSA: they’ve destroyed it thoroughly every time (like, longest remaining piece 1.5m out of a 10m rope, they’re putting effort into this), and significantly damaged the tarp a couple of times. Australia and New Zealand have never damaged either.)
I might try other route just to give trains a shot again. I like the concept and the space and how comfortable is the ride, but SF - Truckee, I'm not sure I would do it again.
Would I do it again? Probably not.
On one leg, the air conditioning in the car was broke after the first 1.5 days so I and a bunch of Amish took up the offer to ride a bus to Chicago, but getting in to Union Station at 1 AM is no fun.
On the plus side, pleasant company, friendly staff, and decent food. As you indicated, a one-time experience I am not likely to repeat.
That’s a quote from Alan Sepinwall [1]. But it does summarize my own sentiments, too. And a significant portion of it is on a train, so topical here.
[1] https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/here-come-two-words-for-you-why...
We've only done the Lamy<->Chicago section of the Chief, but the timing is so great for that: depart both places mid-afternoon, arrive 25 hrs later (delays notwithstanding).
In fairness though, a really great 6 hours with a toddler would be more surprising.
Amtrak is subsidized because it’s considered transportation. But any 40+ hour trip cannot be considered transportation. As the author points out, it’s basically best treated like a cruise trip.
Why are we subsidizing people’s day+ vacations?
There appears to be absolutely no benefit to this and any incremental environmental benefits provided by a few hundred people traveling between Chicago and LA by train instead of plane each day is negligible.
This isn’t an indictment of train travel. It’s an indictment of Amtrak.
Overall, highly recommend anyone to do it if they've got a few days -- the next time I go I will probably splurge on a sleeper car instead of just sleeping in a seat in my jeans (okay for 1-2 days but tough for day 3)
My partner and I flew to Chicago, where we caught the California Zephyr to Oakland. We had a small cabin, but it was great. Waking up at 6am in Denver was astounding, as was that entire day. SLC at 1am was surreal. And crossing the Sierra Nevadas was unforgettable.
We hung out in SF for a few days, went to MacWorld, and I had a few meetings. Then back to Oakland for the Coast Starlight to Portland. Now we had a bigger cabin with its own bathroom and shower. Bliss!
From Portland, we took the Empire Builder across the top of the US back to Chicago, from whence we flew back to “HogTown.”
—-
Random memories:
1. Massively more comfortable than flying. You don’t have to go to a lot of trouble to get aisle seats and what-not just to avoid feeling like you’re an Amazon package being shipped somewhere.
2. You actually SEE the country. It’s amazing to fly over mountains and cities, but rolling past that scenery is so much better, especially when you can view it from the gondola instead of leaning past the passenger with the window seat to peer through a porthole.
3. Way more social. Kids were meeting each other and playing video games in the theatre car. We played cards with a couple we met. The stewards facilitate this by seating you at meals with other couples. If you’re a single, they make up different tables of four singles each meal to help you meet fellow travellers.
4. Unplanned interruptions are different on a train. There was an avalanche/rockfall ahead of us in the Cascades, the train pulled onto a siding and we watched the “Snowball,” a work train, go by with its flatbed, crane, and hefty workfolks waving to us. A few hours later, back it came and we could proceed.
5. Way less stressful in every dimension I can think of, compared to modern aviation. It’s part of the vacation, not a way to get to the vacation.
Summary: Train travel, if you spring for a cabin, is land cruising without the buffets and casinos.
I really like what OP said in the blog post : "Taking a train slows you down and gets you 34,000 feet closer to life on earth" While growing up, we didn't had access to air travel so the only option was life up close but I'm really joyed someone described in this way.
If you're a train lover, put the Swiss Glacier Express on your bucket list! This was my first experience of rail outside the USA, and it was mind-blowing.
-- All jokes aside: I discovered how great the long distance west bound trains are through the Empire Builder train. It's great, it s peaceful, and it's relaxing. Also, it's a heck of a lot better than the OBB nightjet trains.
The train is constantly rumbling over the tracks, the horn is being blared at every crossing, and PA announcements happen throughout the night. Even with earplugs I could not fall asleep. Oh and the train arrived 20 hours late.
YMMV, but my advice is to do a short trip before trying a long one!
It’s nice going through Glacier Natl Park and surrounding areas in Spring.
Get a sleeper car! Plush. Especially if you’re single. It was cool (in my young days) meeting people in the observation car and offering them a place to crash.
Ahhhh… back in the day…
I highly recommend taking a long distance Amtrak route, when you can. You get to see a beautiful part of America.
“enjoying comforts like in-flight entertainment, drinks, snacks, and the airport lounges”
Are you not allowed snacks, drinks or entertainment on the train?!
Like thousands. You can go to holiday in Bali for that cost.
I toured the US via Amtrak twice; once in 2007, and again in 2010. Both trips originated at New York Penn.
The first time I did it was on the Lake Shore Limited from NYP to Chicago, then the California Zephyr to Emeryville with a shuttle to San Francisco. Did the same route back.
During this trip, I stayed a night in Chicago, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco.
Chicago was great. I would live here in a heartbeat if it weren't for the weather. I tried walking up a pier since I was curious about why there was a huge mound of ice there but not on the street. Bad fucking idea. Windy City is no joke. Had African food nearby; delicious.
Discovered Intelligentsia Coffee while there. Incredible. I still always stop at Intelligentsia whenever I go to Chicago.
I had a can thrown at me in Omaha while I walked eight miles to a film festival that someone advertised at a coffee shop. I saw The Joneses there. Good movie.
I was reminded during the walk that I packed LIKE SHIT for this trip. Stuffed everything (including a shit Canon 300D) into a cheap bag that my first job at Macquarie gave us. The handles broke from the bag mid-walk, so I had to get creative. Fortunately I took public transit back. Terrifying.
At Denver, a lady told me to delete a photo I took of a bus stop I took that had a bullet hole through it. (Jokes on her; I lost ALL of the photos I took of this trip!) Also walked through downtown Denver, which was very small back then. I'm sure it's insane now.
Salt Lake City was interesting. Found out here that my ex-girlfriend was pregnant with her first with someone else she was dating. Devastated me since I still had feelings for her. (This was a blessing in disguise, as it turned out that I didn't want kids. Married an amazing woman a few years later who was more aggressive about childfree than I was. We still don't have kids, and our life is amazing ten years in.)
I toured the Mormon Temple, which was fascinating. Later, I went to a rock show somewhere in the outskirts. EVERYONE there was white except me (I'm black) and EVERYONE stopped to stare at me. It was almost like one of those scenes where the music stops and everyone stares at the subject. In retrospect, it might have been the SLR on my neck. Anyway, didn't stay there long. Fuck that place still.
San Francisco was fun. Still have some photos from this part of the trip thanks to PhotoRec. I stayed at the Travelodge at Fisherman's Wharf. It was $79/night then. I walked to Sausalito and was awe-struck by how quaint the houses were.
The second time was a "coastal" tour. I took the Crescent to New Orleans, then the Sunset Limited to LAX, then Amtrak Coast Sunlight from LAX to Seattle, the Empire Builder to Chicago, then Lake Short Limited back to NYP.
On this trip, I stopped at Charlotte, Atlanta, NOLA, Houston, Tucson, LAX, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago.
Now that I had some more money from my job, I upgraded my equipment a bit. Bought a Gregory 75L pack (hugely overpacked) that I still have today and took photos on my Samsung Galaxy Vibrant (because I sure as fuck wasn't losing these photos).
I had Waffle House for the first time ever in Atlanta. As stupid as this is, this (and the weather) was the thing that made me fall in love with the South. Waffle House is incredible. Better than 99% of the diners I grew up with in NYC. Was astounded by how NYC didn't have any of these. I SWEAR the waffles were bigger then.
(Didn't know anything about its politics or propensity for Christianity and still mostly don't care. I was locked in and this was happening. Almost moved to Dallas in 2010. Almost moved to Houston in 2012, but stayed for my now-wife. Finally moved to Dallas in 2016 and then to Houston in 2020.)
Stayed at my first fancy-feast hotel in New Orleans. I thought the stay was $130 total; haha, it was actually $130/nt...and I was there for two nights! That was a lot of money for me back then. (I'm now typing this from a Ritz Carlton...that I paid with points because I'm still cheap LOL. Thanks, tech industry!) Missed mardi gras, but Bourbon St was still insane. Loved Old French Quarter; saw an awesome hillbilly river punk band there.
Houston was fun. Took the bus everywhere. Was quickly introduced to the shittitude that was Houston METRO in 2010. Walked the underground tunnel system. Really sad, as it was clear that it was bustling in the 80s and maybe the 90s. Saw black cowboys trot their horses on some main street. Didn't know black cowboys existed.
Tucson was my shortest stay followed by LAX. I didn't book a hotel there so I only had whatever time I had for the train to switch crews. Very cute city. Back then they only had a single main strip. Not sure now.
The only thing I remember about LAX is dining at Dinah's. Food was good.
So remember how I said I took the Coast Starlight? Well, lol, I actually didn't. The tracks were being renovated, so we had to take a bus from LA to Portland, riding I think the PCH along the way. Absolutely stunning...but not as much from a bus LOL.
Portland was really interesting. Very very VERY quirky town. Not the REI model city it is now. (Still love Portland; I do my solo vacations there.) Had voodoo doughnuts and Stumptown before they blew up. (This was something I planned to do, as I was massively into coffee back then, like I still am now.) Holy shit, those donuts were incredible. Spent a few hours with his attractive older woman who I went dancing with. I was into older women, so I was particularly invested in this moment, Nothing happened, but it was a good time. Stayed across the river where the Portland sign is. 0/10; would not recommend.
Seattle was fun. It rained, of course. Had Starbucks at Pike Place. It was...Starbucks. Had a lot of other great coffee while I was there. Hung out at a meetup at a bar. Met some great people there. I remember a doctor telling me that hand sanitizer was mostly worthless. This was interesting to think about during COVID. Went up the space needle.
Didn't see ANYTHING from Seattle to Chicago because of snow. Didn't even know there were cities up there. (We stopped at Minot for a bit, which surprised me.)
TLDR: As for the train trip itself: OP is spot on. DO IT. There is no better way to see how incredible the US is. You will meet (very) interesting people, the dinner is surprisingly delicious, and you are forced to do nothing for large segments of the trip since cell service is unreliable (though definitely not as unreliable as it was back when I did it; back then, most of the trip didn't have cell coverage at all, and I sure as shit couldn't afford roaming!).
I booked mine with a USA Rail pass; $500 to ride 10 segments, which is just enough to see the entire US. Slept on the seats instead of getting a fancy sleeper like OP did.
You will need to spend time planning how to do it, as the trains arrive and depart at weird times. You'll also need to account for delays, since most of the rail segments are owned by the freighting companies. Interestingly, this is a holdover from the time when these rail lines were owned by those same companies! The route names are actually what those trains were called before Amtrak (AMRC) consolidated them in the 80s.
I would absolutely recommend making a vacation out of it by staying at a few cities along your route. Lots of travelers dunk on how boring the US is and seek adventure overseas to compensate. Couldn't be farther from the truth. Every big city is different, and every state is different. If you can, avoid renting a car and use public transit or walk. Every city is the same if you drive point to point everywhere.
Thanks for reading.
There are some down sides as well:
1. Norovirus - the bathrooms had comical “no touch” stickers by the sink that was definitely not no touch (you had to push the button constantly to get water, even in business class, the economy ones were worse). As a result, we all caught a stomach bug on the way down that played out fully for the kids on the way back. Bring spare clothes and more hygiene products than normal. The upside: we had bathrooms and cleaning materials at our disposal to clean up the mess and we didn’t have to stop anywhere to do it.
2. The business class felt less cramped than coach, and the conversations with strangers were excellent, there were also people on the train that were giving headaches to the train attendants (people sneaking in alcohol and bothering other passengers, people who would not be allowed to fly etc). Normally that’s not an issue, but with little kids on board, we had to be extra careful. On the upside, train is also the best way to travel if you are alone and we met amazing people who were sharing their life story and enjoying a captive audience you wouldn’t get with any other form of travel.
3. The food, while surprisingly good on a first meal (compared to airline food), was also very surprisingly insufficient on the last leg of all of their trips (which SF to LA was). The cafe was emptied out of food by early afternoon, and the dining car REFUSED to serve or even make TOGO food for anyone who was not in a sleeper car. We had a lot of hangry family who was was excited for a meal and ended up eating chips and junk food instead.
4. Because the food provider is a monopoly on the train, they also seemed to short customers of the dining car in what they were paying for with their prix-fix meals, which is your only option on the dining car. Every person pays the same price for a multiple item meal, but we were not told that or offered parts of the meal we were due until we found out and started asking for them on each meal. Since you can’t hop off the train to grab food elsewhere, make sure to bring snacks and alternatives with you.
TLDR: Great with kids, cheaper and less stressful than air or car, but mind your hygiene and bring food backup if you’re not in a sleeper car.
