Good train routes in the US?

[Bro D]

Every year I visit my folks and some friends in Phoenix for a few weeks, typically anywhere from late Jan to Early May. Normally I fly but last year I made a road trip out of it and had a blast. This year I was half-kicking around the idea of taking a train (the Amtrak Southwest Chief) but most of my friends think I'm a crazy for tossing around the idea. Personally I think it would be a cool experience getting your own roommette (I'd fly back). The route would be from Galesburg to Flagstaff and then I'd rent a car and make the beautiful drive down from Flagstaff to Mesa. /csb

Anyone travel by train in the US anywhere? Good/bad times? Obviously Alaska but any contiguous US routes worth experiencing?

 

[goldmom]

Every year I visit my folks and some friends in Phoenix for a few weeks, typically anywhere from late Jan to Early May. Normally I fly but last year I made a road trip out of it and had a blast. This year I was half-kicking around the idea of taking a train (the Amtrak Southwest Chief) but most of my friends think I'm a crazy for tossing around the idea. Personally I think it would be a cool experience getting your own roommette (I'd fly back). The route would be from Galesburg to Flagstaff and then I'd rent a car and make the beautiful drive down from Flagstaff to Mesa. /csb

Anyone travel by train in the US anywhere? Good/bad times? Obviously Alaska but any contiguous US routes worth experiencing?

I keep saying I’d love to do one of the cross country trains with a private sleeper car. I think you should go for it.

 

[BelemNole]

 

[ThorneStockton]

I've done the following:

Chicago - NOLA: 3x roundtrip
Chicago - Los Angeles (Southwest Chief): 2x
Chicago - San Francisco: 3x (Denver to San Francisco has the best scenery on any US route)
Portland - Chicago: 1x
Seattle - Chicago: 1x
Chicago - Boston: 1x

All in a roomette, I would not do these trips in coach.

It can be a fantastic way to travel if you aren't in a hurry and you are comfortable entertaining yourself. The beds are adequate, there's a shower on board, you can pack your own booze, the meal services are unique (have gone down hill in quality), the scenery can be excellent, the room attendant can be great.

I can have privacy in my own room, I can be sociable during the meals (community seating), or in the observation/lounge car. I always enjoy myself, nice buzz from the beverages, a good book, virtual entertainment if needed, all while cruising across our vast country without having any sort of responsibility besides enjoyment. I always have a sense of adventure when on a train trip, I just took the Zephyr from Chicago to Mt Pleasant to get back to Iowa City yesterday, and even that short distance was enjoyable.

The bad: it can get delayed, significantly, plan for some allowance, and hope for the best. If you can't entertain yourself or hate the idea of not being able to start and stop at your own wishes, this may not be for you. The coaches will get stinky by the end of a 2 day journey, not a real problem if you're in a sleeper.

 

[goldmom]

Which one was your favorite?

 

[ThorneStockton]

Which one was your favorite?

California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville (San Francisco), goes across the southern 1/3 of Iowa, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento and finally Emeryville.

From Chicago to Denver it's pretty meh in terms of scenery, although as a Iowa native, it's still pleasant to look at the rolling farms rather than focusing on the road. Even yesterday it was fun to watch the harvesters out doing their thing. You sleep through Nebraska and awake in Denver Union Station at 8am the second day. That's when the fun starts.

From Denver the rest of the way it's just fantastic scenery. Switch backs through the Rockies, riding parallel to the Colorado River for a spell, after the Rockies you're not done, you get the Sierra Nevada, go right by Donner Lake/Pass, a lot of it feels very remote, not cars/road in sight.

 

[Slappy Pappy]

How's the wifi?

 

[ThorneStockton]

How's the wifi?

Not existent on the Western trains anymore - at least the ones I have ridden. They used to have it, and it was spotty, but I think with the advance of smart phones and cell towers, they just let the customers deal. There's surprisingly decent coverage.

 

[ThorneStockton]

Some pictures I've taken from trains over the years:

Zephyr:

Empire Builder

Southwest Chief

 

[Bro D]

Thanks @ThorneStockton -- This is great info! The ones traveling the West are the ones I had my eye on for sure

How did you like the Southwest Chief in comparison to the others?

 

[ThorneStockton]

Thanks @ThorneStockton -- This is great info! The ones traveling the West are the ones I had my eye on for sure

How did you like the Southwest Chief in comparison to the others?

It's a great route, just a different type of scenery. I mean you can just look at the map and tell it's going to be different than going through the Rockies. Less switchbacks through forested mountains and more vast deserts, still some mountains but more off in the distance, and more of like desert mountains (like red and shale like) I don't know anything about mountains... To me it's still great, the vast deserts are cool, but for my money, I think the route to SF through the Rockies and Sierra Nevada are more awe inspiring and in your face.

 

[bhawk24bob]

Baltimore - Wilmington - Philadelphia - Newark is just like the French Riviera but on fentanyl

 

[The Tradition]

Is there a car where smoking is allowed?

 

[ThorneStockton]

Is there a car where smoking is allowed?

No, but there are probably a dozen or so stops that are long enough to detrain and the smokers can get their fix outside. And there's usually two stops that are longer where some of the crews change, trash offloaded, provision onloaded. Can walk around and certainly smoke at will.

One trip with a buddy we realized we forgot the tonic at home, so I'm out in the Denver snow in shorts and flip flops at 8 am going to convenience stores looking for mixers.

 

[cohawk]

I've done the following:

Chicago - NOLA: 3x roundtrip
Chicago - Los Angeles (Southwest Chief): 2x
Chicago - San Francisco: 3x (Denver to San Francisco has the best scenery on any US route)
Portland - Chicago: 1x
Seattle - Chicago: 1x
Chicago - Boston: 1x

All in a roomette, I would not do these trips in coach.

It can be a fantastic way to travel if you aren't in a hurry and you are comfortable entertaining yourself. The beds are adequate, there's a shower on board, you can pack your own booze, the meal services are unique (have gone down hill in quality), the scenery can be excellent, the room attendant can be great.

I can have privacy in my own room, I can be sociable during the meals (community seating), or in the observation/lounge car. I always enjoy myself, nice buzz from the beverages, a good book, virtual entertainment if needed, all while cruising across our vast country without having any sort of responsibility besides enjoyment. I always have a sense of adventure when on a train trip, I just took the Zephyr from Chicago to Mt Pleasant to get back to Iowa City yesterday, and even that short distance was enjoyable.

The bad: it can get delayed, significantly, plan for some allowance, and hope for the best. If you can't entertain yourself or hate the idea of not being able to start and stop at your own wishes, this may not be for you. The coaches will get stinky by the end of a 2 day journey, not a real problem if you're in a sleeper.

I like the Seattle to Chicago route. Lots of great scenery.

 

[ThorneStockton]

I like the Seattle to Chicago route. Lots of great scenery.

Yep, especially around Glacier National Park, but really all of WA and MT is great when I've spent my entire life living in Iowa and Chicago...

 

[CLUB215]

Amtrak Acela first class. Do it DC to Boston.

 

[The Tradition]

No, but there are probably a dozen or so stops that are long enough to detrain and the smokers can get their fix outside. And there's usually two stops that are longer where some of the crews change, trash offloaded, provision onloaded. Can walk around and certainly smoke at will.

One trip with a buddy we realized we forgot the tonic at home, so I'm out in the Denver snow in shorts and flip flops at 8 am going to convenience stores looking for mixers.

Exactly how often do these stops occur?

 

[THE_DEVIL]

It’s been over an hour so I am obligated to post the following-

Best train route is the one to OP's moms house

 

[ThorneStockton]

Exactly how often do these stops occur?

Will vary by route, but I'd guess an average of 4 hours in between. But if the train is on time and you're desperate, willing to be quick and stay right next to the train, the attendant/conductor may be cool with it. At the same time, some of the planned 10-15 minute stops can be cancelled if the train is behind schedule.

 

[ThorneStockton]

The classic cooked to order Amtrak flat iron steak. Communal dining, meaning you'll be sat at the table with 3 others. There's something unique about sit down dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner as the scenery rolls by and you feel the gentle rumble on the rails.

All meals included in the price of the sleeper car.

 

[The Tradition]

The classic cooked to order Amtrak flat iron steak. Communal dining, meaning you'll be sat at the table with 3 others. There's something unique about sit down dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner as the scenery rolls by and you feel the gentle rumble on the rails.

All meals included in the price of the sleeper car.

Pass on the vegetable medley...

 

[ThorneStockton]

Amtrak Acela first class. Do it DC to Boston.

I've got a roundtrip from Chicago to Boston coming up, day after Xmas.

 

[CLUB215]

I've got a roundtrip from Chicago to Boston coming up, day after Xmas.

That's not the Acela route

 

[Bro D]

It’s been over an hour so I am obligated to post the following-

Best train route is the one to OP's moms house

Was wondering what took so long

Also

 

[ThorneStockton]

That's not the Acela route

Well, no shit. The Acela is a sorry excuse for a high speed train, but at least it's still a train.

 

[desihawk]

been wanting to do either san diego - seattle or la-chicago for a while but it hasn’t materialized yet. a few years ago did a short one from nyc grand central to buffalo which had nice scenery but not awe inspiring

 

[TJ8869]

Is there a car where smoking is allowed?

You could climb up on top of the train like James Bond and smoke up there.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

Is there a car where smoking is allowed?

Yes, but you need to be careful as there aren't any railings.

 

[CLUB215]

Well, no shit. The Acela is a sorry excuse for a high speed train, but at least it's still a train.

First class is a great experience

 

[Bro D]

Well I've decided against train.. instead I'm doing a road trip to phoenix. Maybe train back on mar 1

Feb 10: iowa vs nebraska
Feb 11: creighton vs uconm
Feb 12: nuggets vs blazers
Feb 13: Jazz vs lakers
Feb 14-15: vegas baby

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

Wow, Thorne, amazing posts! Great thread. I don't know much about the Amtrak side to be honest. I usually fly for work. Not out of preference but necessity. I have been on numerous projects on the B&B side on core routes. It's very stressful. To hold a passenger train is a big no-no on a Class 1 railroad. Even if it means delaying intermodel trains that can and do pay millions in profits. Per train. Heavy fines can be leveraged and have been per contractual agreement for disrupting the movements of people on the go. It's a big challenge to time inspections, orders, work blocks, material delivery, resource availability and finally work that won't mess up the flow of life flying down the rails at 56.5 gauged inches of don't delay me. God, I love railroads.

 

[HawkBall23]

It’s been over an hour so I am obligated to post the following-

Best train route is the one to OP's moms house

Didn't see this thread until now, so you beat me to it.

Was gonna say that rumor has it that the train schedule through OP mom's bedroom is pretty popular and constantly running.