NY to LA by Amtrak Train

Sounds hellish.

Even India has nicer first class sleeper cars. This is vile.

Hell on wheels.

I really enjoyed his video.

The scenery from Colorado to New Mexico to California was gorgeous.

I was shocked when he said that his train hit a car! Does that happen often?

Maybe I missed it, but did he say how much his trip cost to be in a roomette/sleeper?

From what I could tell, it was over $2000 from NY to LA.

I'd love to do this with a fuckbuddy. The sleeper car would be a-rocking choo choo!

The only thing that would annoy me is having to change trains so often.

It looks like he took three or four trains total.

Also, the shower situation. If it's a "communal" shower, that sounds kind of gross. Especially with coronavirus going around now.

But a shower is a necessity because it's a four day journey.

What with Amcrash's usual "reliability" and dismal on-time performance, how many weeks did this cross-country trek take?

we did the sleeper berth from KC to LA. it was on my bucket list. Wont do it again. It was a holiday period so additional seating thru out the train was always full (i.e. observation car) so we were confined to our berth . Overheated(winter) and not all that spacious for two big guys. Sleeping was not as sound as I had hoped and at times ,for example, in flat eastern Colorado we literally crawled at 30 miles per hour for at least an hour. Food in dining car I thought was very good however.

I don't think I'd mind the train ride, but just looking at what was available I'd definitely mind the food...and the toilet, etc. I don't think I could take 4-5 days of that. Maybe one or two. But my train experience has been limited to 5 hour jaunts from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Chicago, and 90 minutes to two hours from Birmingham, Michigan to Ann Arbor. Train food is horrible.

R8, Dylan basically warned the viewer that Amtrak is often hours late on cross country trips, and they guarantee you a 90 minute connection at most.

Also, funny you mention "Amcrash," because his train collided with a car in Colorado!

Here's another video of his, taking AMTRAK from Los Angeles to Seattle.

I'm gonna watch it now.

I think that Dylan is British, which is why he is so meticulous in documenting his journey.

He's so thorough, which I love.

It's as though you're taking the trip yourself.

Well if he's British I can understand why he might not mind the food.

My brother took the train from Michigan to Portland, OR. He found a sleeper car with shower access and meals included for just under $500. He enjoyed it but felt once was enough.

Mike Downie's much more animated, personable, and enthused, not to mention verbal. Not hard to look at it, either, and he even does a PG-rated shower scene and some "Train training" exercise tips. Traveling with his friend Will this time, too, in a little tiny roomette...

Here's one of his many train vids, this time Chicago to Seattle on the Amtrak Empire Builder.

Two friends did this after their retirement. Oakland to Boston. The day before they were to depart, they were notified by Amtrak that the train would terminate in Albany, New York, about 150 miles short of their destination. A bus had been engaged, however, to drive them the rest of the way. One friend has a back injury and the train was chosen to avoided a crowded plane. Instead, they got four hours on a crowded bus.

When they arrived, they were both traumatized by the experience. There are lots of problems on Amtrak and they create a lot of shit one has to eat along the way. I was advised, however, to take the train, but only from Salt Lake City to Denver. They assured me that was the very best of it.

"Not hard to look at", obviously, not "Not hard to look at it"

Amtrak also seems to charge ridiculously high prices, R16.

But it looks like the Acela lounge gives you crappy prepackaged snacks. Where's the élégance?

Lotta Amtrak haters on the DL. Wow!

I love Amtrak and now, as a retiree, take the train as often as I can for vacations.

It's great. The roomettes are fine for one person.

R16 It's a shame they didn't arrange a slight re-routing when informed of the change. Rather than detrain in Albany for the bus ride (Amtrak does this routinely because the tracks are in such bad shape across the Berkshires that using them can take 7 to 8 hours for that segment instead of 4 hours on the bus) they should have stayed on the Lake Shore Limited and gone to Penn Station in NYC where they could change to either an Acela (3 hours) or NE Corridor (4-plus hours) train to Boston. It would have taken them two or three hours longer, but it'd have been all by train and the scenery along the Connecticut and Rhode Island shorelines is a lot more interesting, too.

They run off bridges into the river and you die, no thanks.

LOLOL! R19 you want elegance try the Orient Express. Go to Europe where they set it out for you. Europeans wouldn't put up with what we put up with. Sara Lee? Really?

Yes, r22. Many people walk away from airplane crashes. Everyone knows this.

[quote] you want elegance try the Orient Express

No way! Didn't you hear about the murder on that train??

How does AMTRAK compete with the airlines?

Airlines are faster and cheaper.

Now if AMTRAK offered 99 dollar cross country fares, I'd ride it all the time.

LOL! A little murder with your pastries is exciting, R25. Here you go:

R26: Amtrak did, regularly, have o/w $99 cross-country coach promo fares (and Eurail-like passes good for 60 days travel for $199) until a couple of years ago.

Nothing - not if you gave me spending money, free meals, free booze and the ticket was $1 - could get me to spend three or four nights sitting up on a train.

^^ Then get a sleeper, dummy! Oh, are you poor and in a hurry or something? Well, then .....

R28, why did they discontinue those fares?

R29 The sleeper wasn't included in the $99 COACH fare, asshole. But you knew that - "Nothing - not if you gave me spending money, free meals, free booze and the ticket was $1 - could get me to spend three or four nights sitting up on a train." and just wanted to add some useless comment. With a sleeper it's $1400 one way.

Thank you for sharing and now go fuck yourself. Sitting up.

^^ Wow, you're a churl A-N-D a cunt. Stay classy, buttlick.

I took that trip in the early 90’s. LA to NYC with no sleeper compartment. The scenery was beautiful. That was the only pleasant thing about the trip.

I've taken an amtrak train from DC to chicago, and NYC to Cleveland. I've also taken the City of New Orleans from Chicago all the way to NOLA. but I've never taken the western trains. I'd love to. the sleeping cars are expensive

This is the only train worth getting on!

R32 Hardly churlish in response to: "Then get a sleeper, dummy! Oh, are you poor and in a hurry or something? Well, then ..."

Because you're so classy, I guess.

amtrak=classy

[quote] Europeans wouldn't put up with what we put up with.

That is correct. For one thing, there's none of this chugging along at 30mph for hours over there. The Eurostar goes along at 200mph. Also those Amtrak cramped roomettes are quite expensive and difficult to get.

About 19 years ago I bought a round-trip Boston/Chicago Amtrak ticket. The trip going out of Boston was in a "roomette" and coming back was in open seating. I didn't get a full-sized berth because it was too expensive.

I was shocked and quite dismayed upon seeing my "room", as the Amtrak website images made it appear as though it was much larger. It was literally the size of a small closet, and I remember thinking that I'm going to be stuck inside this tiny stall for most of the the next 22 hours. I drank whenever I could to pass the time.

Being in general seating on the way back was even worse, being that you're sitting and sleeping right next to someone for almost a full day. The only opportunity to get up was to use the bathroom or to eat in the dining car, which was 6 or 7 cars back. When the train arrived in Springfield, MA, a bus took us to Boston, which was actually a good thing, because it shaved around an hour off the trip.

I don't think I would ever take an Amtrak again for any great length unless I could afford first class each way, and even then I'd be hesitant to do so. I've been on European trains (regular seating) and they were much more timely, cleaner and modern.

So if you choose to go cross country on AMTRAK on a coach fare, does that mean you are stuck in a single seat for four days?

Are you allowed to use the showers?

That sounds insane!

[quote] Are you allowed to use the showers?

Q: would you want to use the deplorable showers? I guess there's no choice.

I'm sorry but shitting IN your room is gross.

[quote] I'm sorry but shitting IN your room is gross.

Well it certainly beats shitting in your pants.

Coach passengers cannot take a shower on the cross-country trains. The showers (shared for roomette pax, en-suite for those in some of the bedrooms) are in the sleeping cars and reserved for sleeping car passengers.

Coach passengers use paper towels in the bathroom to clean up.

Watched a bit of it, seems hellish

I road Amtrak from Chicago to New Mexico as part of a family vacation in middle school. My father thought it would be fun to try something new and see parts of the country we hadn’t seen. The whole trip was miserable (and my father apologized the whole vacation). There was a 20 hour(!!) delay about an hour outside of Chicago. We waited it out, but obviously arrived in New Mexico a day late and in the middle of the night.

The ride back wasn’t as disastrous, but it’s very slow going and quite boring. Even the ex-Soviet trains connecting Baku, Tbilisi and Yerevan zip along faster than the slow crawl of Amtrak. I would love to support our train system more, but not at these prices and not when they’re so slow.

Let me Oh, Dear myself!

I rode!

[quote] Coach passengers use paper towels in the bathroom to clean up.

Almost as bad as traveling on a cattle truck.

Joe Biden claims to have commuted for years on Amtrak to and from DC. Still, that's a relatively short ride.

[quote] Coach passengers use paper towels in the bathroom to clean up.

Damn, that coach car must smell horrible!

Four days without showering? No fucking way.

I took it from DC to Charlottesville once. It was kinda gross: people were changing their clothes, down to their underwear - it was Friday evening so people were starting to enjoy the weekend. When we got to Charlottesville we had to climb down from the train via one exit only onto a stool then on to dry land in the dark (it was 8pm) where the track crossed main street: no station. The only lighting was from the glare of the headlights of cars come to meet passengers; the glare was quite blinding in the gloom. Third world stuff.

The short ride from NYC to Boston is lovely. Goes along the shoreline. I love trains but I don’t think I could handle 4 days in those conditions.

I think the four days is coast to coast. The Southwest Chief (Chicago to L.A.), for example, is two nights according to the timetable. I think that is probably at the limit of what I could tolerate, but I'd still love it try it (or the California Zephyr or Empire Builder) if money were no object and I could get an en-suite room.

Took the AMTRAK back in the 1980s. Round trip from LA to NYC and WASHDC then back to LA.

Spent time in NYC and WASHDC.

It was the sleeper and the trip was great.

AMTRAK is no longer like back then. Sad!

R23, it depends on where in Europe you go. Sweden and Finland reportedly have some excellent sleeper trains. The Italian and Spanish routes are alright, but you need to do your homework. Austria's ÖBB took over several Deutsche Bahn routes and they have a solid service. The Caledonian Sleeper between Inverness/Glasgow/Edinburgh and London was recently refurbished and is now apparently overpriced and disappointing. On the other hand, the Night Riveria from London to Penzance (Cornwall) is supposed to be cozy and pleasant.

Never. Outside of some scenic moments, it's just a long, boring, tedious trip with not much to look at. Trains go through the worst areas of town, so you get to see the seediest parts.

There are a few that would be worth it - along the coasts for example. But cross-country and transferring several times?

Hell to the no.

The only time I traveled by train was Salt Lake City to LA. I really enjoyed it.

It's not cheap either.

[quote] This guy did a fantastic job of documenting his trip from New York to Los Angeles on AMTRAK. It's about 20 minutes long, but I really enjoyed watching it.

Wow that’s one fast train! How did he get a chance to see the scenery?

[quote] The only thing that would annoy me is having to change trains so often.

All part of the control wealthy corporations have over this country. The public pays for the rails repair etc but they’re often owned by private rail lines who get priority, so the public passenger trains have to wait and switch from train to train a lot.

I love this: the corporations aren’t liable if there’s a accident — the public (govt) is! So basically the corporations who own the rails have no incentive to maintain them.

Part of the problem with Amtrak is that freight trains have priority over passengers trains since hauling freight pays their bills not passenger traffic. If there is one line out off town the 100 car freight train goes first the passenger train has to wait. Which is one of the reasons traveling by train is a nightmare. I think in the EU it's the other way round.

Yeah - I never understood the prioritization of freight over passenger. There are so few passengers trains and they go pretty fast.

Trains in the US are fine for 8-10 hours, but more than that is bullshit.

One exception - the CarTrain from Virginia to Orlando. Drive your car on the train, leaves at 4pm and you arrive in Orlando the next morning at 9am. That sounds perfect. No stops.

Actually, by law, Amtrak passenger trains have rail priority, but the railroads flaut the law with impunity.

Maybe the new Amtrak head honcho hired from Delta Air Lines can get this priority enforced.

Thanks to all sharing information about the way the US rail system works.

I had no idea.

No wonder it's so bad, and no wonder more people don't travel by train.

A friend took a train from Chicago to La. He said it was hours and hours of farms

I'd try a train ride for a day or so just for the experience. Anything longer sounds like a nightmare

R66 if you're on the West Coast, do the LA-Seattle (or vice-versa) shown at R11.

It only takes 33 hours, and the scenery is beautiful.

At the bottom of the train priorities are the local commuter trains which have to wait for the freight trains and Amtrak trains which have the right of way. Fortunately most freight trains run at night after rush hour.

I hope if (fingers crossed!) Amtrak aficionado Joe Biden becomes president, he supports a robust national train service.

Apart from the insanitary and primitive conditions on board, the trains are usually late.

If you're on the West coast, take the train from Los Angeles, Union Station, to San Diego. Sea Coast most of the way. And then it's done in about 3 hours or so.

If you're on the East coast, take the train from New York, Penn Station, to Boston. Sea Coast most of the way. And then it's over in about 4 hours or so.

That's all anyone needs of the passenger train system in the US. Every other ride will be more challenging and less rewarding.

How about LA to San Francisco, R71?

Never in a million years. First off, with the exception of DC to NY Amtrak can't even handle a three hour tri state trip without stopping and starting every half hour. I don't trust them to handle a cross country journey. And then there's the price. Amtrak is batshit crazy if they think anyone is going to pay over 1000 for their lousy, outdated trains.

Many years ago we'd overnight on the Montrealer to Montreal (obviously), and return on the Adirondack day train. The Adirondack follows Lakes Champlain and George, and then the whole length of the Hudson. It's a gorgeous trip.

Then they canceled the Montrealer, and one has to take the day train both ways if you want, And, of course, it's always late.

My ex and I took the train to and from Charleston (from NYC) many years ago, and had a 10 hour delay on the return. Never again.

A 10 hour delay: it's a laughable standard of 'service'.

[quote] My ex and I took the train to and from Charleston (from NYC) many years ago, and had a 10 hour delay on the return. Never again.

WTF??!!! You could have walked from Charleston to NY and gotten home faster!

What in the hell are people supposed to do for ten hours?

I would have caught a taxi to the airport and flown home. Then I would have demanded a refund from AMTRAK.

r72 You can't take Amtrak to SF -- it goes to Oakland.

How's the ride from LA to Oakland, then?

[quote]If you're on the West coast, take the train from Los Angeles, Union Station, to San Diego. Sea Coast most of the way. And then it's done in about 3 hours or so.

You can also do this more cheaply by using Metrolink (LA commuter trains) and The Coaster (San Diego commuter trains.) Take one to Oceanside (just south of Camp Pendleton) and switch to the other. Takes you from Union Station (LA) to the Santa Fe station (SD.) Several stops along the way. A fun day trip from LA is to take the Metrolink to San Juan Capistrano or San Clemente.

[quote] You can also do this more cheaply by using Metrolink (LA commuter trains) and The Coaster (San Diego commuter trains.) Take one to Oceanside (just south of Camp Pendleton) and switch to the other.

Is this the train that John Cusack and Annette Bening took in the movie "Grifters?"

In 1974 I took the train back to Greeley Colorado from NY. Sleeper car (very soothing) overnight to stop in Chicago with a 4 hour layover. Just enough time to walk around Michigan Ave and marvel at the lake (so vast it looks like Atlantic Ocean!). Then overnight again to Denver and on to Greeley. Loved every minute of it. Porter spoiled me rotten; Almost as nice as BritRail. Recommend it highly.

1974 was 46 years ago R81. Things have changed dramatically for the worse.

I thought I would enjoy taking a train across the country. But after reading these horror stories, I will pass. It all sounds like a one-way trip to Chowchilla or the ovens at Auschwitz; some choice!

You people are so cynical!

Judy liked her trip.

I've done Newark to Orlando twice decades apart. The second time was as horrible as I remembered the first. The Grand Inquisitor designed Amtrak's seats in 15th century Spain.

The seats in coach on Amtrak are comparable to a La-Z-Boy recliner compared to the airlines' back busters. Get real, r85

Amtrak is in competition with airlines to see who can provide the most expensive and uncomfortable experience. As with most things in America these days, it's a race to the bottom.

No. After a couple of hours you might as well be sitting on a stone. Absolutely miserable. But then I don't take long flights anymore either. Travel is such hell it's no longer worth it for me. I'm staggered even that people take those wretched domestic planes to Europe.

I watched this video the other day. It’s very good. Sydney to Perth.

His room had his own private toilet and shower! The train looks very well appointed compared to USA. Food looks amazing as well.

It's nothing like the good old days of rail travel in Europe. Of course I always travelled with my efficient and loyal Lesbian maid.

Doesn't everyone have his own private railroad car?

Typical of 2020 datalounge, this thread has been taken Over by ignorant hide bound boobs who’ve never gone anywhere. Holy fuck, most of the World travels via train and these cuntish Americans can’t get Ofer where the shower is.

R89, that one's on my bucket list.

Husband and I used to take Amtrak regularly from Portland to Seattle. Each time it was over an hour late; delays for freight trains, commuter trains; one time we had to wait an hour+ for the link-bus to bring a handful of passengers to the train. Another time, we stopped between stations to let a couple cross to the train that stopped next to ours (they'd got on one going in the wrong direction). I wouldn't trust the train to get me anywhere on time, but I enjoy the journey.

Next trip: flight to LAX (2h 20m), Amtrak home (30hours+).

I took the LA to New York when I was in High School. Nightmare. waited for hours as freight trains went by. Delays and holdups, not the horses and bad guy kinds. People were very friendly though and the dining car was fun as you sat with different people you did not know every meal. The meals were fantastic. Got to NY 12 hours late.

Imagine the smells.

Yining to Shanghai (3000 miles) in China only takes 2 days and 6 hours, they reckon it'll be less than half that when the new lines are complete with high speed rail in a few years.

I used to take it all the time,but its been 20 years since my last trip . I always went 1st class with a sleeper car. it was never more than a few 100 more and was well worth it . Im sure,with the way everything has gotten so shitty,that its nothing like I remember. I had many wonderful trips and met many very nice people.

Amtrak has a new 99 year lease on the track from Albany to New York City. No freight trains! They have been banished to the other side of the Hudson. The cars are up to date, comfortable, and the service regularly runs on time.

It can be. It can happen. Keep pushing!

We're not ignorant boobs. I understand most of the world travels by train. But i America we don't. Because our trains are filthy, uncomfortable inefficient and barely functioning. Short trips of 8 hours or less can be managed but otherwise it's torture. Amtrak has always been subsidized. It is not profitable. Selling cars is profitable. The automotive industry and the airlines and the Boeings of this world have all lobbied to keep it that way. Things are changing a little bit now. Environmentalists see the benefits of mass transit. But for decades all kinds of chicanery has prevented any kind of upgrades in the rail system. Oh, I forgot to mention the Teamsters Union and the UAW. Teamsters know that if they improve the rail system it might also impact the freight system.

[quote] I've done Newark to Orlando twice decades apart. The second time was as horrible as I remembered the first

I've done that several times from NYC. It's actual not a bad trip timing wise, but ONLY IF you get a sleeper. Because it's basically an overnight trip. You hop on at 3pm in NYC and arrive in Orlando by 11:30 am. The best thing about the train is you can arrive right at 3pm and just board, no stress or anxiety or having to arrive 2 hours before hand like the airport.

" no stress or anxiety or having to arrive 2 hours before hand like the airport"

It will take a train or two being blown up before security kicks in.

If I could bring my own food and have my own toilet I might chance it. I'm serious. I'd bring sandwiches and fruit and my own bottled water and juice. Because no way I'm going to eat 7/11 stye cuisine.

You have to have an Amtrak mindset when you travel by rail instead of driving or flying.

First off, you must value the journey itself and not just focus on what you have to do when you arrive at your destination. Therefore, Amtrak is perfect for vacations, less so for business unless in the NE Corridor. It's akin to driving a U.S. Highway instead of the freeway: you see more of interest on the train.

You must value talking to your fellow travelers in the lounges, cafe cars, dining cars, observation cars, etc. Most people you meet have an interesting story, especially the foreign visitors to the United States.

When comparing costs, you must consider the cost of hotel rooms, gasoline, and food if taking a long distance Amtrak train and an automobile is your alternative mode of travel.

You must appreciate not having to wait in line for a restroom and appreciate the amount of personal room you are afforded, even for the cheapest tickets.

You must REALLY like not having to go through the stress of passing through US airports these days.

For all the reasons above, I have grown to really like Amtrak.

R6 = Madonna

There were very long queues for the restrooms.

The roomette was cramped.

The toilet in the roomette is disgusting. There must be fecal matter all over that tiny room where you sleep.

We prefer the Trans Europe Express.

Rendezvous on the Champs-Élysées. Leave Paris in the morning on TEE.

Trans. Europe. Express.

Joan Crawford once did it

Meanwhile, in Austria.

[quote]Imagine the smells.

more ignorance. the train actually smells super antiseptic, almost offputtingly so

Amtrak is rather grimy even if they do empty a bottle of pine disinfectant on the floor from time to time, doesn't kill the particulate fecal matter which permeates.

Betcha if you got a train and fixed it up with posh upgrades it would be a money maker.

I always wanted to do a road trip through the USA, especially through the South and the Midwest. Would be a dream come true!

Rona Valley R114 good luck with that.

Wow R110! Sign me up for that!

R116 with three total strangers and their sounds and their smells.

[quote] I understand most of the world travels by train. But i America we don't. Because our trains are filthy, uncomfortable inefficient and barely functioning.

If I remember correctly, both Barack Obama AND Donald Trump campaigned that they would "fix the infrastructure" of the United States.

"Fix the crumbling infrastructure" would be more accurate.

Well what in the hell ever happened to that? Our infrastructure just seems to be getting older, and more decrepit.

And the government isn't doing a damned thing about it.

[quote] First off, you must value the journey itself and not just focus on what you have to do when you arrive at your destination. Therefore, Amtrak is perfect for vacations, less so for business unless in the NE Corridor. It's akin to driving a U.S. Highway instead of the freeway: you see more of interest on the train.

Exactly! It's the romanticism of train travel.

How I wish our countries trains and railroads were of a high standard. I'd be using it all the time.

Unfortunately, most Americans are impatient. They want to get to their destination quickly and conveniently. They couldn't care less about the scenery, or meeting new people.

[quote] The toilet in the roomette is disgusting. There must be fecal matter all over that tiny room where you sleep.

This actually bothered me.

The guy in the video (as part of his showing everyone the amenities in the roomette) started taking out and touching everything. The bedding, the hand towels, the food trays, the toilet seats, etc. And then he put it all back!

If the cleaning people see unused hand towels or bedding on the unused sleeping berth, I guarantee they're not going to replace them with fresh linen or towels, for the next passenger.

Though in this coronavirus age, they should absolutely change out everything in the sleeper cars, EVERY SINGLE TIME a passenger leaves.

But you just know they aren't doing this. I even question if airlines are doing it.

What is like to travel with you car on a train ? The AWESOME Amtrak Auto Train experience PART 2

[quote] How I wish our countries trains and railroads were of a high standard

I'll "Oh, dear!" myself.

It should be "our country's trains and railroads..."

-R118

R117, wait you have to share your room?!

A friend is afraid of flying and took Amtrak from NYC to Los Angeles with her daughter and big dog. There was so sort of trouble when they reach Chicago and had to get off the train and stay in a hotel for one night. Then, the next problem happened somewhere in the midwest where a stretch of track had been washed out. So they had to switch trains and the final stop was Santa Fe not Los Angeles. Her boyfriend drove from LA to Santa Fe to pick them up.

None of these problems was listed as travel advisories before they boarded the train in NYC.

She said that the train was really loud and it was not a smooth ride.

R121 Do you see four beds? Are you bringing three friends?

If not, then you’re sharing it with random strangers. The toilets are down the hall.

Who is the ridiculous smell freak in this thread? Are you the “fecal particles” person too?

All smells are particulate. You smell shit, you are inhaling SHIT. You smell piss, you are inhaling piss.

[quote] Has anyone here done the trip?

Only via car. A weaving road trip from LA to Maine, with stops in Vegas, Denver, Omaha, Chicago, Detroit, Niagara Falls, NYC, Provincetown, and finally Maine. Totally fascinating but would never do that much driving again. The only dire part was eastern Colorado -- seriously boring scenery after the Rockies. Gives you highway hypnosis.

I have friends who’ve gone from Kansas city to LA, and a friend who took the northern train, through the Dakotas, to Chicago. I’ve taking the city of New Orleans end to end. And I’ve taken the capitol limited from Chicago to Dc a couple times. I agree with the video, get a roomette. If you book in advance, it is horribly expensive, and yes, saves on hotels and restaurants

"...it is horribly expensive, ..."

Did you mean ISN'T?

[quote]And the government isn't doing a damned thing about it.

Because no one wants to pay more taxes.

Not true, R129. I very much want Republicans to pay lots more in taxes.

It’s so sad that Amtrak has been neglected and ran into the ground by republicans.

America will never get back to making any kind of progress until they go by way of the Whig party.

Train travel is not prioritized because you’re handing yourself over to some anonymous driver and traveling with a herd of strangers when you take a train, and you’re one million percent passive and controlled.

Americans are all about freedom and independence. They want to get in their wheels and open up the road in front of them and roll forward where the spirit moves them.

That has nothing to do with being American. It's all Americans know because the auto industry lobbied so long and hard to have passenger rail destroyed.

If they had happy memories of train travel and had a train service that was tolerable, they would love trains just as much as anyone does anywhere.

[quote] auto industry lobbied

so did the airlines.

Wait, that’s entirely stupid, plane travel is the same, but more dangerous.

Of cars, trains and planes, cars are the most dangerous in terms of accidents and loss of life.

We took the Autotrain from DC to Florida. We had a family bedroom for the two of us. We really enjoyed the trip and the food in the dining car. I think if we had a smaller room we would not have enjoyed it.

Roomettes are a bit small for 2, but having a roomette to yourself is pure orgasmic bliss if you're an introvert. You can drop the top bunk, put your shit up there, and lounge on the bottom. Or switch it around, and enjoy the bed on top.

The shower is shared, but it's one person at a time & totally private while you're in it.

Pro tip: if you plan to use a laptop in a roomette, buy a 12" x 48" piece of particleboard at home depot, cut it in half, and take two 3" C-clamps to attach it to the roomette's table. Otherwise, you'll have to contort yourself into an uncomfortable angle & won't have room for a mouse. With the board & clamps, you can comfortably use a 15-17" laptop & mouse.

If time and cost aren't a factor, split your trip up. Do NY-Chicago, then spend a night in Chicago. Do Chicago-Denver, then spend a night in Denver before continuing to SF or Seattle.

Back in "the old days", wealthy passengers had sleeping cars, and traveled coast to coast in one shot. Middle-class passengers (esp. with families) did it as a 5-8 day sequence of day trips with overnight stays at hotels by the stations. Poor passengers traveled in coach overnight... the trains ran for wealthy passengers, but overnight coach fares were dirt cheap BECAUSE middle-class passengers stayed at hotels & their seats were otherwise empty overnight. This was especially true during the 1920s... when NY-CA was reduced to ~3.5 days straight-through, or 5 day-only trips.

The 1920s was also when middle-class families started doing 2-3 week summer vacations "out west" with side-trips to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, or both along the way. One year, they'd take the middle route (via Denver) & hit Yellowstone for 2-3 days along the way. The next time, they'd take the southern route, and hit the Grand Canyon for 3-4 days along the way.

The coolest 1920s trains were the winter promo trains chartered by Flagler, selling the then-unfathomable novelty of luxury weekend trips to Florida. Once or twice a year, he'd call in favors to clear the tracks overnight, assemble all-Pullman luxury trains, and run them nonstop from New York and DC to Florida (departing Friday evening, arriving Saturday morning, leaving Sunday afternoon, returning to NY in time to walk off the train & go straight to the office).

Very interesting about the old days R138: any tips on further reading please?

The condition of the trains and the tracks is appalling, but it doesn't end there. There are often very few trains, or possibly only one train per day, that you can use for your travel. If one wants to take a train from Albany, NY, to Chicago, there is only one choice. You board at 7 in the evening and are scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 10 in the morning. That's it. That's the only choice. And the same goes for all the cities on that line. You can jump on that one single train and ride all night, if you want to travel west.

I hope no one from Europe is reading this thread.

[quoted] I hope no one from Europe is reading this thread.

Lol. I don't know about the rest of Europe, but France has fast TGV trains. They are fast, clean, frequent. Same for the Eurostar between UK and France.

R140 -- read r103

{quote] You must appreciate not having to wait in line for a restroom and appreciate the amount of personal room you are afforded, even for the cheapest tickets. R103 / R140

There is always a very long queue for the restrooms on Amtrak.

Uh-huh. Yes, I read it, R142. I'm not sure what it has to do with the fact that the U.S. has such paltry scheduling on its train system. Amtrak will have to hunt long and hard to find enough of those people who "value the journey itself" to make profitable a line that only operates in the dead of night.

I will design my own rail car, and I will insist it be attached, so that I might have the amenities and comforts my status requires.

the rest of us wish you luck with that

If, as you say, "Amtrak will have to hunt long and hard to find enough of those people who "value the journey itself'", then why in the world would Amtrak run more trains?

So you won't snipe at Amtrak? Good grief.

Amtrak's been losing money for decades. It's government subsidized. If those fuckers really want to help the environment. They'd deal with infrastructure issues and fix the tracks and the bridges, etc. Then upgrade the whole rail system they engage in a very heavy ad campaign and get more people to ride. And stop the inefficient routing and get on, get off, change this, change that. The rail system could do wonders improving our environment. And yeah, they'll sell fewer cars. Good.

The rail system only makes sense on specific, well-defined corridors with sufficient density to support fast, frequent, and safe service. Boston to Washington, the Auto Train seasonally, the West Coast city-segments, and some routes out of Chicago qualify. The rest of them, especially the coast-to-coast services, don’t make money. These are legacies of travel from a century ago.

Nostalgia is nice, but it doesn’t pay.

All aboard!

[quote] Amtrak's been losing money for decades. It's government subsidized.

It LOST money for decades, but last year and the year before it broke even or better. Still, no money is ever made for, the long hauls.

[quote] Nostalgia is nice, but it doesn’t pay.

That’s a silly thing to say. Still, the north east corridor makes money hand over fist, or saint least it did, so what if the sunset limited doesn’t

All aboard!

Long distance once subsidized local telephone service for decades. The idea was to reduce the monthly cost of telephone service so that more people could afford a home telephone.

It's good that the NE Corridor makes money. More states should pony up and help defray Amtrak's expenses when there are stops in those states.

This country would be extremely stupid to let long distance train service go.

[quote] This country would be extremely stupid ...

I am not ruling anything out.

If AMTRAK is suddenly becoming profitable again, it just shows that people are sick and tired of crappy airlines and their crappy service.

This would be a great opportunity for our country to invest in its railroads.

[quote] This would be a great opportunity for our country to invest in its railroads.

We're too busy bailing out the auto makers.

the north east corridor has been doing well, or better for about the last twenty years.

The long-distance train routes that lose money are politically essential, and cutting back service on those routes (and making connections even harder) just multiplies the losses by diminishing the usefulness of the ones that remain.

A lot of Amtrak's expenses are fixed & are the same for 1 or 8 trains per day. A station with baggage service needs at least a security guard and 1 or 2 staffers to handle check-ins, ticketing (mostly automated at this point), collect/oversee baggage services, etc.

Density is also a red herring. If you're running a train 3,000 miles, you don't *want* it to stop more than every 50-100 miles, or it'll take a week to arrive EVEN IF it runs at 220mph in between them, because every station adds at least 10-20 minutes (counting deceleration & acceleration time). Open countryside for 80-150 miles is IDEAL, as long as the stations themselves are in cities capable of generating riders.

The real reason the Chief between New Orleans & Florida has gone nowhere fast is because the old route didn't meet present regulatory requirements & was grandfathered in. Rebuilding the track after the hurricane ended the exemption, and the railroad & Amtrak have been in stalemate over who has to pay for the now-required upgrades ever since. It's like a chess game where both players are content with stalemate.

Amtrak could force the railroad to do it, but won't unless FDOT agrees to give Amtrak an absurd amount of money for things that have nothing to do with the Chief. Here's a summary of the conversation between Amtrak & FDOT:

Amtrak: the Chief needs $200 million to have its service restored...

FDOT: OK, I'll get the checkbook.

Amtrak: ... but we won't restore the Chief unless you give us another billion dollars per year on top of that towards the Silver Star & Silver Meteor.

FDOT: No. Florida is the only reason the Star & Meteor even *have* economically viable destinations. We ADD value just by being Florida and existing. Without Florida, those trains would lose more money than the Cardinal & Hoosier combined because they'd lose 95% of their passsngers.

Amtrak: No $1.2 billion, no Chief.

FDOT: Fuck you, go to hell. I have a sexy new Virgin (Brightline) lover who makes me happy & makes my dreams come true.

I'm oversimplifying a bit, but that's the gist of it.

Oh, also... FDOT is pissed as hell about their Miami station debacle. They built Amtrak a brand new station at Miami International Airport to replace their old one in Hialeah, but Amtrak fucked up & signed off on it without noticing that the platform was ~200 feet too short, then left FDOT to try and re-route a street at staggering expense after everything was built. AFAIK, FDOT threw up its hands, walked away, and told Amtrak to go negotiate their own deal with FEC Railroad & Virgin/Brightline to use THEIR new station in downtown Miami if they still want a new station, because Tri-Rail can have the airport station all to itself.

Amtrak's long distance trains now operating daily go to 3 x weekly as of October 1st.

[quote] it runs at 220mph

R199 my Amtrak train ran at about 20mph for evah. It was slow and frustrating. DC->Charlottesville

^ R159

shucks

If any of you are going to visit Denver at some point, you can take an Amtrak to Glenwood Springs, which is about 3 hours. There they have the largest hot springs pool in the world, which is a great place to hang out. Adjacent spa, too. The station is walking distance and there are hotels and bars and restaurants all right there. It's fun for a night or two and then you hop the train back to Denver. Lots of mountain scenery on that trip, too.

here is the north east corridor. the real question is, is dylan cute? is he family?

I agree I think specific corridors make money. NYC to D.C. is a money maker, for example. So maybe they ought to look at the commutes between certain cities and revise the rail system to accommodate the changing patterns of travel between cities. I bet the railways themselves haven't been adjusted for years.

A few corrections and updates to r159...

1. I had a brain fart about the name. The LA-Florida (now LA-New Orleans) train is the Sunset Limited, not the Southwest Chief.

2. My assertion wasn't that trains between Florida and New York run at 220mph... it was that if you were running them entirely through dense urban corridors with stations every 20 miles, it wouldn't MATTER if they reached 220mph between stations, because they'd spend most of their time accelerating and decelerating. It takes a good 5-10 minutes to accelerate a train from 0 to 220mph without spilling drinks, and the same amount of time to decelerate.

Florida's financial fights with Amtrak began decades ago, when the state started doing investment-grade studies of Florida's market for passenger rail. Basically, FDOT had proof that Florida brings substantial net positive marginal value to Amtrak... if Amtrak did something stupid like end its Atlantic-coast trains in Georgia just to spite Florida, they'd be cutting off their own nose & several limbs, then tossing them into a wood chipper just to make a self-defeating point, because something like 90-95% of the passengers on southbound trains departing from Washington, DC are literally heading to Florida.

The same goes for FDOT's attitude towards getting Amtrak to split/combine trains in Jacksonville & run half to Tampa via Orlando, and half to Miami via FEC. FDOT told Amtrak it'll happily build the stations, kick in some reasonable amount of cash, and work with FEC Railroad to negotiate a fair deal (since there was no passenger rail in ~1971, FEC was never bound by the rules that required other railroads to cooperate with Amtrak going forward... it COULD say "no", but it's perfectly willing to say "yes" because it doesn't see Amtrak as a direct competitor... it sees Amtrak more like a potential future code-sharing partner transporting people to and from Florida who will then buy tickets on Virgin/Brightline for travel within Florida). What Florida WON'T do is allow itself to get shaken down like a Brooklyn pizza parlor dealing with the mafia.

Florida is kind of like a battered spouse who put up with an abusive partner for years because it was afraid of getting abandoned, then one day realized IT had the upper hand & didn't HAVE to put up with Amtrak's theatrics anymore. It's happy to work with Amtrak, but it keeps Amtrak on a very short leash & has zero tolerance for bullshit from them.

I live north of the mason Dixon line, I’ve never heard of someone using trains in Florida

Flagler much R168?

[quote] having a roomette to yourself is pure orgasmic bliss if you're an introvert

Absolutely. After spending Christmas in California last year, I decided to return to the east coast by rail. I booked a roomette and provisioned myself with plenty of delightful edibles.

It was a heavenly 3.5 days of spectacular scenery not seen from the interstate or from 30k feet above. The other passengers were very genial types (if rather quirky—the family of three in the cabin next to mine were teaching themselves Esperanto; a woman I shared a few meals with looked and talked like Edith Massey but was actually somewhat of savant and a great conversationalist). The food was quite good (the steak and the pancakes in particular). The Amtrak staff genuinely seem to like doing their jobs and are a far cry from surly pissed off flight attendants. My porter was cheerful and courteous. He turned down my bed every night and put it up every morning. I had three nights of great sleep induced by the gentle rocking of the train (and indica). Best of all there was none of the stress and hassle and indignity of airline travel.

I suppose I was lucky because there weren’t any delays either. I left Emeryville (Oakland) on Thursday morning, changed in Chicago on Saturday and arrived in DC on Sunday afternoon. At the end of this glorious trip across America, through the snow covered Sierras, the purple mountain majesty of the Rockies, the hills and hollers of Appalachia, through painted deserts, the sea-of-grass prairies, and the fruited plains of the heartland, I stepped out of the great gilded barrel-vaulted Union Station in Washington and there stood before me the dome of the Capitol in the heart of our democracy. A perfect ending to an unforgettable trip across America.

My love for this country has waned a bit since the disaster of 2016, but my cross-country trip on Amtrak not only restored it but added immensely to it.

Why do I not believe a word that r170 wrote?

Hi bitchy flight attendant/r171!

R170, that sounds magnificent.

Exactly the trip I envision, if I ever travel cross-country by train.

[quote] The Amtrak staff genuinely seem to like doing their jobs and are a far cry from surly pissed off flight attendants. My porter was cheerful and courteous. He turned down my bed every night and put it up every morning.

This raises a question.

Who do you have to tip on the train, how much, and how often?

Also, how much did your trip cost, R170?

Did you get a deal, or was it close to regular price?

A roomette right now from NYc to LA for next month is around one thousand dollars one way

R175 So is a first class seat on United, American, and Delta. You're there in 6 hours.

How many people are going to opt instead for a three day trip by rail if it doesn't break down somewhere in Nevada or Utah?

If you have the time, people I know loved it

Most Americans have no sense of adventure any more.

They suck.

It's not an adventure. It's 3 entire days of being treated by Amtrak, if not its employees, as if you are a patsy, a fool, and an easy mark.

america is barely a country anymore

trains could bring us together

[quote]There is always a very long queue for the restrooms on Amtrak.

What's the train equivalent of the Mile-High Club?

R174, I spent ~$300 for the fare and ~$500 for the roomette. Keep in mind that the extra $500 includes 3 nights’ accommodation and 12 sit-down meals in the dining car. I wanted to have this experience and was willing to pay extra for it. I found it to be worth the cost and I have great memories and stories for having done it. I’m fortunate that my experience didn’t have any catastrophes like others here have had. I was not in a rush to return home so I could travel at my leisure and it was a very leisurely journey.

As far as tipping, the convention is $5 per person per night for the porter. I gave a bit more than that. For the waiter in the dining car I tipped 20% of the meal price. Though meals are included if you’re in a sleeper, the prices are on the menus for passengers in coach who wish to eat in the dining car.

The toilets and showers were clean. Trash is removed at station stops throughout the trip so it’s easy to keep it all tidy. The porter seemed eager to ensure that everyone in his car was comfortable. As I said above, the Amtrak staff were courteous and pleasant and seemed proud to offer good service, which they did. [italic]Contra[/italic] airline cabin crew who would be pleased if all their passengers would just fuck off and die.

Apologies if it's been mentioned in one of the previous 182 posts, but is it possible to get a room with private bath for a cross-country trip or is that limited to specific routes/trains?

Because it does sound pretty fun. I think I'd fly into Chicago and go from there.

[quote] I think I'd fly into Chicago and go from there.

Which way?

If you go East from there, you get into older and more densely populated areas. All of which conspire to slow things down.

If you go West from Chicago, you are pretty quickly in much less sparsely populated and developed areas. The train is much happier there.

Yes R184--- go west from Chicago. The scenery in that direction, as you note, is much nicer... and I am in NY

Thanks, R182!

I could only do this if I had my own terlit *and* shower to myself. If truly no other travel choice, I would lay out the dollahs for this without blinking. Has anyone had both of these amenities in their closet/room/suite? Not sure what to call it. I really want to hear from people who have experienced it recently. And not to be a cunt, I mean recently, recently not 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. Shit (har) changes so quickly.

How much does Amtrak cost coast-to-coast...one-way, round-trip?

I flew into Chicago from DC two summers ago, then took the California Zephyr to San Francisco (well, Emeryville). Two nights on the train, which arrived a few hours late, then one (brief) night in San Francisco. Took the Coast Starlight from Oakland to Los Angeles the next morning; in the early evening we had to wait on the train outside of Santa Barbara because of wildfires quite near the tracks and arrived many hours behind schedule. Spent several days in LA (which was the real purpose of the trip), then flew home.

All in all it was sort of fun to do once; I had an upper-level roomette and brought some of my own snacks (and vodka!) that I bought in Chicago before boarding. Read and listened to music most of the time. Sleeping was not the experience of cradle-rocking relaxation I hoped it would be, maybe because the bunk is parallel rather than perpendicular to the tracks, so that lying down while the train was moving fast created the sensation (imaginary, but still) that the car was top-heavy and might tip over at any moment. The food was pretty meh and the shared toilet/sink/shower situation wasn't ideal, but whatever--my two main complaints would be (1) that the observation car was always full, which meant my view of the spectacular western scenery was always limited to just what I could see out of my side window. (I've done road trips all over the country and would strongly recommend driving over taking the train if you've never really seen the landscape before.) And (2), I have to echo R179--the staff, while never outright rude, seemed to go out of their way to make passengers feel stupid for breaking some previously unknown rule such as waiting to be seated at the wrong end of the dining car, or trying to convert the bunk back into a seat in the morning without the porter's help, or using the facilities when they wanted to clean them. Hard to describe but most of the attendants I interacted with had an attitude of smug condescension that was actually quite wearying after a couple of days. As a one-time experience it was all right, but I wouldn't take anything longer than a day trip again on Amtrak....

One note... roomettes in single-level Viewliner cars (basically, the trains that use New York tunnels) are taller & better than they are in 2-level Superliners. In Viewliners, upper-level bunks have their own window.

Also, present Viewliners have toilets in the room... upcoming new Viewliners won't. If you're traveling alone, having a toilet in your roomette is great. If you're sharing the roomette with someone, not so much.

IMHO, Florida to DC or New York is the ideal trip length... long enough to get the full sleeping-car experience, without getting tedious.

Trains usually run late, but now have realtime ETA updates, so you can just keep an eye on the new time & delay heading to the station. When I took Amtrak to Columbia, SC for the eclipse 2 years ago, the delays worked out perfectly... I got to sleep a few extra hours on the way there, and had time for a last-minute threesome before heading to the station to go home. ;-)

Sexy and the city (and trains)

This guy gives a very useful tutorial on how to use the AMTRAK train map for the entire country.

he's a cutie

I wonder who's enjoying the eastbound Amtrak Chief this morning - the one that left Los Angeles on Sunday.

Scheduled arrival at Chicago's Union Station this afternoon is 2:50 pm

Actual arrival is now estimated as 1:07 am tomorrow morning. Hope nobody onboard has a connection, let alone a flight out of O'Hare this evening.

[quote] What's the train equivalent of the Mile-High Club?

The Mile-Long Club?

Good one

This guy "Calvin" did the AMTRAK Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago in a bedroom sleeper.

Lucky thing he's so patient and has a good disposition, because that train was damned late!

Calvin is a HUGE girleena

I'm sure the train was delayed from all the FLAMES coming out of his compartment.

LOL Calvin seems sweet, R198.

He must be Canadian or something.

The scenery on that trip was amazing.

Traveling by train is probably the only way a person would ever get to see certain parts of the country that no one else will ever see. It was just breathtaking.

I'd spend a couple of days and nights in that little room, alone with Calvin. He looks like he would be a wild man.

[quote]He must be Canadian or something.

SHADE!!!

Calvin traveled in an upper deck bedroom, the most expensive cabin offered. That one way trip cost about $1,900.

he's a sexy slut

A big factor to enjoying a trip on Amtrak is not being dependent upon it being on time. If you're depending upon the train arriving less than 6 hours late (cross-country), you're going to shit bricks the whole way. If your response to, "the train is arriving 7 hours late" is, "Oh, cool... I get more time to enjoy the train" you'll enjoy it. If your trip will be ruined by a 2 hour delay, you won't. You don't take a cross-country trip on Amtrak for utilitarian transportation, you take it because you want to ride a train.

[quote] A big factor to enjoying a trip on Amtrak is not being dependent upon it being on time

Which means that Calvin must be independently wealthy.

No wonder he's so happy and carefree.

and gay

[quote] Which means that Calvin must be independently wealthy.

[quote] and gay

That's a given.

As R198 pointed out, his flames can be seen from outer space.

He could nurse a newborn child with all the estrogen flowing from his body.

Calvin is a hot top and all of you here posting bad things about him are some jealous bitches!

Hi, Calvin/R208!

Can I suckle your titties?

I love Calvin.

Does he have more videos?

Does he have a boyfriend?

I need to know!

He definitely sounds Canadian.

That room didn't look too bad -- sort of like a basic cruise ship stateroom, shrunk by about 2/3.

fortunately you don't get nor-virus on a train. but I suppose you could get covid

US trains are quite expensive for the mean services they provide, the routes are severely limited and rarely scenic, the schedules worse, equipment is beat, engines and unreliable rails make for slow-going and delays are expected, it's a fairly.miserable experience.

The trains.often stop at horrible 1970s shed additions made to once grand stations. The dining car situation is not exactly the stuff of North by Northwest. It feels so dirty and unpleasant that even a journey of a couple hours leaves you wanting a shower.

I love travelling by train; it's my favorite way to travel when it's an option. But not in the U.S.

The high speed trains of Europe are by contrast opulent and whisk along at 200 mph, exactly on schedule, often with a surprisingly nice lunch or dinner, the seats are generous, everything very clean and in good working order. The stations are efficient, staff don't act as they they are plotting a conspiracy against you there are services where you can secure your luggage for hours or days, the stations are at least pleasant and sometimes beautiful. The prices are a much better value, and there are many more choices of routes and times, with excellent connection to local grains, themselves much nicer than Amtrak.

I don't might some degree of travel adveture but Amtrak is just seedy and unpleasant, a fucking hardship from start to finish.

Sadly Amtrak is on its way to extinction.

They announced that many of those long distance trips are being cut to three trips a week.

I took the train many times between Chicago and PA and almost every time, we had a delay of at least 2 hours where we sat dead on the tracks in Indiana because of freight train traffic. Sometimes the train would arrive 12 hours later than planned - in other words, twice as long as the train trip itself was planned to be.

And when I mean "dead on the tracks" there would be long stretches of no electricity, so none of the air fans/circulation happened. It's OK if you're in a cabinette/sleeper room, but if not, imagine being in a train car with 20 other people breathing and farting and no air circulation and you get the idea.

Back in the day, the federal government gave money to the states to build the Interstate highways / freeways. One condition of the federal money was raising the drinking age to 21.

Maybe the focus was on the Interstate freeways (cars & trucks). The train system fell by the wayside. Seems more energy-efficient to haul products by train vs. trucks.

A little vid:

r214, that is sad, but frankly, that's called consolation - the north east corridor is fine

Wow, who knew? Amtrak's giving out consolation prizes.

[quote] that's called consolation

Huh?

And Barney's is giving out lovely parting gifts!

[quote]The short ride from NYC to Boston is lovely. Goes along the shoreline. I love trains but I don’t think I could handle 4 days in those conditions.

I did that trip a few times to visit relatives and I enjoyed it.

I took Amtrak from northern California to central CA (long ride). There was lots of side-to-side movement in the train (rail car). Not comfortable, really.

In contrast, in Japan, I rode the regular commuter trains and also the Bullet Train (Shinkansen). Both were a much smoother ride with very little side-to-side motion.

Is Calvin a bottom?

Thank you r15! I'd happily pay for Mike Downie's next trip if he'd let me service him in the private quarters. Sexy Canadian.

I need to go from Chicago to St Louis 4.5-5 hour bus or train ride. I did the first round trip via Greyhound. Let me tell you, it was horrible. Worse than any train or plane I've ever been on. The clientele was what you'd expect. The icing on the cake was when my seatmate found fresh buggers on the armrest, from a previous passenger, it took all my willpower to avoid puking. It rained on the ride back so I was stuck next to a few wet, sketchy passengers that liked to play their music on their phone without headphones. Never again.

The second time I did the trip I went via Amtrak. The train was spacious and convenient. I did eat something before the ride back to Chicago that didn't agree with my system so there were frequent trips to the restroom. One suggestion, BRING YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER! My goodness, what they had was not helpful.

Still, I'd prefer to take a nice road trip, but I could do a longer Amtrak trip if I'm with a boyfriend. I just can't get over how industrial many of the train compartments look. The single-level cars on shorter trips are very comfortable (pictured below). I know I sound like a prissy bitch, but it's alright to have standards.

Airplane > Car > Amtrak> Walk > Hitchhike > Sell my body to Bikers for a lift > Greyhound

needed*^

Amtrak's rooms & roomettes aren't luxurious, but they're still pretty nice (albeit really expensive).

The experience of traveling in a roomette or bedroom is nothing like traveling in coach. If you want to do an overnight trip, pony up for the private room, or don't take Amtrak at all.

One perk of rooms: if you want to take a last-minute companion in your roomette or bedroom, they only have to pay the same seat fare you did, even if their ticket is booked literally online or over the phone as the train is pulling into the station. In other words, suppose you book a Miami-NY ticket for yourself & pay $120 for the seat & $500 for the roomette. If you later decide to take a friend along, it's just another $120, even if the coach fare at that point is $250.

This came in handy when I took Amtrak to Columbia, SC to see the eclipse. I didn't know whether my partner would be able to get off work, but I knew I absolutely wanted to go. I booked my ticket & room, then added him a few days beforehand (once he confirmed he could go).

Amtrak is the best

R225 Train travel with Mike could make Amtrak’s delays much more enjoyable. The time would pass so quickly.

I’d much rather get into his roomette - and his jeans - than Calvin’s.

har har

R228, your partner and you must be VERY close to share a roomette. A bedroom is doable, but I can't imagine more than one person in the roomette on a long trip.

[quote]The icing on the cake was when my seatmate found fresh buggers on the armrest, from a previous passenger....

R226, you do not know that the buggers came from a previous passenger. It is more likely that the infestation is long standing and that by the time you arrived, the larva were embedded in the upholstery throughout the Greyhound bus.

unless they are having anal all the time

r233 honey, I was one of the first people on and my random seatmate boarded after me. 10 minutes in his hand felt those undesirables under the armrest. Maybe it wasn't a bugger, but whatever it was I wanted to away from it and Greyhound.

my seat mate buggered me

Wait, are talking about Amtrak or Greyhound now?

Wait some more. Are we talking "buggers" or "boogers?"

'Cuz I never heard of bugs being referred to as "buggers."

Dictionary

bug·ger

/ˈbəɡər,ˈbo͝oɡər/

vulgar slang, British

noun

plural noun: buggers

1: used as a term of abuse, especially for a man. used as a term of affection or respect, typically grudgingly. "all right, let the little buggers come in"

2: a person who penetrates the anus of someone during sexual intercourse.

I can never get comfortable on those trains.

r232, we kept the upper bunk lowered the whole time, so we had space to keep our shit out of the way (yet conveniently accessible) while using the seats. About 20% of the day, one of us laid on the upper bunk (moving stuff to the other seat and the suitcase-size cubby hole over the hallway).

The only real inconvenience was when one of us had to use the toilet... the other had to go out into the hall for a few minutes (thank god for Poo Pourri). And overnight, the cooler occupied most of the floor space between the lower bunk (where the seats normally are), toilet, and door, so stepping out of the room was kind of like playing "Floor is Lava" (with an 18" hop from toilet to hall).

A bedroom would have been better, but the roomette was tolerable. I'd caution against two big bears or muscle guys trying it, or doing it with someone you aren't at least semi-intimate with. I might have been willing to go another hundred (round trip) for a bedroom, but absolutely not ~$300 more. Likewise, if we'd been going from Chicago to Oakland, I would have thought long & hard about upgrading.

IMHO, most of the people with Amtrak 'horror stories' either traveled in coach, tried making a very time-sensitive trip that got delayed, or got unwillingly dragged into the trip by a railfan friend/partner/family-member. Most people who travel in a sleeping car without time constraints enjoy it. They might decide their "train itch" has been adequately scratched for a few years, but they're still glad they did it. Especially if they take a train up & fly back a few days later, and get vividly reminded how miserable of an experience flying has become.

I'm going to echo some of the earlier comments about how much nicer train travel is in Europe. Was on the Orient Express and it was a wonderful, sophisticated experience. Great food and drink, interesting people. Then did a short trip on Amtrak and vowed, never again.

What's the modern day Orient Express like, R241?

It sounds so exotic.

Japan shows just how interesting train travel can be made.

let us sleep, and weep

This looks like a pretty cool trip.

Toronto to Vancouver, via Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, the Canadian Rockies (spectacular scenery), and British Columbia.

The views from this train are amazing. Much nicer than the cross-country US trip.

Also, the train looks more comfortable, and the food looks really good.

I'd love to know how much the person who posted the video, paid for that trip. Seems like it would be expensive.

I did Philly to Charleston by sleeper train, was fabulous. Had a lovely dinner - half a roast chicken and the guy working my cabin looked like an elderly Samuel L. Jackson, we had a great conversation about the meaning of life

Time to go to bed

We Europeans are dumbstruck. Honestly, most Americans do not realize the developing world conditions in which they live. I condole you.

I'm fully aware of the differences between the cultures, I lived in europe for a decade, but when does a european travel by train from london to rome these days? that's the distance most of these treks are. I've slept in a sleeper in a german train before, and it was nowhere near as nice as these accommodations, also a bit less expensive.

that the US is run by a madman is one thing, but canada isn't, is it lumped in the same "developing world" conditions because of their train travel?

again, compare flying by plane in europe and the US and you get basically the same thing - not that there aren't glaring differences, but go to Hungary if you want to see native fascist principles in place

[quote] I've slept in a sleeper in a german train before, and it was nowhere near as nice as these accommodations, also a bit less expensive.

Same here, R249.

I did the Eurail thing from Madrid to Amsterdam.

Madrid to the French border was a crappy train, and accomodations were meh.

The TGV was much nicer.

Then from Paris to Amsterdam, the train was meh again.

While the high speed trains in Europe are impressive, the intercity trains are less so.

That's true R251 the intercity trains in Italy are like the old trains from the NYC subway from 50 years ago. The high speed trains are amazing.

indeed, and one takes a high speed train like one could in the US, paris to london, brussels to berlin. But farther, no, Bratislava to Lyon? not as much, palermo to Nante? no. trains are ubiquitous in Europe, yes, and getting from point A to B is much more common via train in Europe, but "nice" - no. and often delayed