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New York to San Francisco via Amtrak

Lonely and desolate. Somehow this seems scarier than flying.

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by Anonymousreply 28January 26, 2023 9:55 PM

I’d rather chew off my left testicle. And that was just from the annoying commentary.

by Anonymousreply 1January 25, 2023 10:44 PM

The only time I went on Amtrak was in 1976 as a kiddie from England, NYC to DC. They had a TELEPHONE!! on the train. Push button! I thought "America really is the future!" - otherwise the train was pretty shitty, in fact.

by Anonymousreply 2January 25, 2023 10:44 PM

But kind of cool, in its own way. I trained across much of the Nullarbor Plain in Australia from Sydney to Perth (I think! I was young and nubile!) and it was a lovely, carsick-free way of experiencing the entire southern edge of that continent. for a pittance, and I was extremely energized to stretch my legs (and then some!) upon arrival. Everybody should do a long train trip at some stage of their life -- preferably a twentysomething stage.

by Anonymousreply 3January 25, 2023 10:46 PM

The IBM. It is the future.

by Anonymousreply 4January 25, 2023 10:47 PM

I'd jump at the chance, OP.

by Anonymousreply 5January 25, 2023 10:48 PM

Why lonely and desolate, OP? I know people who've done this and say they met people who became lifelong friends. There are lots of opportunities to chat with people over the course of days.

by Anonymousreply 6January 25, 2023 10:51 PM

I'm still waiting on the LA to SF bullet train.

by Anonymousreply 7January 25, 2023 10:54 PM

R1 wants us to ask how long she's been doing yoga.

Don't.

by Anonymousreply 8January 25, 2023 10:58 PM

I used to take the Acela between NYC and Boston and DC all the time and it is a quite civilized way to travel. However I suffer from motion sickness if I look out the window so can’t imagine being on a train for more than a few hours.

by Anonymousreply 9January 25, 2023 10:58 PM

Then don’t look out the window!

by Anonymousreply 10January 25, 2023 11:03 PM

"Why lonely and desolate, OP?"

Rock slides, blizzards, derailments... all in the middle of Nowhere. I can't imagine the people who did that jog in the 1800s; armed robberies, etc.

by Anonymousreply 11January 25, 2023 11:05 PM

In the 1980s, we went from LA to Chicago and then to NYC and Washington DC via AMTRAK.

The return trip went from Washington DC through Seattle then south to LA.

It was fun. I am sure AMTRAK ain't the same nowadays.

by Anonymousreply 12January 25, 2023 11:14 PM

It would be the only way I'd go to new york because I definitely would not fly there. Many people in European countries travel by train. Americans need to get with it.

by Anonymousreply 13January 25, 2023 11:16 PM

I'm totally going to watch this - sure is different from 1976 when the whole train smelled like a toilet.

by Anonymousreply 14January 25, 2023 11:18 PM

I've done Newark to Orlando round trip and VA to Orlando. I found it tedious and uncomfortable.

by Anonymousreply 15January 26, 2023 2:28 AM

I think it would depend on one's personality and what kind of room they got. If you have your own bathroom, that would be ideal.

I like desolation, sometimes. Rain, as well. I feel like that's when the external environment matches with my internal environment.

by Anonymousreply 16January 26, 2023 2:31 AM

The train is disgusting - it still looks like a public bathroom the food looks DISGUSTING - some of the views especially when it was snowy were beautiful and so remote but watching it on this video is more than enough for me.

I used to travel a lot in Europe on trains - 1980s - and they were much nicer than this - also what was nice is you could open windows in the corridors etc - feel the wind - also if you smoked you chatted with other smokers - this was soulless. America does a lot of things really well but trains doesn't seem to be one of them,

by Anonymousreply 17January 26, 2023 2:39 AM

This video is 5 years old, but it's "Report of the Week's" or Review Brah's" review of an Amtrak roomette and meal service. I thought it looked nice.

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by Anonymousreply 18January 26, 2023 2:42 AM

It's 3,000 miles between NY and San Francisco r13. No matter where you are in the world that is a distance meant for flight.

People who do this trip by train are doing so because the train itself is a vacation for them, they want to spend days in the train not because it is practical.

by Anonymousreply 19January 26, 2023 2:43 AM

There are 3 daily trains from New York to San Francisco. Traveling by train from New York to San Francisco usually takes around 80 hours and 37 minutes, ...

by Anonymousreply 20January 26, 2023 2:49 AM

The train corridor that goes from DC to NY to Boston is the only real train line America has r9. Trains are electrified, fast and frequent

Outside of the northeast, American train lines are meant for freight shipping with the occasional slow passenger train being allowed on them.

by Anonymousreply 21January 26, 2023 3:01 AM

If you see Hercule Poirot boarding your train, head for the airport.

by Anonymousreply 22January 26, 2023 3:04 AM

Expect it to take twice as long as advertised. They stop and start randomly as the freight has priority.

by Anonymousreply 23January 26, 2023 3:10 AM

R19 You dont know me or what my reasons are silly arrogant American! Like I said this country needs to get with it. Travel doesn't revolve around your opinion. Let people do what they want.

by Anonymousreply 24January 26, 2023 7:13 AM

Just a train ride between NY and Richmond VA can be agony with all the stops and slow speed. The US is not made for train travel unlike Europe. When cars came in and then flying became more convenient Americans said goodby to train travel.

by Anonymousreply 25January 26, 2023 7:32 PM

Train travel makes sense in a lot of corridors or the US r25. We just didn't invest in it.

The problem with your trip to Richmond is you made the "mistake" of going south of DC where the service is slow and not electrified and subject to freight. Only the Northeast Corridor has there been any real investment into having rail service up to normal services. But it could be more places if we cared.

by Anonymousreply 26January 26, 2023 9:19 PM

If I had the time and nothing else to do, I think it might be interesting.

by Anonymousreply 27January 26, 2023 9:39 PM

Just think of the corn-fed man/boy you might meet going to SF from Iowa.

by Anonymousreply 28January 26, 2023 9:55 PM
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