Amtrak Coast to coast?

[PhilNH5]

My lovely bride and I will celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss in the coming year. We are considering a cross country train trip. We would get a private room with it's own shower. Meals would be onboard and the menus online look pretty tasty. We would go from Boston to Seattle and then fly back. It would take 3 trains to get there.

This route looks to be the most scenic. We have no need to go to Seattle but we want to take a long hopefully romantic trip.

We take the Acela train to Philly on occassion and service can be spotty. It can be great, lousy or anywhere in between. This worries me if it reflects on Amtrak in general.

Has anyone done a long distance train trip?

Thanks for any insights.

Phil

 

[randy41]

My wife has taken the train to Chicago from the southern part of WV. The train usually doesn't run on schedule but delays are built in to the schedule. The food is not very good.
My son has taken the train from Philly to western VA. This train has also been subject to many delays sometimes running into several hours.

 

[hazmat]

If you are yearning for a luxery train trip check out the canadian rockies.

Train Tours and Custom Train Vacations :: Vacations By Rail :: has links to the different operators.

I haven't done it yet, but would love to. My wife & I honeymooned in Banff - it was great.

Might be pricey with the US $ on par with CAD.

 

[3RRL]

That sounds like a really good idea. If you are on a luxury trip and don't care if it takes a little longer, then so what? Enjoy the time with your wife anyway.
Last long train trip I was on was back in 1957. We traveled from New York to So Cal on Union Pacific I think. I was a kid but remember going through all those sates looking out from those bubble tops. It was the coolest thing and I'll never forget it.

 

[RobertN]

Check to make sure of the connections, and/or interconnects. If you can go with minimal interuptions or changes, that would be an awesome trip.

I want to go Sacramento to Portland some time. My son likes trains. Figured we could stay in Portland with friends for a couple days and return. From what I can see, it is a direct trip.

A couple years ago, we took Amtrak from Sacramento to Indio(past Palm Springs in the SoCal "Desert towns"). Well, the trip turned out to be a bus from Sacramento to Stockton. Stockton to Bakersfield was train. Bakersfield to LA and out to Palm Springs was bus...

 

[David Ferguson]

Having taken Amtrak from San Jose, CA to Denver (and back) a few years ago. As long as you don't have to be anywhere at a specific time (arrival in Denver was 10 or 12 hours late), it was a really relaxing and enjoyable way to travel. We had the private cabin and enjoyed it all the way up until they had a bad axle on that car, and woke us up at 2am to transfer to a coach for the remaining few hours of our trip.

But, I would still do it again. I found the food and dining arrangement just fine.

In the west, trains travel through areas that don't have roads -- it can be very scenic, just take a few good books and enjoy the ride.

 

[Tig]

In 1980 I took a train from Trenton to Edmonton and back. 3 days, two nights each way. I also commuted from Ottawa to Toronto weekly for 3 months a couple years ago.
When I traveled 1st class the food was excellent.
Trains are a very relaxing trip as long as you don't go stir crazy. Bring something to read.
Some trains also have wifi.

 

[KubotaSteve]

I take the commuter train everyday from WV to Washington DC and it's about 90 to 95% on time, but when there are issues, delays can be really bad. I normally get home at 6:30, but there have been times when it was 10, 11 even 12. Keep in mind that you are used to taking the Acela which is passenger train rail only. In several parts of the country, Amtrak shares the rail with freight and regardless of what anyone says freight trains get precedence as that is where CSX and others make their money. The train I take uses CSX rail and our train can be delayed if a freight crew runs out of time, a freight with hazardous material goes into emergency (passenger train can't go around a freight in that situation), or other situations with freight trains.
I think I would go for a cruise or a mountain type excursion on a train. I think the cross country train trip will be more stressful than relaxing, but then again if you have your own personal space it might not be so bad.
About 2 weeks ago, they shut Union station down in DC for police investigation. It was closed (Gate A area where most commuter trains leave) for about an hour. People were standing everywhere and others couldn't get to other Gates to board their trains.

 

[dooleysm]

I looked into this a while back for a fun trip with the wife as well. I was astounded by the high prices and lack of attractive routes. Lots of the trips I looked into involved many hours on bus. No thanks.

 

[hayden]

I've done a number of them and would offer a few suggestions:

1) Fly to Chicago and start on the train there. The roadbeds from Boston/NYC out to Chicago suck. My wife and I dubbed it Mr Toad's Wild Ride.

2) Check the timetables to be sure you are going through the good scenery during the day, and the dull stuff at night. The last time I checked, the Seattle train goes through Glacier National Park at night regardless of which direction to travel.

3) My favorite, and I've taken it 6 times over 40 years, is the California Zepher run from Denver to Oakland, CA. You leave Denver at 8:00 AM, spend the day winding up through the Rockies, sleep through the high plains, then spend the second day going through the Sierras, arriving in Oakland around dinner time. You can start in Chicago too. The train leaves around 2:00 as I recall, you can enjoy a few hours of the great plains, get aquainted with the train and food, and arrive in Denver for the real action the next day. I've done it both ways. By the way, in the other direction the good scenery is at night.

4) As others have said, don't depend on getting anywhere on time. On one trip we encountered two train derailments (freight trains, not us), a land slide where we hit a boulder the size of a pickup truck (the train won, fortunately and we were on our way after an hour delay). Needless to say, the train was late getting to Oakland. Regardless, I'd do it again at the drop of a hat, but my wife and kids were getting a bit restless near the end.

5) Sounds like you are planning on it already, but be sure to get the full room. Coach and the sleepette or whatever they are calling them these days would spoil the fun.

I'd really like to do one of the Candian runs some day, but haven't yet.

 

[hayden]

I take the commuter train everyday from WV to Washington DC and it's about 90 to 95% on time, but when there are issues, delays can be really bad. I normally get home at 6:30, but there have been times when it was 10, 11 even 12. Keep in mind that you are used to taking the Acela which is passenger train rail only. In several parts of the country, Amtrak shares the rail with freight and regardless of what anyone says freight trains get precedence as that is where CSX and others make their money. The train I take uses CSX rail and our train can be delayed if a freight crew runs out of time, a freight with hazardous material goes into emergency (passenger train can't go around a freight in that situation), or other situations with freight trains.
I think I would go for a cruise or a mountain type excursion on a train. I think the cross country train trip will be more stressful than relaxing, but then again if you have your own personal space it might not be so bad.
About 2 weeks ago, they shut Union station down in DC for police investigation. It was closed (Gate A area where most commuter trains leave) for about an hour. People were standing everywhere and others couldn't get to other Gates to board their trains.

I agree. Even with the occational delays, the Northeast Corridor between DC and NYC is probably the fastest and most punctual line in the US (it's really pretty darn good). But don't expect that anywhere else in the US. After you've ridden them, you'll see why nobody uses them when they actually need to get somewhere.

 

[PhilNH5]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate them.

Hazmat - Thanks for the links. I looked at via rail in Canada. Seems very nice but no shower in any of the bedroom arrangements. I am at the point in my life where that is a priority. I also looked at the luxury train. I had seen a PBS special on it. But the trans canada trip is $25,000 per person.

Amtrak has showers in their bedroom suites. I am leaning heavily towards them.

Again thanks to all for the info.

Phil

 

[hazmat]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate them.

Hazmat - Thanks for the links. I looked at via rail in Canada. Seems very nice but no shower in any of the bedroom arrangements. I am at the point in my life where that is a priority. I also looked at the luxury train. I had seen a PBS special on it. But the trans canada trip is $25,000 per person.

Amtrak has showers in their bedroom suites. I am leaning heavily towards them.

Again thanks to all for the info.

Phil

When I was looking into it, I seem to remember a canadian trip that included stopping at hotels every evening so that 1-you wouldn't miss any scenary, and 2- nicer accomodations. Might have been 3-4 days, 2-3 nights to traverse the rockies.

 

[Tom_H]

Check out the luxury 8 day trip that does a bunch of western national parks. It starts in Salt Lake City and ends in Albuquerque, goes through some beautiful canyons in the Rockies, to Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, more. I've seen TV shows on this trip and have thought it would be great.

 

[Wesdor]

Looks like I might a bit late in replying to this thread. I can't speak about the East coast to Chicago, although someone else suggested you fly to Chicago and that sounds like a good idea to me.

We have taken the train to Seattle 3 times in the last 7 years (actually, we get off at Wenatchee which is the center of Washington).

Unless they have changed the schedule recently you are supposed to leave Chicago, Union Station shortly after 2:00 p.m. You go up the lake and into Wisconsin and then cross the state just north of Madison. You go through the Mississippi River valley just at sunset (at least in the summer) and arrive in Msp St Paul about 11:00 p.m.

By morning you are at Devil's Lake, North Dakota and spend the day going across the northern part of the USA. I find that area to be beautiful, but some people just think it is desolate.

If you are going in the summer, you get to the south edge of Glacier National Park before sunset. We have had some wonderful views of the mountains north of the train track. You arrive in Spokane about 1:00 a.m. and they split the train. One part goes the southern route to Portland and the other part goes to Seattle.

We have always found the food somewhere between acceptable and very good. The service has always been excellent, both in the dining cars and throughout the train.

The big problem for us is that sleeper cars are very expensive, thus we have gone coach. That means no easy sleeping and no showers for 42 hours (I really don't like that!).

If we could find a sleeper car for not a lot more than airfare (let's say in the $500 - $600 range), I would never fly to the west coast again. We find the trip to be relaxing and enjoyable. Be sure and take along some books to read. I also take my computer and know where the 110 plugs are even in coach. If you get a sleeper, each one has a plug.

What time of year are you planning to travel? I know there have been some major delays due to snow storms in the winter. Remember, you are pretty far north and there isn't as much daylight up there in the winter.

Best wishes for an enjoyable trip. Please report back to us how things go.