Amtrak: Fun or Boring?

[MRG]

While I've never been on one, I used to have to wait for them. We were in a very rural area, there was an unmarked crossing I had to go through. It had a sign, no lights or crossbars, wasn't cost effective to put in real signals. Very easy to miss the sign, a curve in the tracks each direction from the crossing, often go over the crossing look back in rear view to see a train doing about 50 mph, it only was 2 seconds from when I had passed through. That crossing always scared me. They generally pulled 3 passenger cars, most(75%) were empty. Short route one side of MO. to the other.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I think you should do it, Al. Why not try it?

Have you seen "Welcome to Sweden" by the way?

 

[TromboneAl]

By the way Al what have you done with the Lena who slept in tiny tents in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed it ?

I asked her that, and she said "You don't have to spend 30 hours in the tent." But she realizes that that is not fair, since you don't spend all your time in the roomette.

I think you should do it, Al. Why not try it?

I agree. I'm working on Lena, and I think I can sell her on it. I think we'll go with the room.

Have you seen "Welcome to Sweden" by the way?

Yes. It's much more realistic than we expected, with real Swedes in some of the roles, and experiences that match ours. For example, when I went there the first time I'd say "Hi" to strangers we'd pass in the street until Lena explained that they don't do that there. Also, the Semla pastry that I saw at the start of an episode was accurate. We never "knullade sönder" a bed, but the attitude of the parents towards the American son-in-law was familiar.

BUT, we find the show itself so yucky that we can't watch it.

 

[Bestwifeever]

[Welcome to Sweden" is] much more realistic than we expected, with real Swedes in some of the roles, and experiences that match ours. For example, when I went there the first time I'd say "Hi" to strangers we'd pass in the street until Lena explained that they don't do that there. Also, the Semla pastry that I saw at the start of an episode was accurate. We never "knullade sönder" a bed, but the attitude of the parents towards the American son-in-law was familiar.

BUT, we find the show itself so yucky that we can't watch it.

I saw maybe the third episode and the last half of the second episode, and parts of it really made me laugh, so I wondered if it rendered true at all. But right, it's another silly romantic comedy/fish out of water at heart. I was intrigued too in that it is a Swedish series now being aired in the US, which is probably a little unusual.

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's the answer:

It's fun, and worth doing once, but it's also boring. I can see how some people would love this, and I expected that's how I'd feel, but I will never do it again.

That is, the views are great:

and it's fun to have dinner with scenery going by, but it's a lot of time to spend. It's as if you have a great hotel room, but you have to spend all your time there.

I expected to sleep really well, as I did on my last overnight train trip, but that was not the case.

The food was good, but we had really bad luck with who we sat with (it's luck of the draw). The first woman's husband had just died. The next couple didn't have much to say, so we struggled to keep the conversation going. The husband of the next couple just talked about himself the whole time. The final couple was couple number two.

I'd look over at some other tables of interesting people, and wish we could sit with them.

 

[Chuckanut]

If the train ride is part of the trip, it can be a lot of fun.

 

[phil1ben]

We recently completed a college tour with my youngest from our home in Pennsylvania to Washington DC, Williamsburg, VA and Charlottsville, VA. We took the Amtrak to DC. Rented a car and drove to Williamsburg then drove to Charlottsville. Visited Monticello and UVA and took the Amtrak back home.

We loved the train trip. I think the round trip for the three of us ran about $750.00 (going business class on the trip home and coach to DC). Very relaxing and much more enjoyable than going to an airport etc...

I think for a trip under 700 miles I would again look for a train. I normally drive such distances but we decided this time to take a train for most of the trip. We are glad we did.

Amtrak does not (in my opinion) properly market the advantages of train travel. No security line (which may change one day), less crowds, larger seats and you get to see something. I think many people get sticker shock when thy first price out an Amtrak trip but when we took all factors into consideration it worked for us.

 

[sengsational]

I did take a long train trip in 1982 and enjoyed it. Unlike TA, we had really interesting people at dinner and in the dome car. We even played cards with some folks. This was in Canada, eh?, so the train had a good crowd.

But more recently, sticker shock has kept me away. The scenery isn't as good, but a cruise is like 20% of the cost of sleeper.

 

[W2R]

I toy with the idea of going on a trip by train.

We are reluctant to fly, because we are among those who do not relish enduring lines, TSA procedures, and naked body scanners or whatever the latest is. We used to drive more, but the older we get, the less we are inclined to drive long distances.

So I thought Amtrack might be just right for us. Unfortunately passenger trains don't seem to go to as many places as they did back in the 1950's, when I was a kid. Still, we might try Amtrack one of these days.

If we traveled by train, I'd just tuck our Kindles, my portable video game consoles, iPhone, and maybe some cards into my purse, and that would probably be enough to keep us busy.

 

[Hermit]

Good question, I'll ask her.



When going from Ann Arbor to San Diego (1976?), my luggage was lost in Chicago, so I had nothing but what I was wearing until La Junta, Colorado when I made a mad dash to the supermarket for toothbrush etc. during a stop.

I refueled the Amtrack trains in La Junta in 1974. I was a laborer for the Santa Fe for a winter. We would fuel the engines and add another engine for the trip over Raton Pass as the train headed into New Mexico. La Junta is my home town. By the way, the Safeway store is a few blocks down the street from the depot. You must have really hustled.

 

[steelyman]

I am thinking of taking Amtrak to Boston for JT/Bonnie. I've not taken one as an adult, but flying is terrible and getting worse. Even in first.

Amtrak's website is terrible, so I got their app, which seems to have more thought put into it.

 

[Walt34]

I toy with the idea of going on a trip by train.

We do too, but I keep seeing reviews/horror stories suggesting that they don't have a very good record of keeping to a schedule or giving much thought to the customer.

Like on another thread, I read of someone being dropped off late at a station at 3:00 AM, no busses running, no taxis, no rental car available, etc. So they sit on a bench for a few hours or walk a few miles.

Who is the braindead fool who would treat the customer that way? They would for sure never see another nickel of my money after pulling a stunt like that.

 

[bUU]

Customer service is the furthest thing from their mind at this point. The service is still costing the American taxpayer more than Congress is willing to give them.

 

[Keim]

We do too, but I keep seeing reviews/horror stories suggesting that they don't have a very good record of keeping to a schedule or giving much thought to the customer.

Like on another thread, I read of someone being dropped off late at a station at 3:00 AM, no busses running, no taxis, no rental car available, etc. So they sit on a bench for a few hours or walk a few miles.

Who is the braindead fool who would treat the customer that way? They would for sure never see another nickel of my money after pulling a stunt like that.

They do their best to schedule, but have to work around delays caused by freight trains. Keep in mind they share those tracks.

Who is the brain dead fool that assumes all services will be available at 3am? Why would they be responsible for taxi, etc, once the customer gets off the train? Planes and buses aren't. If a person is getting off in a small town or area where 24hr service is unlikely(and Amtrak serves a lot of small towns) they need to plan ahead. Just like for any other transporter.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

There is an Amtrak station in the small city where I reside, and I have considered picking up the train to Philly or Penn Station. I believe I could get on at 8 and be in NYC by 5 (unless delayed of course). I have wanted to see the new Barnes Foundation Museum in Philly ever since it opened, and I could easily catch a train and spend a night or two in a hotel there then return home.

I took the Starlight Express 20+ years ago from Salinas CA to LA. Train was 6 hours late and my BIL was waiting for me at 1:00 a.m. when I got off (felt sorry for him). When I graduated from high school I took the train with a couple of friends from Pittsburgh to Pasadena CA to visit my aunt. I recall it was a very long trip (3 days I think) with delays but we were young and had fun on the adventure.

 

[steelyman]

I bet a lot of people could say this about their place of roots, but the scenery in this reminds me of the Midwest, especially Illinois from Quincy on down.

http://youtu.be/BEe9DF_mUEI

 

[W2R]

I bet a lot of people could say this about their place of roots, but the scenery in this reminds me of the Midwest, especially Illinois from Quincy on down.

Arlo Guthrie City Of New Orleans.wmv - YouTube

It's beautiful. I love that song, too ("The City of New Orleans").

 

[audreyh1]

We do too, but I keep seeing reviews/horror stories suggesting that they don't have a very good record of keeping to a schedule or giving much thought to the customer.

Like on another thread, I read of someone being dropped off late at a station at 3:00 AM, no busses running, no taxis, no rental car available, etc. So they sit on a bench for a few hours or walk a few miles.

Who is the braindead fool who would treat the customer that way? They would for sure never see another nickel of my money after pulling a stunt like that.

The problem with the US system is that freight trains have priority over passenger trains. This is not an issue in Europe.

 

[bUU]

They do their best to schedule, but have to work around delays caused by freight trains. Keep in mind they share those tracks.

In many cases, not even that: For example, the Southern Service from DC to Miami is run on tracks owned by CSX. The Amtrak service is a secondary - by the terms of the agreement to use the tracks, Amtrak takes a back seat to the freight service.

Just like for any other transporter.

Indeed. Like every other service, you get what you pay for, and taxpayer-subsidized services rarely if ever include such costly accommodations over and above the promised service.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I bet a lot of people could say this about their place of roots, but the scenery in this reminds me of the Midwest, especially Illinois from Quincy on down.

Arlo Guthrie City Of New Orleans.wmv - YouTube

This made me miss the late great Steve Goodman

 

[HFWR]

This made me miss the late great Steve Goodman

 

[manerac]

The problem with the US system is that freight trains have priority over passenger trains. This is not an issue in Europe.

The problem in the US is that passenger trains SHARE the same tracks as freight trains. It is also regrettable that major cross-USA tracks were decomissioned during the 60's and 70's.

 

[M Paquette]

In many cases, not even that: For example, the Southern Service from DC to Miami is run on tracks owned by CSX. The Amtrak service is a secondary - by the terms of the agreement to use the tracks, Amtrak takes a back seat to the freight service.

Amusingly enough, there is actually a 1973 law that gives AMTRAK trains priority dispatch over freight trains. Total staffing for the Surface Transportation Board to enforce this is currently zero (0) persons. There was an attempt to actually apply the law via setting performance standards for AMTRAK, with enforcement by the Surface Transportation Board under a 2008 law which has been challenged, currently at the Supreme Court as Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads, 13-1080.

I imagine the matter will be finally resolved within the next 40-50 years. All aboard!

 

[CoolChange]

Amusingly enough, there is actually a 1973 law that gives AMTRAK trains priority dispatch over freight trains. Total staffing for the Surface Transportation Board to enforce this is currently zero (0) persons. There was an attempt to actually apply the law via setting performance standards for AMTRAK, with enforcement by the Surface Transportation Board under a 2008 law which has been challenged, currently at the Supreme Court as Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads, 13-1080.

I imagine the matter will be finally resolved within the next 40-50 years. All aboard!

I do know from personal experience there was a time when this law actually was enforced, via fines to freight carriers. In the late 80's - early 90's, it was a business decision whether to deal with the fine (which could be offset in various ways) or actually delay freight trains.

I honestly do not believe AMTRACK had better performance in those days; but, I do not have the stats at my fingertips.

 

[Walt34]

They do their best to schedule, but have to work around delays caused by freight trains. Keep in mind they share those tracks.

Who is the brain dead fool that assumes all services will be available at 3am? Why would they be responsible for taxi, etc, once the customer gets off the train?

Because they told me they would arrive at a reasonable hour and the customer relied on that promise. I know they have to share the tracks. However, if their schedule says the train will arrive at 4:00 PM when services are available, and they don't arrive until 3:00 AM then they are responsible for coming up with alternatives for those services that are not available at the late hour.

If they don't, then they don't get any more of my money. It is called failure to meet expectations.