Amtrak - Going BIG!

I will be interested in your trip story afterwards.
Taking Amtrak has been a consideration for us, at least once. Great way to sight see, without driving.
 
great thread! DW and I will be watching along. We want to do the Empire Builder for certain, but those routes all sound great. DW rode the Cascades from Tacoma to PDX once, and I did a Yakima to Spokane for the world's fair in 1974. We are eager to get at it.
 
PaunchyPirate said:
Ah, that indeed has been one of my big decisions. And I'm still pondering my options. The closest Amtrak station to me is Erie, PA -- only about 45 miles away. The major problem is that the train to Chicago leaves Erie at 2:00 in the morning. I could have someone drop me off at the station at 1:00 am, I suppose. Parking nearby isn't really an option. It's not in a great part of town and there isn't a dedicated parking lot that I can see. I also don't think I would be able to effectively sleep for the rest of that night on the train even with a roomette. So I figured I would be a mess once I got to Chicago. Then I'd have to kill several more hours in Chicago waiting for the CZ to depart. It just doesn't seem like a good start to the trip.

The drive to Chicago is only about 8 hours and I've done it many times. I used to live in Chicago and drove to PA to visit family. So I think I'll just dedicate the prior day to the drive and then get a good night's sleep in a hotel before getting on the train the next day.

I will give more thought to taking the train over, but I'm currently thinking I will drive it.
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Youi could find a secure parking area in Erie and take a taxi to the train station
 
Being on schedule isn't their strong suit. I would believe that for most of us if not on a dead-on time schedule it is a fun adventurous way to travel.
 
Sounds like a great adventure, hope you have fun.

It was about 50 years ago but I traveled by train several times in Europe, including an overnight thru the Alps once, and enjoyed it then.
 
PaunchyPirate said:
I am intrigued by the rest of the Coastal Starlight route as well. I think if I actually like this trip, I could easily see myself going back out via the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA, then up the coast via the CS and then coming back on the Zephyr the other direction from this trip. I'm the kind of person that could easily become one of these Amtrak geeks that I've started reading -- I discovered Amtraktrains.com yesterday!
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For seeing delays, check out asm.transitdocs.com, my son loves using it to see train status.
 
Saw this article on a luxury train service between Paris, Italy and Split.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-orient-express-la-dolce-vita-train-is-coming-to-italy-in-2023

Fancy cabins with '60s Dolce Vita inspired interior designs.


I've taken trains in Europe when it made sense. I think the longest trip I took was 4-5 hours.

But I'm not one for making trains the object of the trip. I once took the train from Paris to Nice, which was suppose to be TGV part of the way but still was 8-9 hours.

Compared to a 1 hour flight.

So this Orient Express wouldn't be for me.

Also saw some ads for the Canadian Rockies trains, going through absolutely stunning landscapes. But the prices were crazy high. Maybe it was a package price rather than just the tickets alone.

I drove last summer for the first time in Switzerland, instead of taking trains as I've done on previous trips. Was very nice to be able to go through at my own schedule.

But there are specialty trains, like those that climb up mountains. For instance Rochers de Naye from Montreux to a peak overlooking Lake Geneva.
 
Enjoy the trip! Doing something similar is on my list so I look forward to hearing your experiences.

We recently rode the "Glacier Express" from St. Moritz to Zermatt in Switzerland. Amazing experience through the Alps. 7 hours during the day.

We also did an overnight train in a sleeping room in China from Beijing to Xian. Fun experience but it was pretty rough-and-rugged.

I've considered doing the Orient Express as well. That could be really fun.
 
I've always wanted to do a long Amtrak trip like this also. I could never do it if I had to wear a mask for that long of time though. Hopefully for your sake the mask mandate won't be back anytime soon.
 
I envy you! Do it while you can! I waited too long. Have the time of your life!
 
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RobbieB said:
I've always wanted to do a long train ride since watching Murder on the Orient Express.
Click to expand...

I've always wanted to do a long train ride despite watching "Transsiberian".
(It was actually a very good movie - lol!)

Paunchy Pirate - sounds like a great trip you have planned. Will be interested in hearing how it went. Have lots of fun!
 
Fantastic! I'm the person who reported in the previous thread that I took the CZ from Chicago to Sacramento in early March. I was alone in a roomette and had a fabulous time. The train was only about 45 minutes late arriving in Sacramento. The views were outstanding, the food was very good, I slept well, and the people very friendly. I would, in fact, like to do it again but this time from California to Chicago. Your trip sounds lovely; please report back!
 
RE: Amtrak Trip

I took the California Zephyr in Feb of this year and really enjoyed it. I had a bedroom (has the toilet/shower combo in the room). I was lucky as when we pulled into Emeryville we were only 3 hours late and that was after leaving Chicago 2 hours late. So not bad at all. The scenery between Denver and Sacramento is the best on the Empire builder.

Here are some things you should pack for your train trips:

1. Comfortable overnight clothes
3. Sandals for going from your room to the toilet/shower/coffee machine. (Cheap ones like Hotel slippers)
4. Snacks high in fiber. (eating Amtrak food for a long time may back you up). I also brought prunes with me. :)
6. Wipes to sanitize your sleeping compartment
7. Hand sanitizer
8. Easy on/off shoes
10. Tape and a piece of cardboard to stop any rattling in your compartment may have.
11. Also you can order food to be delivered at a long stop if you get tired of the food on the train. But I have found that the food now on Amtrak is better than pre-covid. It is basically one step up from food you would get on first class on a flight. (avoid the lounge car food)
12. A USB hub with a long power cord (or bring a small extension cord) as there is only 1 plug in Roomette. I brought a GoPro camera/cell phone and laptop and it made my life so much easier as the plugs in the rooms/roomettes are not located in optimal locations.
13. Just remember you are in no rush and sit back and relax. You will more than likely meet someone you get along with and take most of your meal with them. I met a guy from Argentina and learned so much about his country during the trip.
14. Download an app like "speedometer" on your phone so you can see how fast the train is moving.
15. You can track updates to your arrival times and train locations when you have cell service on site: https://asm.transitdocs.com/
16. Take some amazing photos/videos from the last car on the train. Especially cool when going over bridges.
17. A typical tip for the sleeping car attendant is $20/day.
18. Go ahead and download offline google maps for areas you will be traveling though so you can still see where you are when you are out of cell service range (which is often).


I also took the Empire Builder in 2019 and made a video of my trip if you are interested:

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

Have a great trip, take lots of photos, and we look forward to hearing about your journey!
 
There used to be a North American Rail Pass (maybe there still is?) good for the US and Canada. In the early 2000s I did Bloomington IL -Chicago-Seattle-Victoria(included the ferry)-Vancouver-Toronto-Montréal-NYC-Savannah-Jacksonville-New Orleans-Champaign IL and back to Bloomington IL via bus. The train from Jacksonville to New Orleans is no longer running. I think they use a bus now. It was a great trip. I splurged for the roomette for Chicago-Seattle. Wish I would have splurged in Canada because, at least at that time, the coach class passengers couldn't use the dinning car. Only the café car.
 
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OP here. Thank you everyone for the comments and advice. I'm reading all of these and learning a lot (along with a lot of YouTube watching and website research).

The trip is now fully booked. I was able to use up my Chase Ultimate Rewards points left over from signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card to get 2 free nights + about half of the price for the 3rd night in the hotels in Emeryville, CA and Seattle, WA. That's in addition to one Business Class flight between New York and Madrid for later in the fall. Not a bad collection of travel for signing up for a credit card.

I'll be sure to post a trip report on this thread when I get back home. The trip is June 28-July 7, so I have a little more time to wait, unfortunately.
 
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If you like that, try the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer from Vancouver to Lake Louise/Banff/Calgary. They have several itineraries to choose from. We enjoyed the views, first class accommodations, and scenery. A bit pricey at $6k pp, but very nice.

Would love a similar Amtrack that did the national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone - that would be awesome!

Have fun!
 
Marita40 said:
Fantastic! I'm the person who reported in the previous thread that I took the CZ from Chicago to Sacramento in early March. I was alone in a roomette and had a fabulous time. The train was only about 45 minutes late arriving in Sacramento. The views were outstanding, the food was very good, I slept well, and the people very friendly. I would, in fact, like to do it again but this time from California to Chicago. Your trip sounds lovely; please report back!
Click to expand...

On our big trip to LVNV we didn't do the cabin - just slept in seats. The train emptied out both nights and we had two seats to ourselves - each. Not good sleeping BUT our friends traveling with us had the cabin and they got motion sickness and came out into the regular cars to sleep. Guess we're all different.
 
Beachcomber said:
If you like that, try the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer from Vancouver to Lake Louise/Banff/Calgary. They have several itineraries to choose from. We enjoyed the views, first class accommodations, and scenery. A bit pricey at $6k pp, but very nice.

Would love a similar Amtrack that did the national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone - that would be awesome!

Have fun!
Click to expand...

Yeah I think that's the ad I've seen before.

Are the first class accommodations comparable to a 5-star hotel? Because the prices seem to be and it's not even that long a trip unless they have long stopovers?
 
I rode the train from Syracuse to Reno and when I got home I felt like I was still rolling and it was awful. I took a nap to feel better. I had a sleeper car one night and couldn’t sleep feeling like I was right on the rails. I slept better in a seat. For years we took the train from Chicago to Syracuse and that’s much better as it’s mostly a overnight trip so you sleep and arrive in the morning. Amtrak has been late for the last 40 years. Sorry to be such a downer.
 
explanade said:
Yeah I think that's the ad I've seen before.

Are the first class accommodations comparable to a 5-star hotel? Because the prices seem to be and it's not even that long a trip unless they have long stopovers?
Click to expand...

You exited the train each night to stay in a luxury hotel. Dinners were on you.
Lunch was first class linen service on the first floor of the skyview car you rode on.

The views spectacular and I highly recommend going. Add a couple days in Vancouver to take in Victoria and the world famous Butchart Gardens.

A first class tour company we like is Tauck Tours.

https://luxury.travelpackages.com/
 
Beachcomber said:
You exited the train each night to stay in a luxury hotel. Dinners were on you.
Lunch was first class linen service on the first floor of the skyview car you rode on.

The views spectacular and I highly recommend going. Add a couple days in Vancouver to take in Victoria and the world famous Butchart Gardens.

A first class tour company we like is Tauck Tours.

https://luxury.travelpackages.com/
Click to expand...

That site makes you register before they show you any of their tours.
 
Beachcomber said:
You exited the train each night to stay in a luxury hotel. Dinners were on you.
Lunch was first class linen service on the first floor of the skyview car you rode on.

The views spectacular and I highly recommend going. Add a couple days in Vancouver to take in Victoria and the world famous Butchart Gardens.

A first class tour company we like is Tauck Tours.

https://luxury.travelpackages.com/
Click to expand...


We took the Western Canada tour with Tauck and really enjoyed it.We toured Butchart Gardens.
We took VIA rail from Vancouver to Jasper, along the same route the Rocky Mountaineer runs, for less $$$.
I have attached a link our story.
http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/westerncanada2015.pdf
 
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