Courtesy of the wonderful Arlo Guthrie, this is an homage to traveling by train in the US.
I’ve traveled a lot in Europe and Asia on trains, but, other than the NYC-DC Amtrak, we’ve done nothing else in the US. Any great trip suggestions?
2 Likes
The California Zephyr, especially the part between the Bay Area and Denver, is stunning. The Coast Starlight is also wonderful, with the first part out of LA being the highlight. I also enjoyed the Chicago-DC and Boston-Chicago routes. But for me, the western part of the Zephyr is #1.
And I listen to that marvelous song every time I take the train.
3 Likes
Paging @Creekland! She is our train travel expert.
1 Like
City of New Orleans may well be in the top 10 of my favorite pieces of music. Often I cry when I listen to it. Arlo hit it out of the park with it!
7 Likes
I totally agree!
He hits an extremely resonating chord with trains. There is simply something magical about train travel. “City of New Oreleans” captures the magic and sadness of this.
We would love to explore train travel more, even if it is to go somewhere where we might not go. I would love to hear from folks about great train trips in the US.
2 Likes
City of New Orleans was written by Steve Goodman in 1971. I’ve always like his version best.
Some of the bittersweet’s of the song may be attributable to the fact that Goodman was living with a leukemia diagnosis from the age 21 until his death until his death in 1981. He was in & out of remission his whole adult life and lived with constant pain. Despite that he was one of the most upbeat and dedicated musical performers I’ve seen.
11 Likes
We did Boston to Denver (changed in Chicago) as part of a cross country trip. Then we spent 5 weeks driving around the west (mostly national parks) then took train back. The views were great.
4 Likes
The Empire Builder - from Chicago to Glacier National Park. I haven’t ever done this, but my parents did and said it was stunning.
The Empire Builder is a mixed bag. From my home in Wisconsin, it is a 45 minute drive to a town to catch Amtrak. Then two nights to get to Portland or Seattle. During the day there is a whole lot of N. Dakota and Montana to view. Still, I like the rhythm of train travel. When I took it in the spring years ago, we hit Glacier at sundown, so not much to see.
The train from Chicago to LA I enjoyed for the views of New Mexico and Arizona, with a bit of time in Albuquerque. I got off in Flagstaff to visit family. But it is easy access to the Grand Canyon, renting a car at the train station. Once I took the train from Flagstaff to San Diego, and adored the view of the San Bernadino mountains in the morning, as well as beach south of LA.
But the California Zephyr, Denver to the Bay area is the best.
As this is CC, I have to mention that my son was so inspired by the views of Pittsburgh on an early train trip with his dad, that he later attended and graduated from Pitt.
Another Arlo song, Coming into Los Angeles is my long time travel theme song, if for international flying.
3 Likes
I’m flattered, but hardly a train expert having only done two major trips. They were fun though - love the relaxing ride and scenery. From what we have done I agree the CA Zephyr is superb. The Southwest Chief and Coast Starlight are also worthy. We’re looking forward to doing the Empire Builder sometime when we can fit it into our travel schedule - perhaps next June"ish."
One train I’d love to do, but we have to plan it a bit more is the Rocky Mountaineer. It’s not Amtrak, but a Canadian line operating in the US:
It does all of the most scenic section of the Zephyr, then cuts down into scenic Utah and travels solely during daylight hours so you miss nothing, plus don’t have to adjust to sleeping on a train. Amtrak doesn’t go down into Utah where this does. It only cuts across the state. We’d take Amtrak to Denver, then switch I suspect.
Otherwise, I wrote a trip report about our most recent trip on Amtrak here with pics in later posts:
5 Likes
Yes. It’s a good song but someone please explain the allure of train travel.
I looked into a train trip from So Cal to Oregon. The trip would take 25! hours. So I would want to sleep in a bed. 600 dollars for a sleeper room.
So it takes much longer than flying. It takes twice as long as driving and even with the cost of gas and motels now, the train still costs more.
And with driving, if I want to stop and see sights along the way, I can and I don’t need a rental car when I get to the destination.
I really just don’t get the appeal of trains.
Flying and driving have their benefits to be sure. The best way I can explain the appeal of train travel is that it has a certain sort of romanticism, a sense of existing in a different time and place. It allows me to enjoy the scenery, or read a book, or maybe take a nap. I can choose to be alone in my roomette or I can opt to meet fellow travelers in the dining and observation cars. It’s very much about the journey and not the destination. I would not expect train travel to appeal to everyone and the cost can absolutely be prohibitive (although Amtrak does run periodic flash sales). But it’s an environmentally friendly alternative to other forms of travel that I hope more people will consider.
7 Likes
It’s so different than flying or driving a car. Flying is generally a pain and stressful. Driving is tiring unless you take several days for longer trips (we’ve done this twice, this year and several years ago where we went clear across the US). It’s just a more relaxed way to travel.
Without ANY doubt, I Amtrak between NYC and DC. I would NEVER fly that route. I guess for a longer trip, where time is not an issue, there is a lot of similar appeal. However, that’s the point of my OP: I haven’t done longer than a 3 hour trip in the US on the train, and I want to know what are the routes that are available!
3 Likes
This. It’s the journey - looking out the window at the scenery for us without having to worry about traffic or meals or pretty much anything. It’s purely relaxing for us.
Trains, cars, planes, they all have their place in our travel. It depends upon what we want at the time.
Going from A to B quickly, esp long distance? Planes.
Going on a road trip with multiple stops? Cars.
Going on a leisure sightseeing trek between A and B? Trains.
We’ve done all three this year. Each was right for its purpose.
'Twould have been rather difficult to do a car or train when we went to St Thomas… Ditto seeing Moffat Tunnel or several of the canyons along Zephyr’s route by car or plane, and ditto for going up to where we go along the St Lawrence via train or plane.
3 Likes
I’ll tell you what train trip not to do: A trip from anywhere in the Northeast to Florida.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of trains & mass transit in general. This country has done itself a huge disservice with its devotion to the car, imho, and with its starvation of Amtrak and refusal to maintain, let alone upgrade, rail infrastructure.
This became apparent on my trip - solo with two toddlers. No sleeper. Just trying to save as much $ as possible with a crazy-cheap flash sale, as I recall. hahahah
A trip that was advertised as taking 18 hours instead took 27 hours.
Why? Was there a derailment, a flood, a fire, a car on the tracks?
Nope, none of those things.
The reason was because there is one set of tracks, and even though it’s against the law, Amtrak plays second fiddle behind freight. Every time a freight train needed priority, we got shunted onto a siding.
I cannot tell you how brutal 27 hours on a train with toddlers is.
Ah well, lesson learned. And I am here to tell you not to do it, so there is some benefit after all to my trauma.
2 Likes
My kids loved the auto train. We took it to Disney four times. Cheaper than flying and renting a car plus we could fill the car to the gills vs one checked bag each. Kids loved it and were able to be up and around. Such fun trips. The auto train goes from Lorton VA to Sanford FL.
2 Likes
My family drove from NJ to VA to take the auto train to Florida twice in the 1970s when I was a teenager, once with our dog (parents and dog in a roomette, my brothers and I in coach). I still remember looking out the window at night and wondering about the lives of the people in all the houses we passed. Train travel definitely is about the voyage. I hope to do more of it in the future when I have lots of time…
3 Likes
I enjoyed the Oakland to Seattle journey many years ago. It’s about 24 hours if I remember correctly. Very Nor Cal and Oregon were stunning.
1 Like
I might consider it when Covid is over (if that ever happens). It’s one thing to wear a mask for three or four hours on a plane. It’s quite another to wear one for 25 hours on a train!
But I like the freedom of the open road. If I see something I’d like to visit, I stop. Want to walk that beach, I stop. Change my mind about the route, I do what I please.
Yes, train travel is all about the voyage. Maybe some go on cruises for the same effect. Though I also went coach with my kids, they were old enough to do puzzles with, read to, learn to knit, etc. At home we were always busy and when at destination we were busy. On the train we were suspended in time, learning, playing games,being together and enjoying as well as learning about the geography as it passed. After the kids left home though, my time was better spent working and flying. If we get on top of Covid a bit better, I’ll be back on the train. I don’t want to pay those high roomette fees.
Abroad, in India, China and Thailand back in the day, train travel was an amazing adventure and a view of culture and scenery up close.
4 Likes