Trans American Rail Journey

Old Oct 30th, 2011, 11:16 AM
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Trans American Rail Journey

I'm toying with ideas for our vacation next year. We want to return to the USA. I have been looking at maybe travelling from New York or Boston across to San Francisco.I can't find any advice on the USA forum, am I looking in the right place or can someone suggest where I can find information about rail travel.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 11:32 AM
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Amtrak is the rail company that would connect these locations. The route between Boston and New York is well traveled. There are a few routes with various connections that would take you cross country. The fastest route would probably be the Lakeshore Limited between New York and Chicago (Boston trains also connect to this train at Albany). In Chicago, take the California Zephyr to Emeryville (from there, short bus connection to downtown San Francisco). This route takes 3-4 days depending on delays.


http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...mtrak/HomePage
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 11:59 AM
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In no way would I do a train trip in the US, IMOP. Our rail service doesn't compare to other countries, IMOP.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 12:02 PM
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The cAlifornia traverses some great scenery, including the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada

Another possibility would be the Empire Builder from Chicago to either Seattle or Portland, combined with the Coast Starlight down to San Francisco ( actually Oakland or Emeryville with a bus transfer to SF). The Empire Builder goes right past Glacier National Park with stops at both East and West Glacier, and you can combine the train with an overnight ( or longer) visit to the national park.

Be aware that Amtrak is notoriously late on the long-distance routes. But if you are flexible it is a fun way to go. Sleeping accommodations include meals.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 12:03 PM
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Ooops! I meant "California Zephyr"
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 12:04 PM
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And you could also consider the rail trip across Canada. Very scenic, and their train service is reputed to be much better than Amtrak.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 12:06 PM
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By the way, if you do an advanced search for "Amtrak" you may find a few trip reports by people who have done some cross-country journeys. These might give you an idea of the kind of service to expect. Here is a recent report that included a lot of Amtrak travel:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...os-angeles.cfm
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 02:01 PM
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I am one of the few advocates of Amtrak on the forums.
The USA Railpass (15, 30 or 45 day) is a great bargain if you can tolerate sleeping in coach. Yes Amtrak is often late (sometimes by hours). My wife and I have traveled on the California Zephyr several times in each direction.
We have also been on the Empire Builder and the Southwest Chief.
All of the western routes originate in Chicago.
From NYC (or Boston) you ride the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago.
If you wanted to see Washington DC, you would take the Capitol Limited. Getting a sleeper berth is expensive and sometimes they are sold out.
With a good travel pillow in your carry on luggage, you can get a few hours of sleep in your coach seat.
I have also been on the Canadian (ViaRail) all the way from Toronto to Vancouver with stops in Winnipeg and Jasper.
I can't agree with enzian about the Canadian service being much better. The Canadian's toilets flush between the rails. The conductor locks the doors to the bathrooms when the train is in a station.
With the USA Railpass the cost per mile is less on Amtrak.
The most scenic area on the CA Zephyr route is in the Glenwood Canyon east of Glenwood Springs Colorado.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 03:06 PM
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I did Chicago to Emeryville (bus connection to San Francisco included) and we started to run out of food soon The most scenic part was after Denver.

Would I want to do it again or recommend? Only if you really love trains and are not a claustrophobic to be in a tiny compartment.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 03:22 PM
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Trains in the US are nothing like europe. The government, as a policy supports travel by air and road - and refuses to provide funds for long-distance train travel. The trains are incredibly slow (driving is faster), often hours late (tracks re owned by the freight companies and freight trains take priority over passenger trains, which may have to wait on a siding for hours for freight trains to pass), the conditions are poor to abysmal and they cost more than flying - way more.

Amtrak is reasonable on the NE corridor (DC through Boston) with trains that run on time (except for weather) and may be as often as once an hour. Other trains may run once per day - if that.

Seeing the USA is a great idea - but car is the only realistic way to do it (if you don;t want to take some hops by plane).
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 03:54 PM
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I've ridden Amtrak from LA to Seattle, Seattle to Chicago, Chicago to both the Bay Area and LA as well as New Orleans to LA, San Diego to LA and Atlanta to NYC. It's not perfect and doesn't compare well to rail service in most of the developed world. BUT....
you don't have to take off your shoes, you can bring any size liquid container on board, you don't have to arrive 2 hours early, go through full body scanners, be questioned about where you are going and why, be confined to a narrow metal tube, get out of your seat only when the crew says it's OK, etc.
When time allows I'll take the train any day over an airplane. The first poster gave a good possible route, but for the most scenic from Chicago on, try the Empire Builder connecting to Seattle or Portland to the Coast Starlight.
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Old Oct 30th, 2011, 04:53 PM
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My comments about Canadian rail v. Amtrak were based on reputation of the former and personal experience with the latter. I have read mostly good reports on the Canadian trip through the Rocy Mountains, and it seems well-regarded. But I admit I have nom personal experience withnCanada rail.

I do with Amtrak, however, and if I exclude trips from Seattle to Portland the have totally failed me in my last 3 trips: two on the Coast Starlight and one ski trip to Whitefish. The two Coast Starlight trips were wonderful southbound, but the return did not happen. In each case, trying to catch the train in San Jose, it was running 12 to 14 hours late and I gave up and took a plane as I could not wait that long ( work called). Our ski trip to Montana last winter ended up being the dinner train to Everett, as that was as far as we got. Wind and rain had caused a wash-out in the tracks west of the first mountain pass, and near the pass the tracks were blocked by an avalanche. They were taking passengers by bus to Spokane to meet the train but we opted out of an all-night bus trip when we had paid for a deluxe sleeper. Amtrak cheerfully refunded our money. We will try again in January. Already booked.

I do like Amtrak and try to support them, But any European should be warned that it is not as reliable and efficient as trains to which they are accustomed.
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 12:30 AM
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Well,many thanks for all your replies, a lot of good advice to take in.
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 06:42 AM
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Having taken Amtrak from DC-Chicago-Seattle, DC-Chicago-San Francisco (and back) and VIA Rail (Canada) Toronto-Vancouver, here are few thoughts.

I'd only consider going cross country in a sleeper, so all the below is for sleeper class passengers on the long-distance routes:

VIA Rail tends to be FAR more expensive than Amtrak to go cross country, whether by economy class or with sleeping accommodations.

VIA offers typically tasty, creative, thoughtfully-prepared meals for sleeping car passengers. On Amtrak, occasionally I've run across a surprisingly delicious main dish, and usually I'm able to find something that's fine... but don't expect haute cuisine (and expect Kraft squeeze pack dressing with your salad).

Special things: VIA has the dome car for seeing scenery above the train's height; there's a games-film car with a games coordinator and there's the ever-popular bar car. VIA has a complimentary glass of champagne leaving Toronto, the Rockies and Vancouver in the dome car. Amtrak has cafe cars with panoramic windows where occasionally National Park rangers talk about the geology and history of the landscapes one is seeing. I've been on trains where there have been regional wine-tastings on both Amtrak (Washington state wines) and VIA (BC wines).

For all cross-country train trips, expect to be late and think beforehand what you would do if you're THAT late; to give you an idea, I've been on 3 cross-country trains that were 4 hours late. You must plan for this, otherwise you'll go stir-mad.

I would with no exaggeration go so far as to say that taking the train cross-country has been one of my favourite experiences *in life*, but it's not for everyone and certainly not faultless.

Best wishes, Daniel
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 07:57 AM
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I echo Daniel_Williams' experiences and opinions. I have ridden both ViaRail and AMTRAK cross country on numeroues occasions and will do so again. As others have said, you must have some flexibility. While many of my cross country trips have arrived on time and some even early, many have not. Nevertheless, I'd rather be a few hours late on a train than stuck on JetBlue on the ground for seven hours.

All-in-all, if the primary goal of your trip is scenic, I'd recommend the California Zephyer from Chicago to Emerville (San Francisco).

To correct misstatements above:

All western routes do not originate in Chicago. The Sunset Limited runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles and you could connect to that from New York City or Washington, DC.

While the Glenwood Canyon area is beautiful, the California Zephyer passes through considerable other highly scenic area. Coming out of Denver, it spends several hours in the scenic areas of the Rockies, including Glenwood Springs. Then, leaving Reno, it climbs into the Sierras and has another several hours of highly scenic travel.

The government actually does provide financial support to AMTRAK. Many, inlcuding myself, would argue it's not enough but in fiscal 2010, federal allocations to AMTRAK was $1.57 billion. In some corridors, including at least Boston-Washington, Chicago-St Louis, Seattle-Portland, and some areas of California, state governments also provide considerable support for regional trains.

Enjoy your trip, whatever you decide.
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 08:55 AM
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It's true that the federal government does contirbute very minimal funds to Amtrak - but it supports only a couple of sets of destinations that have enough traffic to make it viable. There is no true national rail network (most places, many of them surprisingly large cities, simpy can't be reached by train, but require bus trips after the train ends.)

And local commuter rail around several large cities are essentially self-supporting.
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 09:37 AM
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If you want to have a cross-country adventure and you don't want to drive, consider taking the bus which will give you much more flexibility than the train:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2126780_ride...sscountry.html

If such as experience interests you, don't let anybody discourage you from pursuing it.

HTTY
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 11:37 AM
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Take the VIA rail form say Montreal to Vancouver. I did it from Vancouver to Toronto and it was AWESOME!!!!!! If sight seeing in the US is the plan, renting a car is the best option. If you just want to get from point a to point b and see some fantastic scenery along the way, I highly recommend VIA Rail.
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Old Oct 31st, 2011, 11:38 AM
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Also the man in seat 61 is the best travel train website on the internet.
http://www.seat61.com/
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