Rail Trips in USA
 

We are taking our first train tour on Amtrack ( Empire Builder) to Montana and up to Canada. Any suggestions as to what to watch out for in booking our trip and if its worth the high $$$$$!!

You're going to probably get pretty strong opinions both pro and con about Amtrak. If you do a search on here under "Amtrak" and/or "Empire Builder" you'll find several trip reports.

I don't think there's anything in particular to watch out for when booking. I'm assuming the high $$$$ is because you're getting sleeping accommodations (such as a bedroom), which would be very advisable on such a long trip. Remember, your meals are included. When you factor in the meals, the rate for "hotels" for a couple of nights, etc you'll have to decide whether it's worth the costs. IMO it is.

If you're going the entire way from/to Chicago and Seattle, the western part of that route has some beautiful scenery.

We like trains, but you can't be in a hurry and expect to stick to a schedule. Amtrak is notoriously late on long-distance routes - often through no fault of their own (that could be the subject of an entirely different discussion). Still, if you enjoy/expect a leisurely pace and like seeing things from the ground rather than 30,000 feet, it can be a very pleasant experience.

Is there a website that tracks Amtrak's on-time rate? Similar to flighttracker.com for airlines?

Here's a link to my trip report on the Empire Builder.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35140565

The gorgeous part of this ride is really Seattle- (East)Glacier, the latter is where I imagine you'd likely be getting off, and would be a good intro to train travel to see if you'd like it or not. For Chicago/Minneapolis (to Glacier), the two other stops you're likely to originate in, you miss most of the most scenic parts.

Suggestions: 1) Don't wait TOO long to book, especially for the sleeper accommodations. This is a popular route; you may have to shuffle your dates.

Things that seem to spoil the trip for others: 1) expecting beautifully-appointed "romantic" accommodations or elegant meals; it's not glamourous; it's more functional than anything 2) complaining about clambering up to the upper bunk in the roomette (the web site has info about accommodation size) 3) bathroom not as clean as they'd like (honestly, the attendant can't possibly clean after each person does a number two and some passengers are more thoughtful than others) 4) getting worked up over the train being behind schedule by X hours (my attitude is to expect it to be late and not get worked up over it, but have contingency plans)

For me, $1000 Chicago-Seattle, the ride was totally worth it, mostly because I got to see places/scenery I likely would not have otherwise (Montana, eastern Washington). An experience I still am thankful to have done (and if you read my trip report, you'll see that things did not go picture-perfectly).

Have fun deciding DAN

This site tracks Amtrak on time status for up to two weeks:

http://www.amtrakdelays.com/

You need to enter the destination city code and train number. e.g WGL (for West Glacier) Train # 7 Westbound Empire Builder
Shows an average delay of 58 minutes over the past week.
Not bad for a trip that originated 1600 miles in Chicago.

Thanks so much for the helpful info!! I didn't expect to receive such specific information. We are only going from Chicago to Glacier ( Whitefish, Mt) then by coach to Jasper ( Banff etc.) My husband needs oxygen so this may be a problem. We are getting a sleeper roomette, even if its only 2 nights.

The Empire Builder has the distinction of being Amtrak's most on-time long distance train. If your husband is on oxygen, you might want to check the price of the handicapped rooms. There is one pre car. He may qualify. It's a much larger room: utilitarian and downstairs. The roomette is small and the beds are skinny bunk-bed configuration. Can you upgrade to a deluxe (I think they call them "Standard"s now) bedroom? You will be much more comfortable.