Riding the Rails in America
 

Over the last holiday, a friend of mine rode Amtrak from Kansas CIty to Chicago to see the famous Union Station building (he said it was impressive). I've never ridden Amtrak (but I have ridden all over Europe on trains). When riding the train you leave the driving to the engineer, can get up and stretch and go to the restroom, eat in the dining car and possiblly meet new people. Sure, the trains are often not on time and in the US they are not very fast (except for Acela trains). Do you have an experience riding Amtrak?

When my brother was a teen he got caught up in the mystique of hobos riding the rails in the 1930s. So, he and a friend hopped a freight train but ended up getting arrested by a railroad detective. Some people still ride freight trains but it can be dangerous and uncomfortable.

Here's a trip report I wrote about a recent Amtrak trip from NYC to New Orleans and Tucson. https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...-then-1723119/.

Sure I've been on Amtrak. Here in Washington, using it to go to Oregon, so it wasn't a particularly exciting or adventurous trip :-) But a nice alternative for me to flying or driving.

Most of us who live in the Northeast have frequently ridden Amtrak for work and pleasure to go to Washington, DC or to head north to Boston or north to Albany and Saratoga Springs and as far as Montreal. It is usually more convenient than flying or driving, unless of course there are problems in which case it's a nightmare.

I travel on Amtrak at least once a year to NYC to visit family, I usually get a roomette for both ways or sometimes go business one way if the arrival time is more convenient. I love the roomette, it has a toilet and a sink and they give you a menu to choose your meal from and bring you your meal as well, you never have to leave the roomette if you don’t want to. I also enjoy the double windows, a large viewing area all to yourself!

That's too bad Amtrak stopped having dining cars east of the Mississippi except for the Auto Train going from Virginia to Florida. Dining cars are for relaxing and meeting people. That's the whole point of long-distance train travel. They also got rid of oberservation cars which is also a mistake imo.

If you happen to find yourself on an Alaskan trip which we were fortunate to do in 2021, and we took the train from Talkeetna to Denali and then back from Denali to Anchorage. We had an upgrade to the Dome Car with a narrator and a bar and we did take advantage of the dining car. As they need to fill up tables, we were booked to sit with another couple and it was very pleasant and reasonably priced, given the limited menu. Plus it saved us from trying to locate a place for dinner when we arrived back in Anchorage and took a taxi to our hotel.

Alaska Railroad is not Amtrak. It's owned by the State of Alaska. I've taken it between Anchorage and Seward.

Amtrak LA Union Station to Arizona.

I am not sure what this means. There are a half dozen long distance trains leaving from Chicago that have dining cars. I am sure the Chicago>>New Orleans train, AFAIK completely east of the Mississippi its whole run, has dining cars.

I didn't realize that this thread was specific to Amtrak. I assumed it was about rail travel in general.

There have been a lot of changes recently. The Man in Seat 61 states that trains west of Chicago have full dining cars. Some say the dining car serves only the "flex" reheated meals. I am not sure what the present situation is.

I assumed since the question buried in the text "Do you have an experience riding Amtrak?" was bolded, that it was about Amtrak.

By the way if you ride Alaska Railroad, there are different classes of trains, and services vary by route. GoldStar includes narration, different seats, and meals in the dining car. But if you ride Adventure Class on the Coastal Classic to Seward, you also have access to sit down dining. I walked through the Gold section seating and actually preferred Adventure Class (bench seats rather than bucket).

I have taken the Vermonter Amtrak train between Montpelier VT and DC many times.
A few years ago my husband and I took the Coast Starlight from LA to San Francisco.

My husband is a real train fan and really enjoys long train trips. I am not quite as much of a fan but I prefer train travel to driving in many parts of the northeast. I like being able to relax and read a book or watch the scenery. I've met a lot of interesting people.

The Chicago amtrak routes I've taken have cured me of any notions of "rail romance" in the US. The trains from Chicago to St. Louis, Dallas, and Galesburg are typically dirty, smelly, and late. Whatever peace and quiet you hope to find is destroyed by the smell of feet, loud talkers, and sticky trays and armrests. And don't even think of letting your head touch the seatback. And wifi is spotty.

In Union Station, the amtrak exployees live to upset their riders. Their customer service skills are deplorable. I've had to ride amtrak from there 1-2X/year, for the past three decades, and I've accepted what to expect and ways to keep my stress down, but it's an asylum on busy weekends and holidays, and I always feel sorry for seniors and folks with young children who are whipped into a panic by the lack of communication and clear direction from amtrak employees. And when I take the suburban trains from Union Station, I get to witness much of the cattle herding and frustrations of the amtrak passengers.

The longer trains may have dining cars, but all I've seen are the cafes with white castle sliders, chips, and bad coffee. (Again, all to be enjoyed on filthy trays, while breathing filthy air.)

But for many, it is a safe, affordable option in bad weather months for the elderly, the Amish, and for those who don't drive, so I'm thankful it exists. But many, many Amtrak routes are pretty awful, so on a travel forum, if the question arises, I can only offer my perspective on some of the Chicago trains. And usually advise a quick flight out of Midway instead.

Well, that is indeed a sad state of affairs. Too bad we can't have rail service like in most of Europe and China.

PrairieHiker! -- don't know how long it's been since you've traveled by rail in Europe, but over the years, full service (i.e. dining cars, bar cars, etc) have also been reduced along many lines.

The last time was in 1996, so guess I don't know the current state of affairs.Too bad they have reduce service as well.

I have loved North American rail travel for many years now. I like seeing the continent this way; many places I doubt I would have seen otherwise were it not for the train. For me, there is something almost magical arriving in a new place by train. Many people understandably don’t like it —the delays, knowing one could fly faster, cafe car food quality, shared sometimes mistreated toilets, you name it—I long ago gave up trying to persuade anyone as we all have our likes and dislikes and levels of tolerance. If you click on my name, my output on Fodor’s has essentially been about giving those who do enjoy train travel ideas.