topic Re: Taking the Train Long Distance in Travel

Taking the Train Long Distance

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 00:38:40 GMT

How is that, taking the train instead of flying? I don't like to fly (afraid it will crash - silly me). What a horrible way to go.

yes I know the train could crash - just not from 30,000 feet.

I need to visit a relative near the west coast, and I am in the east. Any recommendations about cross-country train travel?

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

riley1 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 00:44:35 GMT

I don't know much about cross country train travel, but it sure sounds like an adventure. I bet you will see beautiful scenery.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

GCR18 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:18:21 GMT

I've taken Amtrack from Penn Station NY to Tampa, FL round trip either two or three times. I wasn't flying at the time. It was alright. It wasn't the best thing I ever did, but not the worst either. The bathroom was just like on a plane. I had a regular seat. I couldn't sleep. Brought lots of snacks and things to do.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

itsmagic — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:19:16 GMT

I’ve never taken the Amtrak train across the country but I have some friends who took the train from Chicago out to California. They did enjoy the scenery and reserved a sleeper car for at night which is extra but they thought was worth it. And it sounds like there was an actual dining car rather than a snack car like you find on shorter train trips. It would be a good way for you to travel as long as you have the time since I think it may take about three days or so.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Kachina624 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:20:42 GMT

I looked into it and did some research and reading about it and it seemed very expensive, especially on a long trip where you need sleeping accommodations. Although you see some beautiful scenery, you also see a lot of very boring. Google Amtrack and check it out yourself.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

janeec — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:22:32 GMT

I took a train to the Midwest (from the East) for a job interview almost 40 years ago and loved it. There was an impending airline strike and I couldn't take the chance that I would be stranded as it was during spring break in college. I did not get a sleeper, I slept in my seat. I changed trains in Chicago. It was a great experience. It was a 24 hour trip to my destination, and 36 hours back as the route went to D.C. before coming up the East Coast.

I would suggest a sleeper car. The meals are not cheap on the train, but it is a dining experience! Peas are best eaten with mashed potatoes to keep them from flying off your fork due to the movement of the train. Going from one car to another was a little hairy at first but easily managed. Everyone should take a train trip at least once in their life.

The nice thing about the train is you can get up and walk around which we all need to do. People were friendly. If time is not a factor, take the train.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

World Traveler — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:25:18 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia I'm hoping that @BriggsiePeawiggle sees your post and responds. She had planned to go by train from Michigan to Seattle in June this past summer. She booked a sleeping room on the train and bought binoculars to use on the train. She should have some interesting input for you.

@sandy53 once posted about about being on a narrow gauge railroad out of Durango, and if I recall correctly, she was interested in train travel to other places. Maybe she can share some experiences if she has gone by train lately.

I posted something about "The Absolute Best Places to Travel by Train" back in May of this year. So maybe something others posted at that time could help you.

I'll check to see if there are any other threads on our Travel Forum about traveling by trains. Perhaps something posted there will be helpful.

Meanwhile, I hope others will pop in and respond to your post.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

MUNCHIE — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:30:08 GMT

I have taken Amtrak about 11 times from Emeryville Cal to Grand Junction Colorado. It takes 26 hours one way,. I always get the smaller room called a roomette. You share a toilet, at the end of the car with the other roomettes. If you purchase a larger bedroom, there is a small (size of toliet in airplane) toilet in the larger room. When you purchase any room, your meals are included, breakfast, lunch and dinners, which can add up if you only purchase a seat. The first time I did this I purchased a seat, arrived feeling like a zombie, as I could not sleep sitting up, men snoring, people with colds, babies crying etcetc..Never again. If you book early enough the rooms are about comparable to flying price. It just takes longer to get there. It was the most relaxing way of traveleing I had ever done. The scenery never gets old, I just love looking out the windows, the conversations in the dining car are always a learning experience. You meet so many nice people. I did price a trip , about 10 yrs ago to go across country, it was very expensive. But I love the train , thats all there is to it.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:31:54 GMT

Thanks kindly for the responses.

I will stay tuned!

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

World Traveler — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:43:14 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia Well, I found three threads on this forum specifically about trains. That being said, there could have been many other discussions about train travel in our monthly Travel Chat, or some other thread that got off topic. It is not unusual when we talk about flying that someone says they prefer to take the train or drive, and perhaps talk about their train experiences was included.

But the three I found which may offer some opinions for you are the following:

Took an Amtrak Vacay, that was posted by @LoriMI
Amtrak travel opinions please, that was posted by @dulwich
The Absolute Best Places to Travel by Train, which I posted sometime ago

If you put any of those titles in the "search forums and blogs" area, they should come up. However, on my computer, there are only three (very long) pages of travel threads, so it shouldn't take long if you just wanted to screen thru all the thread names and find those three.

Good luck!

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:45:44 GMT

Thank you, @World Traveler, and everyone who has responded.

I will most certainly give a look to those threads.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

mac116 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:53:44 GMT

I've only taken a "long" (10 hour) trip one time. I got terrible motion sickness, and took a plane back home ( a little over a one hour plane ride). Train travel does not work for me.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Kachina624 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 02:02:05 GMT

I just today watched a lengthy YouTube video on train trips in Colorado. I've been on several of them. Anyone interested should look up videos on train travel.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

sandy53 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 02:03:54 GMT

@World Traveler wrote:
@Sweetbay magnolia I'm hoping that @BriggsiePeawiggle sees your post and responds. She had planned to go by train from Michigan to Seattle in June this past summer. She booked a sleeping room on the train and bought binoculars to use on the train. She should have some interesting input for you.

@sandy53 once posted about about being on a narrow gauge railroad out of Durango, and if I recall correctly, she was interested in train travel to other places. Maybe she can share some experiences if she has gone by train lately.

I posted something about "The Absolute Best Places to Travel by Train" back in May of this year. So maybe something others posted at that time could help you.

I'll check to see if there are any other threads on our Travel Forum about traveling by trains. Perhaps something posted there will be helpful.

Meanwhile, I hope others will pop in and respond to your post.

I have only done sightseeing train trips (Alaska, Maine, and Colorado). My DH is very interested in taking a train trip to the Canadain Rockies for the scenery, but it is very expensive and probably won't happen.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

bmorechick — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 02:15:59 GMT

My son travels from california to baltimore all the time on the train. He doesn’t get a sleeper car, but he’s 27so sleeping in a seat doesn’t bother him. He has done it about 10 times. It takes three days. He will be traveling this coming Tuesday but has a roomette. It cost him a kings ransom because its holiday time and he waited until the last minute and no seats were left. He’s looking forward to having the room though as the train is sold out so its going to be packed. He refuses to fly and just gets on board with no issues and relaxes all the way across. He can relax in peace and the seat in the cabin turns into a bed, so even though it cost him, hes glad.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

StylishLady — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 02:24:57 GMT

We've taken the Amtrak Auto-Train a few times, between Sanford FL and Lorton VA. The best thing about it is that I can take a lot of different outfits in the car. The down-side is that I end up sleeping in the upper bunk in a "roomette" on the trip. It is too confining for me. DH who is 6'3" likes it as the bottom bunk is 6'4" and he can sleep well. Flying limits my wardrobe options, but is best for me in the long run.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 02:30:25 GMT

Worlds of thanks, @bmorechick and @StylishLady, and everyone else.

Best wishes and happy holidays.🚞

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Eileen in Virginia — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 03:12:30 GMT

@StylishLady wrote:
We've taken the Amtrak Auto-Train a few times, between Sanford FL and Lorton VA. The best thing about it is that I can take a lot of different outfits in the car. The down-side is that I end up sleeping in the upper bunk in a "roomette" on the trip. It is too confining for me. DH who is 6'3" likes it as the bottom bunk is 6'4" and he can sleep well. Flying limits my wardrobe options, but is best for me in the long run.

OMG, you could have been talking about my husband and me when we took the Auto-Train to stay with my MIL in Florida a few years ago! Since a cross-country trip will take several days, the OP should try to get a roomette, especially if she’s traveling alone. The 2 of us were pretty cramped in our roomette during the day (the lounge filled up quickly with folks who took the A-T all the time), but solo travelers looked like they were comfortable. Those who slept in their seats had to bring their own pillows and blankets. The dining car was very nice and the food was much better than I expected. There was plenty of bottled water, hot water for tea and freshly brewed coffee at the end of each car. You might want to bring some snacks, though. The club car had baskets of apples and oranges, but the other snacks were kind of salty. As others have suggested, check Amtrak’s website for current information and recommendations.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

Mz iMac — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 03:32:56 GMT

I've crisscrossed the country east to west & back quite a few times. I took the northern route going & the southern route coming back. Took young relatives w/me too.

Always got sleepers. Way to go!!!!

Everyone had a blast each time. You can get off the train at certain stops to sight see.

As for the expense:

I tacked on every possible discount allowed...

Senior

AAA

AARP

Travelling w/companion(s)

Children under 18 FREE

I also traveled South Africa by train (Blue Train) instead of flying from city to city.

Re: Taking the Train Long Distance

kaydee50 — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:23:55 GMT

DH and I have taken Amtrak several times, the longest from NYC to Chicago. We are considering doing the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. HOWEVER, we would get off and spend the night in a hotel along the way. One night on the train is no problem, much more comfortable than a plane. No need to get a roomette which is very expensive, IMO. But spending more than 20 hours at a stretch on the train is a bit much. There is a dining car with decent food at extra cost but not unreasonable.

Bottom line, we love train travel, a lot less stressful than flying. But I would take extra time, get off the train, have a hot shower, good night's sleep and then continue on my way.