It’s been 25 years for me so things have changed. I also didn’t go the whole width of the US. But at the time it was pretty great. One of those life adventures that I’ve thought about ever since.
I went from Barstow, Ca to Chicago and back at age 18 as a graduation trip with a friend in coach. We spent most of our time (awake and asleep) in the dining and observation cars people watching and talking to folks. There was a whole car of Girl Scouts in uniform for the return trip, which felt a bit like being in Wes Anderson movie… or occasionally The Shining.
We’d jump out at stops just to say we’d been to the city where the stop was. Usually that just meant a quick lap around the train station then back on board, but it was still fun as an 18yo. On the way back we got stuck in the Sierra Nevadas (for only about 6 hours) after the train struck an elk. We were nearish enough to Donner pass that we got to hear some of the older girl scouts (still in uniform) chat about who they’d eat first. I think of that every time I see a cookie stand.
I Amtrak’d from North Carolina to Michigan via DC. Took 24 hours. To compare, to drive was about 10 hours. I went into it knowing it was likely going to be a bad experience, but I had things to read and I was curious.
I’d do it again, but I’d arrange for a sleeper cabin and plan stops along the way. 24 hours on a train sitting upright was too much.
Meanwhile in Japan I took a train from Tokyo to Kyoto, 6 hours drive, less than 2 hours by train. So comfortable, so much space, and so convenient. I could easily nap in their upright seats, extremely comfortable, climate controlled, flying through beautiful rural regions full of mountains and trees.
Until the US stops treating humans worse than freight, you are going to need a high tolerance for bullshit to make a cross-country trip by train.
Comparing the Amtrak I took to California to the high speed rail I took to Beijing, the former might as well have been an 1800s steam engine. Old, slow, stopped often, smelled bad, food was pretty bad, it was majorly late, and it took far longer than driving the same route would have. It’s been over a decade, but I’ll never consider one again until we move into the 21st century.
The one positive was the observation car. That thing was super nice, had more comfortable seats, and gorgeous views.
I didn’t, but as I took a bus and ever since I always wished I had taken the train instead (was traveling from NYC back to California). Would have been faster (the bus took a whole week) and much more comfortable (day 1 of the trip some drug addict got high in the toilet and absolutely wrecked the entire thing so couldn’t even pee until the bus had a stop) for only a slightly higher cost. I just didn’t want to fly; I don’t like being in planes.
I used to take the train quite a bit - like the general consensus here, it was scenic, comfortable, if slow and non-punctual. But I was willing to put up with that if I had a non-time-sensitive trip, since it was so much better than flying or driving. For one trip from Washington to Minnesota, I decided to fly out then take a sleeper car back (Empire Builder). All went well, until the train derailed and three people were killed. Not Amtrak’s fault, and I don’t blame them at all, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to ride another train since.
It’s funny that you should ask, as I just completed the 2nd portion of an almost-complete cross-country Amtrak journey last week.
In 2012, I bought one of those USA Rail passes, and for the first segment went to Glacier National Park, then to Seattle, Los Angeles, backtracked to Emeryville, then Phoenix (via LA), Houston, and finally home via Chicago. The train was already late getting to Columbus, one of the first few stops out of Chicago, and achieved epic levels of lateness on the way. We had record-high temperatures across North Dakota and Montana, so the rails expanded and buckled. The train could only go 65MPH instead of the normal 85MPH. As others have noted, freight trains had priority, so we sat on sidings to let them pass. In one Montana town, a grizzly bear in the area meant that the railroad workers couldn’t get out of their truck to switch us back onto the mainline for almost an hour. We got to the station in Glacier 6 hours late, at 2AM, so I ended up sleeping on a bench on the platform rather than finding accommodations.
The lateness trend continued, such as when the locomotive of the Coast Starlight lost power while climbing the Cuesta Pass, and we had to return to San Luis Obispo and wait for UP to rouse an engineer to come down and hook up a standby locomotive to get us over the mountain. On the Emeryville to Phoenix portion, the Coast Starlight was late getting into Los Angeles, so they had to hold the Southwest Chief for passengers making the connection.
Don’t get me wrong, though, it was a fabulous time. The only place I needed to be was “here,” and the only schedule for getting places was “when I get there.” The scenery was great, the crews were friendly and competent, the trains were in decent condition. The coach seats recline enough to sleep, there’s legroom for days, and a leg rest that can be raised. The onboard WiFi was a cellular service, and out west, there were plenty of portions of the journey with no network coverage. That was fine, I had a Kindle if I didn’t feel like taking in the scenery.
Last week, I took the Lake Shore Limited eastbound to Massachusetts, and it was like the polar opposite of the western trains! The scenery was mostly active industry, or decaying Rust Belt hulks. It was interesting to see, but far from beautiful. The train follows almost the entire south shore of Lake Erie, but at night, so I didn’t see that. However, Amtrak has control of the rails, or priority, on much of the route. On the way out, the train was on-time for every single stop out of Chicago, until we entered CSX territory just before Pittsfield, MA. We had to wait for a freight train, and that put us 8 minutes behind schedule. On the way back, we were maybe 15 minutes late into Albany, but that’s a long stop where the hook up the cars from NYC, so we rolled out on time, and had no more delays. That was good, because I had to make a bus connection to get home to Madison.
In summary, the western trains seemed designed (and suitable) for pleasure rides, while the eastern train felt like all business. In comparison, I’d say fuck the bus. Either type of train journey is ten times better.
Sounds like the person you responded to was just taking it as an adventure, not to get anywhere quickly or economically. So in that regard it makes sense and sounds fun.
Sorry you’re being downvoted though. In a general sense, I agree with you. Once I thought I’d look into getting a train ticket somewhere far-ish in the US and was absolutely astounded at the pricetag. It was the same or even more expensive as a flight and took several days instead of several hours.
It’s like…ok I understand the time thing. That didn’t surprise me. But the pricetag sure as hell did!! Cross country train rides in the US are just not a sensible option unless you’re just looking to do it for the fun of it.
By contrast however, there are some decent (if incredibly sparse) regional train lines, particularly in the northeast US. I used to take a train every so often when I briefly lived in New England and found the experience very nice and reasonably priced. Was a fantastic experience compared to a bus.
It just falls apart if you are going anywhere of a decent distance unfortunately.
Not cross country but northeast corridor is fantastic - DC to Boston, ezpz. Faster than flight with the BS you need to do on both sides. Also the stations are in the hearts of the city of DC, Philly, NYC, and Boston - get off the train and walk to your hotel or whatever - it’s just the best.
I take Amtrak about every year, usually the California Zephyr.
The train will be late. Just expect that and then it’s a pleasant surprise if it actually arrives on time. Two hours late is normal. After four hours it kinda loses it’s place in traffic and things can get bad fast after that. My previous record was ten hours late but I beat that a year ago at 15 hours - I didn’t arrive on the expected day. Don’t plan much for the day you arrive and don’t arrange any tight connections.
Some of the equipment is old, from the 1980s or so. Some seats have a cutout where the ash tray used to be.
Coach seats are very comfortable with much more leg room than a plane or bus. They recline pretty far and have leg rests. Seating in coach will vary from station to station. Some places assign seats, some board by the size of the party, and some are a free-for-all. There is overhead storage for luggage, a space on the lower level for larger items, and a baggage car for checked items.
Roometts are small but private and surprisingly comfortable to sleep in. Actual rooms are much more expensive but have lots of space to move around. The sleepers have an on-board shower. Sleeper passengers have access to the Metropolitan Lounge available at some stations. The one in Chicago is very nice with free snacks.
Trains have a cafe car to buy snacks and a small seating area. The dining car is usually just for sleeper passengers. Food is microwaved but actually very good quality. There’s fresh coffee in the sleepers in the morning.
Some trains have an observation car with comfortable seats and large windows. It’s a great place to watch the scenery and meet people. On the western trains I’ve seen lots of antelope, elk, bald eagles, wild horses in Nevada, an occasional bear or moose. The Zephyr goes thru the Rockies, passing thru some canyons that are otherwise inaccessible except by kayak. One section of the Colorado is known as “Moon river” because the river guides encourage their clients to drop their shorts and moon the train. The Coast Starlight and Surfliner go right along the Pacific coast in places with beautiful views of the ocean.
Car attendants are generally courteous and helpful. Some conductors will get on the intercom and point out the sights or give a history of the area. There’s generally a brief stop every four to six hours where you can get off the train and walk around for a few minutes.
The nice thing about trains is that when you arrive, you’re right there - you don’t have to take a shuttle or rent a car to get to the city, you’re already there. In Chicago you’re a block from the Loop. In NYC you’re already in Manhattan. For San Francisco, you’re in Emeryville but there’s an Amtrak bus that meets the train to connect to the city. Trains feel like a more human way to travel. Airlines treat you as a threat and an annoyance and they’d be happier if you’d just buy your ticket and stay home. Trains can be fun and relaxing, they just require patience.
Not quite what you’re looking for, but I recently did NYC to Montreal on Amtrak, about a 12 hour ride (officially it’s somewhat shorter, but delays can happen at the border crossing, and as others have noted Amtrak doesn’t have right of way over freight trains so you may get delayed over that, I’d plan on about 12 hours on this particular route)
Overall I enjoyed my experience. It would have been faster to drive or fly, but that comes with its own hassles, and since it was snowing for a good part of our ride, I definitely appreciated not having to drive through that.
The seats (all coach class on this train) were pretty roomy, plenty of leg room, and comfortable enough for my tastes. There’s power outlets at every seat, the wifi is basically useless so plan on having any movies or ebooks or whatever you want to watch downloaded before you go.
The cafe car onboard doesn’t have an amazing selection, hot food is pretty much all microwave stuff, but I found it adequate to hold me over, I wasn’t looking for a gourmet meal, just some snacks and drinks, and it was pretty nice being able to enjoy a beer or two on the train ride.
On the ride back, it seemed like the train’s air conditioning wasn’t working well and it got a little warm, not ridiculously hot, but enough that you might want to take off an extra layer or roll up your sleeves. They also mentioned that since their train fleet is aging a bit, some of them can start to leak a little in the rain, we didn’t experience any of that even though it was raining a bit, but that’s something to keep in mind.
We didn’t have any issues with the bathrooms, but at least on that route they won’t get cleaned during the trip, so if they get too gross they do sometimes apparently have to put some of them out of service.
My wife and I did those $300 10 segment passes and it was alright but got the feeling it was for poor college students. We basically went around the USA counter clockwise starting in NC.
I’m glad we went but it really highlighted that for us the adventure is the journey not the destination. We love roadside tourist traps and shit so we didn’t get to do a lot of those.
Moral of all of these, if you’re going distance at all, book a sleeper.
I’ve done Seattle to Chicago (Bedroom), New Orleans to the Carolina’s (Bedroom), LA to Seattle (Bedroom), and Chicago to New York (Coach).
Along with dozens of smaller services.
Class matters on Amtrak. You book that super cheap ticket you’ll get a super cheap experience. Shared bathroom, no food, rude people, coach is a rolling greyhound for long hauls.
Coach on short links like the NE corridor or the Cascades is fine, but for 10 more dollars just upgrade to business. Coach is fine, but people are assholes no matter where you go, but at least you aren’t trapped with them.
Long hauls my wife and I get a bedroom, not a roommette. A bedroom has your own private toilet, and much more room to spread out. It’s pricey, but you get a nicer experience. However they still use the old superliners and for that much I wish they were nicer.
If you have a family, book the family bedroom, a ton of space, you get the full width of the car, and a private bathroom.
Amtrak is fine, held back because no one wants to fund it, but it’s getting better. It all depends what you’re looking for. Feel free to ask me more questions or let us know what type of trip, I can let you know more specifics
Yes yes yes. The best part of a train, and the part worth the extra time and money, is a horizontal sleeping situation. I can’t sleep sitting up or my back and neck destroy any joy that might otherwise have come from traveling.
I did Chicago to Dallas and back.
Never again. On the way down I had coach seats only and the trip was about 20 hours. Trying to sleep in those seats was hell.
The moment I got off the train, I walked to the ticketing desk and immediately upgraded to a sleeper for the return. “That will be an extra $400, sir.” Don’t care, just do it.
The sleeper was slightly better in that I got to stretch out, but actually sleeping wasn’t as restful as I thought it would be.
The number of delays while waiting for freight trains was the worst. Before arriving into Dallas, you could see the city. We were 15 minutes away from arriving into the station, but had to sit and wait for about 90 minutes. I could have gotten off and walked and gone back for my bags later.
I did meet some nice people, as you’re forced to sit with others in the dining car when you’re traveling alone since there’s only so many seats. And the food was better than expected. That was probably the only real plus.
I’ve done a few trips. When everything is on time it’s a great experience IMO. When it’s running late it can suck. A few things I tell interested people:
Have a different mindset compared to flying. A plane trip is hectic and cramped but it’s over in a few hours, it’s a means to getting somewhere. Your vacation begins when you land. On a train the voyage is part of the vacation. It’s chill and you’ll meet nice people.
Amtrak has a website where you can see where the trains are at in real time. It’ll tell you if they are on time or how late they are running. This is real nice because you can put off going to the station if they are hours late. The first time I rode they didn’t have this yet and we felt trapped.
I got the small room (Roomette I think?) twice. It’s small but so am I. It’s two seats facing one another that fold down into a one person bed. Another bed folds down overhead. I got my parents a full size room for their 50th anniversary. It was nice but they spent their awake hours entirely in the observation car.
In my experience their wifi sucks but may have improved. Download books and movies in advance.
Bring your own drinks and snacks! Two meals a day were included with the rooms.
When I took the Coast Starlight I watched a YouTube video in advance that gave good advice about when and where to sit in the observation car for seeing Mount Shasta.
I never did it, but it’s interesting to read about. Last year I was planning a family vacation in Orlando, and we are in NYC area. The deal breaker for me was the cost which was like 3x of the flight. I understand that it would be more comfortable and probably I should compare with business class flight, but still…
Not cross country, Seattle to Portland was bad enough.
Amtrak doesn’t have “right of way” on the rails, which means if a freight train needs to get through, the passenger train pulls off onto a side rail to let the freight through.
We sat for 3 hours in the middle of nowhere waiting for a freight train.
When was this? They’ve recently changed it on the corridor routes so Cascades is mandated to get right of way now. I have taken it about 6 times and haven’t had any issues
give it another shot, Amtrak has upped their game especially on the Cascades cooridor. With the point defiance bypass completed we’re now down to 3 1/2 hours to Portland.
Only thing for now - they’re currently upgrading their rolling stock for Cascades and they’re still using the crappy “Horizon” cars, but the new ones are actually expected this year, and they’re supposedly going to be really, really nice
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