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I left North Carolina on 11/1/03 for a cross country rail journey that took me through 21 states in 9 days. Enjoying the incredible Fall foliage I took the 'Cresent' to D.C. and the 'Capital Limited' to Chicago, across the near blizzard conditions of the far north on the 'Empire Builder, and enjoyed the Parlour Car on the 'Coastal Starlight'. I continued across the snow blanketed Sierra Nevadas and the fabulous canyons and valleys of SE Utah and Colorado on the 'California Zephyr', and back home through CHI and WAS. It was of course an absolutely amazing journey. I experienced first hand both sides of the 'service' issue that everyone writes so passionately about. I had sleeper car attendants that should receive gold medals for their incredible service and love of duty (they were well tipped), and some that should be working the unemployment line (the ones that disappeared all day and I wound up putting my bed down every night and back up again every morning because they just were never around). I saw both sides of the 'Tipping' issue and witnessed hard working and dedicated dining staff that gave service with a smile that would melt your heart, staff that got stiffed for tips by families with children that ran amuck through the dining car and made everyone (even the passengers) miserable, and rude staff that got no tips at all. With all that I still never had a bad meal during the whole trip and it was very well prepared and presented. On the 'California Zephyr' the dining car attendents actually scolded passengers and were just outright horrid. When they announced that they would be coming around to make dinner reservations it was like they were announcing 'who wants to go through hell again tonight?' Since it was a vacation with no real destination in mind I was not upset when the train would come to a complete stop for 2 hours while freight trains were allowed to go before us. And getting booted off the 'Coastal Star'late" for 3 hours in Sacramento and not being able to go all the way to Emeryville to connect to the CZ was a blessing, as I got to discover the wonders of Oldtown Sacramento and a marvelous world class train museum that I did not know even existed. And the mad dash in Chicago from one train down and across the platform to the other train 5 minutes before it departed was hard racing fun. You do meet an intersting cross-section of Americans on the train, here about their lives and their troubles, and share experiences. Some seemed to just have escaped from the looney bin, some had Ivy League degrees and were in a class of their own. After 25 cruises, living in Europe for 2 years, travelleing to the Far East and roaming through India for 30 days, this Amtrak journey was one of the most amazing and relaxing, worry free vacations I have ever had. I can hardly wait for October 2004 when I do another 9 day marathon cross country rail trip, this time on completely different routes.
Posts: 497 | From: Clarksburg, West Virginia | Registered: Oct 2003
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In 1992,two friends and I took a trip across the country lasting from one Sunday to the next Sunday.We left L.A.on the Texas Eagle To Chicago,Capitol Limited to Wash.D.C,up the Corridor to New Rochelle,N.Y.,Metro North local to Grand Central Terminal.From there we caught the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago,then the Desert Wind back to L.A.We did this straight through,without a night on the ground.
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Other than the short overlay between connecting trains I did have one brief overnight at the Embassy Suites downtown in Portland, Oregon located in the historic old Multnomah Hotel so that I could wash clothes and re-group, really stretch my legs, and have a nice quite sit-down dinner (calimari and filet mignon). There I was also fortunate enough to get a hosted personal tour of one of the amazing Amtrak Cascades before it was loaded with passengers, and it was absolutely beautiful! What an great train that is! I am an avid photgrapher. While on the train trip I found it easier to take my pictures from the sleeper or from the coach seats than the Observation Car that was often flooded with sunlight and reflected back onto the interiors of the windows everyones faces and bright clothing that was seated along the sides. On this trip I took my SONY Mavica digital camera that uses a 3" CD-RW to record images, which accounts for the more than 750 pictures I took during the 9 days I was gone. Sunrise over the Columbia and Snake River confluence and the river Gorge, the deep snows and twisty turns of the climb through the Sierra Nevada mountains, barren SE Utah, Ruby Canyon, and the Rockies among many. I was also blown away by the size and beauty of the main halls of Union Station Chicago and Washington D.C., the classic exterior beauty of Union Station Portland, and I admired the simple beauty of the dozens of stations we stopped at along the way. A lot of the old stations are architectural gems.
Posts: 497 | From: Clarksburg, West Virginia | Registered: Oct 2003
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I've always wondered about these trips where the individual spends the entire trip aboard the train. My longest trips aboard trains have consisted of going from Western WI to FTL. While I had fun going via Washington DC instead of a more direct route, there are those people who wouldn't tolerate it. Seeing the DC Union Depot, filled with people, and walking outside just a few blocks from the Smithsonian Museum and the national Capitol really made the layovers pass quickly.
Posts: 506 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: Mar 2002
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Hi dmwnc1959, A wonderful trip report, BTW how was your 30 day experience in India, any pleasant rail journeys to share? regards wap4
Posts: 4 | From: india | Registered: Feb 2003
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5 straight nights in coach. 1 night on the Crescent, 2 nights in New Orleans, 2 nights on the Sunset, 1/2 a day in LA (train was late), 2 nights on the Chief, a couple of hours in Chicago, 1 night on the Capitol. Spent a couple of nights in the lounge car so I could get horizontal.
Geoff M.
Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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geoffm, if I spent 5 straight nights in coach, I think I'd get "horizontal" in the lounge car more than a couple of nights (from overly consuming adult beverages). Kidding of course (well, maybe not).
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wap4, the 30 day journey in India and riding the rails 1st class was quite interesting. Windows open, bars across the windows to keep people from crawling in or out, dust all over, a 1950's oscillating fan in the ceiling corner to induce circulation while the train was stopped. It was like being in an old movie. Everytime we overnighted somewhere the first thing we did was shower to remove the caked on dust. Interesting adventure, but not one I'd repeat at my age ;-)
Posts: 497 | From: Clarksburg, West Virginia | Registered: Oct 2003
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Once,in 1976,a friend and I rode from Benjamin Hill in Sonora,Mexico,to Mexicali on the second class train.For the first part of the trip,we rode on a Coca Cola crate in the vestibule of a heavyweight coach.Later,the conductor found us seats in a Swiss coach.This was with open window coaches,and we stopped everywhere.
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