This is topic I've never traveled by rail. Should I? in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.railforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/11/2144.html

Posted by fletch (Member # 3198) on :
 
I'm new to the board. I've never traveled by rail, but I'm thinking about jumping on an amtrak with my two kids (6 & 8) and going from Houston to San Francisco. Is this a great idea or a horrible idea? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

------------------
fletch
 


Posted by snake (Member # 2430) on :
 
It's a great idea, as long as you don't have unreasonable expectations.

Plan on spending a night in LA instead of expecting to make the "guaranteed" connection

A sleeper is a good idea, if you've got hard to use NonePass™ miles (I see you're from Houston) Amtrak is a great way to burn 'em.

 


Posted by JONATHON (Member # 2899) on :
 
Rail Travel is Great! especialy for kids, you will enjoy it, as for anyone ages 6-8 they'll like it to, when I was six, there was nothing more fun than a Train ride, and there still isnt

In the SightSeer Lounge, they show a movie, or 2, it depends what Train your on, Its much better than plane, in a Train, you have the freedom to move around without waiting for a "seat belt light" to turn off, and theres food in the dinner and in the Lounge, another reson to take the train is the sites you'll see, it a great exspeareance for anyone,, well, its up to you, but the train is alot better

------------------
JONATHON D. ORTIZ
 


Posted by Ira Slotkin (Member # 81) on :
 
Fletch:

I recommend it if you can afford a deluxe room or a family room. I haven't been the TX to CA route but I did just return from a trip to NYC from Denver with my six year old. I think it is immensely do-able with two kids those ages. He loved every moment on the train. Opportunities to play, learn mechanics and geography, socialize, practice good manners. Trains seem to make even the mundane remarkable to him. And to me for that matter. Took along toys and games and drawing material. He had a camera of his own. Sometimes we ate in the diner and sometimes in our room. Several other kids in the observation car and the cafe car to play with and talk to. There's lot of ways to keep them busy and fed and rested and clean and entertained enroute. And then we had our photos developed immediately, we put them in an album which he presented at news time in his kindergarten class.

I defer to those on the board who know about the connections in LA to San Francisco.

That's the short version. Happy to answer any specific questions you have..

Ira
 


Posted by Rheboi (Member # 2994) on :
 
When are you going fletch? I'm taking my first ever train trip in June so if you have not gone by then I'll let you know how my first trip went... If you're going before June perhaps you could tell me what you thought?
 
Posted by MPALMER (Member # 125) on :
 
I find the train to be very relaxing.

But stay flexible. Translation: long-distance trains can and do run late. Be prepared for occasional delays en route.
 


Posted by coronado (Member # 2395) on :
 
Your trip west from Houston to LA would be on the Sunset Limited. Despite its extreme southerly route, it is still a very scenic trip, especially on day 2 west of San Antonio through the desert country of West Texas and New Mexico.

I would recommend a sleeper, as the coaches on the Sunset tend to get progressively crowded west of Houston.

The times I've taken the Sunset this past year, it has been a little late into LA (1 to 4 hours), but the connection to the northbound train has always been made through LA as designed or by bussing passengers from Palm Springs or Pomona.

Nevertheless, it might be fund to spend a day in LA and catch the nothbound train the following day. There are plenty of things to fill up an entire day in the LA area, your kids might enjoy a trip to Disney Land which can be reached with relative ease from the Anaheim station just 45 minutes from LA via the Pacific Surfliner.
 


Posted by Charles Reuben (Member # 2263) on :
 
fletch,

I never had the disposable income to buy into a sleeper, but with at least 50,000 railroad miles under my belt, I can say with some authority that traveling by coach can be a great experience.

There are definitely some things that you need to do in order to enhance your enjoyment, however. You will need blankets and if you have difficult sleeping, you will definitely need prescription sleeping pills.

Anti bacterial "Wet Ones" really helps to keep oneself refreshed and ready access to clean clothes is also very important.

I have noticed that the Amish travel with their little ones in coach all the time and they seem to have a ball.

In short, travelling by rail is a great idea. By far, the most important reason to climb aboard is because, the way things are starting to look in Washington, long haul passenger travel may cease to exist altogether if Bush has his way.

If this happens, affordable train travel (either in coach or in a sleeper) will probably be a thing of the past. If this happens, long distance train travel will become an option for only the very wealthy, kind of like cruise ships.

 


Posted by sutton (Member # 1612) on :
 
ah, there is nothing like heading up to the observation lounge for a cup of coffee and looking out the window at America's beauty!

Instead of the sleeping pills, buy some Melatonin (cheap and safe) at the drugstore. Works a treat.

Enjoy the trip. With Georgey Bush trying to destroy the railroad so he can make war, better try out Amtrak while you can!

 


Posted by snake (Member # 2430) on :
 
coronado, Yesterday's Sunset Limited was a "little" late arriving into LA yesterday, arriving at 2:41PM instead of the scheduled 6:40AM. On Friday it arrived at 5:35PM according to the Amtrak website. It's about a 3-1/2 hour scheduled connection with the northbound train.

I doubt that bussing would have been workable under the circumstances.

I would certainly plan an overnight and avoid any anxiety that would detract from my enjoyment of the trip.


 


Posted by CG96 (Member # 1408) on :
 
In a word: Yes. The train is a fantastic way to travel with the kids. Think about it: no fights ovewr who is on whoms' "side" of the back seat, and plenty of places to walk the kids (even aboard) when they get "ants in their pants." I would recommend that you bring along some sort of activity for the yougsters, such as a game or coloring books or car car games like "I Spy." A few things that will occupy their time.

Pne cautionary note, however: The tracks that the two trains travel over are owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. Both stretches of track are very busy, and, in the case of the track between LA & Houston, choaking on the traffic (i.e. full to capacity). So, Don't be surprised if you are side tracked by the frieght - The tracks aren't public. The UPRR, as the land owner, has the right to give Amtrak red lights, and side tracks while its own frieght goes on through. UPRR has acted indifferent if not outright hostile to Amtrak's presence on their tracks. that attitude, combined with the fact that UPRR has chosen to give priority to investment in other parts of its' network before it gets around to adding capacity on the Sunset Route, mena that the Sunset has had atrocious timekeeping in the recent past. Don't dispair, though. In all of my travels over Amtrak, I have found that one can't point to just one single experience and draw generalizations. I've travelled on several different trains, and had different experiences based upon equipment, crew, host railroads (this can be a hugh factor), load factor/level of occupancy and the time of year. Don't judge Amtrak based upon one experience,

Another option might be to try to go North, and take a rail trip to Glacier National park in MT.
 


Posted by fletch (Member # 3198) on :
 
Wow! You guys are fantastic! You have answered so many questions I had and even more that didn't know I had. Thanks a million. If I make this trip, it will be around July 7 to July 20. How far in advance should I get tickets and will it be advantageous to buy them early? I actually live in north Louisiana. I figured I'd drive to Houston to board, rather than New Orleans, to save money. I also have relatives in the Houston area I could visit. Thanks again.
 
Posted by Rheboi (Member # 2994) on :
 
Hi,

I'm going in June but bought my tickets in January, I'm not sure if there's any benefit in being early except you're guaranteed that it won't be booked out!

I hope you have a good trip and come back here and good or bad write about it.
 


Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
Have you considered starting your trip in either Lake Charles or Lafayette? These are unmanned stations, hence no checked baggage, but they are a lot closer to you than Houston. Why on earth would you consider going to New Orleans to catch the train?

Looking at the Oct 2003 timetable, we have

3:37p Lafayette
5:08p Lake Charles
6:33p Beaumont

Returning:

12:40p Beaumont
2:40p Lake Charles
4:05p Lafayette
these times could all say, or much later.

Do not know what the situation would be on leaving a car parked long term at either place would be, but since the distance is under 200 miles from where you live maybe you could avoid it.

Lafayette station is in the middle of town. Address I have is 133 E grant St. at Jefferson St.

Lake Charles is 433 Railroad Ave. You can see it from I-10, but if you are seeing it from I-10 you missed the exit you should have taken if you are coming from the Alex direction. Area looks not as good as in Lafayette, but I was by there in 1981, so do not know what it is like now.

You can actually make a convenient bus out of Monroe to Lake Charles, but the transfer in LC would require a taxi. The bus station in Lake Charles is about 6 miles from the train station. There is no conveniet bus connection time for the return, but then the train time east bound is best described as whenever.

If you wnat to try this, check it on www.greyhound.com Bus leaves Monroe at 11:15am, arrives Lake Charles at 4:10pm. Runs by way of Alexandria and Leesville / Ft. Polk. Can leave Rayville by bus shown as 8:55am in Rayville, but this has you sitting almost 2 hours in Monroe.

I showed Beaumont just for information to you. I would not reccommend that you catch the train in Beaumont TX unless you have some fairly good sized male friends that can see you onto the train and meet you on the return and keep your car for you somewhere safe. The stop is in the edge of the railroad yard in a rather bad part of town. Besides, you would practically drive by the station in Lake Charles on your way there.
 


Posted by snake (Member # 2430) on :
 
Don't take George Harris' timetable too seriously fletch. Mondays scheduled 6:33PM departure from Beaumont was actually 11:00PM.

Take your Mickey Mouse watch and relax.

I'd buy my tickets sooner rather then later, especially if you decide to blow the dough for a sleeper.
 


Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
Ah yes, as snake points out, this train usually runs late, sometimes very late. One thing you need to learn if you have not, is how to check the train status on the Amtrak website. It is very easy. Over on the right side of the main sheet is a little dotted box that says check train status. When you get your mouse over it, the hand appears at it lights up Arrival and Departure information. Click. A new screen opens which is fairly self explanatory. For "Departure" pick any point, usually best a major one in advance of where you are interested in and then put the place you want time for in the arrival box. It will then give you the actual time if their is one, or the estimated time if the train has not got there yet. Usually this estimated time can be taken as a "not earlier than" time although apparently this is not 100% true.

For example, on the April 19 train 1, it left New Orleans 2 hours 22 minutes late and left Lake Charles at 9:18 pm, which would be 4 hours 10 minutes late. The eastbound train (train 2) on the 20th was worse, I asked for Houston to Lake Charles. 6h00m late at Houston, 11h30m late, that is 1:30am, at Lake Charles (My time in my previous post was quoted wrong. It should have been 2:04pm, not 2:40pm.) How did it lose OVER FIVE HOURS between Houston and Lake Charles?

So I would say, check just before you plan to leave to catch the train to find out how it is doing, and if you will be picked up on your return, tell them to check on train status right up to close to their driving time to the station so they can avoid a long wait.

Your on-train experience should be good, but, unfortunately this is the worst trains for timekeeping in the system.

Oh, by the way I looked at your profile when you said northern Louisiana to see what would be the best direction to aim you. What do you teach? I worked in Louisiana twice, once on a pipeline job in the oil patch and for about a year in Alexandria. My daughter and family was in West Monroe for about a year, but they are now in Texas.
 


Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
 
George - the last time I rode the Sunset was in 1999, and at that time, the Lafayette station was a burned out shell of a building next to a post office, I believe! Has the station been rebuilt? Anyway, I would not suggest having Fletch leave his car at the Lafayette station!!

Of course, living in northern Lousiana, Fletch, you could also catch the Texas Eagle at Texarkana, AR, or Marshall, TX, and ride that through to Los Angeles. Get a seat or a sleeping accomodation in the through car ("Train 421") and you won't have to get out and change cars in San Antonio, where the Texas Eagle is coupled onto the Sunset Ltd.
 


Posted by coronado (Member # 2395) on :
 
I recommend trying to find a station where the train is scheduled to arrive close to the middle of the day.

That way, if the train is especially late, you are not waiting in the middle of the night with two small children in a bad part of town. I think the Sunset Limited is scheduled to arrive fairly late in the evening to Houston, and when the train is running behind, it might be at a very inconvenient hour.

If Dallas is convenient for you, you could take the Texas Eagle to and from LA in the through cars (trains 421 and 422). Or you could take the Texas Eagle north to Chicago to catch the California Zephyr to San Francisco.

The advantage of Dallas is that it is staffed station offering checked baggage and the train departs and arrives during the day. Even if it is a few hours late, it would still be daylight. The on-time performance of the Texas Eagle has greatly improved, so chances are good you will be departing and arriving reasonably on time... for Amtrak.

There are nice hotels nearby and it is in a fairly nice part of downtown. I don't know about the long term parking situation.

Once you are certain of your plans, I would book as early as possible to ensure there is space available, especially since it will be during the busy summer month around a holiday when a lot of people will be traveling. Also, the closer you get to your travel date, ticket prices increase due to increased demand and dwindling availability.

[This message has been edited by coronado (edited 04-21-2004).]
 


Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by fletch:
If I make this trip, it will be around July 7 to July 20. How far in advance should I get tickets and will it be advantageous to buy them early?

Get your tickets NOW. For summer travel the trains can sell out months in advance. And the longer you wait, the more expensive they get. If you want a family bedroom, there is only one per car, so they are the first to go. Deluxe rooms are only 5 per car. Standard rooms (very small) have 13 per car, but are not suitable for family travel.

Political commentary: The demand for Amtrak sleeping car space exceeds the suppy, yet Congress won't provide capital for more equipment so Amtrak can sell more rooms and make more money and be less dependent on Congress for funding. Go figure.

Back to basic advice: Expect to have fun, but don't expect perfection. Most Amtrak trips seem to involve a few glitches, mostly with timekeeping. Sometimes with other things.

I suggest you read some of Trainweb's travelogues. They'll give you a good idea of what to expect. I have a few of my own on my website. The link is below.

------------------
Sing to the tune of Humoresque:
Passengers will please refrain,
From flushing toilets while the train,
Is standing in the station,
I love you.

The Del Monte Club Car

[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 04-21-2004).]
 


Posted by ChrisJ (Member # 320) on :
 
Just a word of advice regarding trains 421/422. The Sunset Limited eastbound has been running quite late quite often recently, and has missed the Texas Eagle connection at San Antonio frequently. It missed it for me a couple weeks ago, resulting in a 11 hour bus ride from El Paso to San Antonio. Lots of freight congestion on that line (UPRR, of course). You might consider scheduling an overnight in SA if your time permits (unless you like riding a bus all night).
 
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
Did not recommend the Texas Eagle because of the earlier in the day time for her connections. However, it has advantages. It is straight west on I-20 to either Marshall or Longview. Longview would be the closest staffed station, so if you wants to check baggage, that would be good. The negative is, because of the round about route to San Antonia, the earlier departure. Schedule timmes:
Marshall: 9:35am
Longview: 10:20am

This would be in part cancelled by the easier drive. From www.mapquest.com I get a distance of 160 miles to Marshall and 185 miles to Longview, with driving times shown as 2h45m and 3h06m respectively, virtually all on interstate. For Lake Charles I get 216 miles and a driving time of 4h30m, much of which is on two lane highways. Assuming the train is on time, this would give you about a 6:00 leave home time to go to Longview or Marshall and a 11:00 leave home time to go to Lake Charles. This said, there are significant advantages to catching the train at Longview. They are: a manned station, a shorter drive on better roads, and probably a better place to stash the car. Now for the bus to Longview option:
Nothing real close on time, but not too bad as these things go: Leave Monroe at 4:20am, have 45 minutes layover in Shreveport,6:00 to 6:45, arrive Marshall at 7:30am, arrive Longview at 8:00am. In neither case is the bus station at the train station. Not sure I believe the location / address I get for the bus station in Marshall, because per Mapquest it is not next to I-20 or US 80. If mapquest is right, it would be 0.6 mi from train station. Longview somewhat similar. Bus station shown at 401 E. Magrill, which per mapquest is 0.54 mile from the train staion, but the location shocwn on mapquest is about 2 blocks off US 80, and not anywhere near the interstate. Coming back the connection is not so good. First, the train, if on time gets to Longview at 7:05pm and the bus is at 10:05pm. Not sure, even in Longview being in a bus station at 10:00 pm is wonderful, and then to ice the cake there is a 4 hour layover in Shreveport in teh middle of the night, so the overall time to Monroe is over 7 hours. Better wait until the next morning. Need to check on whether Longview has taxies, and if they meet the trains. There are two reasonably timed busses in the daytime, 10:20am, 3:25pm. All busses also stop in Marshall about 30 to 35 minutes later than the Longview time. The daytime busses also stop in Rayville.

All things considered, Longview is probably a better starting point than Lake Charles.
 


Posted by Mike Smith (Member # 447) on :
 
Or you could take the Amtrak bus from Bossier City or Shreveport to Longview and back.
 
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
Thank you, Mike. Duhh. Guess I was so busy chasing the Greyhound, I forgot the obvious. Bossier City or Shreveport would definitely make her life easier. And, since it is dedicated to Amtrak, it won't go away if the train is late. That gets the drive yourself down to about 120 miles. This would probably be the best bet.

Incidentially after going into this thread, I have been following trains 1 and 2. The train 1 of April 19 out of New Orleans which was 4h10m late agt Lake Charles was still only "only?" 4h10m late out of San antonio, but was 9h53m late getting to Los Angeles. The train our of New Orleans on April 21 was 1h34m late out of Lake Charles, but only 35 minutes late out of San Antonio, and as of this time has not yet had time to reach Del Rio. Easbound 2 was 5h15m late out of San Antonio, lost another half hour to Houston, and seem to all but die east thereof, taking almost 4 hours to drag itself from Houston to Beaumont (why? that works as paired track), finally arriving in new Orleans exactly 12 hours late. No. 22 did not wait for the connection, as it was shown as leaving San Antonio on time, arriving in Longivew 1h30m late. A check of 21 and 22 have the last 5 days shows 21 as being on time or close at Longview and early into San Antonio and 22 as being within less than one hour of time except for the one day mentioned.

Addition:

The "edit" is because instead of saying "Greyhound" in the first sentence, I said the common name for the species of which the four legged greyhound is a member since one of the nicknames for Greyhound Bus company has always been to say something like, I gotta go catch the (common name of species) to go to where ever. The site changed it to ***. How come? It would not even let the word go into this comment. Is there something in todays foul language of which I am not aware?

[This message has been edited by George Harris (edited 04-22-2004).]
 


Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
 
Fletch, If you would like, just email me. The chain is getting a little long. I notice the emails are no longer on the profile. Mine is ghharris44@yahoo.com at home and georgeharris@thsrc.com.tw at work.
 
Posted by chile2 (Member # 3110) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by fletch:
I'm new to the board. I've never traveled by rail, but I'm thinking about jumping on an amtrak with my two kids (6 & 8) and going from Houston to San Francisco. Is this a great idea or a horrible idea? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.


You've had lots of good advice here on specifics. I'd just like to add my experience of a trip I took last month from ABQ to Seattle & back with my 7 & 9 year olds. They *loved* it; time seemed to actually go fast and we were never really bored. A sleeper is nice for overnight stretches if you can swing it. The 9 yr. old girl liked doing things like friendship bracelets, the 7 yr. old boy, when not busy taking me on exercise walks to explore, liked playing cards. No need to take any games that are too bulky; but maybe look for some smaller versions of simple ones like "Sorry" etc. that they make in travel sizes. You'll see tons of sights you'd never see even in a car, such as whales off the coast. Give them both a camera for their own pictures. If they are social, there will be more kids travelling in Summer also they might meet up with.
I don't want to contemplate a future where the train is not an option for travel for me or my kids! As far as getting administration and congressional support for passenger rail upped as it should be, let's all vote for some serious change come Nov. :-)

[This message has been edited by chile2 (edited 04-30-2004).]
 


Posted by Rheboi (Member # 2994) on :
 
Well I just found a reason NOT to buy tickets early as Amtrak have changed the schedule on me which could ruin my trip!

Why would they take my money for this trip and then change the schedule making it impossible for me to do it?

This is one way in gauranteeing that people WON'T be repeat customers that's for sure!

[This message has been edited by Rheboi (edited 04-30-2004).]
 


Posted by Nirvanagurl (Member # 3229) on :
 
I have travled two times long trips, reno to chicago and back for 2 summers, first year the kids were 2 and 7, the next they were 3 and 8, things I learned. do not buy a ton of expensive toys, crayons and paper are still the funnest thing ever, minus gameboy advanced for the older ones. There will be other kids on the train thank god, cuz they are the best thing ever for your kids.
snack prices on the train arnt horrid, but the juices and sodas really add up fast, you dont realize how much kids can drink till they are on there..LOL I bring powdered sweetened koolaid and a like sports jug 1 lt bottle and make the stuff with the train water in the drinking fountian
cuz the capri suns will burst in your baggage when the kids sit on it accidently in the station
and those lil juice things get heavy anyways.
i bring one sack with a loaf of bread, small jar of peanut butter and jelly, plastic knifes and napkins, peanut butter and jelly is a amazing train food, takes up a lil space, the bread gets a lil squished but it needs no refrideration, no cooking and can really fill a child up if you put on a large glob of peanut butter..
other then that I learned my lesson about bring too many snacks, alot of them go un eatten, the kids get soo sugared up sometimes, I really this year am gonna cut down on the snack bag and worry more about powdered drinks and pb&j's
I find i crave beef jerky on the train, i dont know why, but the kids do to, its a nice long chewy snack.
we can not stand the expensive diner food car on the train, this is just our opinion, i paid 5 bucks for some mac and cheese the year chloe was 2..it was the most disgusting mac and cheese either of us had ever seen, we never eat in the diner car..ever anymore..it really dosnt work out for us. we eat out of the snack bar and our sandwhiches..lol
bring a blanket, bring a blanket, bring a blanket, i can not stress that enough, the first trip i did with the kids i didnt think of it, we could not sleep, the 2nd day after no sleep we stopped somewhere in colorado with a store and i grabbed a 40 dollar blanket that would of costed me 10 back at walmart and we tried to share it but were still miserable, have everyone bring their own blankey, very important.
do not assume if your train says there will be a movie, that you will be able to see it or hear it..if your in the mountians..nope..lol
sometimes the whole thing breaks and there is no movie..so dont make the mistake of telling the kids there will be a movie..cuz there is a chance their wont be and your kids will be sad of course..its better to just wait and see and let them be suprized if it actually works, stays on and if you can hear it at all.
I have never been able to afford a sleeping car, although in summer its much harder, the min you get on the train ask someone about upgrades to a sleeper car, sometimes for 100 bucks you can get one, and I have done couch for 2 round trip trips now and its ok, we know what were doing more now but if i had known them times i could of upgraded for 100 bucks I sure would of..
actually last time I did know but the man infront of me who didnt even have kids asked first..grrr..LOL
the ages your kids are wont be bad at all, the most stress i have had is with my youngest when she was 2 and 3 ..that espically the time she was 2 got really hard and i was stressing, the train was 7 hrs last comming home, by the time i got through utah i was loosing my mind, i really honestly was.
but there is nothing you can do, and you have to assume you probabbly will run late, sometimes very very late, but my kids the first time we went had never seen colorado, i will never forget their faces and even the 2nd time going through when they saw the rockies, that is worth alot I tell you. its like anything there are good things and bad things, but there will be alot of other kids on the train, i can tell you what, atleast from my experince there is always a good sized herd of kids and its not a crazy idea to take them on a long trip, just need patience and a lil planning
 
Posted by amtraxmaniac (Member # 2251) on :
 
You can have delays with any mode of transportation. But if I'm going to be stuck for hours somewhere, I'd rather it be on the train where your free to move about; especially if I had kids with me.

------------------
Patrick
 




Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2