Some time back, one of the "regulars" here, I'm afraid I've forgotten who, made a cross-country trip from Portland Maine to Portland Oregon simply because the idea of it piqued his fancy. I tried doing a search but the search feature doesn't work for me, so I could not check who this way. But anyway, I thought it was a cool idea and I was thinking of these potential cross-country or nearly-cross-country trips:
Portland Maine to Portland Oregon
Albany New York to Albany Oregon
Richmond Virginia to Richmond California
Hollywood Florida to Hollywood California (LAX train stop)
Washington DC and anywhere in the state of Washington
Astoria Queens (New York City is closest stop, but Astoria is also very close to Sunnyside Yards, where the train might originate) to Astoria Oregon (Amtrak Thruway bus from Portland)
And here are some where one end requires taking a bus or another kind of transportation to the Amtrak stop:
Salem Massachusetts (MBTA, bus, or ferry to Boston South) to Salem Oregon
Newport Rhode Island (bus or seasonal boat to Providence RI) to Newport OR
Newark New Jersey OR Delaware to Newark California (closest stop would be Fremont CA I believe)
Lodi New Jersey (stop would be Newark NJ or NYP) to Lodi California
Greenville South Carolina to Greenville California (closest train stop would be Chico CA)
Here is one that is only as far as the Rockies but still pretty far out west and a pretty long trip!:
Winter Park FL to Winter Park CO (not quite cross-country but a long enough trip that I thought it might count)
OK, that's all I thought of for now, but I know there are zillions more!
Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :
While not cross country, this one is international, albeit on a single train and only a few hours apart: Vancouver, BC to Vancouver, WA!
About 13-14 years ago one could have travelled between two Las Vegases, the famous one and the NM (?) one. Again, not XC though.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
GBN -- I'm guessing Galesburg -- I know ANMTRAK also passes through the one in Michigan, and I think I recall seeing another one on one of my railroad maps.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Evanston, Illinois, to Evanston, Wyoming?
Let's see -- Metra to Ogilvie Center, a short walk to Union Station, thence No. 5 to Salt Lake City, and presumably a bus northeast to Evanston, Wyo.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
Sojourner, interesting idea. How about one of my favorite towns, Ashland, VA to Ashland, OR.
I also looked in the Amtrak timetable for 'Summit' and was surprised to find only one listed, Summit, IL. This was surprising because in the 'old days' this was one of the most frequently listed towns in the Official Railway Guide. In 1954 there were 67 listed. I guess so popular because the name presumably came from the summit of a railroad grade. Today, the only one I can think of is Summit, IL to Summit, NJ via NJT. Today's trivia.
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
I just came across a few more
Mount Vernon VA (Washington DC) or NY (closest to NYP or New Rochelle?) and Mount Vernon WA Kingston RI or NY (Amtrak stop is Rhinecliff) and Kingston WA
And another near possibility--not quite coast to coast--Toledo OH to Toledo OR
Oregon seems to have a whole lot of cities sharing names with more easterly cities. And I believe in many case they are actually named for those cities.
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
I hope I am not creeping off topic, but on my Zephyr trip to Glenwood Springs, CO last August, I learned the Colorado resort town is named after Glenwood, Iowa. The Zephyr passes through Glenwood IA between Creston and Omaha, but does not stop.
And if just passing through is allowed, one could go from Winona MN to Flagstaff, and pass through Winona AZ (just before Flagstaff) which is mentioned in the famous song "Route 66".
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Mt Vernon, Va is Washhington's home and to my knowledge there is no train there but you could go from Richmond,Va to Richmond,Ca.almost coast to coAST
Posted by Jerome Nicholson (Member # 3116) on :
Here's an international one that may require a bus at one end: Ottawa, Ontario to Ottawa, Kansas.
Posted by Jerome Nicholson (Member # 3116) on :
San Francisco, Louisiana to San Francisco, California?
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
You could go from Worcester, MA to Chicago to Kansas City to Little Rock, AR to Meridian, MS to Denver to Portland to Los Angeles and, in each case, you would be going to a Union Station.
Richard
Posted by graynt (Member # 17) on :
Several years ago I actually did that Portland to Portland trip. To get to Portland, Me. I took a Regional from New York to Boston and then a Downeaster to Portland. I spent the night,and then back to BON..with a quick subway ride to BOS..The Lake Shore to Chicago,and of course the Empire Builder to Portland,Or...and back in those days I rode coach the entire trip..but I did get a roomette from Minneapolis to Portland on this particular journey.
Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :
I'm surprised no one mentioned Niagara Falls NY to Niagara Falls Ont. about two miles apart on the run of the New York--Toronto Maple Leaf.
Posted by Railroad Bob (Member # 3508) on :
In the "same named city" category, one possible today and one not:
GBB to GBA (Galesburg, IL)
Galesburg (IL) Burlington Sta to Galesburg (IL) ATSF Sta. (Building gone, tracks still there) Can be done thru town via a rickety 10 MPH ancient spur, or easily done via the Cameron flyover west of town.
POS to POA (Pomona, CA)
Old SP station (now UP) to what used to be the Amtrak ATSF sta (now proposed light rail?) In earlier times, could have been done through San Bernardino or through connecting tracks to the west closer to the LA yards.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
these wouldn't work because the original supposition was coast to coast
Posted by Railroad Bob (Member # 3508) on :
quote:Originally posted by train lady: these wouldn't work because the original supposition was coast to coast
How 'bout Paris Texas to Paris France? Oops, that wouldn't work either-- there's a "water" problem! ---> Happy New Year, everyone!
From Bob in bright 'n sunny So. Calif, where the rains have thankfully stopped and SBA Frank is probably having a burger in Carpinteria, CA at this very moment! Frank?
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---> Happy New Year, everyone! ![[Cool]](cool.gif)