Amtrak Travel

The industry has actually seen a rise in ridership in the years since 9/11.

 

I've never taken Amtrak, but I have used the train in Europe. It's a nice way to travel there.

Here, from what I've heard, not so much. But given the population densities, etc., I guess that's no surprise.

 

I've ridden Amtrak a couple of times. (The Southwest Chief) The roomettes are fine for me, with meals included, etc. I love train travel, having ridden on three continents and have always felt quite at home. Being short here has its advantages! But I could see how someone larger might feel claustrophobic, esp. in one of the tiny roomettes.

My advice would be to spring for a larger room if you can. Much more space on the bunks for errr, "extracurricular activities."

 

On a work road trip last spring a colleague I took Amtrak from New York to Philly. Yeah, I know, it wasn't very long, but it was so much nicer than getting to the airport 90 minutes early and then having to check my luggage.

If I was married, I would love to take the wife on a cross-country train vacation just to see the sights. Take two weeks and have one of those passes that lets you get off and stay in a town for a day or so.

Nowhere to go and all day to get there is a great way to vacation.

 

freakin' solid tony. i just threw that idea out to my wife and she dug it. take two weeks. fly to the east coast on the first. and then hop the train for the next 13 and spend a night in a different town/city each one of 'em.

solid.

 

In Northeast corridor - Boston to Washington its easier to take Amtrak. from NY the Acela will put you in either place in under 4 hours.

They do allow cell phone use which can get annoying. One time Peter King was sitting in front of me and never got off the dam phone for 3 hours.

 

I took the Silver Star from NY to Fla a few years ago and the Silver Metoer back. To sum up:

1. Roomette is OK if you don't mind having the toilet in the room. Lid down, it's a sink.

2. Bunk beds, more than long enough for a tall fella like me, but no way two can sleep in one.

3. TV in room, but I couldn't get any reception during the trip.

4. One communal shower per sleeping car, clean, with plenty of towels supplied.

5. Dining car was more than adequate, service was polite. No, it's not Morton's but they had tablecloths and bud vases.

6. Bar car. No explanation necessary.

There's one attendant per sleeping car, and ours was a straight shooter. As we left a station, I told him there was no water in the room. He checked on it and said, "The car's tank's empty. You should have told me at the station." Oh, sorry, my bad.

I'm a foamer, but even so there's not much to see on the NY-FLA run, just endless miles of evergreens below Virginia. Given a choice, I'd opt for a western route with dome cars and Superliner sleepers.

 

I took an Amtrak from Seattle to LA and our train killed someone in Oregon. We sat at this fucking stop for like 5 hours waiting for the police to let us go. On the way down I had to sleep in my seat, which sucked. On the way back I slept in a sleeper and it wasn't bad, though it was apparently made for people that are 5-6 and shorter.

 

That's sig-worthy.

 

Please tell me there's a door or something for the shitter.

 

The lid is the door. And the sink. And the step to the upper bunk.