Recent Amtrak experience (non Pol)

I hope you can take the LA - Seattle run, it is gorgeous. I have done it 3 times, as I'm a train lover, through thick and thin, I love the train. And the Seattle run is two full days and a night. If you can do the Seattle run in winter, it is spectacular. You go over the mountains and they have snow, so you go into the snow and back out when you hit Seattle (of course, this year is different, I guess!). And you must go south to north, as if you go north to south, you go over the mountains in the dark - I know I found out! I've shared a compartment with my sister which makes it more expensive, but all meals are included, and they are quite good. You have separate restrooms with roomy showers. When you have a compartment, you have a separate club car with swivel club chairs that is very comfortable. We also had a small theater downstairs where we chose one movie from three offered and all compartment passengers could enjoy it. We've also had a wine and cheese tasting in the club car that was included. We, too, have had good and very bad rides but if time is not critical, I'll always take the train over flying.

Another train I've taken is Via Rail across Canada which is no longer. You can cross Canada but not in a straight shot like I have done - spectacular trip. Also the train from Sydney, Australia to Melbourne, about the distance from LA to San Francisco with a compartment. One dream is to take the Gahn across Australia to Perth, but that requires a bit more savings. And, yes, European trains are so far ahead of ours it is tragic. We went from Paris to Lake Magorre in Italy on the high-speed GVS?? (can't remember the letters!). So quiet it was scary.

Train travel requires a different mindset, no doubt about it, but traveling by train IS frequently the trip, not the means of getting somewhere.

Linda

Palomino

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that route was very good in the winter. One of my first trips on my train ventures was to take the route over Donner Summit. On that trip, my plan would be to take the train north and south. Other trips might be just one way. I'll plan to do it more than once.

I also want to take the train from the east into Seattle (Empire). That's supposed to also be spectacular.

Australia by train. Excellent! And I will do parts of Canada, eh.

I'll make you jealous. Last summer, I took a train up the Feather River canyon to Portola, California. This is the old Western Pacific route, and one of the reasons the dome cars were invented by the Western Pacific. It's now completely under the control of UP and only used by freight. This was a private train. I saw something that train travelers hadn't seen since the early 70's.

There's a trip for LA to Phoenix this May (trains currently don't go to Phoenix). The unique thing: it will be a steam train. A group in my ol' home town restored a steam loco, and they'll use it to pull a passenger consist from LA to Phoenix and back. I can't make it, but it sounds interesting. I'm wondering if there might be a private train trip from LA to Vegas in the near future.

Oh my gosh, TB, I'll be on that May steam train - as will be 10 of my family members! Are you sure you can't manage one short leg - you'd love it!

My father, who just passed away in October at 90, is where I get my huge love of train - my grandfather retired from the Pullman company in Chicago, so it started with him. When they announced that the 3751 (engine) was going to be back on the tracks, my dad was so excited. He rode behind her 10 years earlier and had the picture in his train room to prove it. He was far too frail to ride it this time, but when we talked about riding it, he encouraged us. He left us one week later. Because my sister is a flight attendant, my parents traveled all over the U.S. riding steam trains when they were on the track or narrow gauge. To our regret, he never rode the Chunnel under the English Channel which he wanted to do.

So, in his honor, one sister and I will ride the Phoenix to Parker leg (my parents had retired to Parker, AZ, so this was perfect!) Then, two other sisters, mom, and assorted relatives will join us in Parker for the run to LA. What a day it will be. I've ridden behind a steam train before and it is the something to remember forever. All the train chasers are out everywhere at every crossing waving and just going nuts as the engineer will generally highball the big crossings blowing the whistle throughout. They will have a boxcar with doors open and a gate across that you can lean out and wave. When you do that, the cinders from the smokestack can leave you grimy but nobody cares.

You rarely see the steamers any longer because insurance and permits are very expensive. One thing also is many oldtimers have scanners listening to the engineer and other train engineers in the area. When we pulled into Chicago on a steam train, there was so much chatter among the engineers of other trains wondering who/what we were, it was so funny listening.

You were fortunate to ride a private train through an area no longer serviced. Yep, you're right, I'm jealous - all I need to hear is I took a train . . . and I want to hear the whole story. didn't know about Western Pacific doing the dome cars. I was disappointed when you said passenger trains no longer go through Feather River Canyon, I was ready to hit amtrak.com and start planning!

Linda

When I started getting interested in trains, before I started actually travelling much, people would tell me, "ah, but the Feather River Canyon...." I was curious about it and did some reading. Then I stumbled upon the group that was doing the private trip. I found them just after they finished a trip up the canyon and was mad that I had missed a chance to see it. Went back to the web site later and they were advertising another trip. Signed up immediately.

I learned the term for hard-core train enthusiasts, "foamers" because they foam at the mouth over trains.

And you know the lingo! Highball through the crossing. I still don't know all that much. I'll contemplate getting a radio.

One RT from Montreal to NYC was all I needed to never use Amtrak again. I'll spare you the details but lets just say that if they weren't subsidized, they'd have been out of business long ago.

The likelihood of a positive experience increases when route length is limited i.e. NYC to DC as opposed to NYC to Miami.

If you want to see how a national train system can work, take an ICE train in Germany.

I personally wouldn't take Amtrak even if it was free.

Dan

Did you show the Seat Nazi your Diamond card, TB? LOL.

Find someone in the pre-board crowd to board with you as a pair, to get those "reserved for parties of two" type seats.
Carry a sign "ISO of silent type who prefers aisle seat".
Use $20 trick (maybe $5 will suffice) to up the ante if necessary.

Or...maybe a tip for the recalcitrant Seat Nazi is the play.

Dan, please share the details (Readers Digest version is fine). I'd like to know the worst possible cases. Make sure to include how long ago.

Candy, rofl!! I don't have a Diamond card, but darn, I wasn't carrying N'cat's. $20 trick, lol. I suspect if I offered $20, I would have been thrown off the train (by the way, they'll do that. They'll stop the train anywhere, call the Sheriff's office, and have them come pick you up -- I've heard stories).

Longer trips, I'll have roomette which gives me access to a private lounge. I plan to take European trains at some point, but I want to see this country a little more first.

Hey TB And Other Train Lovers,

Huell Howser (who often does TV shows about all kinds of California things) I know has done some shows dealing with trains so check him out through https://www.calgold.com .

He also did an interesting show about In-N-Out Hamburgers.

RecVPPlayer

RecVP:

First, my favorite thing about Huell Howser is when the Simpson ripped on him in one episode. Very funny.

Saw the In N Out episode, enjoyed.

I've had friends in a few of those shows. One set in Coloma (gold discovery) and a train one set in San Luis Obispo.

Went to the site. Oh, man! He did an episode on something you can't do anymore: take a train from Campo to Tecate, Mexico and visit a brewery. I haven't gotten to the museum in Campo, but they've lost most of their access to track.

There's a surprising amount of video on trains. Much of it pretty dry filmed by amateurs. PBS has aired several series about trains -- most of them very good.

"The Canadian" runs from Toronto to Vancouver. I hear it is a spectacular trip.