tonrob

Anyone done a coast-to-coast train trip?

I've got some points to burn so was thinking of doing a classic coast-to-coast train trip next Summer. Boston to Chicago on the Lake Shore and then onward to Seattle (or Portland) on the Empire Builder.

I've traveled long-distance on Amtrak before, and also been to all the cities concerned on various other (non-train) trips, but this will be the longest train trip I've taken in one shot. There's just something about the idea of pulling out of Boston knowing that I'm heading all the way to the west coast!

I'd be doing one of those cramped little Roomette jobbies and taking a big bottle of very nice whisky with me for the boring bits. I've been thinking about this for a while but am beginning to wonder whether I'm just in love with the idea of it, with the actual journey itself not being quite as much fun...

Anyone done anything similar?

Poppy girl

Can you stop off in SF we could meet up for a drink!!

Bob

Sounds like a lot of fun...not sure what the reality is like though...trains are a big minging around, though if it's just you rather than with the family, probably not to bad...

kimilseung

Not done long trips in America.

I have to say that at one time the Trans Siberian sounded like a great trip, but having done a whole load of 24/36/48 hour train trips since, it (and any other multi-day train ride)now seems like hell-on-wheels. I'd like it if I got off every so often for the night someplace, especialy if it was some place in the back of beyond that I would not discover otherwise.

I just went to Amtrak, and it is cheaper and faster than I expected; $150 odd (ticket not room) and less than 48 hours. Not bad.

penguinsix

Isn't there a cross Canada route that goes through more mountains? Might be worth considering.

Englishmum

Will you be taking some sprouts 'for the boring bits' too?

Seriously, check out this award-winning website. The site was set up by an English train buff/anorak and gives loads of info and timetables of train journeys all over the world:

http://www.seat61.com

http://www.seat61.com/UnitedStates.htm (fab information here on the Amtrak trains and routes....useful tips and photos of the sleeper cabins etc).

Hope this helps!
PS: the site also has lots of info/pics of a transatlantic crossing on the QM2.... I wonder if one can trade in airmiles or Amex points to do this?

tonrob

I can do Amtrak for free but not Via Rail, so that option's out (at least for this time).

tonrob

Yeah right - I still haven't recovered from last time...

Juswus

I looked up the Empire Builder after someone else mentioned it a while back, and it looks fantastic.

I did Amtrak alone from Louisiana to New York years ago and it was amazing to just sit there and watch the world go by and not have to worry about a thing. Fall asleep in your chair for a while, get up and get a drink, watch the beautiful scenery roll by. It was back when they had a smoking carriage, and the characters I met in there were outstanding!! I bet it would be even better with the little cabinette thingy cos then you can escape if you like.

I think it would be a great thing to do.

Yorkieabroad

Sounds like a great trip - would love to have the time to do something like that. Not done any trains in the US (unless you count Thomas the Tank Engine), but many moons ago (early 80's) I did York to Istanbul and the following year Darlington to Marrakech. Great time, and would love to retrace the routes, although I suspect my ageing bones may be more suited to a "roomette jobbie" than the luggage racks they slept on last time....

More recently (about 12 years ago!) I took the other half on a romantic weekend trip on the Orient Express from Bangkok to Singapore. Now that was nice! And it has to be said, there is something very erm "romantic" about the motion of a train trundling thru the Malaysian jungles at 25 miles an hour...

GeoffM

I've done lots of long haul trips on Amtrak (some say the Masochist Express). One was LA to San Antonio, then to Dallas/Fort Worth, then Chicago, then Boston. The gradual change in timezones was a little confusing.

I've also done New York - New Orleans - Los Angeles - Chicago - Washington - New York (in coach in my student days - that was long!). Various other circular trips too.

If you were heading Boston to Chicago, I'd go down the East Coast to New York and catch the Cardinal instead (only 3x week) - much more interesting than the Late For Sure Ltd. Not quite the same since the Superliners got replaced by single level cars though, and I can't remember what the dining situation is on that train now.

The Empire Builder is one of the better trains - it tends to run on time and I believe the diner actually has real crockery. The first day out of Chicago and following morning is a little dull though, more than made up for by the scenery once you hit western Montana.

The California Zephyr, specifically the Denver to Grand Junction bit, is something nobody should miss. Better westbound as you leave Denver in the morning rather than arriving in Denver in the (possible very late) evening.

GeoffM

Sadly they've closed the station in Singapore so the train only goes as far as Woodlands (I think). I went on one of the regular trains (Singapore to KL) but the Eastern Orient Express looked fantastic, with a price to match.

tonrob

I've done a fair few foreign trainie things before:

I did an Amtrak trip just after we arrived in the US that was supposed to go Springfield, MA - Boston - New Orleans - DC - Springfield. Just before the trip Katrina happened, so we ended up bailing out at Memphis and renting a car one-way to Birmingham, AL to pick up the DC train. Did this with 5 friends and it was fun. I am pleased to announce that the Lake Shore arrived in Chicago 10 minutes early on this occasion.

Other trips have been:

Singapore - Kuala Lumpur - Tumpat - Kuala Lumpur - Bankgkok - Chiang Mai

Bombay - Hyderabad - Bangalore - Mysore - Bangalore - Madurai - Pondicherry - Madras

Alice Springs - Adelaide

Plus a few much shorter bits and bobs in Japan, Germany, Austria and Belgium.

So I'm no stranger to long-distance train tedium, nor even the Lake Shore, but I do fancy something about the coast-to-coast thing.

I'd be doing it in one hit too, with no stop-offs, as I want to get to the west coast in the shortest time possible (by train) as I will have things to do after that.

GeoffM

Ah well, if it's anywhere on the west coast then LA via the Southwest Chief is quickest but only by a couple of hours over the Empire Builder. I did the Seattle portion before; the Portland portion is at the back of the train and requires a trek through a few coach cars to get to the diner which some people find a problem.

Three nights without a stopover is hardly a problem, especially in a roomette. The Lakr Shore has been less than an hour late for the last week so you'd probably be ok. In the past it's been several hours late week after week with no single cause of delay.

TimberHut

Sounds cool. Go for it. Get more than one bottle of whisky though.

The only prob with long train trips across the USA is that they carry on going during the dark. You don't see it all then. Wish they'd stop for a rest until it was daylight again.

seat61.com is still going then? That was/is a great sight. I remember being back in the UK and reading on there how to get a train from England to China and thinking what a great trip that would be.

Some of the trips on there would start with 'first get a train from London to Moscow' as if that was a piece of piss. I spose it is but all the same...