Learn me Amtrak...

So I have been contemplating a solo vacation while my S.O is on vacation with her family... (roughly the end of January)

I live in the Minneapolis area and want to go someplace not colder than a witches you know what (preferably west)... and my cars are too harsh for long distances...

So I was thinking train... I have traveled europe in a train... awesome! So how does the U.S stack up?

From what I have seen the prices are fair for Amtrak...I like the idea but I want to know if i can handle sitting for so long...

Are the cars (seats) roomy? Can I get up and walk around? Are they filled to capacity?

Basically can I relax on said train...

And while their web site is pretty usless I have gleaned that I can get a "flex pass" for $400 and change for 8 routes but I dont know what their "routes" entail... (if this is what i think it is it means I can stop in one town for a couple of days then head off to my destination at my lesiure???)

So please point me in the right direction guys and gals.

Thanks

I use to travel Amtrak alot, and it was my favorite way to travel. The seats are roomy enough that i always had room, and you can walk around a bit without being tackled unlike a plane. It gets crowded between some points, like NY to Boston or DC but i always had a seat. On the longer trips like when I went down to FL or the Caroilnas they would make a few stops where you could get off the train for 10 -15 minutes for a smoke or walk around. The price is a bit steep but it keeps out the great unwashed you would find on greyhound. If you do decide to do it bring some food because they are a bit pricey on the train.

All I know is my sister moved cross country with her family of 5, 3 kids between 8 months and 6 years old.

It has to beat taking a bus.

It's been almost 20 years since I rode from here (PA) out to Denver and back on the train, but I still remember it fondly, and would do it again. West of Chicago the trains are better; you get the Superliner double deck cars because of the lack of tunnels which are more modern, roomier and offer better outward vision. You can get up and move around as much as you like. You can read or use your computer at will. The trains generally haul ass pretty well, and the ride on the welded rail they use today is light years better than what you'll get on an old tourist steam railroad.

The downsides (and things have probably improved somewhat) are overbooking in the eastern corridor (I've had to do a whole journey standing), trying to sleep in coach seats never worked for me (they don't recline enough; I can't sleep on planes either), Amtrak owns very little of the trackage they use so anything the host railroad screws up will paralyze your train, and Amtrak is run by the gov't (I sat in a station for something like 2 hrs waiting for a busted locomotive to be replaced). Yeah, the web site does suck. I think a phone call or a visit to any LARGE, manned station can get you the answers you want.

I haven't logged all that many miles via Amtrak, but I would not hesitate to recommend them. I've done Richmond to New York a few times, and took the kids to Williamsburg on the Santa train two years ago. I find it far more comfortable than a plane. Travel times run very close to what a motivated driver could do in a car.

+1 on website suckage. Maybe it's different for you, but around here, it seems like every trip goes through Chicago. Louisiana to Texas? You'll go through Chicago. New Orleans to New York? Yes there is a direct route, but you'll also be shown a route that stops in Chicago.

There aren't enough trains to make some destinations make sense. For example, there are three routes that hit New Orleans, but most departures are in the morning, and most arrivals are in the evening, so everything is a layover if I don't want to first drive to New Orleans.

I've had one of the rooms, and that's the way to travel, though it is expensive.

I couldn't sleep in my coach seat, but even in a completely booked train, the observation car was super comfy and never filled up.

The actual train travel itself is really, really great. I loved that.

I've gone from Chicago to Austin, TX a couple times in coach and it was great. Sure it took 24 hours, but 12 of those you're probably sleeping. I had no problem sleeping in coach (nor did the girl sitting next to me that tried to curl up with me in the middle of the night. )

The last time I went as well there was a smokers lounge below my car, at night that was the party place. A lot of strangers have a great time drinking and shooting the bull. Things could have changed since then.

As said above, there are one or two stops (depending how far you go) that you can get out for about 15 min.

You can get up and walk around. You can go to the dining car (pricey) or the snack bar (cheap) to get food.

I had a friend who rode the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle. He got a sleeper room. He loved it and wants to do it again.

I would like to ride again some day.

I have gone from Miami to Tampa a few times, enjoyed it a lot. Smoker cars are gone now. If you are open and friendly, you will meet interesting folks. I enjoyed that. You will also see the crappy side of every town you go through.

I like it, but the longest I've ever gone is Ann Arbor to Chicago.

Bring your own beer (they serve Budweiser and Heinekin)/liquor because their prices are too high for me.

I took the train back and forth between Chicago and St. Louis a lot when I was in school up there. Theoretically it beats a boring drive through Illinois - you can drink, relax, etc. In practice, it's a bit of a crap shoot. For a 4-5 hr drive, the train would take 8 at the very best, and I'm not sure that ever actually happened. Multiple hour delays are common, because, as has been said, Amtrak doesn't own hardly any track, so they're at the mercy of the freight traffic ahead of them. The worst case scenario was a trip my girlfriend was making where the train was outright canceled, and they finally shoehorned everybody onto a bus about 8 hrs after they were supposed to have arrived. But upside to that scenario is that with relatively significant delays and cancellations, you get a voucher for a free ride. So, out of probably 25 trips over the course of 5 years, I think I paid for 5.

If you're not on a schedule and train travel is part of the experience, go for it. Have plenty to read/eat/drink to keep yourself occupied in the case of significant delays, and just go with the flow.

Haven't actually taken a trip on their trains, but I have considered it enough to try planning a trip. One thing I've found is that you can get better routes sometimes by trying different departure dates. Sometimes if you pick one departure date it will come up with a route so horrible and convoluted you'll get there in more time than if you start one day later.

You have two choices for Amtrak from Minneapolis-St. Paul: take the Empire Builder to Seattle going west, or take the Empire Builder going east to Chicago. The westbound trip is supposed to be pretty fun, my brother and his family did it some years back. You leave late at night and sleep for the part going across North Dakota so you miss the boring parts. One thing that's kind of cool is the train stops in Glacier Park, right across the road from the main lodge.

I took the train to Chicago a couple times but that was many years ago. Personally I think Chicago is a fun destination for a short vacation but it's not going to be much warmer than here. You can make connections there to The City of New Orleans, which goes to (duh) New Orleans. I imagine you can get connections from Seattle south to California but I don't know what train that is.

Never been on a train, but I would walk barefoot over 300 miles of red hot steel spikes before I would take Greyhound again. It HAS to be better than that. Slow death is better than that.

stuart in mn wrote: You can make connections there to The City of New Orleans, which goes to (duh) New Orleans. I imagine you can get connections from Seattle south to California but I don't know what train that is.

I need to take this train sometime. Best damn train song ever written, which puts it in contention for the best damn song ever written.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgnfk9PXNw

mtn wrote: I need to take this train sometime. Best damn train song ever written, which puts it in contention for the best damn song ever written. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgnfk9PXNw

It is a great song, but the one time I took that train there was a lot of flooding in the south so we had to take a bunch of alternate tracks, plus the train was going about 30mph the whole way, so we were 12 hours late getting to New Orleans...that was pretty brutal.

stuart in mn wrote:

mtn wrote: I need to take this train sometime. Best damn train song ever written, which puts it in contention for the best damn song ever written. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgnfk9PXNw

It is a great song, but the one time I took that train there was a lot of flooding in the south so we had to take a bunch of alternate tracks, plus the train was going about 30mph the whole way, so we were 12 hours late getting to New Orleans...that was pretty brutal.

Eh, I'd probably take nearly the same route as Mr. Goodman. He was with his wife visiting his grandmother in law in Mattoon, Illinois. My girlfriend has family in Mattoon, might as well make it happen that way.

+1 on a sleeper car, if you can swing it. You'll get access to a sit down dining car as well as the snack car. Plus the joy of your own facilities. You'll get redcap service and access to the first class waiting area at stations that have them. Business class works in a pinch with more legroom and individual seats.

I've ridden the Amtrak Cascades from Bellingham south through the Puget Sound to Seattle many times and it was always a wonderful experience. I recommend them for sure!

Anyone have any suggestions on minizing rates? Is it better to run a coach car as long as possible then switch to a sleeper out west someplace?

My girlfriend and I would like to go out west, but I hate flying. Hate it. Do I live through it? Yes. Do I think I will not live through it? Yes.

So a train seems like an option, but last I looked they were pricey.

I've taken the train from Richmond to NYC quite a few times. Each time was really comfortable and nice. Also, the biggest plus, NO TSA! The other big pluses are that at most seats you have power so if you bring a laptop you can do all sorts of things to stay occupied. If you're not laptop equipped you can at least power your phone the whole way. The seats are crazy roomy compared to planes. Also, the latest trains have quiet cars. VERY NICE. I took one trip wherein a woman chatted on her phone the whole way. No longer a problem in the quiet cars.

The last trip we took the train was delayed on the way back. Delays happen with mass travel it would seem. I've been delayed on planes as well.

A year and a half ago I took am Amtrak from Detroit (can you say GHETTO and SCARY AS HELL!?) to Delaware. The train was fine, plenty or walking around room. I can second what someone said about bringing your own food though. The toughest part? Knowing I could have driven it in 1/2 the time. The bestest part? Waking up in the mountains of PA. Good lord was that stunning!

It's been quite a long time since my only experience with Amtrak. Based on this thread, the system has improved by light years.

Mine was a one-way trip (by coach) from Atlanta to Philly. It began in the afternoon and was interrupted by several scheduled stops and one very long stop in NC when the train rudely interrupted the life-process of an oblivious pedestrian. Somehwere along the way, a very pretty blond womans (on her way to DC) chose the empty seat next to mine; great conversation and she fell asleep on my shoulder. I didn't sleep so much; window pane will do that to you.

But that sunrise sure was pretty and made the cockroaches a little more acceptable.

I'll be able to report more on this over the summer. I'm planning on schlepping my wife, 3 young kids, nanny, and our minivan on the "Autotrain" which goes from the DC area to Orlando. Figured it was our best option. Flying would have been $1800, plus another $1500 for a few weeks of a rental minivan. And driving 20 hours with 3 little kids and a nanny and all our luggage isn't my idea of fun. This is going to cost about $1200 roundtrip total, including transport of the van.

In reply to oldsaw:

Amtrak has never been able to keep up with the efficiency of the passenger service of the individual railroads. Today they still have a lot issues with staying on time and having delays. Mainly because they don't own the lines they run on. However, they have really tried to up their service to their passengers.

I wish the individual railroads still had passenger service. I really would have like to have ridden on the Pullman or Budd streamlined coaches and enjoyed Pullman service.

Buy your tickets early and for an early morning time. I know that from DC to NYC a few hours difference can be a200% price jump.