Next spring, I am heading down to Tx for vacation. Well being that I am going alone,[wife will be there allready for work]and I love trains, I was thinking of taking a train. Well the trip form my local station [Albany NY] to Tx [San Antono] is over 50 hours, I am thinking of taking a flight part way, and then taking the train the rest of the way. So Im looking at about 24+ hour train ride. Anyone go on one before? What can I expect??

You didn't indicate where your Texas destination is.

But first, I'd suggest taking the train all the way from
Albany (The Lake Shore Limited), changing at Chicago.
If you can at all afford it, book a roomette on the train.
Sitting up in coach is not very pleasant, and having a private
bedroom gets you away from screaming children, affords privacy,
a shower, and complimentary meals. The sooner you book the trip,
the less expensive the cost will be. And the price varies day-to day,
depending on demand (just like the airlines).

Have a great trip!
Lee

S1120:

I'll second Lee's suggestion to take the train the entire way and book a roomette if you can afford one. As he notes, the price of the accomodation includes your meals and you get privacy if you so desire.

I've taken many overnight's on Amtrak trains but the longest trip made was kind of a reverse to what you are looking at. Back in 1993, my oldest son (then 4) and I rode the Texas Eagle from Houston to Chicago, connecting there to the Broadway Limited back to my hometown in Pennsylvania. It worked out to about 2 2/3 days / 2 nights on the train. We brought a number of small travel size board games, crayons and about 10 coloring books, all of which were completely filled up by the time we stepped off the train in PA.

Along the way we met many fine folks, both fellow travelers as well as Amtrak employees including our sleeping car attendant on the Eagle who actually invited us to dinner in Chicago Union Station while we were waiting for our Broadway departure. (Not too many like him anymore! Of course, maybe I tipped too heavily too.) You'll likely meet and have the opportunity to visit with folks from the U.S. as well as a number of foreign countries. In the sleepers, many of the passengers leave their doors open during the day which facilitates visiting back and forth across the center hallway. You'll also have the opportunity to visit with new friends over your meals in the diner, since the tables are all shared.

In the end, you will discover that old thing about travel whereby the "getting there" was as much of interest as the destination.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

quote:

Lee's suggestion to take the train the entire way and book a roomette if you can afford one

Book the largest accommodation available that you can afford.

The bedrooms have showers. There is more space and it is not claustrophobic. They are a real treat!

Don't get me wrong, I also enjoy roomettes.

Cool. Thanks for the tips!!!!! Still deciding what the plan is going to be. Keep the advice coming!

Used to ride coach on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Flagstaff quite a bit in the early 90's. It was a 36 ride and always an adventure. I was young and didn't mind the coach seat so much. The bedrooms were just too expensive.

Off course at the same time I was riding the Broadway Limited from Fort Wayne, IN to Jersey and always tried to get a Slumbercoach or else I was cranky.

Go figure ....

Honestly, I think long train rides are great from the experience, the scenery and mainly the interesting people you meet along the way. I tended to spend most of my time in the lounge car anyway on those trips. Very relaxing.

The last time I took the Eagle from LA to Chicago the roomette was 100 dollars extra. However the free food I had would have cost 40 dollars. So the real cost was 60 bucks a night.

Well worth it.

Cool. I will defently look inot a roomette. I mean... Im getting old... will be nice over just a coach seat.

4877:

Did catch a Slumbercoach on the Amtrak BWL in 1977. Worth it. What I liked about the SC is that you did not have to tear up the bed to get to the toilet!

The SG concepr should have been extended to Viewlines and Superliners!

Dominic,

I think the Slumbercoach was one of the best engineering designs of passenger car technology ever. It amazes me that you could fit that many berths with independent toilets, sinks, 110 power, beds and get a paper in the morning in a single car. During the late 80's and early 90's they were a scant $70.00 extra on a ticket. While meal service was not included, when the BWL ran late, which it did on several occasions, sleeping car passengers got fed from the dining car at no additional charge first before the coach passengers.

I loved that train, even in it's diminished status. I'd hang in the lounge car until the wee hours with complete strangers, head back to my private little room, turn off the lights and stare out the window for most of the night. I never did sleep well on a train, but loved the sleeping cars.

Looks to be about $175-180 more for the roomette. being that comes with meals also... probably works out to be about a $100 upgrade. May be dooable!!

Albany to TORONTO, then:

VIA CANADIAN to VANCOUVER, then:

various choices to Texas.

Enjoy

Glenn

.

From Vancouver, BC to Texas would take between 4 and 6 days, using train.
That's on top of the 5 days from Albany to Vancouver.
But that would definitely qualify as a 'Long train ride'


Lee

LOL!!!!!!!!!! now THATS a train ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good way to spend a few weeks though.

The best sleep/rest of my life was on the Broadway Limited going from Chicago to Trenton N.J. January 1968. I still dream about that trip. Behind a GG-1 part of the way. I stayed in a romette and loved the experience.

Paul,

Roomettes in the pre-Amtrak era were a nice way to travel. I remember them well. Amtrak's sleeping accommodations these days are nice but may be expensive for some budgets. I think it would be well worthwhile for you to look at Amtrak's website & check costs as well as schedules. When looking at schedules, remember to allow for time zone changes.

Depending on how many meals one chooses to eat while aboard, the inclusion of meals in the additional sleeper fare may or may not be economical. Fyi, Amtrak does offer a discount for senior citizens on basic train (coach) fare but NOT on the additional fares for sleeping accommodations.

During August 2008 I rode the Cal Zephyr and Capitol Limited round-trip between Denver & Pittsburgh, in coach. (I think it was cheaper than driving in view of gasoline prices at that time.) If memory serves, this was my first long Amtrak overnight trip since the early 1980s. I found the Superliner reclining seats quire comfortable, and perhaps was lucky in that there were no nearby babies crying to keep people awake. The car attendants provided free pillows at night.

As to making connections between trains, that can vary. Going east, the Capitol was scheduled to leave Chicago an hour after the arrival of the Cal Zephyr. Unfortunately, the CZ was running as much as four hrs late and was 1.5 hrs late into Chicago. The conductor had notified Amtrak HQ and the decision was made to hold the Capitol for CZ passengers to arrive. The CZ was brought in on the other side of the Capitol's platform, so coach passengers just had to walk across and down a few cars to board. Checked baggage was also transferred. The Capitol departed Chicago maybe 55 minutes late & maintained that same delayed schedule into Pittsburgh.

Going west, the Capitol was also an hour late, but that was ok for me because more daylight was available to photograph the NYC RR Museum near the south side of the tracks in Elkhart IN from the train as we departed that station. Arriving an hour late into Chicago reduced my waiting time at Union Station because the westbound CZ wasn't scheduled to leave until 2 PM or so.

The above is of course, anecdotal, reflecting a somewhat recent personal experience. I've liked trains since childhood & have many memories of train trips, some better than others but nothing I'd call really sour. There are folks who don't enjoy traveling/want everything perfect, and don't ever want to ride a train again because they had one bad experience--maybe many years ago.

So if you do like trains, just "plan ahead" and then relax & enjoy. It was the Cunard-White Star trans-Atlantic shipping line that created the slogan, "Getting there is half the fun." I think that's still true of train travel, because for the most part, I think Amtrak employees try to do a good job of serving the traveling public.

we went on a 3 week ride best time we ever had food good had a roomette do yourself a favor ride the train full length friendly folks good food and sleep like a baby being rocked to sleep. 6 more years to retire hope to do it again on an extended plan called in no big hurry get off and on and see stuff till I tire and ready to move on. planes are fine for the quick time but at 40,000 feet not much to see other than a speck. train is eye level and besides you can take a camera and get scenery ideas for the same cost of the ride. hope you enjoy it. $oo

Thanks for the storys guys!!!!!


You know.... the train seems SOOOOO much less stressfull then air travel!!!

Maybe I will look inot the full way. It will be a day longer, but a LOT more relaxing!!!

Paula and myself prefer train to air travel but keep our destinations to one overnight. We would only consider going as far as Fla. New Orleans and Chicago as longer trips would eat up too much vacation time. That works out to a 1000-1200 mile journey.
We ALWAYS book a bedroom with bath, and find it private comfortable and above all relaxing. Dinners on Amtrak trains are often surprisingly good. On sleeper routes they have roomettes but only some come with toilets. I beleve that the Superliner roomettes don't have a private toilet and the Viewliners do.

We took a trip from Cleveland to Seattle & return on Amtrak. Transferred trains in Chicago, but still booked roomette all the way. We always had a recliner, double bunk beds w. the bottom bed converting into a couch, a shower w. a toilet, & a sink outside of the shower stall. Also received the morning local newspaper tucked underneath our door in the morning - in our case from Minot on the way west, don't recall which one on the return trip. It was the BEST time we EVER spent traveling, & well worth the extra $$ for the accomodations & very good meals. My only 'warning' to you if you do choose a roomette (which I highly recommend), be aware that those cars are located in the front of the train, so you get to hear ALL of the whistle stop signals from the engine REAL WELL & all day & night.
Tom B

This message has been edited. Last edited by: boxcoupler,

Margie and I took our two oldest grandchildren to New York City a couple of years ago. We went by air and returned by train -- roomettes on the Lake Shore New York to Chicago; a Family Room on the Lone Star from Chicago to Fort Worth; then a former ATSF Hi-Level chair car Fort Worth to Oklahoma City.

It was a great trip. We rode some of the roughest track I have ever been on, near Erie, PA and some of the smoothest between Cowtown and Oklahoma City. Food was well prepared and politely served. I slept well, but did need extra blankets in the Viewliner roomette upper berth. The girls, naturally, think it was the greatest trip they ever took, and we enjoyed the conversations with folks we met aboard the train.

Just don't try to compare it to a trip 50 years ago with Pullman employees on the sleeping car and railroad dining cars with crisp linens and several pieces of silverware. It's not that. But it is quite acceptable, based on standards and expectations prevalent in the current era. Try it. You will quickly learn the ins and outs of train travel by Amtrak, and might want to go again.

OK... so you guys are realy talking me into it. Too bad I have 5 monts to go!!!!