Amtrak’s Southwest Chief - from Iowa to the Grand Canyon

[Sheffie]

This is a nice write-up and a surprisingly upbeat piece about modern American rail travel. 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/jan/29/across-america-by-train-amtrak-southwest-chief-illinois-arizona?CMP=fb_us&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1580295727

[cteno4]

I’ve ridden a lot of the main Amtrak likes in the last 40+ years (even use to use it from salinas to Davis ca to go back and forth to college) and I’ve had amazingly similar experiences over the decades. Always pleasent if you are willing to sit back and relax and let go of car driving mentality. You loose the road warrior mentality (except for a moment when coming on at a major turnover station and there is a dash for seats) and you don’t feel like you are packed into a silver tube cattle car hurled wildly like a lawn dart! You will get there and just do t care/worry if 2,4,6 hrs late due to freight traffic. Met great folks, spent so many wonderful hours staring out the window at the world listening to music. Dining car is always a feel of the flash to the past. Roomettes are very nice but expensive and depending on the route and time of year can be booked up for a long time in advance (but a couple of times I’ve gotten on an overnight booked solid and right away asked the porter and voila there was a cancelation and I got it!). Staff has usually been very nice only a few cranky, but that happens in most situations and compared to air travel the staff is usually so much more pleasant as everyone gets relaxed and is not wound up like folks can get on a plane (I feel for flight attendants, I’ve seen them have to take the worst abuse I think I’ve ever seen in public). Seats are still the same legroom, not the ever shrinking airline seats (at 6’4” I no longer can fit in an economy seat as knees have to be up and feet on their toes and I grew up on a ship and boats so I’m use to being comfortable in tight quarters but I now start to hear Poe lines sitting wedged in on a plane.

 

if you have the time and $$ it’s really still fun. If you can’t afford roomettes bring 3 or more pillows to nest in in your seat, it works pretty well I did that a lot when younger and low on money.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

I really enjoyed my train trip from Washington to New York back when I was visiting the sakura festival in Washington. To New York I took the Acela, which had plenty space and was very comfortable. People were also friendly when I asked a question here and there, even though most of them seemed to be working. 
 

on the way back I took a regular train and sat in the dining car, with very comfortable seats. People there were quite talkative and I was rather surprised that a lady that was sitting at the same table as me at some point went to the toilet, and left her bag and even her laptop on the table. In most countries those would’ve been gone by the time she got back o.O

[cteno4]

Well 20 years ago I went for a fast trip to the loo and left my bag in my seat just before a stop on the new regional going dc to philly and had my CD player nicked out of my bag. At least they don’t grab my whole bag! That being said it was the only time I had anything like that on a track with many many trips.

 

the longer regionals get even more relaxed And friendly than the ny to dc regionals.

 

jeff