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I think the site https://railforless.us/ is working, but it is a little slow and limited. I would think any time in January (after the New Year's holiday) would be a cheap time to travel. The Sunset LImited only runs three days a week, so that cuts your searches in half. Don't drive yourself...

I have no idea what the actual policy is on this. I have received a refund after a drop in a Roomette price (although I was moved to a different Roomette), and have several times upgraded from a Roomette to a Bedroom when the Bedroom price dropped, without a penalty. The best solution seems to...

I like Room A, but definitely feel it shouldn't demand a premium. I've traveled in all the Bedroom numbers, and find them all to be very comfortable. I have encountered situations where an agent will price Roomettes differently, so I assume the same thing applies to Bedrooms. My guess is that...

I think the choice in the US is between funding highways or funding rail. Here is a 1979 ad for British Rail:

I don't think either of the devices you show would improve comfort. One thing I am taking if I need to travel in coach overnight is a pad for the footrest, made of pipe insulation. I asked about this on Facebook, and someone said you need to line the inside of the insulation with duct tape so...

According to Trains News Wire, the Empire Builder will be losing its second Seattle coach August 1 "during the height of the summer tourism season."...

Be sure to get up early the first morning for the Pecos River High Bridge! Perhaps others can chime in with the current timing. It was a highlight of my westbound trip in 1977!

I don't think it really took "two to three minutes" to stop the train from 75 mph in emergency braking. edit: Maybe this is how long the engineer would take to stop the train for a station...

My wife and I stopped in for lunch at the "Train Wreck Bar and Grill" in Burlington, Washington, yesterday, and saw a 58-minute late, very dirty train 516 pass by. There is a 1-foot gauge steam locomotive outside outside the restaurant, and we also watched a pair of BNSF GP-38's push a few...

Two posts on Facebook, one by Washington State Ferries and the other by a WSF employee, say a lot about our ferry situation this holiday weekend.

At the Rosario Resort employee Christmas party in 2005, I won two free nights at the Coeur d'Alene Resort in Idaho. My first thought was, "Let's take the train!" This was the first of many expenses for this trip. Of course, we had to at least have a Roomette. It looks as if the fare was...

I usually upgrade to my new pair of Levi's 501's, and combine with a plaid wool shirt that doesn't wrinkle and keeps me warm. I wear a clean (every day) t-shirt underneath. I used to sleep in the nude on the train, but realized this was somewhat of a safety hazard. If the car tipped over, I...

Just a simple matter of supply and demand: the Family Bedroom is not as popular. I have often seen it empty. I like it if it is not much more fare than a Roomette, but a Bedroom with a big window and its own bathroom is much preferable.

My father, who was a WWII and Korea disabled veteran, instilled in me a respect for indigenous rights. On Maui, he helped Hawaiians with sovereignty issues, and one specific accomplishment was the inclusion of a wide shoreline path in front of a hotel, where the public road was located previous...

Another thing that is happening with room fares is that many people use Amtrak credit card "points" for travel. Are the rest of paying for this with the higher fares?

On the Empire Builder, the SCA opens the sleeper door at Spokane, in the middle of the night.

Passengers traveling on rail passes are treated the same as all other coach passengers. Regarding sitting together, crews usually try to seat couples together, but this is not guaranteed. Since ATL and SYR are intermediate stops on the trains, passengers boarding there do not get first choice...

YOUTH RIDE FREE IN WASHINGTON STATE Passengers aged 18 and under now ride free on Amtrak Cascades trains in Washington. We’re hoping to inspire an entire generation to consider trains as a great choice when traveling along the I-5 corridor. Learn more at...

I see from a video on Facebook that there is a second coach on the Seattle section of trains that departed Chicago on May 23 and earlier. Hopefully, this will remain until at least fall.

I had pre-cooked food in an Amfleet Dinette when I rode the Broadway Limited in May, 1994. From the May 1, 1994 National Timetable Services listing for that train: "Dining Car--Tray meal table service. (Full dining car service has been temporarily replaced with tray meal service. We hope to...