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My tip regarding a pillow is to pack a puffy coat and a pillowcase in your bag. When you are ready to sleep, stuff the coat inside the pillowcase. Put on the coat before you get off in Memphis. Across Main Street from the Memphis station is the Arcade restaurant which was an Elvis hangout.

If my plane is late, I will ride the North Central Service bus since it goes directly to Union Station. I'll be carrying a backpack on my back and a small wheeled suitcase which can be on the step in front of me on an escalator. I may even stop at Lou Mitchell's for breakfast before going into...

When I drove to LaPine Oregon yesterday morning, the price at the Shell station in Crescent was $4.999 for regular. I got $20 in LaPine at $4.699 which brought the tank up to half. Then I returned to Crescent, the price was up to $5.099 for regular. Diesel has been over $5.20/gallon for more...

I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?

A few years ago to save some money, my wife and I took coach seats from Chicago to Omaha and then we switched to a roomette while the train was being refueled. We had the roomette as far as Grand Junction and then we went back to coach to Winnemucca where our car was. At least part of this trip...

Amtrak (and others) spent a fortune replacing the old Amshack that was in Chemult. The timber "waiting room" in my profile picture gets very little use. Everyone who wants to go to LaPine, Sunriver and Bend for winter sports and summer tourism stops at Chemult and rides the bus north. Twice I...

Since someone mentioned tonic water, if you sometimes suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome, a can of tonic water (with quinine) will calm your legs. Even if the cafe car is closed, your SCA can get you a can if you say you need it. They don't charge for it since they only use it to make a G&T.

Unless you want to be able to say you took the CZ for its entire length, I would get off the CZ in Sacramento and see the California Railroad Museum and then have a good meal in Old Town Sacramento and then maybe a movie at the multiplex theater before returning to the SAC station for the...

In that case, you have time to see the Railroad Museum, get a good meal in Old Town and see a movie at the multi screen theater before walking back to the Sacramento station. Do try to get back to the station by 10:30PM for your personal safety. Sometimes the northbound train is hours late but...

My solution is to pack a pillowcase in my bag and when it is time to sleep, just stuff my puffy coat inside the pillowcase. I do this always when sleeping in coach. I put my glasses, watch, wallet and any small change in my left shoe and stuff a fresh pair of socks into the shoe. I try to get up...

Forgot to ask- Are you transferring to the northbound or southbound Coast Starlight?

If you have access to a phone but not a computer screen, you can still call 1800USARAIL and listen to Julie. I have done this from a train a few times to see how late we were going to be.

I am not quite as rural as Oregon Pioneer. next month I will be parking at Chemult to take the southbound CS to Sacramento. I spend a few hours in Sacramento before taking the bus out to the Sacramento airport(SMF). I'll fly to Chicago (via Las Vegas). I'll ride the El from Ohare to the Clinton...

Booking on one reservation was a smart move. It has been my experience (several times) that if the train that you are connecting to has already left by the time your arriving train gets to the station, they will bus you to catch up with the train that you missed. In other cases, they will hold...

I'm hoping to see it going through Chemult Oregon around 7/10 or 11. I know how to get to Cascade Summit where it will be moving slowly.

A few years ago, my wife and I saved a few bucks by taking the westbound CZ out of Chicago in coach. At 11PM CT we switched to a roomette in Omaha. We had the roomette until Grand Junction Colorado when we switched back to coach for the rest of our trip back to Winnemucca NV. The two best...

On my first Amtrak/ViaRail trip in October 2001 I met/sat beside a young man named Jason Earle. At that time he was in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest person to get a stock broker license in the US. I talked to him a few times on the ViaRail Canadian after meeting him on the Maple...

If you get the chance, take the Cardinal to get from Washington to Chicago. Make a 24 or 48 hour stop in Colorado (Denver or Glenwood Springs) and rent a car to see some of the Rockies. If you want to see some of California, get off the Zephyr and rent another car. Yosemite is great if it is...

My last experience with food service on the Texas Eagle was early morning Friday 5/7 (possibly THE last). We were caught in a traffic jam of freight trains that were coming out of Los Angeles while we were coming in nearly 3 hours late from the "padded" arrival time into LAX. I was in coach...

I had both of my Pfizer vaccines in March. When I got on the northbound CS shortly after midnight on May 8 in SAC, I got out my CPAP and plugged it in. The mask only covered my nose. I did have a mouth guard in my mouth. I feel that I was playing a very silly game. If anyone had asked, I did...