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That's true, because at that point we're in fantasy land. In reality, the chances of any of these plans (much less all of them) being built is vanishingly small. There's little real political support for passenger rail in the Twin Cities, and even less outstate.

JoeBas, I don't understand what you wrote. My suitcases (or bags, as I guess I must now call them) get filthy without sizers. Have you ever seen the inside of an old Amtrak baggage car? Or do you mean they get damaged? Devils Advocate, I'm still trying to figure out if you think there are a...

One problem with this plan is that it doesn't run from Minneapolis or St. Paul to Rochester. Instead it's a non-stop high speed train between Rochester and Minneapolis Airport. There are no rail connections and no benefits to people who live on the route (except for a possible stop in Dakota...

According to post #21, the maximum dimensions for a "carry-on" are 28" x 22" x 14" and can weigh 50 lbs. I'm reasonably certain that's larger than any suitcase I own, and at 61 linear inches, it's not much smaller than the maximum size "bag" you can check (75 linear inches). So you can carry...

I'm confused by Devil's Advocate's post. Either "many Amtrak passengers" carry excess luggage, so there are lots of extra bags, or there are "a few extra bags," in which case the new policy won't affect many people. I don't see how you can have it both ways. Me, I don't think that many people...

I follow PRR 60's strategy, except that I value my points at 3 cents per point. I'm not sure how I decided on that figure, perhaps it was based on purchasing points at 2.75 cents each. Point redemptions for gift cards are usually not the best use of points, and at best give a minimum value for...

I'd also consider a reflectorized vest, even something as dorky as this. I bicycle to work on city streets, and don't ever want a motorist to be able to claim, "I didn't see him." Remember that when you are route-planning that the best route by bicycle is rarely the best route by car. I...

Great trip report. I'm surprised how similar your trip was to the ones I made on Soviet trains 25 years ago. The sleeper accommodations look identical. In those days, I almost always managed to avoid platskartnyi klass, but rarely saw the advantage in booking an SV (1st class) ticket over kupe...

Given the number of times I have sat in an Amtrak train for hours with literally not a single word of explanation for the delay, your conductor's speech sounds fine to me.

Next month Mrs. Ispolkom and I will be traveling from Montreal to Chicago on the Adirondack and Lake Shore Limited. 1. I imagine that the Adirondack is busy this time of year. Any advice on how early to arrive at Gare Centrale to make it likely to get a pair of seats on the left side? Is...

My cousins' ranch slightly further east (southwest of Molt) is drier than normal, and there were complaints about the hay. Go figure. Good year for buffalo, though, and lots of owls and hawks. While I'm glad that the diner's air conditioning was fixed, I was a bit perturbed that the 831...

Don't forget the Surrey Cut Off on the Empire Builder.

Diner's Club! Now just find a way to apply for one.

Siberianmo, Someone someday will thank you for what you did. My brother died suddenly last September, leaving a townhouse full of... stuff. Some valuable, some not so much, and a whole lot really not valuable at all. It's rather disheartening to go through it all, especially the box marked...

I'd consider spending the night out by Midway Airport, then taking the Orange Line to the Loop in the morning. There are a variety of chain hotels a few blocks south of Midway on Cicero Avenue that are usually cheaper than hotels downtown.

We know the sleeping cars are inspected by some health department, hence the removal of the open cooler of ice. If the potable water on board had any higher bacterial load than bottled water (and how clean is that, I ask), corrective measures would have been taken. There's one time I'm not...

Yes, the redemption increase was announced 6-8 weeks IIRC before it took effect, and you could book travel at the lower rate as far as eleven months out. I remember booking a variety of trips, about half of which I later canceled.

Six months out might well be a charm. My December 23 trip from St. Paul to Minot clicked down from second bucket to bottom bucket last night. Hmm, and bottom bucket roomette has increased by $2, from $99 to $101.

One data point. I often travel on the Empire Builder between St. Paul, where I live, and Minot, where my sisters live. Not a very interesting itinerary, but one I'm on every month or two. In the past couple of years I've found that the rate for a roomette is defaulted in the second bucket...

The latest oddity I discovered was when planning an AGR redemption trip from Oklahoma City to Davis. The only itinerary allowed between these two cities is Oklahoma City-Fort Worth-Los Angeles-Dallas. If you start the trip in Fort Worth, though, you can either use the Texas Eagle/Sunset...