Any Tips To Convince Someone To Ride The Train?

[Acela150]

For those who have seen my post in the Hoped For Trips of 2013. You will have noted that I'm going to try to convince my 28 year old brother to take a trip with me for a vacation to Chicago. This is the route we would take.

66 PHL-BOS BC

449 BOS-CHI Roomette

30 CHI-WAS Roomette or Bedroom, depends on the buckets

NER WAS-PHL

I have always considered Chicago a good "starter" overnight trip. As their are so many ways to get there. I choose this routing as he can experience three different ways of Sleeping on a train. BC on 66 which IMO once you get comfortable you can sleep for a bit, Viewliner and the Superliners.

My brother has been on Amtrak before. But not like this. Does anyone have tips for me that will convince him to give this a try, besides the fact I'll be paying for his tickets.

This is one where I welcome ALL advice!

Steve

 

[Amtrak Cajun]

Well, the best thing I can tell you to tell him is that traveling by train is a fun and relaxing way to travel, and that he will get to see things and be places that he may not have been to before.

(I dont know where he has or hasnt been, but its worth a try right?)

I got to take a road trip with my younger brother to California, we always wanted to take a brotherly trip together, and we got that chance, and its something that I will never forget. You could tell your brother that it will be a good brotherly experience and that he might enjoy it, and remember it as a good thing that happened between brothers, know what I mean? Its something that you or he could look back on and say, Dude, remember when we took that fun train trip together. lasting memories sorta thing.

Anthony

 

[Devil's Advocate]

When dealing with someone who is potentially resistant to passenger rail I would start by cutting out all of the coach segments. That includes "business" class on the 66. I would also replace either the East or West trip with a flight. Make it a one-way trip in a bedroom and one-way flight the other way. That's a much more manageable suggestion for people who are new to long distance travel on Amtrak and who may not be as excited about the prospect or as receptive to the reality of the experience as you are. Convincing people to stray beyond their comfort zone can be a bit like practicing minimalist horticulture. You want to plant a tiny seed of curiosity and nurture it just enough to see it grow into a mature result with a steady but calm approach. You don't want to blast it with too much sun, water, and fertilizer only to watch it die off from stimulation overload. What may seem like a short and simple trip to you may seem like a much more involved experience to the uninitiated. Better to start small and leave plenty of extra room for further growth in the future than to risk overdoing it right from the start.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Texas Sunset is right about keeping it simple.

However if you just take the Lake Shore Limited out of NYC to Chicago, and return on the Capital Limited that would be work.

The Night Owl in Business Class need to be skip, and I would make sure one of the two overnight trains are in a Bedroom. The Capital Limited would be best. "Did not enjoy your trip out to Chicago? Well were going back in a bedroom so your going to have a different experience."

I personal have no good advise on getting people to travel by train. However I do talk trains and pull up price quotes. To give people the idea that trains can be a way to get there, and to plant a seed. Maybe next time there planning a trip they will check out Amtrak.

 

[pennyk]

My first train trip with my sister was the Silver Meteor from Orlando to WAS in a bedroom. She liked it very much especially since she got the bottom bunk. She has health issues and the top bunk would have been difficult. My second trip with her was on the Acela First Class from WAS to BOS. She liked that also. My third trip with her was 66 from WAS to BOS in BC. She did not like that one - neither did I. My guess is that if that was her first trip with me, there would not have been a second or third. (BTW - we took the Acela FC from Boston on that trip).

I am the one with issues traveling with someone else in a sleeper. I do not like to share and I like the bottom bunk.

 

[OBS]

Texas Sunset is right about keeping it simple.

However if you just take the Lake Shore Limited out of NYC to Chicago, and return on the Capital Limited that would be work.

The Night Owl in Business Class need to be skip, and I would make sure one of the two overnight trains are in a Bedroom. The Capital Limited would be best. "Did not enjoy your trip out to Chicago? Well were going back in a bedroom so your going to have a different experience."

I personal have no good advise on getting people to travel by train. However I do talk trains and pull up price quotes. To give people the idea that trains can be a way to get there, and to plant a seed. Maybe next time there planning a trip they will check out Amtrak.

I would also agree, keep it simple. Don't start the trip with "slow boat to China" 66/67 going out of your way to get to Chi. JMHO

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

If you have pictures from your previous Amtrak trips, pick out the ones of great scenery and people relaxing on board and show those to him. Maybe lead him to some of the better done Youtube videos of on board life as well. I guarantee you will not be able to find pictures of people relaxing and having a good time on an airliner or at the airport, at least not from the past 10 or 15 years.

 

[PRR 60]

Add me to the list of those who are advising against taking #66 overnight to Boston. Cruel and unusual punishment. Your brother might head straight from South Station to Logan Airport to complete the trip to Chicago.

I would also recommend a bedroom for one leg, but I would suggest a bedroom on the Lake Shore. The Viewliner roomettes have the toilet in the room which creates lots of logistics issues for two in the room. That arrangement may not endear a novice to the concept of rail travel being civilized.

By the way, count me as someone who relaxes and has a good time at airports and on flights. I've been known to take a mileage run (or two), and when I come home I tell my wife how much fun it was. She gets a little scared.

 

[the_traveler]

The best (or at least one of the best) reasons I like train travel is that you do not have to show up to the station 2 hours early and go thru the "Security Theater". And I find the views better at 3-15 feet than at 30,000 feet.

 

[SarahZ]

A friend of mine was undecided until I showed her pictures and videos from some of my trips. Now she can't wait.

I was the same way before my first trip to visit my boyfriend. I used to fly, but then I got too big for the seats. I'd used Amtrak to get from Ann Arbor to Chicago, but I wasn't sure about taking Amtrak overnight. So, I Googled a bunch of travel blogs and images, and that's how I found this forum. I read a lot of trip reports and posts from all of you, and that made me feel much more at-ease about taking the train from CHI to ABQ.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I agree to ditch the #66 ride from PHL-BOS!!! What about taking Acela FC to NYP, then #49 to CHI, that is easier, gives you a better Calling time and a heck of a better ride!!! The ride up the Hudson in Daylight will get the trip off to a great start , and Dinner in the Diner and being in the NYP-CHI Section of the LSL w/o the Long Hike to the Diner and Lounge will also be a plus!

I also think that the Viewliner Roomette on the LSL is fine, take the Bedroom on the Return on the Cap to WAS!!!

 

[June the Coach Rider]

If you have pictures from your previous Amtrak trips, pick out the ones of great scenery and people relaxing on board and show those to him. Maybe lead him to some of the better done Youtube videos of on board life as well. I guarantee you will not be able to find pictures of people relaxing and having a good time on an airliner or at the airport, at least not from the past 10 or 15 years.

I would definitely sit with him and check out the you tube videos. Plus if at all possible, make his first trip in a sleeper with food included. That way he can see the most positive his first trip. Like others making the first trip short would be good.

 

[Henry Kisor]

If you're offering to pay for his ticket, and he still says no, you need a new brother. I'll volunteer for the job.

 

[PRR 60]

The best (or at least one of the best) reasons I like train travel is that you do not have to show up to the station 2 hours early and go thru the "Security Theater". And I find the views better at 3-15 feet than at 30,000 feet.

I don't leave home until 1hr 45 before my flight. It takes me 35 minutes to drive to the airport (18 miles), park, and clear security. That still puts me at the gate over an hour before departure. The two hours early requirement was years ago, and I never actually found it necessary.

 

[the_traveler]

Very true, but (although I would not recommend it) I was was parking the car when the train arrived. I still made the train. (You can't do that at the airport.)

 

[ehbowen]

Very true, but (although I would not recommend it) I was was parking the car when the train arrived. I still made the train. (You can't do that at the airport.)

And I equally wouldn't recommend this, but: Back about two schedule changes ago (Jan. 2008), I had plans for a long weekend getaway to New Orleans from Houston. The train arrived on-time at 5:45 a.m. I got off work (night shift at a downtown building) at 6:00 a.m. The scheduled departure was 6:15 a.m. I made the train with minutes to spare.

 

[Acela150]

Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. That's why I come to the AU experts for my advise. I think NER, 49, 30, NER will do a nice trip. Thanks again!

Steve

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Very true, but (although I would not recommend it) I was was parking the car when the train arrived. I still made the train. (You can't do that at the airport.)

And I equally wouldn't recommend this, but: Back about two schedule changes ago (Jan. 2008), I had plans for a long weekend getaway to New Orleans from Houston. The train arrived on-time at 5:45 a.m. I got off work (night shift at a downtown building) at 6:00 a.m. The scheduled departure was 6:15 a.m. I made the train with minutes to spare.

Back when you could still catch the train at the next stop or receive a full refund at the last minute or a full voucher after a no-show this may have been valid information. Here in the era of electronic tickets, spontaneous cancellations, and instant forfeitures this kind of information is absolutely worthless. Saying you don't recommend it doesn't make it any more valuable.

 

[jebr]

Very true, but (although I would not recommend it) I was was parking the car when the train arrived. I still made the train. (You can't do that at the airport.)

And I equally wouldn't recommend this, but: Back about two schedule changes ago (Jan. 2008), I had plans for a long weekend getaway to New Orleans from Houston. The train arrived on-time at 5:45 a.m. I got off work (night shift at a downtown building) at 6:00 a.m. The scheduled departure was 6:15 a.m. I made the train with minutes to spare.

Back when you could still catch the train at the next stop or receive a full refund at the last minute or a full voucher after a no-show this may have been valid information. Here in the era of electronic tickets, spontaneous cancellations, and instant forfeitures this kind of information is absolutely worthless. Saying you don't recommend it doesn't make it any more valuable.

How so? Coach customers would get a 100% voucher good for a year. While not ideal, it's still useful for those of us who travel coach.

 

[TimePeace]

Very true, but (although I would not recommend it) I was was parking the car when the train arrived. I still made the train. (You can't do that at the airport.)

And I equally wouldn't recommend this, but: Back about two schedule changes ago (Jan. 2008), I had plans for a long weekend getaway to New Orleans from Houston. The train arrived on-time at 5:45 a.m. I got off work (night shift at a downtown building) at 6:00 a.m. The scheduled departure was 6:15 a.m. I made the train with minutes to spare.

Back when you could still catch the train at the next stop or receive a full refund at the last minute or a full voucher after a no-show this may have been valid information. Here in the era of electronic tickets, spontaneous cancellations, and instant forfeitures this kind of information is absolutely worthless. Saying you don't recommend it doesn't make it any more valuable.

How so? Coach customers would get a 100% voucher good for a year. While not ideal, it's still useful for those of us who travel coach.

\These ain't coach travelers... they are bedroom folks.

 

[tonys96]

I took the g/f on a shorter weekend trip (FTW-OKC on the HF) for her first trip. She enjoyed talking to other pax, and agreed to a longer trip, so next we went FTW-SAS, down in coach, back in aroomette.....now she wants to go do the Coast Starlight in a roomette....so I figure the old adage of crawl, walk, run ....fits here.

 

[Nathanael]

My brother has been on Amtrak before. But not like this. Does anyone have tips for me that will convince him to give this a try, besides the fact I'll be paying for his tickets.

This depends on what his objections are.

This is one where I welcome ALL advice!

Well, given the people I'm usually talking to, I usually start with "It's faster than driving." Then "It's more relaxing than driving". Then "It's affordable, really!"

But if he's comparing it to taking an airplane, start with the security theater (which you avoid on the train), then point out that you arrive right in the middle of downtown Chicago rather than having to get from O'Hare. (If you have frequent PHL-Midway flights... well, that's not as good an argument).

If he doesn't like the cramped seating on airplanes -- OR in a car -- point out that he can get up and walk around the train.

Then there's the experience of eatingin a civilized manner in the diner while the train moves. That's attractive.

I'd agree with everyone else on skipping Boston and taking the LSL between NY and Chicago. The Hudson River scenery is worth seeing.

You might also reverse the order of your trip; somehow I have a gut feeling that PHL-WAS-CHI-NYP-PHL is the order more likely to attract support, though I'm not really sure why and I could be wrong. Perhaps because Penn Station NY is a pit, whereas DC Union is relatively nice; show him the nice transfer point first. Perhaps because the Sightseer Lounge comes earlier on the trip. Perhaps because the weird in-room toilets in the Viewliners come later after he's already used to the roomette concept. This changes which meals you get on the train, of course, and creates trouble for dinner eastbound on the LSL (sigh).

It's definitely worth throwing in an Acela (rather than NE Regional) trip on one of the two ends if he hasn't taken one before.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Try to exploit the advantages of the train as much as possible. Tell him about the comfort of a train and how trains are better than cars.

 

[Acela150]

My brother has been on Amtrak before. But not like this. Does anyone have tips for me that will convince him to give this a try, besides the fact I'll be paying for his tickets.

This depends on what his objections are.

This is one where I welcome ALL advice!

You might also reverse the order of your trip; somehow I have a gut feeling that PHL-WAS-CHI-NYP-PHL is the order more likely to attract support, though I'm not really sure why and I could be wrong. Perhaps because Penn Station NY is a pit, whereas DC Union is relatively nice; show him the nice transfer point first. Perhaps because the Sightseer Lounge comes earlier on the trip. Perhaps because the weird in-room toilets in the Viewliners come later after he's already used to the roomette concept. This changes which meals you get on the train, of course, and creates trouble for dinner eastbound on the LSL (sigh).

The problem with that order is that to get a guaranteed connection to PHL from 48 is that we'd have to wait for the 10pm Regional. Which wouldn't provide enough time for a connection for me to get home to the suburbs. Also It'd be a pretty slim dinner selection in the diner for dinner. Unless someone can provide more info on that.

 

[Nathanael]

Also It'd be a pretty slim dinner selection in the diner for dinner. Unless someone can provide more info on that.

Actually, it would be no dinner at all, you'd have to jump out and grab something at Albany. That may be enough to kill the idea. I don't know why Amtrak doesn't offer dinner on the eastbound LSL.