Looking ahead to another trip we have booked my husband said "I am looking forward to this trip. Lots of train rides involved". Didn't say the cruise part of it. Just the train ride. I know he is looking forward to it (and hope we can go) but I thought it was just funny that he mentioned the train ride (and we just got back from one train ride last week).
Best Part of the trip is ......................
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the_traveler
Engineer
The best part of the trip is ..............
Getting on the train!
Getting on the train!
OlympianHiawatha
Engineer
...and STAYING on the train!
Exiled in Express
Lead Service Attendant
...picking up your ticket for the next ride on your way out of the station.
I don't trust myself with the document to actually do this though.
I don't trust myself with the document to actually do this though.
Edgefan
Service Attendant
Could not agree more. I would add, once Home Sweet Home is set up, kicking back and watching all the flurry of activity out your room window anticipating the train pulling out of station. I LOVE those moments.
sunchaser
Conductor
Getting on the train.. :hi:The best part of the trip is ..............
Getting on the train!
Settling into our room.. -_-
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, enjoying the company of others. ^_^
Having a glass of wine (or coffee, or juice) in the bedroom with hubby, watching the scenery go by.
Checking things out at the stops, chatting with the staff, other passengers.
The sway & sounds of the train going down the tracks.
Finally, getting to your destination, then after your visit, doing it all over again!
I need to go for a ride soon! :lol: :giggle:
Best part is taking your shoes off and putting your feet on other chair of roomette while watching the scenery rolling by.
Pastor Dave
Lead Service Attendant
Hearing the "All Aboard" call is pretty good. Watching the world go by from a window in a bedroom is also pretty cool.
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Being Part of an AU Gathering.
Aloha
Aloha
I agree with the sentiments expressed. I would like to offer a few brief passages from from the late David P. Morgan, former editor of Trains Magazine in one of my favorite books--Diesels West, published by the CB&Q by Kalmbach in 1963, in the chapter "Overnight, Every Night"......
"......The wise ones, those sensitive to the intrigue of a great trains departure on a wintry evening, have found seats in a Vista-Dome when First No. 1 smoothly gets under way, slips from the embrace of the trainsheds into the signal-sparked throat of terminal tracks, and gathers momentum for the West. The line of stainless steel cars, glistening in the rain, rolls past the 14th Street coach yard, glides around the curve at Halsted Street and attains the straightaway. In the dome, a muted roar and the beams from two headlights, one fixed and the other rotating, are evidence of the 4000 diesel horsepower leading First No. 1 down the center track of the three track main line out to suburban Aurora. The diesels bore through the wet night--past the overhead lights and endless freight cars at Cicero, on through the suburbia of Brookfield and La Grange. The Denver Zephyr overtakes a commuter train at Western Springs, then two more a few miles beyond.
And down below the darkened domes there is an end to the tension of office and city...and a beginning of relaxation. Couples, cards, and cocktails prevail in the Colorado Room. Ahead in the dining car the waiters fill water glasses, study the passengers' checks ("Let's see what we have here--shrimp cocktail, top sirloin, mashed potatoes, salad. Now, how would you like that steak, sir?"), and sing out orders to the cooks...."
......"It is good to be able to take for granted a travel institution such as the Denver Zephyr, to know that overnight every night it bridges a thousand miles between Lake Michigan and the Rockies with leg-rest seats and beds and dining rooms and lounges on wheels, to count on it from one generation to the next.
For it is a memorable experience to lie abed in a roomette with the Venetian blind raised and the dark, rainswept farmland outside sliding past at 75 miles per hour. Tonight there is the faint, compelling repetition of wheel clicks, the cushioned surge of speed--tomorrow morning there will be sunshine, Colorado carnations on the breakfast tables, the snow-mantled Rockies behind Denver.
Sleep comes easily within the security of such an institution as Burlington No. 1."
"......The wise ones, those sensitive to the intrigue of a great trains departure on a wintry evening, have found seats in a Vista-Dome when First No. 1 smoothly gets under way, slips from the embrace of the trainsheds into the signal-sparked throat of terminal tracks, and gathers momentum for the West. The line of stainless steel cars, glistening in the rain, rolls past the 14th Street coach yard, glides around the curve at Halsted Street and attains the straightaway. In the dome, a muted roar and the beams from two headlights, one fixed and the other rotating, are evidence of the 4000 diesel horsepower leading First No. 1 down the center track of the three track main line out to suburban Aurora. The diesels bore through the wet night--past the overhead lights and endless freight cars at Cicero, on through the suburbia of Brookfield and La Grange. The Denver Zephyr overtakes a commuter train at Western Springs, then two more a few miles beyond.
And down below the darkened domes there is an end to the tension of office and city...and a beginning of relaxation. Couples, cards, and cocktails prevail in the Colorado Room. Ahead in the dining car the waiters fill water glasses, study the passengers' checks ("Let's see what we have here--shrimp cocktail, top sirloin, mashed potatoes, salad. Now, how would you like that steak, sir?"), and sing out orders to the cooks...."
......"It is good to be able to take for granted a travel institution such as the Denver Zephyr, to know that overnight every night it bridges a thousand miles between Lake Michigan and the Rockies with leg-rest seats and beds and dining rooms and lounges on wheels, to count on it from one generation to the next.
For it is a memorable experience to lie abed in a roomette with the Venetian blind raised and the dark, rainswept farmland outside sliding past at 75 miles per hour. Tonight there is the faint, compelling repetition of wheel clicks, the cushioned surge of speed--tomorrow morning there will be sunshine, Colorado carnations on the breakfast tables, the snow-mantled Rockies behind Denver.
Sleep comes easily within the security of such an institution as Burlington No. 1."
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As I mentioned, this is one of my favorite books, and I find myself rereading that particular chapter over and over. The book is subtitled "The Evolution of Power on the Burlington" and tells that story of steam to diesel, with a lot of emphasis on the Zephyrs. The chapter tells in detailed account of the preparation of the two sections of the train necessary on a Wednesday before Thanksgiving, from its arrival, backing to the yard for cleaning and restocking etc.
Mr. Morgan was a very talented writer.
Mr. Morgan was a very talented writer.
The Davy Crockett
Engineer
BEST part of the trip is... relaxing in my room and watching the world roll by. I always bring books and crossword puzzles with me, but only end up looking at them if we've been sitting still for a while.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
Once I get back there's no telling what part of a trip I might say was the "best part" as they're all different, but as far as anticipation goes I'd say it's the first signs of movement out of the station or away from the gate. That's when you know the trip is underway and you can finally relax. Or maybe that's when you realize you forgot something important and have no chance of retrieving it during your trip. Either way it's a bit of a rush to know everything is finally in motion.
Or maybe that's when you realize you forgot something important and have no chance of retrieving it during your trip. Either way it's a bit of a rush to know everything is finally in motion.
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In general the best part of LD train travel for us is the whole experience- the privacy, the comfort, the space, the scenery, the food, the nice people that we meet, arriving in center city ( and enjoying all its conveniences while waiting for your departing train). If there is one best part it would have to be not having to be reduced to the level of an animal by the TSA thugs and idiots at the airports.
Train travel is usually very comfortable but its convenience can be debated. You need extra time in an age when most everyone these days want to arrive yesterday
Train travel is usually very comfortable but its convenience can be debated. You need extra time in an age when most everyone these days want to arrive yesterday
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Bierboy
OBS Chief
Very well put, and I would agree on all those points. For me, the anticipation is a LOT of the "best part of the trip" -- even though, technically, it's not an actual part of the trip!
And than there's that JEDS--that's Journey's End Depression Syndrome, you know that bittersweet feeling you get when the end of a transcontinental or multi-day rail holiday is coming to an end. The only sure fire remedy for same is to have another trip booked.
The only sure fire remedy for same is to have another trip booked. 
AC4400
Lead Service Attendant
To me is sitting down and hearing the horn blaring. It must be even much better to hear steam train whistling...
Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
....taking off my shoes off at the security checkpoint.....oh wait I'm taking the train :lol:
My favorite part is haviing any meal in the dining car
My favorite part is haviing any meal in the dining car
Trainmans daughter
OBS Chief
The best part for me is when I feel the first gentle movement of the train out of the station. I can physically feel the tention drain away from every nerve of my body with the first roll of the wheels. Ahhhh!
I'm not quite sure why, but there's something really enjoyable about looking out the window and seeing the people stopped at the crossing, waiting for us. It's also fun to see folks waving at the train and, of course, waving back.
Pastor Dave
Lead Service Attendant
I always wave back. Even if I'm getting mooned.
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
You do realize that unless it's nighttime nobody can see you waving back, right?
On the plus side this means you can also moon them back with impunity. :lol:
the_traveler
Engineer
Unless you hear the "All Aboard" call from the outside of train - and see the trailing lights fade into the distance!
I enjoyed everyone elses view on this. What is pathetic (in a way) is listening to the train behind us (down in a valley) that only carries non people (except for the conductor and whoever else works those trains) and hearing the horn blow and reliving your own train experiences.
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