Least scenic Amtrak route?

[jis]

Since you like Sunnyside and vicinity....have you ever gotten a chance to ride a train all the way around the loop? That's a great way to see it...Some friendly crew might let you....

Never been around the loop.

 

[Lonestar648]

Reading everyone's thoughts, scenery is what your mind sees. To me, everything in this country is scenic because you learn more about each part of this country each time you travel the area. Someone may see what they think is an ugly bridge, but to an engineer it is spectacular. I personally do not find any area that is not scenic, though going through an unlit long tunnel doesn't offer anything, I wish the tunnel was lighted so could see its structure. There is beauty in everything, you just have to look for it.

 

[Dakota 400]

Reading everyone's thoughts, scenery is what your mind sees. To me, everything in this country is scenic because you learn more about each part of this country each time you travel the area. Someone may see what they think is an ugly bridge, but to an engineer it is spectacular. I personally do not find any area that is not scenic, though going through an unlit long tunnel doesn't offer anything, I wish the tunnel was lighted so could see its structure. There is beauty in everything, you just have to look for it.

I must say that I agree with these statements. Lighted tunnels can be interesting. Traveling through the tunnel between the road to Seward, Alaska and Whittier was interesting because one could see its structure. On the Sunset Limited, I expected our long time spent in the desert would become boring/uninteresting. Just the reverse happened for me. Example, seeing the white Border Patrol trucks located along the right-of-way, even we were not skirting the border, was unexpected and interesting.

 

[jis]

I look for flora and fauna along the tracks where there is nothing else of interest. Even in the most desolate desert one can usually find little things here and there that catches ones eyes. I am into photographing nature both in micros and macro aspects, and trust me there is endless variety on a train ride. Heck I even take pictures of cloud formation while flying. So you could call me crazy.

 

[pennyk]

The Silver trains don't offer a lot of scenery outside of Florida. Not that the Florida line is overly scenic but the swamps and orange groves in between the towns are nice. Always fun to spot a gator from the train.

Crossing the St. John’s River in Florida is very scenic, as are fern farms in Volusia County and my condo building in Orange County.

 

[the_traveler]

I would say the least scenic is the INSIDE of the Moffet Tunnel and the INSIDE of the Stevens Tunnel!

 

[cpotisch]

If we're talking about routes as a whole, the LSL is pretty lame. San Joaquin doesn't have much going for it, and maybe the Keystone.

 

[Sauve850]

I ride trains each September from west coast (LA, EMY, SEA) thru Chicago, Washington DC and on home to West Palm Beach Florida. I find the Silvers in Florida not offering the best scenery. It could be that I'm about done with some great long distance routes and now don't have a train trip in immediate future.

I also enjoy the trips between Chicago and Denver in early summer as I like the farms and rolling hills of Illinois and Iowa. Its not bad scenery to me.

 

[Manny T]

I agree on the LSL -- Chi-ALB--that would be my candidate for least scenic. What makes the lack of scenery especially grating is that the train's name seems to promise more in the way of scenery-- e.g. a beautiful ride along "the lake shore" -- which actually is not visible from the train except for a minute near Gary.

I once asked a fellow passenger about this. He said I was reciting the train's name incorrectly. The correct name of the train is "Lake Shore?? Limited."

The stretch along the Hudson is super scenic. But that's a river, not a lake.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I think the route of the Auto Train is lacking.

 

[railiner]

I agree on the LSL -- Chi-ALB--that would be my candidate for least scenic. What makes the lack of scenery especially grating is that the train's name seems to promise more in the way of scenery-- e.g. a beautiful ride along "the lake shore" -- which actually is not visible from the train except for a minute near Gary.

I once asked a fellow passenger about this. He said I was reciting the train's name incorrectly. The correct name of the train is "Lake Shore?? Limited."

The stretch along the Hudson is super scenic. But that's a river, not a lake.

What about the stretch along the Mohawk Valley? Not too shabby....and I think besides Lake Michigan, you also get a 'glimpse' of Lake Erie. And for myself, the entire stretch from Gary into Chicago Union Station is fascinating, as are the stretches in and out of the other cities enroute....

 

[DevalDragon]

The City of New Orleans, hands down.

 

[Asher]

I love the San Joaquin valley. If there not planting they're cultivating or irrigating or picking something.

 

[Don Newcomb]

I think the route of the Auto Train is lacking.

It's designed to allow the family to sleep while passing through a rather uninteresting section of the I-95 corridor. Mostly a night train.

 

[Palmetto]

I'll put a word in for the Downeaster. Where it's not running thru urban sprawl, or abandoned mill cities, it's running on rail that's crowded with thick trees and underbrush on the former B&M railroad.

 

[jis]

I agree on the LSL -- Chi-ALB--that would be my candidate for least scenic. What makes the lack of scenery especially grating is that the train's name seems to promise more in the way of scenery-- e.g. a beautiful ride along "the lake shore" -- which actually is not visible from the train except for a minute near Gary.

I once asked a fellow passenger about this. He said I was reciting the train's name incorrectly. The correct name of the train is "Lake Shore?? Limited."

The stretch along the Hudson is super scenic. But that's a river, not a lake.

What about the stretch along the Mohawk Valley? Not too shabby....and I think besides Lake Michigan, you also get a 'glimpse' of Lake Erie. And for myself, the entire stretch from Gary into Chicago Union Station is fascinating, as are the stretches in and out of the other cities enroute....

I agree. While beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder, I think it is a bit of a stretch to call the LSL route least scenic of the Amtrak routes. Most of the route in New York State at least is actually quite scenic at least to my humble eyes.

 

[dlagrua]

I can't say that it isn't scenic but the CZ route after it leaves Omaha and heads West through Nebraska is just one farm, after farm after farm and its all as flat as a pancake until you reach Denver.

 

[CoachSlumber]

The City of New Orleans, hands down.

Cannot agree. I think the ride down through Mississippi is a wonderful rumble through the rural South as well as a wistful view of a once mightier main line road and the faded commerce alongside it. And there's Lake Ponchartrain, albeit for a brief time.

 

[zephyr17]

San Joaquin from Stockton on south.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

The City of New Orleans, hands down.

Cannot agree. I think the ride down through Mississippi is a wonderful rumble through the rural South as well as a wistful view of a once mightier main line road and the faded commerce alongside it. And there's Lake Ponchartrain, albeit for a brief time.

City of New Orleans has some great scenery. The route it takes around Lake Ponchatrain in/out of New Orleans is one of my favorite stretched of rail. Herons, Turtles, Gators all gather along the swampy lake.

The Catfish farms of Mississippi... rolling through Memphis and seeing the neon of Beale Street at night... then waking up to the farmlands of Illinois.

 

[stappend]

Depends on what you like to look at. The Illini/Saluki is filled with flat corn fields, which having grown up in Illinois I find pretty boring. The Lake Shore Limited route between Ohio and Chicago, the long stretch of nothing but junk yards and old steal mills might be viewed as un-scenic.

 

[stappend]

If we're talking about routes as a whole, the LSL is pretty lame. San Joaquin doesn't have much going for it, and maybe the KeystoneI

I disagree. Parts are terrible. But, Albany east is very nice, both the Boston and New York sections. Parts of the trip along the Great Lakes are very nice. I think I've done close to 40 round trips on the LSL in the last 22 years. It also depends on the season.

 

[cpotisch]

If we're talking about routes as a whole, the LSL is pretty lame. San Joaquin doesn't have much going for it, and maybe the KeystoneI

I disagree. Parts are terrible. But, Albany east is very nice, both the Boston and New York sections. Parts of the trip along the Great Lakes are very nice. I think I've done close to 40 round trips on the LSL in the last 22 years. It also depends on the season.

Albany to New York is fantastic, I 100% agree. I haven't done the Boston section so can't say one way or another. But the LSL between Chicago and Albany (particularly in Winter) I found to be pretty tedious/bleak.

 

[railiner]

The City of New Orleans, hands down.

Cannot agree. I think the ride down through Mississippi is a wonderful rumble through the rural South as well as a wistful view of a once mightier main line road and the faded commerce alongside it. And there's Lake Ponchartrain, albeit for a brief time.

City of New Orleans has some great scenery. The route it takes around Lake Ponchatrain in/out of New Orleans is one of my favorite stretched of rail. Herons, Turtles, Gators all gather along the swampy lake.

The Catfish farms of Mississippi... rolling through Memphis and seeing the neon of Beale Street at night... then waking up to the farmlands of Illinois.

If the train happens to be running very late.....crossing the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois is rather scenic, as well...

 

[Northeastern292]

LSL/the Cap west of Cleveland.

Oh, and the Adirondack.*

*Just joking! Had to *** my own Amtrak train!

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