Question about cross-country train trip

[Maglev]

I think bargains are found when somebody cancels a room, and this can happen at any time. So go ahead and check as often as you like (although the system might have a frequency lockout feature). I think it's unlikely you'd find TWO Roomettes at a low price, but I consider a Bedroom an upgrade and would go for that if one came along at a good price.

One other tip about the Family Bedroom--you can clean your windows on the outside. I use rags (from home) and water; some people go as far as bringing a squeegee and Windex. You can clean one side when you get on in Portland, and possibly the other side at Wishram, Pasco, Spokane, or Whitefish to catch the scenery of the Rockies through clean windows.

 

[KatCora]

I think bargains are found when somebody cancels a room, and this can happen at any time. So go ahead and check as often as you like (although the system might have a frequency lockout feature). I think it's unlikely you'd find TWO Roomettes at a low price, but I consider a Bedroom an upgrade and would go for that if one came along at a good price.

One other tip about the Family Bedroom--you can clean your windows on the outside. I use rags (from home) and water; some people go as far as bringing a squeegee and Windex. You can clean one side when you get on in Portland, and possibly the other side at Wishram, Pasco, Spokane, or Whitefish to catch the scenery of the Rockies through clean windows.

Yes. Make sense for sure and thanks. Bedrooms are $2600+ one way! yikes. But if that changes then I will swoop it up!

 

[Keith1951]

About 11 months out from our trip coming up this April we found a bedroom on the CZ from CHI to EMY for $1290. From what I'm seeing now that seems to be a good deal. Now I'm worried I may lose it because I see trips being cancelled. I hope they don't take it away just to sell it at a higher price.

 

[joelkfla]

I think the idea of getting 2 Roomettes is usually put forward as an alternative to a Bedroom more than a Family Bedroom. As you've seen, Bedrooms tend to be more expensive. Most likely that's because Bedrooms have private baths, while the Family Bedroom does not.

 

[Ryan]

I may lose it because I see trips being cancelled. I hope they don't take it away just to sell it at a higher price.

This doesn't happen. Rest easy.

 

[KatCora]

Does anyone want to chime in on riding the Empire Builder westbound versus eastbound? I may take a flight one-way and train the other. At this point planning to take the train eastbound (PDX to CHI) and fly back westbound. Are the views due to daylight "better" one way versus the other? Thanks!

 

[jis]

I personally prefer Eastbound - more daylight hours at spectacular scenery in my experience.

 

[mgkeihl]

I went round trip in April and definitely eastbound! I was lucky to get opposite views but coming back we got a lot more daytime in the mountains!

 

[Maglev]

Going east, the Rocky Mountains and MIssissippi River are in daylight. Depending on the time of year you're traveling, the Columbia River Gorge may be in darkness going east, but is after sunrise going west.

 

[Willbridge]

Does anyone want to chime in on riding the Empire Builder westbound versus eastbound? I may take a flight one-way and train the other. At this point planning to take the train eastbound (PDX to CHI) and fly back westbound. Are the views due to daylight "better" one way versus the other? Thanks!

If you can read the fine print in the on-line output, the 1958 SP&S North Bank timetable below shows some of the things that you might see. And it will show you where something is now under water in a dam pool at Stevenson. The all-stops Columbia Mail train schedule will give you a general idea of how many minutes between each attraction.

I've traveled both directions a number of times, but I think the consensus is that westbound is best. If Train 27 runs tolerably late, you'll see more. Train 28 usually starts out on time, but if it is held for the connection from Train 14, then the scenic views will be curtailed.

Either way, the sun will be behind you, as in this photo from Train 28.

 

[Siegmund]

When the days are short, I would say east is better for Glacier Park, west better for Cascades(7) or Columbia River Gorge(27). In summer, you can see good things both ways.

If you're a real diehard for scenery.... book your trip for the full moon, and keep your nose glued to the window all night for the segment between Spokane and Whitefish in the dark. On a clear night, the ride along the Kootenai River is really a fine show, especially from the Portland sleeper.

 

[Kevinx244974]

Hello everybody!

I’m wondering if you had to share, what do you think is the perfect Amtrak itinerary for an international traveler across the USA ?

To precise, I would like to get the best balance between wonderful cities, most scenic views on train from 2 to 3 weeks of holidays in total, and get the most of American landscapes .

I really cannot decide myself, too much options ahaha!

Thank you all of you in advance for your aswers!

 

[BlackDiamond]

Hello everybody!

I’m wondering if you had to share, what do you think is the perfect Amtrak itinerary for an international traveler across the USA ?

To precise, I would like to get the best balance between wonderful cities, most scenic views on train from 2 to 3 weeks of holidays in total, and get the most of American landscapes .

I really cannot decide myself, too much options ahaha!

Thank you all of you in advance for your aswers!

You basically can't go wrong especially on the trains west of Chicago. I'm sure there will be a lot of different opinions. I would suggest something like (assuming a start from New York)
Lake Shore Limited to Chicago. Spend a day or two there. Be sure to take one of the architectural boat tours (weather permitting).
California Zephyr to Sacramento. Spend a day there.
Coast Starlight to Los Angeles and some time in the city of Angels
Maybe a side trip along the coast to San Diego?
Southwest Chief back to Chicago. Maybe stop off in Flagstaff and see the Grand Canyon?
A different route back to NYC maybe the Cardinal then NEC back to New York.

Another possibility is to return via the Sunset to New Orleans a wonderful unique city, then either CONO to Chicago or Crescent to New York to see the Southeast. Eastern trains not so good unfortunately.

 

[Kevinx244974]

You basically can't go wrong especially on the trains west of Chicago. I'm sure there will be a lot of different opinions. I would suggest something like (assuming a start from New York)
Lake Shore Limited to Chicago. Spend a day or two there. Be sure to take one of the architectural boat tours (weather permitting).
California Zephyr to Sacramento. Spend a day there.
Coast Starlight to Los Angeles and some time in the city of Angels
Maybe a side trip along the coast to San Diego?
Southwest Chief back to Chicago. Maybe stop off in Flagstaff and see the Grand Canyon?
A different route back to NYC maybe the Cardinal then NEC back to New York.

Another possibility is to return via the Sunset to New Orleans a wonderful unique city, then either CONO to Chicago or Crescent to New York to see the Southeast. Eastern trains not so good unfortunately.

Thank you a lot!!

I saw that I could miss a big part of the Ocean on the Coast Starlight going southbound, there is a solution to avoid this?

What are the main pro's and co's between Southwest Chief and Sunset Limited? I saw that there is a Lamy stop on the Southwest Chief limited that make a connection to Santa Fe but the Southwest chief seem very special and would make me discovering the New Orleans which is pretty isolated from the rest, so I would probably never been there otherwise.

 

[Kevinx244974]

I'm also questioning myself if it exist some Amtrak stations close to a scenic national park that you can access by a tour or by bus ?

 

[jis]

I'm also questioning myself if it exist some Amtrak stations close to a scenic national park that you can access by a tour or by bus ?

The most well known rail accessible national park with its own station(s) is the Glacier National Park reached by the Empire Builder train. The stations are East Glacier and West Glacier (Belton).

 

[Willbridge]

The most well known rail accessible national park with its own station(s) is the Glacier National Park reached by the Empire Builder train. The stations are East Glacier and West Glacier (Belton).

Although it's a bus connection, Yosemite National Park is well-served by Amtrak. When I was working on tours for Japanese groups it was a favorite for them. Here's my suggested routing for the West, combining good trains and great scenery:

Chicago -- Sacramento -- Yosemite -- Los Angeles -- Portland -- Chicago.

That's the routing and then there are choices of where to stop over that depend on the traveler's interests. Some popular stopovers at decent times of day in addition to the points listed above include Denver, Glenwood Springs, Reno, Santa Barbara, San Jose, Klamath Falls (for Crater Lake or Warm Springs Resort), East Glacier, Wolf Point, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Wisconsin Dells. San Jose has suburban train connections for day trips into San Francisco. An alternative is Oakland (Jack London Square) for ferry connections for day trips into San Francisco.

 

[KatCora]

I personally prefer Eastbound - more daylight hours at spectacular scenery in my experience.

TY! I retained the eastbound.

 

[KatCora]

If you can read the fine print in the on-line output, the 1958 SP&S North Bank timetable below shows some of the things that you might see. And it will show you where something is now under water in a dam pool at Stevenson. The all-stops Columbia Mail train schedule will give you a general idea of how many minutes between each attraction.

I've traveled both directions a number of times, but I think the consensus is that westbound is best. If Train 27 runs tolerably late, you'll see more. Train 28 usually starts out on time, but if it is held for the connection from Train 14, then the scenic views will be curtailed.

Either way, the sun will be behind you, as in this photo from Train 28.

View attachment 27355
View attachment 27356

Thank for the detailed information! Good stuff!

 

[CaptPete 43]

consider stopping in Salt Lake City on the California Zephyr and renting a car. See attached file.

 

[CaptPete 43]

I missed stating this is a way to see some outstanding National Parks.
1 minute ago
consider stopping in Salt Lake City on the California Zephyr and renting a car. See attached file.

 

[Kevinx244974]

consider stopping in Salt Lake City on the California Zephyr and renting a car. See attached file.

This seem incredible! Unfortunately I don't have a driving license because I don't need a car in my french city

 

[CaptPete 43]

Perhaps you should consider getting a drivers license in the future. Although rail travel is wonderful, there are just some places that need a motor vehicle, particularly in USA, Canada, Australia, et al.

 

[jis]

This seem incredible! Unfortunately I don't have a driving license because I don't need a car in my french city

You should consider looking for motor/bus tours that operate out of SLC to the various parks possibly, though who knows what the pandemic/post-pandemic situation is at present? Or strike a deal with an adventurous Uber driver or some such. While it is definitely much easier to achieve if you have a driver's license, you don't have to have one. When I traveled across the state while I was a graduate student I did not know how to drive at all, let alone having a license. Still I managed to hit many of the parks using various means.

I learned to drive and got a license several years later just before I hit the job market after finishing my Ph. D. In the US unfortunately they run public transit, if they do so at all, in the suburbs, exurbs or rural areas mostly so that they can tick mark the line that says "public transit". Very often they are remarkably inconvenient to use.

 

[Lonnie]

Hello! I've read and read but I just cannot seem to get to the bottom of this. I snagged an Empire Builder roundtrip Family Bedroom from PDX to CHI in Aug 2022. I have time to cancel, so I reserved it with the intention of checking prices and flexing dates a tad, if I can find a better deal. The total price is approx $2200 round trip. $1100 each way for two people. I've seen so many posts that suggest **two Roomettes** across from each other are almost always less expensive. I've been on the Amtack site off- and on- for weeks, refreshing, changing travel days, etc. to see if prices change and they don't much. I have also never seen two Roomettes in a lower bucket/price versus a FB. Is that still true, you think? Two Roomettes could be less expensive or similar to a Family bedroom? I'd prefer two Roomettes due to the views and location on the train, however, two Roomettes round-trip are approx. $4000+. Perhaps this is a myth or just not occurring over the past several months. Also, does anyone know if $2200 for a FB round trip in Aug 2022 is even a good deal? I tried to find the bucket and price info. and I am not sure.

I'm not sure why you would need two roomettes unless there are two of you and one or both are disabled. My husband and I are quite comfortable in one roomette. If one of you doesn't mind climbing up to and down from the upper berth, and if you're accustomed to the overall smaller spaces that make Europe such a joy to visit, you should do fine with one roomette. Those bedrooms are expensive!