Southwest Chief

[Everydaymatters]

I have taken the SWC twice with my grandchildren. My grandson was 9 and my granddaughter was 10. Kids seem to find and gravitate toward other kids.

On the trip with the 9 year old, we were lucky to sit near 3 other boys in the same age group. They were all sharing toys and playing together. With the 10 years old, there was a younger girl nearby and both sides were interested in eachother's books and toys.

There's really no way to eat inexpensively on Amtrak, unless you take a cooler, which is a lot more stuff than I'd ever want to take with me. I agree with with those who suggested breakfast in the diner instead of the lounge.

Twelve years is a long time to be away from your family. I hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[Kaz]

I just got back from a SWC trip from Los Angeles to Chicago. There is a long layover in Alburqurue, there is a fast food place in the train station there and its reasonably priced compared to the food on the train. We brought a loaf of bread and some peanut butter and jelly for the meals and had one meal in the dinning car. It wasn't too much of a hassle for us to carry an extra bag full of snacks and food for the train ride, and it was substantially cheaper to do that than to have every meal on the train.

There were some children on the train ride going to Chicago for me. I suggest bringing a cards or something for you and your daughter to play with.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[p&sr]

They also have route guides on board.

Sometimes. You can find better ones on-line:

http://www.trainweb.com/routes/

 

[roxane1640]

Very often,the #4 train is "on time" and can be as much as 1 hour 10 mins early.

That and the 30 min stop gives you some time.

There are several places near the station as well as the station itself to grab a quick bit.

I do occasionally drive people to old town and pick them up at a pre arranged time.

However this should only be the case when the train is in before 11:30.

Just ask the guy who paid me $200 last Mon to drive him to Las Vegas Nm.

It was there he was reunited with the #4 train, all his belongings and a roomette he had paid

well for.The train waits for no one,even if your shopping and getting great deals on hats.

"Hey did anyone see where they parked the train "? I can't seem to find it.

Oh what a feeling!

 

[Hanno]

And, it has not happened to me (yet ), but I've heard of those who were seated with a neighbor from the same town they grew up in - who they didn't even know but knew their family!

I haven't done that yet, but on one trip that I took with my mom, we sat at the same table with some people who just happened to go to a particular church in Red Lion, PA. At that time, the fellow who was the minister of that church just happened to be the same person who 25 years earlier had been the youth minister at the church where I grew up at. My family has stayed in touch him over the years, so we had lots of interesting stories to swap with the people from his current church.

Alan,

Since you mentioned Red Lion, PA I found it interesting that I have a sister who lives in Red Lion, PA and she will be taking her first train trip with us in about 10 days.