The longest trip on Amtrak

[Bob Dylan]

My Longest Amtrak Trip:

When I retired in 2009, I scheduled a Bucket List Trip on Amtrak ( PAID) to tour the US with my Sig other from July-August via Sleepers,Biz Class and Coach.I used my new Chase AGR Card to Pay for the trip. ( Lots of Points!)

Texas Eagle#421 AUS-LAX Roomette

Coast Starlight#14 LAX-OKJ Roomette

Coast Starlight#14. DAV-PDX Roomette

Cascades PDX-SEA Biz

Cascades SEA-VAN,BC Superliner

Thruway VAN-SEA. Bus

EB#8 SEA-GPK. Roomette

EB#8. GPK-CHI. Bedroom

LSL#49 CHI-NYP. Roomette

ACELA NYP-WAS. FC

Crescent#19 WAS-NOL Bedroom

Sunset Ltd.#1. NOL-SAS Roomette

TexasEagle#22. SAS-AUS. Coach

We spent 2 Nights in LAX,4 in the Bay Area( Sonoma with Brother),2 in PDX,3 in SEA,2 in Vancouver,3 @ Glacier Park,3 in CHI,3 in NY,3 in WAS,3 in NOL.

Started planning next trip soon as I arrived Home!

 

[Paull65]

April 2015

NHV to WAS NE Regional

WAS to CHI Capitol Limited in Coach

CHI to Los Angeles Texas Eagle Roomette

Overnight in hotel in Los Angeles because of missed connection to Coast Starlight when Texas Eagle was about 7 hours late

Los Angeles to Portland Oregon Roomette

Portland to CHI Empire Builder Roomette

ChI to NYP Lake Shore Limited in Coach

Very late in New York so missed connection to a NE Regional so final back to NHV was Metro North from Grand Central

The trains from Los Angeles on were negotiated by me with Amtrak on cellphone while on Texas Eagle. Amtrak wanted to put me on a bus to somewhere up near San Jose to "catch up " with my missed connection. I convinced them that it would ruin my trip by missing the Pacific Ocean part of the Coast Starlight. After much discussion and getting off the phone and calling me back about 25 minutes later, I was confirmed to move the rest of my trains and booked roomettes to the following day at no extra charge even though roomettes had all gone up in price substantially from my original prices. They did not cover my hotel room in Los Angeles. But that was worth it to me to take care of that myself. The Metro Plaza was not to expensive.

This was all originally booked on a 8 trip Railpass with some roomette upgrades as mentioned above.

I still have happy memories...I love being on trains and looking out the windows at the Travel Channel live...

 

[Pooh2]

Emeryville, CA to Boston, MA

 

[Railroad Bill]

Two weeks in 2009

CLE-CHI Cap Ltd

CHI-LA Texas Eagle/Sunset

LA-Bakersfield Bus

Bakersfield to Merced 2 DAYS visiting (Yosemite Nat Park)

Merced -SAC San Joaquins Hotel in SAC, visit RR Museum State Capitol Art museums

SAC-EMY California Corridor

EMY-SFO Bus Day trip to San Francisco

EMY-SAC California Corridor

SAC-LA San Joaquins & Bus

LA- SAN Surfliner 2 Days in San Diego

SAN-LA Surfliner

LA-CHI SW Chief

CHI-CLE Cap Ltd.

Lots of miles, beautiful scenery. Love San Diego

 

[Woodcut60]

My longest trip on Amtrak, in May 2014:

New York-Chicago (Lake Shore Limited)

Chicago-Los Angeles (Southwest Chief)

Los Angeles-San Diego (Pacific Surfliner)

San Diego-Los Angeles (Pacific Surfliner)

Los Angeles-Seattle (Coast Starlight)

Seattle-Chicago (Empire Builder)

Chicago-New York (Cardinal)

8,209 miles.

 

[capltd29]

My longest Amtrak exclusive trip would be in 2007 when I went RVR (Richmond)-WAS WAS-CHI (CL), CHI-LAX (SWC), One night in LAX, LAX-SEA (CS), one night in Seattle, SEA-CHI (EB), CHI-WAS (CL), WAS-RVR.

My longest trip overall that included Amtrak was RVR-WAS-CHI-LAX with a flight from LAX to SEA, Cascades from SEA to BEL, Alaska Marine Highway BEL-Juneau, AK, Flight from Juneau to Anchorage, then a very long red eye flight that had about 45 minutes of total darkness from ANC to ORD and ORD to RIC.

The alaska marine highway was awesome and I highly recommend doing it.

 

[Chatter163]

In the 1990s, Miami to Los Angeles, on the Sunset Limited.

 

[Lonestar648]

Last summer we went SMC to SEA via LAX, then SEA to WAS via CHI, finally WAS to AUS via NYP and CHI, approx 8000 miles.

 

[ehbowen]

What is the longest trip you've taken on Amtrak? And this includes going to your destination and coming back.

Are there round trips you can take on Amtrak, staying on the train, seeing the mountains and other scenery?

September, 2016, with my parents:

Houston, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana on the Sunset Limited (day trip; Bedroom) Highlights: Crossing the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City at sunset.

Two nights in New Orleans (Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery). Highlights: Walking tour of French Quarter and the WWII Museum.

New Orleans to Chicago, Illinois on the City of New Orleans (1 night; 2 roomettes). Highlights: Passing Lake Pontchartrain and "dealing card games with the old man in the club car."

Direct connection in Chicago to Portland, Oregon on the Empire Builder (2 nights; 2 roomettes). Highlights: Upper Mississippi River and the Columbia River at dawn.

Overnight stay in Portland (Courtyard Portland City Center); half-day private tour of Portland the next morning (Evergreen Escapes). Highlights: Pittock Mansion, Rose Gardens, scenic overlook at Rocky Butte Park.

Portland to Vancouver, British Columbia on the afternoon Cascade (day trip; Business Class). Highlights: Puget Sound.

Overnight stay in Vancouver (Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel).

Bus/Ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, British Columbia. Highlights: The approach to Vancouver Island at Swartz Bay.

Three nights in Victoria (Rose Garden Suite, Fairholme Manor B&B...Extremely highly recommended!). Highlights: Deer on the grounds of Government House; tea at the Fairmont Empress; zip-lining at Sooke; Butchart Gardens.

Victoria to Seattle, Washington on the Clipper Ferry. Highlight: Meeting Every Baseball Fan on Vancouver Island; they were all taking the ferry down to Seattle for the Mariners/Blue Jays game (the ferry was completely Sold Out!).

Half-day private tour of Seattle upon arrival (Evergreen Escapes, again); overnight stay in Seattle (Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square). Highlights: Pike's Place Market; wine tasting; the original UPS headquarters location, now turned into a waterfall park.

Seattle to Sacramento, California on the Coast Starlight (1 night; roomette + H-room; AGR1 redemption). Highlights: The Cascades; Lamb Shank dinner in the Parlour Car [featuring Arrogant ******* Ale for my father!]; meeting Meat Puppet.

Direct connection from Sacramento to Galesburg, Illinois on the California Zephyr (2 nights; roomette + H-room; AGR1 redemption). Highlights...do I really need to go into detail?

Galesburg to Springfield, Illinois (Amtrak Thruway van connection; AGR1 redemption). Highlight: Lunch at the Packinghouse Dining Company across from the depot in Galesburg.

Springfield to Longview, Texas on the Texas Eagle (1 night; 2 roomettes [Transition Sleeper]; AGR1 redemption). Highlight: Crossing the Mississippi River into St. Louis.

Return from Longview to Houston, Texas (Amtrak Thruway bus connection; AGR1 redemption). Highlight: Being on time!

My personal name for this trip was, "Railfan Madness - Part II"...for obvious reasons!

 

[NETrainfan]

The Lake Shore Limited from Boston to Chicago, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to LA, the Coast Starlight from LA to Emeryville/San Fran./

The Zephyr from Emeryville to Tahoe and Denver and Chicago, the Lake Shore Limited back to Boston.

 

[benale]

Longest trip without stopping over for one night? In 2006 I took a seven day journey from Seattle to New York using The Coast Starlight Sunset Limited and The Crescent. Sleepers. I took the Surfliner to San Diego and back to kill an overnight after arriving in LA and I spent the night at the New Orleans station between the Sunset and the Crescent to avoid hotels. One of the best weeks I ever had

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[benale]

Speaking of long journeys,I will be embarking on a trip using the 15 day 8 segment US Rail Pass next month. Leaving out of Lewistown Pa,Pittsburgh to Chicago,Chicago to Malta Mt overnight,Malta to San Luis Obispo overnight,then SLO to LA on to Temple Tx on the Texas Eagle,overnight back to Chicago,then Martinsburg WV overnight,On to DC and ending up in Fort Lauderdale. To keep the segments at 8 I paid separate tickets from Lewistown to Chicago and San Luis to LA and I will be returning on the train back to Pa after my pass expires. Staying at four hotels all within walking distance of the train station and paying about $65 a night for each hotel. Now that's a long trip!

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[caravanman]

Speaking of long journeys,I will be embarking on a trip using the 15 day 8 segment US Rail Pass next month. Leaving out of Lewistown Pa,Pittsburgh to Chicago,Chicago to Malta Mt overnight,Malta to San Luis Obispo overnight,then SLO to LA on to Temple Tx on the Texas Eagle,overnight back to Chicago,then Martinsburg WV overnight,On to DC and ending up in Fort Lauderdale. To keep the segments at 8 I paid separate tickets from Lewistown to Chicago and San Luis to LA and I will be returning on the train back to Pa after my pass expires. Staying at four hotels all within walking distance of the train station and paying about $65 a night for each hotel. Now that's a long trip!

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I would be interested to know which hotels you have booked? The prices you quote of walking distance hotels certainly appeal. Just as a matter of interest, I stayed at the SLO hostel, just a few minutes from the station. Met a most interesting collection of characters there. (In a nice way!)

Ed.

 

[benale]

My first stop is Malta Mt. Name escapes me but it is a block from the station.Good reviews. In SLO I'm staying at an America's Best Value Inn about a mile from the station and in Temple Tx at a LA Quinta...about a mile. $60. I am staying with a friend in Martinsburg and my final stop is Fort Lauderdale to visit my elderly mother. Way cheaper than buying a roomette for the dates I am traveling. My original plan was to ride from Harrisburg to Ft Lauderdale and return on the Star with a sleeper sans meals.Done that many times,and the price of that trip was $433. For twenty six dollars more I bought the rail pass. I figured the price of the motels added on made this booking a no brainer.

Only thing missing is the sleeper and I did pay for the return in Coach after my pass expires,so it's definitely worth it to me. Never stayed at a hostel. I need a room to myself

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[dlagrua]

The longest Amtrak trip that we have taken was in 2014 PHL to SEA. The CDL to CHI arrived a few minutes early and the EB departed CHI on time. We arrived in SEA about 4 hours late. That trip was three days and three nights. The return trip was an experience departing SEA King St station on time and arriving in CHI 12 hours late. That was during the height of the Bakken Oil boom and Amtrak was routinely hitting a bottle neck from ND-CHI. IIRC, they had 50 oil trains a day, each one being a mile long all being dispatched on a single track + Amtrak. . Despite the lateness and unexpected overnight stay in CHI, the four day trip was a very nice one to take. If Seattle becomes our trip destination again we would hope that the route OTP is cleaned up.

 

[JayPea]

The longest Amtrak trip that we have taken was in 2014 PHL to SEA. The CDL to CHI arrived a few minutes early and the EB departed CHI on time. We arrived in SEA about 4 hours late. That trip was three days and three nights. The return trip was an experience departing SEA King St station on time and arriving in CHI 12 hours late. That was during the height of the Bakken Oil boom and Amtrak was routinely hitting a bottle neck from ND-CHI. IIRC, they had 50 oil trains a day, each one being a mile long all being dispatched on a single track + Amtrak. . Despite the lateness and unexpected overnight stay in CHI, the four day trip was a very nice one to take. If Seattle becomes our trip destination again we would hope that the route OTP is cleaned up.

For the time being the oil boom has busted. The EB is back to being on time or early. Checking the OTP for the last month for example shows the EB has been early all but twice in the past 30 days into Seattle, and one of those only 15 minutes late. Into Chicago, it's been late a small handful of times but only once by over an hour. Go right now before oil booms again!!

 

[Ziv]

Benale, the only Hotel I can think of in Malta is the Great Northern, which is, not surprisingly, a block from the Amtrak Station. Older hotel, but kind of cool with a nice cafe. But it is on the south side of the tracks so the walk is a bit longer than that if that is where you are staying.

The Royal Inn is a bit nicer/newer, and is on the north side of the tracks closer to the Amtrak station, but it is a motel, not a hotel, and it is on Hwy 2 which has a lot of traffic, by Montana standards, that is.

Friends have told me that the Stockman Steakhouse is pretty good but I have never been.

My first stop is Malta Mt. Name escapes me but it is a block from the station.Good reviews. In SLO I'm staying at an America's Best Value Inn about a mile from the station and in Temple Tx at a LA Quinta...about a mile. $60. I am staying with a friend in Martinsburg and my final stop is Fort Lauderdale to visit my elderly mother. Way cheaper than buying a roomette for the dates I am traveling. My original plan was to ride from Harrisburg to Ft Lauderdale and return on the Star with a sleeper sans meals.Done that many times,and the price of that trip was $433. For twenty six dollars more I bought the rail pass. I figured the price of the motels added on made this booking a no brainer.
Only thing missing is the sleeper and I did pay for the return in Coach after my pass expires,so it's definitely worth it to me. Never stayed at a hostel. I need a room to myself



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[dlagrua]

"For the time being the oil boom has busted. The EB is back to being on time or early. Checking the OTP for the last month for example shows the EB has been early all but twice in the past 30 days into Seattle, and one of those only 15 minutes late. Into Chicago, it's been late a small handful of times but only once by over an hour. Go right now before oil booms again!!"

That's great to hear and we certainly can't blame Amtrak for being off schedule. Will will definitely return to SEA as the EB trip is nice but we need to wait a bit. Our 2018 PHL-OMA ( CL, CZ) trip to Omaha and Sioux Falls has already been booked so maybe in 2019.. We sure wish that Sioux Falls ( SD's largest city) still had passenger rail service.. .

 

[zepherdude]

Lots of trains

NYP-EMY

LAX-SAN

SAN-NYP

NYP-WAS

WAS-CHI

PDX-SYR

SEA-LAX

LAX-EUG

I really enjoy travel by rail. Sometimes I take a book, sometimes watch the world go by, one time I counted swimming pools in back yards. Often imagine what it would be like to live in a particular place. The most fun that was memorable, was on the Cap Limited. A grandma from Chicago South Side, 2 guys heading for college in Chicago, a young lady going nowhere, a young British dude on a US tour that slept in Central Park the night before, (we gave him hell for that) and myself. We played gin most of the night and talked and laughed and laughed some more.

I would rather take the train any day than fly. Due to issues, I arrived in NYP 13 hours late at 0200 with no place to go. I found a fleabag motel for under 200 bucks. I swore off Amtrak but still came back for more. Its the love of adventure!

 

[benale]

The Royal Inn is the motel I'm staying at in Malta. I always wanted to take the EB and break it up with an overnight in Montana. Breaking it up on the regular rail fare is more expensive than going straight through With the Rail Pass it can be done

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[City of Miami]

My longest continuous trip, which I did at least twice, was San Antonio to Seattle which was 5 full days and 4 nights on the Texas Eagle, California Zephyr and Coast Starlight. And that was only 2 zones in the good ol' days.

 

[Rover]

The longest uninterrupted Amtrak trip I ever took (without an overnight stay, just connecting through) was in 1981. All Coach. Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight. MSP-SEA, SEA-LA: 3,176 miles and 70:44 hours. It wasn't a round trip. I flew to MSP from Dallas, and flew from LA back to Dallas.

A few years later, I did a round-trip DAL- ELP, and ELP-DAL with a two night stay-over in El Paso.

 

[Cal]

Longest trip I've done is the TE from Chicago to LA, and we were an hour late into L:A

 

[Bob Dylan]

Longest trip I've done is the TE from Chicago to LA, and we were an hour late into L:A

Which is good when you arrive @ O-Dark- Thirty!

 

[Sidney]

I have done many long trips. My upcoming rail pass trip augmented with a couple of sleepers and extra segments certainly qualifies. Flying to LA from BWI. Overnight before beginning my journey.

. LA to Las Vegas,NM ,LSV to Kansas City KC to Carbondale, Carbondale to New Orleans,New Orleans to BWI,driving to Buffalo,Buffalo to. Chicago,Chicago to Seattle,Seattle to Sacramento Sac to Reno,Reno to Glenwood Springs,then on to Galesburg,Galesburg to Chicago and return to Buffalo. Ten rail pass segments,six additional segments including two sleepers. August 24 to September 20.Except for the sleepers,no more than one overnight on a train.