The most scenic direction of each LD train

[dogbert617]

CL eastbound south of Pittsburgh through the mountains and along the river.

LSL either direction

Can't talk about the Capitol Limited since I hadn't ridden that route yet sadly(want to someday), but really either direction on the Lake Shore Limited? No way I'd say that, since to me it's definitely better going eastbound. You get daylight from Erie, PA to the end of either Boston/New York. Westbound when I rode it in March 2013, I didn't see any sunlight till around Waterloo, IN. Also in New York state, it got dark after Schnectady(sp?), NY. Never mind I bet you'd potentially get sunlight around Toledo or just west of there(and definitely before Bryan, OH), if you rode it between May-July. It was of course dark going through Bryan, when I rode the LSL in March 2013.

 

[dogbert617]

I like the EB westbound for the Cascade crossing, and the CS southbound for views of Mount Rainier (as well as some coastal sections,at least for now--there is a track realignment under construction that will eliminate a very scenic stretch).

Which Silver is better for scenery? The morning Cascades between Seattle and Vancouver traverse the scenic coastal base of Chuckanut Mountain in the daylight even in the wintertime. One of the world's greatest views is of Orcas Island from a train!

May I ask which part of the Coast Starlight specifically is poised to be eliminated, due to a proposed track realignment? I really fear I'll never get to ride the Coast Starlight, before that realignment occurs. And ETA, is it this Port Defiance segment of the CS route through Tacoma per the Washington state DOT website? Which is at: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/rail/pnwrc_ptdefiance/

I'd really love to do a Southwest Chief westbound/Coast Starlight northbound/Empire Builder eastbound trip as I live in Chicago, but I bet the cost of that would probably be expensive. Would be great to do such a trip in its entirety(and f it if it's so expensive, whole cost might be worth it), since I have a relative out in the LA area. And as I've always wanted to ride on both the Empire Builder(had only ridden that route via the Hiawatha to Milwaukee) and the Coast Starlight!

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Yes, it's the point defiance bypass. Less or no views of Puget sound. Don't worry though, you'll still see a bunch of coastline from Oxnard to San Luis Obispo.

 

[trainfanmom]

I like the EB westbound for the Cascade crossing, and the CS southbound for views of Mount Rainier (as well as some coastal sections,at least for now--there is a track realignment under construction that will eliminate a very scenic stretch).

Which Silver is better for scenery? The morning Cascades between Seattle and Vancouver traverse the scenic coastal base of Chuckanut Mountain in the daylight even in the wintertime. One of the world's greatest views is of Orcas Island from a train!

May I ask which part of the Coast Starlight specifically is poised to be eliminated, due to a proposed track realignment? I really fear I'll never get to ride the Coast Starlight, before that realignment occurs. And ETA, is it this Port Defiance segment of the CS route through Tacoma per the Washington state DOT website? Which is at: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/rail/pnwrc_ptdefiance/

I'd really love to do a Southwest Chief westbound/Coast Starlight northbound/Empire Builder eastbound trip as I live in Chicago, but I bet the cost of that would probably be expensive. Would be great to do such a trip in its entirety(and f it if it's so expensive, whole cost might be worth it), since I have a relative out in the LA area. And as I've always wanted to ride on both the Empire Builder(had only ridden that route via the Hiawatha to Milwaukee) and the Coast Starlight!

My son and I are doing that trip next spring (although we are originating and ending in Los Angeles). We have done CS once from Seattle to LA and multiple times between LA and San Jose. But it will be our first time on the EB and SWC. We booked a little after the window opened so we had to play around with which rooms to book on EB (the other two seemed to be at the lowest bucket still). It will be the train trip of a lifetime for us, for sure