Three Weeks. 8,000 miles on six trains. 14 hotel nights.

[TinCan782]

Not a detailed report but rather a synopsis of our recent Amtrak experience. We've been traveling Amtrak for the past 15 years or so.

My wife and I just completed (Tuesday 10/13) a three week trip to Southern Maryland to visit family. Of course trains were wrapped around the 9 days in Maryland.
We traveled on six trains from Los Angeles Union Station to Alexandria, Virginia and return; a total of more than 8,000 Amtrak miles.
All travel was in Sleeper Bedroom accommodations at a cost of a little more than 174,000 AGR points.
Routing was such to experience a new route (Cardinal) and new directions of travel on two previously traveled routes (California Zephyr and Empire Builder).

• Sep 22 #14 Coast Starlight - Los Angeles to Emeryville
• Sep 23 #06 California Zephyr - Emeryville to Chicago (first time eastbound on this route)
• Sep 26 #50 Cardinal - Chicago to Alexandria (new route)

9 days in Southern Maryland sightseeing and visiting family.

• Oct 7 #51 Cardinal - Alexandria to Chicago (new route)
• Oct 9 #07 Empire Builder - Chicago to Seattle (first time westbound on this route)
• Oct 12 #11 Coast Starlight - Seattle to Los Angeles

Overnights in Emeryville, Chicago (twice), Alexandria (twice) and Seattle

OTP was pretty darn good on all trains except for #11 on October 13. Our early arrival at LAX vanished when we struck a trespasser in Ventura, California.
Excellent service by my six SCA's and dining car staff. Friendly, positive attitude and it was a pleasure to interact with all of them.
All crew members I spoke with are appreciative of our letter writing and other efforts to restore traditional dining, retaining daily service and avoid the lay-offs and furloughs.
The "food" (limited menu) got old fast! There has already been plenty of discussion on this topic!
Equipment was clean; we felt safe and comfortable in view of the pandemic. We would not hesitate to ride again. We brought masks along with plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer. Amtrak's mask policy is enforced!

I booked this trip in May. In the weeks approaching departure we were "on the fence" whether to go or not. Both Amtrak and Hilton reservations policies were such that I could cancel 24 hours prior to departure with no penalty. Weighing the risks, we decided it was a "go" and are now glad we did. The "safest" experience was on the train and in the hotels. Stations a bit less and taxis/ride share the least.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again soon.

John

 

[Asher]

Nice concise report with lots of information. Except for the unfortunate situation in Ventura it sounds like you really had an enjoyable trip. Nice to hear! After traveling both directions on the Cardinal, did you enjoy one over the other?

 

[TinCan782]

Nice concise report with lots of information. Except for the unfortunate situation in Ventura it sounds like you really had an enjoyable trip. Nice to hear! After traveling both directions on the Cardinal, did you enjoy one over the other?

Thanks.
Eastbound on the Cardinal...primarily because it was daylight when we went through the New River Gorge. It was getting dark westbound - perhaps June-July with longer daylight hours would have made westbound better.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Not a detailed report but rather a synopsis of our recent Amtrak experience. We've been traveling Amtrak for the past 15 years or so.

My wife and I just completed (Tuesday 10/13) a three week trip to Southern Maryland to visit family. Of course trains were wrapped around the 9 days in Maryland.
We traveled on six trains from Los Angeles Union Station to Alexandria, Virginia and return; a total of more than 8,000 Amtrak miles.
All travel was in Sleeper Bedroom accommodations at a cost of a little more than 174,000 AGR points.
Routing was such to experience a new route (Cardinal) and new directions of travel on two previously traveled routes (California Zephyr and Empire Builder).

• Sep 22 #14 Coast Starlight - Los Angeles to Emeryville
• Sep 23 #06 California Zephyr - Emeryville to Chicago (first time eastbound on this route)
• Sep 26 #50 Cardinal - Chicago to Alexandria (new route)

9 days in Southern Maryland sightseeing and visiting family.

• Oct 7 #51 Cardinal - Alexandria to Chicago (new route)
• Oct 9 #07 Empire Builder - Chicago to Seattle (first time westbound on this route)
• Oct 12 #11 Coast Starlight - Seattle to Los Angeles

Overnights in Emeryville, Chicago (twice), Alexandria (twice) and Seattle

OTP was pretty darn good on all trains except for #11 on October 13. Our early arrival at LAX vanished when we struck a trespasser in Ventura, California.
Excellent service by my six SCA's and dining car staff. Friendly, positive attitude and it was a pleasure to interact with all of them.
All crew members I spoke with are appreciative of our letter writing and other efforts to restore traditional dining, retaining daily service and avoid the lay-offs and furloughs.
The "food" (limited menu) got old fast! There has already been plenty of discussion on this topic!
Equipment was clean; we felt safe and comfortable in view of the pandemic. We would not hesitate to ride again. We brought masks along with plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer. Amtrak's mask policy is enforced!

I booked this trip in May. In the weeks approaching departure we were "on the fence" whether to go or not. Both Amtrak and Hilton reservations policies were such that I could cancel 24 hours prior to departure with no penalty. Weighing the risks, we decided it was a "go" and are now glad we did. The "safest" experience was on the train and in the hotels. Stations a bit less and taxis/ride share the least.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again soon.

John

View attachment 19317

Nice trip, thanks for sharing!
I hope to do similar in 2021 when "Life as we knew it" returns!

 

[daybeers]

This is so awesome! I'm inspired! I was planning a 30-day trip using up every segment and day of the 30-day railpass that was cancelled 2018, 2019, & 2020 but with being stuck in COVID, this makes me want to change it to a 45-day trip and see even more of the country for hopefully 2021, that is, if I can save enough. May not travel until there is a vaccine, so may be looking more like 2022, we shall see. Don't have nearly as many points, but probably enough to pay for at least one roomette. I don't mind roughing it in coach, I'm young

 

[user 6862]

Not a detailed report but rather a synopsis of our recent Amtrak experience. We've been traveling Amtrak for the past 15 years or so.

My wife and I just completed (Tuesday 10/13) a three week trip to Southern Maryland to visit family. Of course trains were wrapped around the 9 days in Maryland.
We traveled on six trains from Los Angeles Union Station to Alexandria, Virginia and return; a total of more than 8,000 Amtrak miles.
All travel was in Sleeper Bedroom accommodations at a cost of a little more than 174,000 AGR points.
Routing was such to experience a new route (Cardinal) and new directions of travel on two previously traveled routes (California Zephyr and Empire Builder).

• Sep 22 #14 Coast Starlight - Los Angeles to Emeryville
• Sep 23 #06 California Zephyr - Emeryville to Chicago (first time eastbound on this route)
• Sep 26 #50 Cardinal - Chicago to Alexandria (new route)

9 days in Southern Maryland sightseeing and visiting family.

• Oct 7 #51 Cardinal - Alexandria to Chicago (new route)
• Oct 9 #07 Empire Builder - Chicago to Seattle (first time westbound on this route)
• Oct 12 #11 Coast Starlight - Seattle to Los Angeles

Overnights in Emeryville, Chicago (twice), Alexandria (twice) and Seattle

OTP was pretty darn good on all trains except for #11 on October 13. Our early arrival at LAX vanished when we struck a trespasser in Ventura, California.
Excellent service by my six SCA's and dining car staff. Friendly, positive attitude and it was a pleasure to interact with all of them.
All crew members I spoke with are appreciative of our letter writing and other efforts to restore traditional dining, retaining daily service and avoid the lay-offs and furloughs.
The "food" (limited menu) got old fast! There has already been plenty of discussion on this topic!
Equipment was clean; we felt safe and comfortable in view of the pandemic. We would not hesitate to ride again. We brought masks along with plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer. Amtrak's mask policy is enforced!

I booked this trip in May. In the weeks approaching departure we were "on the fence" whether to go or not. Both Amtrak and Hilton reservations policies were such that I could cancel 24 hours prior to departure with no penalty. Weighing the risks, we decided it was a "go" and are now glad we did. The "safest" experience was on the train and in the hotels. Stations a bit less and taxis/ride share the least.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it again soon.

John

View attachment 19317

Thank you John, enjoyed your report too in particular the detail.

May I ask how you inscribed your route in orange onto the Amtrak system map?

 

[Sauve850]

Good report. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TinCan782]

Thank you John, enjoyed your report too in particular the detail.

May I ask how you inscribed your route in orange onto the Amtrak system map?

Brush Tool in Adobe Photoshop....looks like a "highlighter" The map is a jpg image of the map on Amtrak's website.

 

[Eric in East County]

John,

Thank you so much for this very informative and positive trip summary. At a time when the doomsayers are issuing dire warnings about riding on Amtrak, it is heartening to hear that, with proper precautions, it is possible to travel 8,000 Amtrak miles and not suffer any serious consequences. We’re planning on taking Amtrak from San Diego to Toledo and back next summer and your trip summary went a long way towards easing any concerns we might have had. Thank you again.

Eric & Pat

 

[TinCan782]

John,

Thank you so much for this very informative and positive trip summary. At a time when the doomsayers are issuing dire warnings about riding on Amtrak, it is heartening to hear that, with proper precautions, it is possible to travel 8,000 Amtrak miles and not suffer any serious consequences. We’re planning on taking Amtrak from San Diego to Toledo and back next summer and your trip summary went a long way towards easing any concerns we might have had. Thank you again.

Eric & Pat

We were 50/50 the weeks going into it, closely monitoring conditions. If conditions were such as they are now (December), we likely would not have taken the trip. Looking back, it appears we lucked-out and did this at a relatively good (safe) time.
Be prepared to be safe!
Enjoy your trip next summer.

 

[TinCan782]

I'll add at this point. We had this "lunch" bag with us, EASILY ACCESSIBLE in my backpack. It was the FIRST thing out in our sleeper bedrooms and hotel rooms.
It contained hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, plenty of masks, paper napkins, a few rubber gloves and a UV sanitizer (didn't use!).
This was in addition to the little hand sanitizer in my pocket or hanging on my backpack.
Worked out good.

 

[bms]

Sounds like a glorious trip! I've only been on the Cardinal from Philadelphia to Charleston, one of my bucket list items is to see the whole trip westbound and east.

 

[TinCan782]

Sounds like a glorious trip! I've only been on the Cardinal from Philadelphia to Charleston, one of my bucket list items is to see the whole trip westbound and east.

Eastbound, second day morning through the New River Gorge is pretty nice.

 

[Eric in East County]

I'll add at this point. We had this "lunch" bag with us, EASILY ACCESSIBLE in my backpack. It was the FIRST thing out in our sleeper bedrooms and hotel rooms.
It contained hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, plenty of masks, paper napkins, a few rubber gloves and a UV sanitizer (didn't use!).
This was in addition to the little hand sanitizer in my pocket or hanging on my backpack.
Worked out good.
View attachment 19781

 

[Eric in East County]

This "lunch" bag should be carried by anyone traveling during the flu season as well.

Eric & Pat

 

[Old MM]

Just now seeing this report. Forget football, this is what I need to hear!