Train newbie

[berries]

Hello all! I have never ridden on Amtrak before. I'm a homeschooling mom of 4 looking for an adventure and thought it might be neat to take a trip across country by train. My kids are 17, 15, 10, and 8. 2 boys and 2 girls. We live in Arkansas and are looking initially at traveling west to California. I thought we would go from here to either San Antonio and then on to LAX or go north to St Louis and then west. I know we'll need sleepers but I'm not sure how best to accommodate 5 of us. 2 bedrooms and a roomette maybe?

As far as timing is concerned, we are very flexible. I know to get sleeping accommodations we'll need to book as far in advance as possible. We can easily break the trip up into segments and spend a few days in different cities along the way. Any suggestions for good stopping points?

Is this just a crazy idea?

 

[Shanghai]

Welcome to Amtrak Unlimited. You will likely learn a great deal about train travel reading the posts here.

You do not have a crazy idea. I think it is outstanding that you want your children to experience train travel and also see more of

our beautiful country. I think this trip will be a memorable experience for you and for your children. Good Luck!!

 

[icbrkr]

Definitely not a crazy idea.

I'm not sure where you are in Arkansas, but if you're on the west end (where I'm at), you have the choice of driving to Kansas City (KCY) also and picking up the Southwestern Chief. I usually head up that way instead of bothering with Little Rock since the train leaves out of there so late/early. Texarkana works out better for the Texas Eagle line.

If you're on the east side, you can also pick up the City of New Orleans in Memphis too so there's lots of choices in this state.

 

[RTOlson]

If you've got six people traveling (including two younger kids), perhaps a family bedroom and a roomette might fit the bill? The family bedroom sleeps two adults and two children while the roomette can handle two.

That said, the youth bunks in the family room can be fairly short (4.75 feet long on the lower bunk and ~4.5 feet on the upper bunk).

I applaud you for looking ahead, sleeper accommodations seem to get pricey the closer departure date gets.

The train can be a fun experience and I wish you luck.

 

[pebbleworm]

Depending on how big you and the kids are, maybe a family bedroom and a roomette would work.

 

[berries]

Depending on how big you and the kids are, maybe a family bedroom and a roomette would work.

We're pretty small people, I'm 5'0" and 105 lbs. My 2 oldest are taller than me but not by much. They are all skinny.

I live in Little Rock so being in the center of the state does leave a lot of possibilities. I think the 11:30 PM departure to St Louis will work better for us than than the 3:00 AM to Texas (yikes!).

It will mostly be the 5 of us. My husband wants to go too but somebody has to go to work, LOL! We did think about him going part of the way though and just flying back home when he needed to. He's not a big guy either.

 

[abcnews]

Welcome to our forum... I think you will find this group to be very helpful, with all kinds of information and a real willingness to help.

BTW - we too, are a homeschooling family (5 kids), but now three are grown - and living away from home. Hey - they turned out OK too (so far).

But trains have always been a natural fit for us. It is actually a nice way to spend time together as a family. The kids have always enjoyed playing cards and board games in the club car. And I enjoy gazing out the window at the ever changing landscape - until they shout "Dad - it's your turn".

We discovered the value of Amtrak Guest Rewards - you may want to look into that (earn free travel). In fact, my oldest son and I are leaving this week on a cross country rail journey, just the two of us, and we are using free tickets for Roomettes - and even a bedroom award for part of the trip. Going from Virginia to California and back. He is a avid reader, and he is bringing a nice stack of books. I'll pick through the collection and find a book for me - most likely a Stephen Ambrose book.

 

[berries]

Welcome to our forum... I think you will find this group to be very helpful with all kinds of information and real willingness to help.

BTW - we too are a homeschooling family (5 kids), but now three are grown and away from home. Hey - they turned out OK too (so far).

But trains have always been a natural fit for us. It is actually is a great way to spend time together as a family. The kids have always enjoyed playing cards and board games in the club car. I enjoy gazing out the window at the ever changing landscape. Until they shout "Dad - it's your turn".

We have discovered the value of Amtrak Guest Rewards - you may want to look into that. In fact, my oldest son and I are leaving this week on a cross country rail trip, just the two of us, and we are using free tickets for Roomettes - and even a bedroom award for part of the trip. Going from Virginia to California and back. We are big readers and bringing a nice stack of books.

Yes, I do need to sign us up for the rewards program. We are members of AAA too so I need to look into that discount. I thought about the rail passes too but I've not read up completely on how they work so I'm not sure if it's a good fit or not.

I appreciate all the help so far! This will be so much fun!

 

[AlanB]

One AAA card will get 10% off the rail fare for everyone in the family, just enter the same number for each person.

Note that the AAA discount does not discount the prices of the rooms, only the rail fares.

 

[The Chief]

Gotta admire berries for two reasons: Taking her kids on a train trip; and a woman who posts her weight on the internet,,,

berries, you're making a swell decision by taking your kids on a Sleeper trip; they will remember it all their lives. You could even take Texas Eagle to Chicago, then connect to Southwest Chief to LA, or California Zephyr to Emeryville/San Francisco.

If there is concern over connection window, you could overnight in Chicago and take in the Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium, Willis (nee Sears) Tower.

I've taken my daughters to all of those on connection days through Chicago. Kids learn a ton through traveling.

 

[George Harris]

I would be inclined to go with going north to St. Louis and then west on the cross Missouri train and then pick up the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. You could then return by was of teh Sunset Limited - Texas Eagle. Check to see if these westbound connections work. I think they do. A coule of thoughts:

A couple of thoughts: I have read several on here saying that the track across Kansas and eastern Colorado is pretty rought, so the second night might be interesting. If anybody has a tendency towaard motion sickness, this would be the place to be prepared for it. After passing Albuquerque, the track is supposed to be much smootehr and there are many miles of 90 mph running across new Mexico and Arizona. Also lots of freight trains on this section. Have not heard anybody say, but between Poplar Bluff and St. Louis the track is fairly crooked and hilly and the freights go another way, so this section may also be somewhat less than stellar in ride quality.

Going across Missouri westbound, you can take either of the two trains, depending upon whether you want to spend a chunk of a day in St. Louis or the evening in Kansas City. If you do the route in revers, you must take the mornign train out of Kansas City in order to make the Eagle back to Little Rock

What are your California plans?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I know we'll need sleepers but I'm not sure how best to accommodate 5 of us. 2 bedrooms and a roomette maybe?

When I was a kid I did better in a coach seat than I do in a sleeper now as an adult! I'm not sure if the world is getting rougher or I'm getting softer. :lol:

 

[Zevzec]

You can book a family bedroom and then one of the roomettes adjacent to it. You will need to do this by phone, though; you can't do it on the website.

 

[Dan O]

Sounds like fun. We homeschool too but I only took the two oldest ones to Chicago from LA a couple yrs ago. They enjoyed it. Will take my 12 yo in a few years when my wife can stand to be away from him for a week.

Enjoy!

Dan

 

[The Davy Crockett]

thought it might be neat to take a trip across country by train. Is this just a crazy idea?

I wish my parents had done this! Sounds like crazy fun, but you do realize yor asking a bunch a crazed railfans if this is a crazy idea...