Who travels with what

[blackpup]

I wouldn't take the train between MSP and CHI either. The EB is unreliable, and the schedule might not work with her work schedule; there's a chance she'd have to take vacation days to make that schedule work. Also, that's more time away from home.

If I had to take 10-15 business trips per year, there is no way I'd use vacation time and spend more time away from home than I had to. There were many times my trip ended early and I'd try like crazy to get an earlier plane home so I could get back to my bed, boyfriend, and pets.

Speaking from experience, business trips and vacations are two wildly different things.

I wouldn't take the train between MSP and CHI either. The EB is unreliable, and the schedule might not work with her work schedule; there's a chance she'd have to take vacation days to make that schedule work. Also, that's more time away from home.

If I had to take 10-15 business trips per year, there is no way I'd use vacation time and spend more time away from home than I had to. There were many times my trip ended early and I'd try like crazy to get an earlier plane home so I could get back to my bed, boyfriend, and pets.

Speaking from experience, business trips and vacations are two wildly different things.

I take the EB from WDL to CHI, no choice only train there is, and I am not driving in Chicago.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Nothing worse than digging trying to find socks and underwater, I put them in a separate plastic grocery bag in the suit case. A backpack with 3/4 compartments holds electronics snacks, beverage's, Change of underwater and toiletries.

Nothing worse than running out of clean underwater in the middle of a trip.

 

[SarahZ]

I wouldn't take the train between MSP and CHI either. The EB is unreliable, and the schedule might not work with her work schedule; there's a chance she'd have to take vacation days to make that schedule work. Also, that's more time away from home.

If I had to take 10-15 business trips per year, there is no way I'd use vacation time and spend more time away from home than I had to. There were many times my trip ended early and I'd try like crazy to get an earlier plane home so I could get back to my bed, boyfriend, and pets.

Speaking from experience, business trips and vacations are two wildly different things.

I take the EB from WDL to CHI, no choice only train there is, and I am not driving in Chicago.

I'm referring to business trips.

 

[lthanlon]

I bring:

• Brenthaven Collins courier bag for iPad Pro and/or King Jim Pomera DM100, travel documents, iPhone, charger, earbuds, pens and two small notebooks.
• CPAP bag.
• Medium-size duffel bag for extra pair of jeans, shirts, underwear, socks and toiletries. This bag sits comfortably on that carpeted "stairstep" in a Superliner roomette. If required, both the courier and CPAP bags can fit inside the duffel.

Tip: I often bring underwear that's near the end of its life and dispose of it during my trip.

Leigh

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Who I am talking about takes a curling Iron camping, or three MASSIVE bags for a two day buisness trip MSP-CHI by stupid plane

What business of yours is it to judge what other people travel with? You take what you feel you need. They take what they feel they need.

Same with the "stupid plane" comment. Who exactly do you think you are judging what travel mode people use? Maybe they prefer a plane. Maybe the plane works better for their schedule?

It's a good thing my 13 year old doesn't have your attitude, he'd find his computer privileges revoked pretty quickly.

I didn't quite join this site at 13 I think I was 16 and it's now been 8 years. I used to think flying was stupid...now I have flown over 300k miles since 1/1/15 and 135k since 1/1/16 I'm sure he'll come around. Assuming there is anything left of frequent flyer miles in 8 years I think that suddenly closing the door to your suite on airlines like Eithad or Korean Air you'll start to realize wow 15 hours in my isolated pod from New York to Korea allows you to see way more of the world then I could imagine. Heck even Jetblue Mint at $599 or now $399 out of Florida in a single seat with the sliding door I think is the best way across the country. Yes train rides are part of the journey and recently I took a few days to burn out my AGR points and spend a few days doing nothing but riding trains. I think you have to cut this user some slack. I was young and filled with wonder and thought that flying was stupid. Now about 70 countries deep into the world you start to realize hey there are trains worth riding everywhere. So what you have to fly to reach them. I wouldn't trade my experiences on the Shanghai Maglev, a 600 mile journey across Indonesia, a leisurely afternoon aboard a local train around Sicily, or a subway ride deep under Pyongyang just because I realized hey I have to fly there. This site allowed me to discover not only how much I really love traveling on rails in a wide variety of vehicles, but how much I enjoy simply being out there. No matter where that may or not be. Stick around Henry this site can open your eyes to a lot of things. When I was 18 I was convinced the greatest thing I could do is become a railroad engineer a goal which I ended up achieving in a small way. After finishing college I looked back and realized that grinding over the same district day in and day out would be to limiting for me. Where my career path has gone since then has been almost a series of random accidents, and now I have job that requires me to be on the road about once a month, and with an "unlimited vacation" policy leaves me the income and the freedom to do things I only dreamed about from reading things on sites like these. This weekend I'm flying to LA to meet up with a bunch of train enthusiasts from this site and others the stupid airplane allows me the flexibility to go from a great time with some good friends on the rails out in California to putting me at my desk on Monday morning after a quick eastbound red eye. So I would say to Henry slow down take a broader look at things, and stick around here it can really change your life I am a living example of that.

Now as for the actual topic at hand. It really depends on the trip. I always pack with my least restrictive mode of travel in mind. So while I can check bags for free on all three alliances thanks to my statuses across various programs I haven't checked a bag in a while. Again I'd be care to judge why people are toting along so much luggage. My last checked bag was filled with vitamins for orphans in Southeast Asia. Sure I might have looked like I had way to much stuff with me at the check in desk in New York, but I wasn't carrying all that stuff for me. It really depends on the trip I am on. Flying around Europe or Asia on Ultra Low Cost Carriers or even on legacy airlines with ridiculous carry on restrictions (I'm looking at you Qatar and Cathay Pacific) then it's simple. I can take two bags they must be this size and weigh less then X. Then I pack backwards from there. If it weighs to much then I make decisions from there. If there is no weight restrictions and the trip is about 5 days then I have my go to bag and Ebags Weekender Convertible Jr its sized perfectly to fit into even the stingiest of baggage sizers. I usually keep it in backpack mode, so I can coast through airports and subway stations while leaving both my hands free. Anything longer then that and it's a 20 inch roll aboard again to keep it aligned not only with US carry on policies, but the polices around the world. I top that off with a laptop backpack with the rest of the assorted things that tend to make the cut.

My upcoming trip to Longyearbyen will mostly likely test my current no checked bag resolve. As I plan to venture up to Ny-Alesund which is just about as far north as a civilian can wander on their own. That trip is going to require some bulky cold weather gear that I am not accustomed to traveling with. I am still wondering how I will pack for that trip considering the logistics and the climate.

Now in terms of pipe dreams I think the worst carry on policy is with WOW air. They only allow a 10 pound personal item free of charge. Everything else will cost you extra. For me pulling that trip off would be more for the fun of "winning" and now that they are starting to fly out of my home airport it would be fun to try and really make it to Iceland with nothing but 10lbs of gear and what fits in my pockets. Although that is the outlier case. My pack backwards from there would have me removing pretty much all of "always keep it in the bag" items.

Having exactly what YOU need without taking to much extra is really an art and you kind find entire forums dedicated to nothing but suitcases and bags along with the best ways to pack them.

Anyway really went off the rails here with this post. Sorry

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I used to think flying was stupid.

Any particular reason why?

My first flight occurred before I was old enough to have much of an opinion about flying. Back then flight attendants were young and friendly and would dote on little kids like you'd never believe today. I enjoyed the attention and the toys and knickknacks they gave me. It didn't matter if I was flying alone or with family, they always took good care of me and they made the whole experience seem like a real treat. That made it really easy to enjoy as a child. Over the years flying became more common and it felt less like a treat and more like a slog. By the time I became an adult boarding an aircraft felt no different than getting on a bus or into a car. I can certainly understand being against government funding of commercial aircraft operations as a matter of ideology, or being concerned over the environmental costs as a matter of morality, or having some sort of emotional fear that makes flying difficult. But to see flying as something fundamentally stupid is a view I've only ever witnessed on AU.

 

[BCL]

My first flight occurred before I was old enough to have much of an opinion about flying. Back then flight attendants were young and friendly and would dote on little kids like you'd never believe today. I enjoyed the attention and the toys and knickknacks they gave me. It didn't matter if I was flying alone or with family, they always took good care of me and they made the whole experience seem like a real treat. That made it really easy to enjoy as a child. Over the years flying became more common and it felt less like a treat and more like a slog. By the time I became an adult boarding an aircraft felt no different than getting on a bus or into a car. I can certainly understand being against government funding of commercial aircraft operations as a matter of ideology, or being concerned over the environmental costs as a matter of morality, or having some sort of emotional fear that makes flying difficult. But to see flying as something fundamentally stupid is a view I've only ever witnessed on AU.

I've joked on AU about the "F word", as a euphemism for flying. I guess to some it's an us vs them ideology, as if every passenger on a plane is one who could have taken a train and added to the critical mass needed to justify/improve rail service.

For me it's complementary (there's that word again) to air travel. We have heavy passenger rail around here that conveniently connects to airports. On my trip to NYC, we took trains to get from the airport to Manhattan, and then from Manhattan to visit someone near Philly.

My first flight was as an infant, so I have no opinion on the good 'ol days. However, I have a relative who was a travel agent and tour leader. Although I only had infrequent air travel until I was an adult, I learned a lot about air travel. I don't know if I'd consider it a real treat when I was feeling sick from all the smoke circulating through the coach section of the plane for 12 hours on a transoceanic flight.

Now in recent times when we've taken our kid on a plane, they have gone so far as to give those cheesy plastic pilot's wings. That always made my kid happy.

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

I think right now that flying is a very bad way to go, for a bunch of reasons.

1. I am tall (personal preference), which makes me hit my head every time I want to stand up.

2. The bathrooms are tiny, I can't crap without kissing the ceiling, wiping the sink, and catching my pants on the lock, which opens the door.

3. It is very loud, I usually travel on smaller aircraft, for shorter commuter flights, some recent flights all in CRJ900/CRJ700 from Winnipeg to MSP, CHI-SAS, MSP-CLE-MSP, and several flights from MSP-CHI on Boeing 737's, which all the coach seats are next to the engines, which make it so you need to yell to hear, a guy in the seat next to me asked me if I wanted some of his newspaper, and I had to yell YES PLEASE!

4. Airplanes are fuel inefficient compared to trains, but cars are my main competitor, which I am trying to educate HSR is better than both of these options.

5. They are extremely cramped, I have accidentally stepped on people, elbowed people, and knee'ed(?) people when trying to get to the tiny bathroom, which is occupied, and the aisle can't let two people pass eachother without physical contact.

6. Expensive, plane tickets for short to medium distances are usually a lot more expensive than train tickets.

7. You don't see anything, only for a short while, on commercial jets and most turbo-props/piston planes, you only see the ground during take off and landing, (I like light aircraft, just not commercial planes).

8. The food, the food is pretty terrible, I have had transatlantic flight food, and it is terrible, Amtrak dining car food (if there is any), and some of the café car food, (some is bad, some is good), is a HUGE improvement over plane food.

9. Security, with a train, you simply walk on board, but on a plane, you need to take your laptop out of your bag, take off your shoes (stink?), no knives, no fluids over 3 OZ, etc.etc.

10. Baggage fees, I know there are free checked bags for frequent flyers, but $25 for a bag MSP-CHI? I checked my oversized and heavy bag on VIA Rail, FOR FRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VAC-Winnipeg on the Canadian

I know there are many advantages to planes, like flying over water, and high cruising speed, once you get to the airport, get through security, wait for your plane, board, taxi to the runway, and take off. I now many people disagree, but here are some reasons why I hate flying.

 

[BCL]

I think right now that flying is a very bad way to go, for a bunch of reasons.

1. I am tall (personal preference), which makes me hit my head every time I want to stand up.

9. Security, with a train, you simply walk on board, but on a plane, you need to take your laptop out of your bag, take off your shoes (stink?), no knives, no fluids over 3 OZ, etc.etc.

The person next to me asked if I could get up to let her out. Being the gentleman that I am, I did it immediately and hit my head below the luggage rack. As for security, once you're on the train there is the possibility of having your luggage searched at the discretion of Amtrak personnel. There have been unscheduled stops where police have boarded and passengers and/or their luggage were searched for drugs. The Border Patrol has stopped Amtrak trains. I've also seen Amtrak Police come through a car with dogs.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/amtrak-reader-letters/393710/

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I would agree on the ten statements on why take the train rather than fly. Especially for the security part. On New Year's I almost missed my flight from O'Hare to Portland(OR) Airport via Denver due to long security line. For this reason, I am taking the train to Chicago (no long security line like airports, no liquid restrictions other than alcohol, free baggage (two smaller carry-ons, two larger carry-ons, and two checked baggage when and where applicable for free) and only 20 bucks apiece for exceeding quantity limits, quality of food (not the best there is but still better than airline food).

I occasionally make transpacific flights to Korea and back, and although I can check up to two pieces for free and get free airline food, it does not match up to train travel within the continental US.

 

[Long Train Runnin']

I used to think flying was stupid.

Any particular reason why?

My first flight occurred before I was old enough to have much of an opinion about flying. Back then flight attendants were young and friendly and would dote on little kids like you'd never believe today. I enjoyed the attention and the toys and knickknacks they gave me. It didn't matter if I was flying alone or with family, they always took good care of me and they made the whole experience seem like a real treat. That made it really easy to enjoy as a child. Over the years flying became more common and it felt less like a treat and more like a slog. By the time I became an adult boarding an aircraft felt no different than getting on a bus or into a car. I can certainly understand being against government funding of commercial aircraft operations as a matter of ideology, or being concerned over the environmental costs as a matter of morality, or having some sort of emotional fear that makes flying difficult. But to see flying as something fundamentally stupid is a view I've only ever witnessed on AU.

Well I mean at this point I still dread flying domestically. Even with a ~90% upgrade success rate on American Airlines for domestic upgrades the whole experience is so sub-par. I genuinely mean it when I say I would rather fly coach on an airline like Japan Airlines over some business class experiences on American Airlines. Of course they currently have like 7 different business class seats right now, so you have to be vigilant on what exactly you are flying. The 2-3-2 angled flat biz on the 777-200 is almost like some carriers premium economy offerings. At this point if I am flying over the water I am doing on a carrier flagged outside of the United States. Even the rather unpopular British Airways with there 8 across Club World cabin on the 777/747 puts on a better showing. Of course if you are flying the 747 grabbing a seat upstairs is quite a nice experience. Of course the European short haul flights are a different animal entirely. With all the competition from the ULCCs and of course in some markets the railroads the airlines are left with tough choices. That being said even on BA, LX and LH short haul flights children are still greeted with a smile at the door and given an activities pack. On BA this actually a cool little reusable draw string bag. Even on flights that are around one hour on the ground they serve something to eat. I remember being very impressed on an ATR-72 with Lao Airlines buzzing from Luang Prabang to Hanoi on what I think was a flight time a shade over 60 minutes and they served a full albeit cold meal and offered complimentary beers and wine

These days I actually enjoy flying, at this point I might even be a tad obsessed with it. I was talking more about how I felt when I was 15 or so before I really started to understand how to use the then much more generous frequent flyer programs to my advantage. I really enjoy flying new airlines now. Even though yes it all ends up just being a seat in a metal tube the more that I fly the more small details I pick up on. There are still some absolutely wonderful airlines out there that I've been lucky enough to fly not only in economy but fly some of their premium cabins as well.

I think that AUs fundamental comparison that flying is bad, and I love traveling by sleeper is a very flawed comparison. I know most here try to avoid traveling coach for days at a time while on Amtrak. While they tend to compare the train in a sleeper to flying in economy. To make it more apples to apples I think there needs to be a fair comparison. Yes flying on a CRJ-200 is not that pleasant, but you're only on board for at best a couple of hours. A fair comparison to that I would say is the Long Island Railroad. I don't think anyone here would enjoy Amtrak if it was simply Long Island Railroad cars being pulled across the country from New York to Seattle. Now yes a 737 vs Amfleet 1 or an Amtrak California car is a tougher sell. That's why in places like the NEC and certain city pairs in California you now see the train having the advantage. Sadly, no one seems interested in keeping up the infrastructure funding to create newer markets where rail can stand up and compete head to head with some flights. Now to round out the comparison I am not sure what is the best way to go about doing that. Comparing long distance trains with with something like a Cathay Pacificc 777-300ER with a Eastern long distance train I might loose some of you. Although from an absolute time stand point flights like JFK-HKG or even DFW-SYD on a Qantas A380 you really do spend as much time on the plane as you do on a train like the LSL. Although those aircraft are configured for true point to point intercontinental travel. So I think that a fair comparison could be the expansion of Jetblue Mint service. I think that even the most harden rail fan would struggle to say oh well yeah no thank you. Just as traveling solo in a roomette is a very pleasant way to spend a couple days getting across the country. The solo seats in the mint cabin can make the 6 hour westbound journey quite enjoyable. You can literally interact with no one if you want to as you cruise across the country. As they keep expanding the service to new markets like Boston and Southern Florida I think that Jetblue may be able to do what Virgin America started in terms of spurring on change across the US Big 3.

TL;DR Comparing traveling by Amtrak Sleeper to flying coach on an airliner isn't a fair way to look at things.

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

I kniw some airline travel is actually pretty good, but I would prefer to go by train where possible, that could change, as I don't work, am on summer break, have a lot if free time, probably don't have to pay, but NYP-LAX would be like this:

Adirondack NYP-MTR (with dome)

Corridor service: MTR-TWO

Canadian TWO-VAC (prestige)

Cascades VAC-SEA

CS SEA-LAX

or a plane LGA/JFK-SEA

plane SEA-LAX

I like train travel better because yiu get to see the world, where from planes of old, you could, but now fly much too high to see stuff like the rockies, or the plains, or Raton Pass, or the skyline of NYC(never mind NYC, you land near it)

 

[jis]

Tell me about it when you can see the Arctic Sea or the Hindu Kush Mountains from a train .

 

[JayPea]

Tell me about it when you can see the Arctic Sea or the Hindu Kush Mountains from a train .

That or Denali up close and personal.

 

[saxman]

I kniw some airline travel is actually pretty good, but I would prefer to go by train where possible, that could change, as I don't work, am on summer break, have a lot if free time, probably don't have to pay, but NYP-LAX would be like this:

Adirondack NYP-MTR (with dome)

Corridor service: MTR-TWO

Canadian TWO-VAC (prestige)

Cascades VAC-SEA

CS SEA-LAX

or a plane LGA/JFK-SEA

plane SEA-LAX

I like train travel better because yiu get to see the world, where from planes of old, you could, but now fly much too high to see stuff like the rockies, or the plains, or Raton Pass, or the skyline of NYC(never mind NYC, you land near it)

I've seen all of those from the air. Raton Pass from 32,000? Yup! Trains on the BNSF transcon? Yup! I just took a photo of the Empire Builder going 79 mph from 16,000 feet in the air. That's it passing by Lake Pewaukee in Wisconsin. But you might say I get a little bit of an advantage from my perspective.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Dome Car on the Adirondack would only run from Albany to Montreal Henry,it can't make it into NYP!

A it's not the flying itself that most of us that have flown alot mind,its the airport treatment,(TSA etc.). Nickel and dime charges, lack of amenities and the Cattle car configuration in Coach that turns most people off! ( must of us aren't in the enhanced perks for frequent flyers like jishnu)

Flying itself is a blast! ( I'm an Instrument Rated SEL/MEL Comnercial Pilot and a Million Miles Flyer on Airlines)

 

[Long Train Runnin']

Tell me about it when you can see the Arctic Sea or the Hindu Kush Mountains from a train .

I know its tongue and cheek but with the train to Churchill the Arctic sea is connected to the North American rail network.

 

[Lazy Z]

This is a great post for me as I am currently struggling/planning our next trips. It will be 17 nights away from home (6 of those onboard/bedroom). My head aches from trying to plan!! I dont like my bags small and bursting so this time I want to try a bit bigger and maybe even carry it on (so I do not have to carry a separate on-board bag).

 

[jis]

Tell me about it when you can see the Arctic Sea or the Hindu Kush Mountains from a train .

I know its tongue and cheek but with the train to Churchill the Arctic sea is connected to the North American rail network.

Yup. had something like Longyar Byen or even the ice flows at the North Pole in mind Saw the latter on a flight from Newark to Singapore, and apparently for radiation danger issue due to heightened Solar activity, we also were flying at a relatively low altitude over the North pole that day. Have flown over Longyar Byen and the Svalbards on a nonstop from Delhi to Newark one time. Of course you can never be sure what they will fly over on a particular day since it all depends on winds and such.

BTW, Samarkand, Tbilisi, Meshed, Kabul, Kandahar, Tashkent, Nizhni Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Murmansk and Krasnoyarsk look quiet nice from FL350. I have no real hope of ever making it to any of those on the ground. And yet I have seen all of them from air. The view of the Himalayan Range stretching from horizon to horizon like a solid wall on your right as you fly from Kolkata to Delhi, if you are lucky enough to get some clearance in the perpetual smog even at altitude, is quite a sight to behold, something only visible when flying.

Trains give you one perspective of nature. Planes give you another one. They are not mutually substitutable. Each has its own beauty and charm.

 

[neroden]

BTW, Samarkand, Tbilisi, Meshed, Kabul, Kandahar, Tashkent, Nizhni Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Murmansk and Krasnoyarsk look quiet nice from FL350. I have no real hope of ever making it to any of those on the ground.

Why not? The train tickets are cheap for all the ones in the former Soviet Union, and the trains are still running. And gorgeous, according to reports. And they still like getting tourists.
If I could get to the right continent, which requires flying, the Silk Road cities of Central Asia have always been on my "visit by train" list.