I've done it 4 times. California to New England and back.

My sister rode Amtrak, round trip, from Illinois to Seattle, WA, and back. She had one problem: She took a winter time trip at Thanskgivng and was delayed while the tracks were cleared in the mountain passes in Montana. The railway snow plow got stuck! Other than that, she had no problems. She had her adult son along and they had purchased tickets for a sleeping compartment. She claimed that compartment made the trip enjoyable. It came in very handy during the delay. Winter has its travel hazards, but she said that the snow scenes viewed from the train window were pretty and reduced boredom.

Amtrak was formed in 1971, so how did you ride it 45 years ago?

It might not have been called Amtrak 45 years ago, but cross-country trains certainly existed then, and with more elegant service than they have now! I took the train back and forth from Chicago to Waco, for college, and that was well over 45 years ago!

Train travel is one of my favorite subjects. DH and I love trains! If I'm traveling for more than 15 hours, or on an overnight, I get a roomette, which is very tiny, but quite comfortable. I have met the most interesting people, everyone with a story to tell.

Our favorite trip so far was from Salinas to Eugene OR to visit DS, DDIL and DGS, in December. We crossed the Cascade Mountains, through thousands of acres of pine trees, and everything laden with snow. It was dream-like, a fantasy. We hope to repeat that again this December.

When my parents were 82 years old, they celebrated their anniversary by training around America. They went from Tucson to New Orleans through the South and up to New York and into New England, then back to Chicago, up through Montana to Seattle, down to see us here and then to LA and back to Tucson. They had a fantastic time, stopping along the way for family and sight-seeing.

Never across country but I think it would be neat. I have gone from Illinois to Colorado, Montana, and Arizona. I like traveling by Amtrak.

Supposedly one of the most breathtaking trips is the VIA Rail trip across Canada. And the Vancouver to Whistler either on the Rocky Mountaineer or Via.

Amtrak has a great site to help you plan your vacation and so does Via. If I had the time I would love to do it, traveling by rail is so enjoyable.

I would love to take a train trip across country. Years ago we lived in north-central Mn. and Amtrak came through the town we lived in, heading south in the AM then in the late aft. noon, went the reverse. I could take the train to downtown MPLS in the morning, shop, have lunch, shop some more, then take the train back home. it was great. I remember one trip my DD & I took to Christmas shop. and we were in a dept. store and we lost track of time. I realized we had 15 minutes to make it back to the depot, and boy, did we run, carrying all the of those shopping bags. We made it with just about a minute to spare. I sat her down in a seat surrounded with all of our purchases and I went to the club car. LOL They reversed the schedule soon after that and that took care of our excursions to the big city. Dottie

I have a friend leaving on Saturday from Emeryville (SF Bay Area), taking the southern route East, meeting up with friends who are joining him for the trip back west along the northern route. I think it's a 12 day day jaunt, and he's quite excited. He's got people coming down to stations all over the country to say hello when the train makes a scheduled stop.

This was many many years ago (probably 15 years) but I took my final long Amtrak ride. It was a ride from Central California to Central Oregon. I wouldn't want to repeat it. The only 2 seats left on the train when we boarded were in the car directly behind the "party" car. The party car was the only place that you could smoke - and it's where you could get something to eat & drink too. Beyond the normal kids running through our car to get to the party car - everytime the doors would open a nice fresh blast of cigarette smoke would fill our car. Seemed like what should've been a short trip took FOREVER. Lastly, and the worst, was that the toilets and the poo storage tanks had filled up about 2/3 of the way through the trip. SERIOUSLY, the toilets themselves were even filled to overflowing. There was no place to "go", and complaints fell on deaf ears with the "there's nothing we can do about it" response. Talk about frustrating!!!

DH and I took Amtrak about 3 years ago from Cleveland OH to CA. We were gone 10 days and had a blast. If you are going cross country, do get at least a roomette. Sleeping coach is a royal pain as far as I am concerned. I can not sleep sitting up! Not even reclined and the foot rest up. The roomette is not as pricey as the full sleeper. When we took the trip, we were delayed by freight trains enough that we missed our connection in Chicago. Problem? No. We had built in a bit of time just in case. Amtrak gave each of us a voucher for a very nice room, and a small amt of cash for cab fare and meals. And we got on the next train going our way the next day. Now, the government has mandated that the freight can not make Amtrak wait unneccessarily. Amtrak's record for on-time arrivals has improved greatly since our trip. The main problem is that Amtrak does not own the rail they travel on, only rents it. As I said, the government has put a stop to the long delays. Do remember, tho, that there are unavoidable delays due to weather and such. We stopped in Emeryville/San Francisco for 2 nights, Simi Valley for 3, and San Diego for 2. Family visits all, plus I got to meet Wildchild and she is a wonderful tour guide! Travel by train is so much nicer than by air. You get to see the country you are riding thru!

Sable, you and I need to get together! DH is a train nut!

Tami

I Traveled from California to Kansas in 1960 and back again. It was wonderful even with a toddler and a baby. I need to check into Amtrak helping me plan a trip.

I think Ok City has train trips to nearby city's for day trips. I would love that here. We can't even fly to Kans City which is a 3 1/2 hour drive from us without flying to an airport like Dallas first.

I would do it and would prefer that way of travel now more than ever.

As a child, I did get to travel by train between Cal. and TX a couple of times. Things were a little rougher back then.

No Amtrak where I live..not sure how far I'd have to travel to catch a train.

I had a very unpleasant trip on Amtrak from NYC to Buffalo. Train left late, no seats, had to stand, ccouldn't check our suitcases, there was no food car, and it was winter. Everytime we stopped and the doors opened, snow flew in. And by the end of the trip, which took 13 hours instead of 8 scheduled, the bathrooms were filthy. Add to that, I was travelling with my two toddlers. Can you believe no one offered us a seat?

How are the Amtrak's for those of us with claustrophobia? Airplanes make me feel very claustrophobic because of the tight seats and too many people. How does the Amtrak compare? Are there upgraded areas that have less people and larger seating areas? Or are the regular seating areas large enough so that you don't feel trapped?

didn't want to fly after 911, so took the amtrack (oh chad ever hear of santa fe??) from las vegas to chicago...didn't have the cash for a room, so sat for 2 days 2 nights?? i was lucky though, no seat partner so was able to sort of curl up on the 2 seats...i'd bought a small blanket before leaving and they provided pillows...

there wasn't a problem of being confined...if you don't mind the rocking and rolling while walking, you are free to explore all the cars...plus most of the cars are designed like the old observation cars used to be...lots of windows and great views...the bathrooms are bit "tight"...and the food in the dining car wasn't anything like i remembered...mostly ate in the club car...

but the trip will be one i'll never forget. we saw american flags flying in the most remote locations...

Years ago, in the late 40s and thru the 50s, my mom, brother and I traveled by train, every summer, from Pennsylvania to Texas. This was before Amtrak, on the Pennsylvania RR and Texas Chief. It's still a wonderful memory. Now, my husband and I take Amtrak from near Pittsburgh, to our daughter's home near Philly. We usually go Business Class, which is right next to the food and beverage car. Seats are very comfortable with lots of stretch-out room. It's not the fastest way to travel, and there have been late arrivals, a few times...but, since we're not on a strict schedule it's not a bother. You can read or nap, and how often do you really get to do that without interruptions?

I would love to travel by train cross country or up into Canada. I've done my fair share of train travel all over Europe and Japan but the farthest I've traveled by train in the US was back in 1960 when we moved from Seattle to San Francisco. Just my mom and I while dad took care of the furniture and such via truck (mom didn't like to travel by car or truck).

When I was in Alaska last month I was so, so tempted to take another week off from work and do the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks through Denali Park and Mt. McKinley. This time of year, it would be just beautiful. When I got home from AK I talked to DH about doing a long-distance train ride in the future.

Jodi-

Sorry it's taken me so long to check back on this post!

Lydia, how claustrophobic are you? I am some, in certain situations and it doesn't bother me. Mom on the other hand, doesn't even like the scenic rail excursions. Coach, you should be fine, sounds like business class you would be also. If you go with a roomette, take the bottom bunk! DH has never had a problem until he tried to sleep on the top bunk. It didn't bother me, but space is very cramped up there! He had better luck squishing into the bottom bunk with me after he calmed down, than he did up top. I took his place up there the next night and just needed help getting down for a bathroom run!

On tv last night, there was a clip on Amtrak up the coast of CA to Seattle. It looked beautiful! Asked DH if he was ready for another long train trip. From OH to LosAngeles to Seattle (that way we get to stop and see family!)

Tami

Tami, I'm pretty claustrophobic. I think it's mostly an escape issue.. I don't want to feel trapped. Low ceilings and lots of people crammed into a space are the worst.

It sounds like the ride would be relaxing, but I'm not sure it would be for me... maybe with a Xanax. lol Thanks for the info.

I don't know about the roomettes or sleepers but the seats on coach are plenty roomy for me. The seats have foot rests so that gives you an idea how far apart the seats are front to back. There is much more room on trains then on planes. If we can we like to get the seat right by the stairs. They don't have seats in front of you, there's a wall and it has lots of space, we even put our cooler in front of us when we get one of those seats. That particular seat doesn't have the little pull out table that you get when you're seated behind another seat but I'd rather have the extra space. Hope that made since. You can get up and walk around anytime you want. The viewing car is the place to go to just get away from your seat for a while.
I have enjoyed most about our trips on Amtrak, not a perfect ride but I can roll with the punches.

Lydia, Cherbo has a good point! Also, there are escape "hatches" just like there are on buses. Try a short trip. For us, Chicago is about 5 hours. A trip like that should be managable enough for you to get an idea of what it would be like. I really think you would be ok. The lounge car is great. Comfortable seats with wide windows to really see what's going by. The windows in coach are good, to, but the lounge seems more open because of the way the seats are arranged. Though you might not want the seat right by the stairs, as sometimes there is a wall in front of you, even though it's farther away from you than a seat would be. It's still a blank space instead of a window to see thru. Please give a short trip a try! I think you would enjoy it!

Tami