Question about taking a long train ride

Having lived in Florida until I graduated from Florida State and then immediately moving to Vegas, I never lived anywhere with a train or subway system.

I have never ridden on a train before in my life and it was always one of those things I wanted to experience.

I have all the free time in the world these days and have decided I want to travel and that I'm at the point in my life where I can do a lot of the things I have always thought of doing.

I recently came across a trip report on some site about Amtrak's cross country route from Los Angeles to Chicago.

They were other long routes reviewed as well but the LA to Chicago seemed by far the most popular.

I was shocked to read the the vast majority of people rides these for the experience and not as a means to get to a destination. They go for the sight seeing, the camaraderie of those they meet, and the over all experience.

I've read reviews from people that takes trains (for no other purpose than the experience) 6-7 times a year and as primary platforms for their vacation.

Has anyone on here done this?

From my brief reading, I determined if I did this I would definitely want a bedliner with a shower and sink, even though some say its better (yet less comfortable) to ride coach so you can meet people and be apart of the overall experience with others versus being away in your own room for part of the trip.

The LA to Chicago trip is 2 and a half days. From my readings, I notice the food is not great, but you can bring your own as well as beverages. But that's not an issue to me.

For me, if would be the experience of taking a long train ride, seeing parts of the country I probably never would in my lifetime and of course hopefully meeting some interesting people.

I already decided that if I do this, I would do it alone. I don't want to bring my girlfriend or a buddy. This would be for me.

My readings also told me that a lot of young people take these trains. There is a bar on the train and drinking, card playing, and partying among the young is prevalent in coach.

If I did this I would probably pick the route from LA to Chicago, spend a few days there and then fly back to Vegas (even though you can actually transfer from Chicago and end up in NYC grand central station 36 hours later.

Appreciate input and any insight if any of you have does this or something similar.

ZOD

the union station la train to san diego for the del mar races is fun but thats summer basically find one with a beverage car

btw does one reaaaaaaaallly graduate from fsu in the mid 90s or was it more of a check and like 3 papers written kind of thing

Sounds like a fun trip and would like to hear stories from others who have done something similar as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HV-OSCFArI

wailwoad

Did loads of long train journeys round Europe when I was young. 'twas great.
Now I'm old and fat I take cruises instead.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lol wow

btw does one reaaaaaaaallly graduate from fsu in the mid 90s or was it more of a check and like 3 papers written kind of thing

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Graduated from FSU in 1999. Real talk: took me 5 and a half years to graduate. Spent the first 1.5-2 years excessively partying, smoking pot among other vices. Was WITHOUT A DOUBT the best years of my life. I regret none of it.

I was also there through the entirety of FSU football dominance where they finished no lower than 4 in the AP bowl for like 14 straight years. They played in 4 natonal championships in the 5 years I was there.

True story... The night that Sebastian Janokowski was drafted in the first round by the Raiders, I was with him watching him get drafted live at a pub in Tallahassee. I wasn't buddies with him directly, but was friends with someone close to him. He couldn't make it to NY for the draft because he was out on bond after being arrested for being in possession of GHB and part of his pre-trial release was that he couldn't leave the county.

We ended up getting silly drunk, played Golden Tee, foosball, and Blitz (old school football game) during the draft and then heading back to Chris Weinke's house for a huge party afterwards.

have taken amtrak from Chicago to St Lou to go see Phish. 6 hr trip, outlet next to my seat by the window, so I could do work. Seat was comfortable. car was quiet. Bar was behind me by 20 ft and had lots of options, including food. $48 rt to Lou.


Greyhound on the otherhand, was Ghastly. Took it to Nashville to see Widespread Panic. What a shithole. Never again.

plan your rest room visits...can't use toilet while train is in the station



(remember your parents telling you not to play near railroad tracks--now you know why)

Well i've never taken a long train trip, I did lose my virginity while this song was playing..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcXpKiY2MXE

2.5 days sounds like hell of a commitment. Maybe take short train trip to see if this is really for you.

http://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/file...g_large_01.jpg
Travel across seven Canadian provinces on four exciting trains to create the ultimate Canadian rail adventure! Your 14-day tour begins in the coastal city of Vancouver and continues on to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax.


Pamper yourself with first-class accommodations, delicious meals, and access to exclusive lounge cars to view Canada's ever-changing scenery. Stay in luxurious, centrally-located hotels and enjoy sightseeing tours to get you acquainted with each unique city on your route. And, of course, enjoy ample time at your leisure to see each city your way.


Starting at
$ 3,498.00
Availablility dates of this package
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 to Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Duration :
14 Nights


Never done it but it's on my bucket list. Bonus.....PokerStars all the way

Sent ma pa and grandma from Ohio to Cali years ago. They enjoyed only complaint was that ride can be bumpy and can disrupt sleep/complicate use of toilet at times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limitles

http://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/file...g_large_01.jpg
Travel across seven Canadian provinces on four exciting trains to create the ultimate Canadian rail adventure! Your 14-day tour begins in the coastal city of Vancouver and continues on to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax.


Pamper yourself with first-class accommodations, delicious meals, and access to exclusive lounge cars to view Canada's ever-changing scenery. Stay in luxurious, centrally-located hotels and enjoy sightseeing tours to get you acquainted with each unique city on your route. And, of course, enjoy ample time at your leisure to see each city your way.


Starting at
$ 3,498.00
Availablility dates of this package
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 to Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Duration :
14 Nights


Never done it but it's on my bucket list. Bonus.....PokerStars all the way

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Looks awesome, putting it on my bucket list too.

The only problem with our railway system is cost (much like airlines). When I'm flying I always fly from Detroit because it's half price or better. A train from Detroit-> Chicago is ~50-100 round trip. For a similar 6 hour train ride in Canada it would be 300+

Poor people ride trains.

This seems like it would be fun. The only problem I would have is if the train is bumpy I would probably get motion sick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by herbertstemple

2.5 days sounds like hell of a commitment. Maybe take short train trip to see if this is really for you.

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:this
Seriously.

Did it once. Equivalent of hell. No way in hell you want to do this.

Also do you smoke cigs? Yeah good luck with that.

Do you like to shit? Yeah good luck with that.

Do you like to eat? Yeah good luck with that. I had one meal with companion and they sat us across the table from someone very ugly. I had to choke my food down. It was that gross. Imagone the awkwardness of being right next to someone at hibachi or vegas buffet all the way turnt up.
Do you like going to the viewing car with your drunken female companion only to have her bombarded with conspiracy theories from one toothed dudes whIle you can't stop staring at a chick and can't quite figure out what it is about her that sparks your interest. Then she comes over and you find out the reason is that she's 16.

On my train ride across my state a while ago the freak one toother ended up getting into it with my female companion because he saw her kiss her "boyfriend" goodbye at train station then saw her all over me the entire ride. I was laughing my ass off and so was she at this sideshow freak in a perfectly audible conversation going on behind us about how big of a whore she was. Anyway, some rando captain save a ho comes and just punches the one tooth and a fight gets going...

THEY BOTH GET KICKED OFF THE TEAIN AT THE NEXT STOP. Captain save a ho is all bloody. After the fight dies down and well before any security tyoe people had arrived on scene my riding partner decides to start making cracks about the one dudes tooth. He lays down right in front of us and either tries or does a great job of pretending to extract his own tooth saying he doesn't care. Eventually the train stops and police board the train and the two of them and two people caught smoking were removed from the train.

Me and my riding partner were told if we didn't return to our seats in coach that we would be pulled off the train at the next stop. Of course the bitch goes right back to the bar instantly to get us drinks. We get told we are getting kicked off the train... fortunately the next stop was whitefish and that was the destination where we were picking up her new vehicle.

This was a less than one day trip. Can't imagine 2.5

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Originally Posted by Pooh

Poor people ride trains.

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The added bonus to the "Coast to Coast" Canadian Railroad experience

is that you will be with like minded individuals, travellers with money from around

the world, because no one travels by rail here simply because of the cost.

So no, poor people do not take trains, at least in this country.

You'll also experience uber polite Canadians at every stop

and if you plan it right, you'll end up at one the most

beautiful big cities in the world (Vancouver) where everything

is free.

i needed to get to the east coast in a hurry after 9/11, and i took amtrak. its pretty amazing.

the good:
you get to see the country. the real country. and in autumn with the leaves turning, i mean, thats something i havent forgotten.

the bad:
you get to see the country. the real country. as in you often travel through residential neighborhoods where your view is the back yards of shacks and houses occupied by people too poor to not live next to an amtrak.

the good:
you can do some socializing. if thats what youre in the mood for. people will leave you alone otherwise.

the bad:
old people are terrible. and the car with the curved plexiglass walls so you can see like a 180 degree view is where they congregate. and they sometimes shit themselves and dont really know it. after 36 hours, that car was like a north korean biowarfare lab.

the bad:
the food is almost supernaturally bad.

the bad:
the train stops regularly so you can get out, stretch, so on, but often those stops are at all hours of the night.

the bad:
drug dogs.

the good:
since 2001, i hear amtrak has improved. and they have a writers grant where you can essentially live on their train, traveling, writing. gotta respect that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limitles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pooh

Poor people ride trains.

---

The added bonus to the "Coast to Coast" Canadian Railroad experience

is that you will be with like minded individuals, travellers with money from around

the world, because no one travels by rail here simply because of the cost.

So no, poor people do not take trains, at least in this country.

You'll also experience uber polite Canadians at every stop

and if you plan it right, you'll end up at one the most

beautiful big cities in the world (Vancouver) where everything

is free.

---

I wasn't talking about Canada. From my experience, Canadians are very very nice people.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sonatine

i needed to get to the east coast in a hurry after 9/11, and i took amtrak. its pretty amazing.

the good:
you get to see the country. the real country. and in autumn with the leaves turning, i mean, thats something i havent forgotten.

the bad:
you get to see the country. the real country. as in you often travel through residential neighborhoods where your view is the back yards of shacks and houses occupied by people too poor to not live next to an amtrak.

the good:
you can do some socializing. if thats what youre in the mood for. people will leave you alone otherwise.

the bad:
old people are terrible. and the car with the curved plexiglass walls so you can see like a 180 degree view is where they congregate. and they sometimes shit themselves and dont really know it. after 36 hours, that car was like a north korean biowarfare lab.

the bad:
the food is almost supernaturally bad.

the bad:
the train stops regularly so you can get out, stretch, so on, but often those stops are at all hours of the night.

the bad:
drug dogs.

the good:
since 2001, i hear amtrak has improved. and they have a writers grant where you can essentially live on their train, traveling, writing. gotta respect that.

---

Sounds like Utopia. Where do we sign up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pooh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limitles

The added bonus to the "Coast to Coast" Canadian Railroad experience

is that you will be with like minded individuals, travellers with money from around

the world, because no one travels by rail here simply because of the cost.

So no, poor people do not take trains, at least in this country.

You'll also experience uber polite Canadians at every stop

and if you plan it right, you'll end up at one the most

beautiful big cities in the world (Vancouver) where everything

is free.

---

I wasn't talking about Canada. From my experience, Canadians are very very nice people.

---

Well thank-you.....practising.

Also because of the low population, there are relatively few stops and it is a Crown owned

corporation which is bound and determined not to make any money, so service is very good.

Also the government is still hoping for settlers so you can view parcels of land as you go.

If you are suspected of anything untoward you just get off and run,

no one will bother chasing you.

Jesus christ sonatine why are you leveling drexel. You must hate him. Never in my life has someone used "train" and "get there in a hurry" in the same sentence. Also when you said get to the east coast I'm hoping you were starting in Philadelphia.

If you really spent 2.5 days on that fucker and viewed it as a positive experience you are just being a contrarion for the sake of being one.

Go John Madden style and rent an RV and then pay a jobless friend to drive the whole time.

First, I am happy to find out that this thread is about actual trains and not Zod coming out of the closet.

Second, I rode the train one time. Rode coach, literally will never do it again. I would rather spend 30 days in jail than be on an Amtrak train for 3 days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abrown83

First, I am happy to find out that this thread is about actual trains and not Zod coming out of the closet.

Second, I rode the train one time. Rode coach, literally will never do it again. I would rather spend 30 days in jail than be on an Amtrak train for 3 days.

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Thank you. Unless you are trolling for new drugs to try or trying to hook up with 16 year old runaways to hell with that. My trip had very beautiful scenery and if you had your own private viewing cabin it might have been ok but the animals (inside the train) certainly ruin it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brittney Griner's Clit

Jesus christ sonatine why are you leveling drexel. You must hate him. Never in my life has someone used "train" and "get there in a hurry" in the same sentence. Also when you said get to the east coast I'm hoping you were starting in Philadelphia.

If you really spent 2.5 days on that fucker and viewed it as a positive experience you are just being a contrarion for the sake of being one.

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Flights were grounded after 9/11.

really with your wide berth and your custom fishing rod case you couldnt barge into a cabin and get a 737 to des moines

was going to share pictures of my bespoken pizzas but with that attitude? no i dont think so.

As a kid I rode Amtrak down through South Florida to Miami. I saw the worst ghettos I have ever seen to this day... Haitian tent cities. Still haunts me.

Never again.

When I was 10, we took a train from Indianapolis to New York, to experience the romance of train travel. My only memory is standing in a violently shaking bathroom and pissing everywhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DRK Star

have taken amtrak from Chicago to St Lou to go see Phish. 6 hr trip, outlet next to my seat by the window, so I could do work. Seat was comfortable. car was quiet. Bar was behind me by 20 ft and had lots of options, including food. $48 rt to Lou.


Greyhound on the otherhand, was Ghastly. Took it to Nashville to see Widespread Panic. What a shithole. Never again.

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How long ago was the greyhound trip? That sounds like some very poor decision making on all fronts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wiganer

Did loads of long train journeys round Europe when I was young. 'twas great.
Now I'm old and fat I take cruises instead.

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Try consider this Drexel.


You can purchase a one month/6 week pass and travel across most of Europe. Would take in some amazing scenery and experience a bunch of different cultures at the same time.

Lots of people do it on a backpackers budget, staying in cheap hotels and stuff.... But fuck that... if you enjoy your creature comforts and want to do it in a bit of style - then that can be easily be achieved on a modest amount of Dollars.


Would gain way more from it imo.

Start here

http://uk.voyages-sncf.com/en/be-inspired/scenic-rail

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vegas1369

As a kid I rode Amtrak down through South Florida to Miami. I saw the worst ghettos I have ever seen to this day... Haitian tent cities. Still haunts me.

Never again.

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lol

in before weiss

Quote:

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Originally Posted by splitthis

Sent ma pa and grandma

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What are you from, 1940?

FFS I feel sorry for you, "cousins". The Via Rail experience is like buying

a first class ticket on the latest aircraft.

Unreal scenery, treated like a member of Parliament, all good.

I would do it tomorrow if I was so inclined, and had the hash coins

to spend.

Keep in mind this is a holiday train, a members only adventure.

No hobos, just well off people checking out the world.

So it's not your back door, but it's next door and it's

intended to be a pleasant experience.