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Across the USA by Train for Just $213

dereklow.co

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Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#81

Post by jacalata »

sandworm101 wrote: post #61

Worth noting re US train travel: "Based on data spanning the period 2004-12, for example, to expect one transit-related injury, a passenger would need to ride the French railroad for 4.9 million miles or the German railroad for 4.1 million miles. Yet he would need to ride America's railroads for only 84,300 miles, on average, to sustain one injury." http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32694447 84k miles isn't ver…

I think it's kind of nonsensical to conflate injuries of people not on a train with the likelihood of injury while riding on a train, sorry.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#82

Post by lanaius »

coldtea wrote: post #40

> If you want to see tourist America, rent a Cadillac, get on Route 66 and stop off at a few cutesy diners and motels. If you want to see the real America in all its spectacular, crazy, kooky glory, get on the train. I call BS, and am wondering if he has indeed taken Route 66, or just telling some vague impression he has of what it would be to do so. I've travelled Route 66 several times (and highway 1, Highway 61 -L…

My wife and I did Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis; that's enough for me. When I lived in LA for a time we meant to hit the end of 66 in San Bernardino but never did.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#83

Post by CWuestefeld »

logfromblammo wrote: post #54
hornd wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Federal law mandates Amtrak priority over freight, even when operating on freight railways, but my understanding is that the law is not often followed.

Only if they're running on time. And they're never running on time over the longer routes. I once took the train from Chicago to Denver and back. On the return trip, our train was delayed 24 hours total. We spent an entire extra day stuck on sidings in the middle of nowhere, as freight cars passed us by. Ofttimes in those situations, the passengers are offloaded onto coach buses, but there were no paved roads nearby.…

I went NY->Chicago->SF, the reverse of the route in the OP. We were held up for about 3 hours in Helper, UT, due to a washed out track. It was a really positive experience. Many passengers were gathered in the observation car, and one guy had a guitar with him. We spent much of the time having a singalong.

And once we got past the washout, the train was positively flying - we made it into SF only about 1/2 hour late.

I loved pretty much the whole thing. High points were watching the scenery, and also interacting with other passengers - both in the observation car and, as the OP notes, at meals. But I'm really glad we did it "1st class" - that is, with a sleeper cabin. This was comfortable and quiet, and provided a way we could make it "our experience" when we didn't want to be stuck with the rest of the crowd.

The sleeper car is much more expensive, but includes meals. All told, I think the price of the three day trip including sleeper cabin and meals, works out similar to airfare plus hotels and meals for a similar time period.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#84

Post by coldtea »

austenallred wrote: post #65
coldtea wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You don't have to drive? You don't have to take the freeway ("interstate"). You can always go for smaller roads. > If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy. If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. If we're talking about seeing places and travelling to see the "real side, kooky, etc…

> If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. That's part of the the point; you don't have to think that way. You actually don't have to think or plan at all. You're not trying to consciously get from point A to point B. You're just sitting, thinking, reading, and going where the train takes you. It generally takes…

>It generally takes you to some really interesting places, far from the well-beaten path.

You have a point on the "relaxing" thing. OTOH, the problem I see with that is that it doesn't really "take" you to those places, it just passes through them. You can watch them go by, but not stop and check them out.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#85

Post by coldtea »

lanaius wrote: post #82
coldtea wrote: post #40

> If you want to see tourist America, rent a Cadillac, get on Route 66 and stop off at a few cutesy diners and motels. If you want to see the real America in all its spectacular, crazy, kooky glory, get on the train. I call BS, and am wondering if he has indeed taken Route 66, or just telling some vague impression he has of what it would be to do so. I've travelled Route 66 several times (and highway 1, Highway 61 -L…

My wife and I did Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis; that's enough for me. When I lived in LA for a time we meant to hit the end of 66 in San Bernardino but never did.

I think the best parts of the Route are those going through TX, NM and AZ.

Though I say that as somebody for whom those "western"/rocky/deserty looking places were extra enchanting and unfamiliar. So, if you're from the midwest in the first place, I guess it's not the same experience.

>When I lived in LA for a time we meant to hit the end of 66 in San Bernardino but never did.

The "official" end is in Santa Monica (right before the pier), with a memorial plate for the guy they named the highway after etc.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#86

Post by austenallred »

coldtea wrote: post #84
austenallred wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. That's part of the the point; you don't have to think that way. You actually don't have to think or plan at all. You're not trying to consciously get from point A to point B. You're just sitting, thinking, reading, and going where the train takes you. It generally takes…

> It generally takes you to some really interesting places, far from the well-beaten path. You have a point on the "relaxing" thing. OTOH, the problem I see with that is that it doesn't really "take" you to those places, it just passes through them. You can watch them go by, but not stop and check them out.

Yeah, for sure. I don't really want to stop and dwell, I like moving through things quickly.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#87

Post by mindslight »

coldtea wrote: post #43
tkinom wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to drive? If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy.

> You don't have to drive? You don't have to take the freeway ("interstate"). You can always go for smaller roads. > If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy. If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. If we're talking about seeing places and travelling to see the "real side, kooky, etc…

It really depends what you're up for. I would take the train again in a heartbeat if it lined up logistically. But I'm not currently looking to invest in another road trip.

A plane makes a single day into a complete waste, plus the stress of having to deal with blue shirted fondlers and their enabling hordes who worship that "terrorism" tripe. But it gets you there the quickest.

Driving interstates/secondary highways direct wastes several days, but perhaps you have a bunch of stuff to transport. If you did this and enjoyed "seeing the country", you owe it to yourself to plan another trip with more time.

Taking the train uses several days, but they're relaxing and you can appreciate the scenery transitions without having to worry about logistics. It's probably the easiest way to "see things" while your goal is still the destination.

A proper road trip will let you see what you can see from the train, plus a whole lot more, plus actually stopping and checking things out rather than just passing by. But the journey itself has to be your goal. I wouldn't recommend it for any less than 8 days (one way), otherwise you're just doing a slower canonball run.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#88

Post by mindslight »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #71
mindslight wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd guess preexisting charges. The time I took Amtrak cross country, my seat friend was "Ralph". He was nicely dressed, in the "import trucking" business, didn't like flying, and upgraded to a sleeper cabin with cash. The FBI got on at ABQ and started harassing people for their tickets. I was in the observation car at the time, but when I returned to my seat Ralph was still there! He had been hitting on the train att…

> perhaps the train is a great place to do an exchange with an informant. Not if all the passengers around them are aware of it.

I was only aware of it because I was sitting next to him, with the only result being telling the story to friends, and writing this comment several years later. I presume whatever questioning/etc they did do was in a private.

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#89

Post by findjashua »

mindslight wrote: post #87
coldtea wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You don't have to drive? You don't have to take the freeway ("interstate"). You can always go for smaller roads. > If just yourself, driving 3000 miles cost more time, $, mental energy. If time, $ and mental energy is at premium, train is not the solution either. A plane ticket will be the same cost or less and take 1/40 the time. If we're talking about seeing places and travelling to see the "real side, kooky, etc…

It really depends what you're up for. I would take the train again in a heartbeat if it lined up logistically. But I'm not currently looking to invest in another road trip. A plane makes a single day into a complete waste, plus the stress of having to deal with blue shirted fondlers and their enabling hordes who worship that "terrorism" tripe. But it gets you there the quickest. Driving interstates/secondary highways…

"blue shirted fondlers" - found the name for my next band

Re: Across the USA by Train for Just $213

#90

Post by logfromblammo »

phlakaton wrote: post #73
logfromblammo wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if they're running on time. And they're never running on time over the longer routes. I once took the train from Chicago to Denver and back. On the return trip, our train was delayed 24 hours total. We spent an entire extra day stuck on sidings in the middle of nowhere, as freight cars passed us by. Ofttimes in those situations, the passengers are offloaded onto coach buses, but there were no paved roads nearby.…

Countering anecdata: I've taken the CA Zephyr from Emeryville to Grand Junction twice, and arrived on-time with the first and I think 30 mins late with the second. With a mobile phone as a hotspot, and sone snacks in the bag for lunch, it was a very nice trip!

I have two words for you:

diaper rationing.

30 minutes late on a 24 hour trip is not horrible. That's only 2% late. But 24 hours late on a 18.6 hour trip is 129% late. That's packing a lunch, eating it, then eating the snacks you packed because you know Amtrak runs late very often, then having another five meals on the train that you didn't plan for, because you never expected even Amtrak to screw up this badly. And this was before mobile hotspots. It was finishing your book, then finishing all the puzzles in your GAMES Magazine, then rereading all of yesterday's newspaper, down to the obituaries from a city you don't even live in, then staring out your window at the featureless nothingness of the Great Plains.

Your traveling companions go from "what an adventure!" to "maybe air travel with a baby over a holiday weekend wouldn't have been so bad," to pandemic cabin fever, to plotting the violent overthrow of the conductor with the guy you just met in the next car.

A ranking executive of Amtrak would literally have to kiss me on my literal ass and hand me a free first-class private sleeper cabin ticket before I would even set foot in another one of their siding-idlers ever again.

I did the math later, and determined that, while it would not have been accurate to say "it would have been quicker to walk", a professional touring cyclist would have been able to beat the train in a race, even including an 8-hour rest break, if he was taking all the performance-enhancing drugs and riding a faired recumbent bike.

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