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There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

nytimes.com

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Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#81

Post by seanmcdirmid »

rubidium wrote: post #16
gwbas1c wrote: post #11

I really enjoyed driving across the country three times. Anyone do both, and can compare?

By sleeper car, train is luxurious and much more relaxed. By vehicle you can sleep each night in a hotel and take a shower each day. Both have + and -'s. But my ranking would be Sleeper Car train > Driving > non-sleeper car train. Trains can be much more social.

You can get lower with a greyhound bus. Sure they stop at every prison along the way, but the views are actually quite nice. The social is also there, but can be a bit scary depending on your appetite for adventure.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#82

Post by mvexel »

Kiro wrote: post #41
elbasti wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, NY → LA is over 4,000 KM. Would you fly to say, Bulgaria? Southern Italy?

Yes, there's a big movement promoting night trains in Europe right now. I see "night train maps" in my feed all the time. Additionally one of the fastest growing Instagram accounts is one shaming influencers who are flying instead of taking the train.

I just read that the Austrian national railway is planning to re-introduce them and was surprised.

Europe had a pretty decent overnight train network in the 90s and even into the 2000s.

Then flying got cheap and people basically didn't want to take those trains any longer. Most disappeared.

What, short of making flying much more expensive, would make a new attempt at introducing them successful, you think?

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#83

Post by CaptainZapp »

magduf wrote: post #72
StavrosK wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's worth it, really How much does it cost?

An absolute fortune. I've looked into this, and it isn't economical in any way, shape, or form. Flying across the continent is MUCH cheaper, and with your number of vacation days usually being limited, gives you a lot more time at your destination. The only reason to do this is because you really want to spend your vacation time sitting in a train watching rural American scenery go by in states like Montana. It's sor…

I just looked it up.

A sleeper for one is ~1'800$. About 300 more if you're two.

That's about half of a yearly train pass for Switzerland (2nd class). The pass allowes you to travel in virtually any mode of transportation without restrictions. Except for taxis, some boats and some mountain railways.

So yeah, that's pretty steep.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#84

Post by jjoe »

CWuestefeld wrote: post #18

My wife and I did this several years back, New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and it really was a wonderful experience. But get a sleeper compartment, don't sit with the cattle. It's worth it, really. And that's even though we spent little time in our compartment almost the whole trip we were up in the observation car watching the American landscape roll by. One highlight of the trip was when storms over Helper, U…

> But get a sleeper compartment, don't sit with the cattle.

Cattle?

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#86

Post by CaptainZapp »

veryworried wrote: post #80
magduf wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An absolute fortune. I've looked into this, and it isn't economical in any way, shape, or form. Flying across the continent is MUCH cheaper, and with your number of vacation days usually being limited, gives you a lot more time at your destination. The only reason to do this is because you really want to spend your vacation time sitting in a train watching rural American scenery go by in states like Montana. It's sor…

$2k is hardly an "absolute fortune". For the typical hackernews software developer this is something like a week's worth of work for one of the most unforgettable experiences of their lives .

I totally agree with you.

But compared to a one way flight, which can be had for as little as 100 bucks it's still pretty steep.

Alas, the experience certainly cannot be compared. It's not about getting to the destination, when you take the train. You pay for the entire experience.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#87

Post by CalRobert »

chrisseaton wrote: post #31
CWuestefeld wrote: post #18

My wife and I did this several years back, New York to Chicago to San Francisco, and it really was a wonderful experience. But get a sleeper compartment, don't sit with the cattle. It's worth it, really. And that's even though we spent little time in our compartment almost the whole trip we were up in the observation car watching the American landscape roll by. One highlight of the trip was when storms over Helper, U…

> While waiting, there was a guy with a guitar in the observation car, and we had a nice sing-along. That bit sounds like hell to me but I'm glad you had fun! In the UK we have special carriages where you're not allowed to make a noise so you can avoid that kind of thing.

Fortunately, that should suggest that it's OK in the other carriages.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#88

Post by supernova87a »

I have no comment on whether taking that train journey is worth it or not.

All I want to say is that the UI developers for the Amtrak booking site should be shot. That site is one of the ugliest, confusing layout-infected, poorly designed sites I have ever seen for a travel booking page. (aside from 3rd world countries which have an excuse)

Just try putting in dates, selecting a fare, and report back. If there were any need for a standards body for amateur UI designers doing something on the cheap without experience, this would be a cry for it.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#89

Post by zackkitzmiller »

afarrell wrote: post #6

Note that the author took a sleeper car. In terms of price, this is a bit of a luxury. As someone who has taken the Lateshore Limited service all the way from Chicago to Boston in just a regular seat, I would strongly advise you NOT to do that. It is just miserable.

I disagree.

I often take Amtrak from NYC to Chicago (and back) and just love it. The trip is about 24 hours each way. Train riders are generally friendly. Someone always has a couple of guitars, so it's fun to play and sing along. The bar car is typically friendly and the food car is generally pretty good eats.

Also, some of the stopovers in small midwest towns are a few hours long so you can get out, stretch your legs, and find a nice quaint diner or something to change things up. I've had nothing by great times on the train. Of course YMMV.

Re: There is no reason to cross the U.S. by train, but I did it anyway

#90

Post by shereadsthenews »

galago wrote: post #58
chrisseaton wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While waiting, there was a guy with a guitar in the observation car, and we had a nice sing-along. That bit sounds like hell to me but I'm glad you had fun! In the UK we have special carriages where you're not allowed to make a noise so you can avoid that kind of thing.

Amtrak has quiet cars, at least in the Northeast. I often take Boston-NYC and there seem to be a lot of business travelers. People who are riding in a train across Utah are probably in it for the experience.

Capitol Corridor also has a quiet car but all it means is you are assured of having to inform some bozo of that fact because the fraction of riders on their first train ride ever is very high.
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