43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief • Hacker News Board

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#101

Post by zikduruqe » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:26 AM UTC

pengaru wrote: post #84

If you enjoy cycling I highly recommend riding Amtrak somewhere you'd like to explore by bicycle with your whip checked "trainside" where it's fully assembled and ready to ride. There's something magical about getting off the train in a different state with your bicycle ready to go no worse for wear. Especially at smaller stations, where the conductor or luggage handler will directly hand you the bicycle from the lug…

On my bucket list... ride my bike to the station in Kansas City, take the train to Saint Louis, then cycle the Katy Trail back home. One day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Trail_State_Park

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#102

Post by throwaway892238 » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:29 AM UTC

The Zephyr from Denver to SF is the best Amtrak trip any time of year, but summer provides the most daylight. Coast Starlight is a strong second. The rest are meh. I also wouldn't take a sleeper; if there's an observation car, I'm in there whenever there's light out. Once it's dark, I'm either looking at my laptop or sleeping, and the economy seats are big enough to snooze in if you bring some blankets/jackets to ball up and sleep against.

If you're going to invest $1,200+ in a sleeper car, consider just driving. You can stop anywhere, eat anything, sleep in "luxurious" 2-star hotels (or obscure themed motels, like a desert strip full of Airstreams in Taos, NM), pick up souvenirs, meet locals. And you'd still save money.

I got really excited that they brought back the dining car, but then I remembered it's only for sleeper car people now. Bummer :/

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#103

Post by germinalphrase » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:35 AM UTC

My last Amtrak ride was great once we were on the train. The six hour delay waiting with my toddler was horrendous.

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#104

Post by fastaguy88 » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:37 AM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #10

hristov wrote: post #5

So, to summarize: 1. No beautiful woman in an adjoining cabin. 2. No high stakes poker games. 3. Not a single murder to solve. 4. No apparent spies. And given the menu had only three wine selections it would be very difficult to ferret out any spies using ones high class upbringing. So for all we know the train could be lousy with spies. 5. Nobody gets tossed off the train. 6. No fight on top of the train cars while…

As discussed at https://www.theonion.com/murder-mystery-on-train-not-so-fun-...

Or possibly Silver Streak. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Streak_(film)

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#105

Post by secabeen » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:39 AM UTC

IIAOPSW wrote: post #53

runarberg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t call them niche, but no, the long distance routes are not profitable and never will be. They were introduce by the Rail Passenger Service act of 1970, and probably were initially requested, for better or worse, to serve as political pork for Amtrak funding as they serve rural communities as well as tourists. One could also argue that Amtrak is kept hostage, and can never offer high quality service (prior t…

You're right in that the long distance routes don't really make sense on their own, but if you view them as a bunch of shorter commuter routes which happen to be there anyway, then connecting them up tip to tip with a daily "long distance" route makes a lot of sense. To the commuters, it doesn't matter that one of the trains they might board on a given day will continue going long after they get off. But the benefit…

> Those people in the front of the train with their private rooms and chef made meals effectively subsidize the daily coach class commuters in the back of the train.

This may have been the case in the past, but with the Dining Cars not allowing coach customers, and their high labor costs for on-board staff, they are losing money badly right now. It might get better if they can get Coach passengers back in, but for the time being, it's still a money pit.

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#106

Post by lostlogin » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:40 AM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #103

My last Amtrak ride was great once we were on the train. The six hour delay waiting with my toddler was horrendous.

That sounds terrible.

In fairness though, a really great 6 hours with a toddler would be more surprising.

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#107

Post by theFletch » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:46 AM UTC

zikduruqe wrote: post #101

pengaru wrote: post #84

If you enjoy cycling I highly recommend riding Amtrak somewhere you'd like to explore by bicycle with your whip checked "trainside" where it's fully assembled and ready to ride. There's something magical about getting off the train in a different state with your bicycle ready to go no worse for wear. Especially at smaller stations, where the conductor or luggage handler will directly hand you the bicycle from the lug…

On my bucket list... ride my bike to the station in Kansas City, take the train to Saint Louis, then cycle the Katy Trail back home. One day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Trail_State_Park

I planned on doing this a few years ago with some friends, but I ended up not going for stupid reasons. They followed through and had a great time. I regret not going. I still plan on doing it...one day. They rode east to west, but after hearing about their experiences I may go west to east. Getting from the train station to the trail head was quite the experience from what they've told me.

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#108

Post by tacticalturtle » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:47 AM UTC

runarberg wrote: post #31

secabeen wrote: post #25

For those of you interested in Amtrak sleeper cars, reserve early, and expect to pay the highest fares on the in-demand, scenic routes. Amtrak's revenue management has gotten a lot better in the last few years, and they are in the midst of a rolling stock and staffing shortage. Sell-outs are common, and ideally, you want to reserve early enough to be in the base sleeper, which won't be cancelled if equipment is scarc…

Coach is also surprisingly cozy. Wide seats, plenty of leg room. 30-40 hours in a coach like Amtrak‘s is nothing to complain about.

The main downside for coach is that post pandemic they don’t have access to the dining car.

They still aren’t offering access, and at this point, it doesn’t seem like it will return.

You’re limited to what you bring with you, or the snack car which is essentially a vending machine

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#109

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:50 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: 43 Hours on the Amtrak Southwest Chief

#110

Post by dmckeon » Sat, Feb 04, 2023, 2:53 AM UTC

Some suggestions re Amtrak: review carefully the speeds on your journey legs of interest - 80 miles/hour across Kansas is nice, 35 m/h on "slow orders" across West Texas feels interminable. Also (as OP mentions) note side of train and expected time of day relative to your preferred scenery of interest. For folks from Europe or Japan, Amtrak is no TGV, more like a pre-TGV inter-city sleeper.