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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…
Very pleasant travelogue. I enjoy long distance train travel when I have the time for it, and I think is a pretty helpful post for those considering it. > Also, economy does not include meals in the dining car and gets you no access to the observation car. I'm pretty sure observation cars are open to all passengers, regardless of ticket status. Certainly nobody's ever asked me for a ticket when going into one.
Things have changed over the last few years on both fronts, and it depends on the line, especially east vs. west and Viewliner vs. Superliner.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Things have changed over the last few years on both fronts, and it depends on the line, especially east vs. west and Viewliner vs. Superliner.
That doesn't make sense -- the lower deck of the observation car is the cafe, which is the main (effectively only) place to get food, coffee, etc. when you're in coach, since the dining car is reservation only and you're behind everyone in a room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ztWNJYFrU
The greatest train song of all time. Arlo Guthrie talking about how Steve came to him with that song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZx7xCK6yfo. (at 2:09)
Otherwise, have a great trip, don't be attached to arriving on time, and enjoy that observation car!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't make sense -- the lower deck of the observation car is the cafe, which is the main (effectively only) place to get food, coffee, etc. when you're in coach, since the dining car is reservation only and you're behind everyone in a room.
The observation car is open to all passengers, no exceptions. The Dining Car is still sleeper-car only, although they seem to want to change it back to taking paid seating from coach/business some time this year.
"enjoying comforts like ... the airport lounges." Hah! The credit card rewards ruined these. Now they're all crowded and it's just as hard to find a seat as it is outside the lounge. Plus the food in them isn't that great anymore. The best benefit is usually a better view out the window. Real frequent fliers just get PreCheck+Clear and arrive at the airport closer to departure time. I did this same train journey myse…
I was the opposite of you; I was the young man who fell asleep on the shoulder of the woman next to me. She was nice about it but it was really embarrassing! Sleepers were cheaper, then, too, so I didn't save much by riding coach.
The conversation with one of my breakfast table partners was the trip highlight. He was an elderly widower whose ride cross-country was a gift from his family. Good storyteller and he was pleased that I was happy to join him at his table, as opposed to a couple other introverts who scanned the dining car and left in a panic.
I've done this twice and I'm still jealous! And yeah, not many people you tell can see the appeal. On the other hand, train! > economy ... gets you no access to the observation car This wasn't true many years ago. Is this a recent change? Maybe Covid related to keep the amount of contacts down? Also if you're in coach, you can still reserve a spot in the dining car and pay for your meal (or at least you could ). I di…
I've done this twice and I'm still jealous! And yeah, not many people you tell can see the appeal. On the other hand, train! > economy ... gets you no access to the observation car This wasn't true many years ago. Is this a recent change? Maybe Covid related to keep the amount of contacts down? Also if you're in coach, you can still reserve a spot in the dining car and pay for your meal (or at least you could ). I di…