Was it the Orient Express? The City of New Orleans? I want to take the trip from Chicago to Washington(Seattle?) across the northwest, through the Rockies & the Cascades.
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I took the Amtrak from San Francisco to Boston and back again, stopping in Chicago both times. On the trip out, from California to Chicago we went via a southwestern route, and on the trip back from Chicago to California we went through the Rockies. It was amazing, a really nice trip.
I couldn’t afford a sleeper car, so I rode coach, sitting up the whole way, but it was actually fairly comfortable. I packed food in a small cooler, peanut butter, rolls, jam, that sort of stuff, so I didn’t have to spend much in the diner car. Make sure you bring yourself plenty of drinking water and reading material.
Spend plenty of time in the view car, I forget what they call it, but it has a glass roof and HUGE windows and seats that are turned toward the windows.
They show videos most nights in that car.
Yes.
It was very cramped and noisy.
That’ll be cool. The furthest I’ve gone was from the top of California to the Bay area. I like train travel. You can get up and move around, and the motion and sound of the train is soothing to me. We were planning on going from Oregon to Minnesota by train.
The main thing…don’t be in a hurry or on a tight schedule. You can relax, spread out and really enjoy the trip but if you’re trying to keep a schedule, you’ll end up stressed. Also, smokers are more uncomfortable with the long ride and hassle of smoking. The passenger trains have to give right of way to freight trains and sometimes are way off schedule as a result. Take plenty of munchies and things to do, reading, etc. Much less crowded than a bus and relaxing. The dining is not too expensive but limited menus and the food is just OK, not great. Otherwise, have fun. I’m looking forward to my next chance to go.