My wife and I spent about 3 months traveling by train in India.
Arrived in Calcutta and headed for Delhi with several stops in between. Then off toward Bombay again with several stops. Went south with many stops until we reached Kovalam and then over towards Madras. Our last (and longest) leg was on the 27 hour Coromandel Express from Madras to Calcutta. We splurged and paid the equivalent of $15 US for the both of us and got a private sleeper.
We always made sure we had plenty of bottled water, fruit and snacks.
I always encourage people to go hang out in the lounge car, even if you’ve booked a sleeper room. You meet interesting people there—some of them, as discussed, under 12 years of age. I like to have a paper map on the table to follow our route, but mostly as a conversation starter. Most official state highway maps are now official transportation maps, and so show the tracks used by Amtrak. But CalTopo is a way to have your phone or tablet display USGS topo maps, with your location (as triangulated from GPS) shown.
A few people here have called the dining car overpriced. I don’t think it is. It’s about the price of a lower-middle sit down restaurant, which is exactly what it is.
$12.50 burgers, $25 steaks and $2.25 for a Coke is pretty normal, I think.
This is a great idea on your route. I’d opt for a paper topo if you do like kids. You can teach them how to read them*, and they can check their progress to and through the Sierras.
*Topos are intuitive to me, but I had to explain them to a friend once - a former Navy submariner.
I love taking that train trip. Though I don’t know if I’d recommend bringing hard-boiled eggs or other smelly foods on a train trip, as there are people who don’t like the stink. (Or maybe it’s just me, with my sensory issues.)
I bring some of my own food, plus a little money if I’d like to buy food on the train, but that can get expensive.
Is it a new Amtrak rule that you can’t bring much of your own food on board? The last time I took Amtrak was in 2015, and things might have changed since then. Or else maybe I didn’t bring an amount of food that was considered too much.
I’d like to ask** EmilyG **or Hari Seldon, or anyone else who might know about that Montreal-NYC train: Is it the Amtrak? Do you get it at Windsor Station or Central Station in Montreal? Around how much does it normally cost round trip? Finally, does it have decent WiFi and/or outlets near the seats to charge an iPad or phone (because mine are kind of old and don’t hold a charge well any more)?
Sorry for so many questions, but it sounds like something I’d love to try and when I looked it up I got confusing and contradictory info. Thanks very much for any clarification you can offer!
The train in question is the Adirondack, and according to its schedule it terminates in Montréal at Central Station. I’ve never taken it — wrong side of the country — but according to Amtrak it has wi-fi in the US, but note the comments about bandwidth. Electrical outlets seem to be a crapshoot: from what I can see Amfleet I cars (vestibules at both ends) do not have outlets at each seat, while Amfleet II cars (vestibule at one end) do.
As for cost, that depends on how far in advance you book and how full the train is when you book: like airlines, Amtrak raises fares as the train fills up.
I’ve never been on an Amtrak train (on either coast) where the ticket-taker didn’t mark each passenger’s seat. Of course, the method of marking (the colored slip placed above the seating area) is probably only obvious to people who are familiar with Amtrak, so as has been said many times already, stick to your seat during station stops. But otherwise, you should feel free to roam.
I’ve done two long distance hauls. The first was an impromptu trip (long story) from Kansas City to LA back in 2000 in a regular coach seat. That was really not ideal. I found it nearly impossible to sleep. The whole trip was exhausting.
The second time, in 2012, was from Los Angeles to Chicago—45 hours, if I recall correctly. I was better prepared. No wifi on the cross-country trains at that time (I don’t know if that’s still the case), but I was prepared. Had my Kindle and my laptop loaded with games that did not require internet connectivity. And I was in a sleeper car. I thought the food in the dining car was quite good, I enjoyed meeting other people, and the one time I wasn’t in the mood to go to the dining car, they delivered the food to my room. Plus, I had a private room where I got to stare out of the window and watch the country roll by. It was a very positive experience.
Skinnybones Lampshade - as mentioned by OttoDaFe, the Montreal-NYC trip is Amtrak. The train is called the Adirondack, and it does go through the mountains and lots of other beautiful scenery.
The whole trip takes about 12 hours - the schedule says less time than that, but realistically, the border stop always takes pretty long. I don’t mind any of this, but it might be a problem with some people.
Well, I took my first trip and will take my return trip tomorrow. It is really a very pleasant way to travel and Amtrak makes it very easy to change your schedule if something unexpected comes up.
My luggage was not searched or anything, so you could probably get away with bringing enough food and drink for the entire trip, but I did enjoy the dining car. I had a great conversation with three complete strangers. It was fun!
The burger was only so-so, but they give you a coupon for $6.00 so it was only $7.00 or so.
I just wanted to mention that the trip from New York City to Albany is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been on. It runs parallel to the Hudson River.
While in the military, I took a train from Virginia to Indiana and it lasted 24 of the longest hours of my life. Haven’t been on a train since. If I had to do it again, I would stock up on heroine, cocaine, ecstasy, crack and a descent supply of Fentanyl (just to take the edge off).
Any longer trip, car, train, airplane or bus, I pack a washcloth in a ziplock bag. It feels so good to be able to wash your face, and the ziplock contains the now wet washcloth. Add a toothbrush and toothpaste where I can reach them, and I feel almost human.
