I’ve devoured the other threads by rail-rider Dopers over the years, and so, having just turned 70, I’m visiting family in Santa Barbara for a birthday party.
My wife was lamenting the cost of airfare, so I checked, and Chicago to LA was $160 without a sleeper. I invited my wife, but she’d need a thousand buck sleeper.
But I’m cheap (and a self-styled vagabond), so I decided to tough it out.
Buuuut… my daughter signed us up to help with wildfire cleanup as soon as I arrive, so I was having second thoughts (last time I took a train I barely slept a wink in coach and I was a zombie the first day).
It took days until I thought of an option: could I switch to a sleeper for just a few hours the second night? I checked the schedule, and if I got a roomette at Flagstaff, AZ I could get a good night’s sleep!
And dinner and breakfast and a shower!
Called Amtrak, got a human first try, and she made it all happen for an extra $200. I’d just sold some old comics for that much, so I did it… I’m travelin’ in style, gang!
But I do worry about the first night… anyone else slept in those seats? Will it get cold (Late Feb)?
And how’s the food/snacks/drinks on board?
Oh, too late to edit, but I’ll also need recommendations of places to grab a bite near Union Station in Chicago (I’m taking a bus there, and I’ll have almost two hours right near lunch hour).
I might have time to kill at the Los Angeles station, too.
You have a roomette the second night, right? The seats fold into a bed at night. The mattress will be thin and if you’re a side-sleeper you might get jostled around, but I found it comfy enough. Bring a power strip with you if you plan on plugging in more than one device at a time. You’ll get your meals in the dining car included with the price of your room. Pack some nonperishable snacks if you like, but I found I was hardly hungry between meals since I wasn’t doing much but sitting around. Been 20 years since I traveled overnight in coach - not the best sleep I ever had, but manageable.
Luke’s Italian beef in Chicago, Phillippe’s French dip in LA.
Very creative solution! When I was younger I could handle two nights in coach, but now (68 years old) I can’t even deal with one.
I find the difference in enjoyment between coach and roomette is incredible and well worth the (significant) additional cost. I’ve got a trip to Detroit (from Oakland) booked for this summer and am looking forward to it, which I don’t think I would be if I had booked coach.
Last winter I traveled on the California Zephyr overnight, I was 74. The coach seats are very roomy, there’s a good footrest and they are like sleeping in a recliner. I’d take ear plugs and an eye mask, a good blanket and a travel pillow. Dress in comfy layers, it can get cool at night. Snacks are available in the Cafe car, decent enough for one day, until you can eat in the dining car for your roommate sleeper portion. A short surge strip is useful if you might want to charge more than one device at a time.
Go to YouTube and watch “Grounded Life Travel” train videos-they”ll be very helpful.
Download lots of movies or books beforehand. No wifi on most trains in the west and there are long stretches without cell coverage. Bring headphones or air buds for your device, that is expected etiquette in coach. Have some $5d, 10s and maybe a couple of 20s to tip the diner servers and your sleeping car attendant.
Re: Amtrak, have you considered leaving any earlier and making a longer trip out of It? A decade ago I bought their USA Rail Pass (Amtrak) and took it across the country from Portland to DC, and the cool thing is that it’s super flexible and you can get off anywhere you want, stay an unexpected night or two and get back on the train when you’re ready. Back then I was able to upgrade segments to sleeper cabs with quite a lot less cost than buying them outright, but I’m not sure if it still works like that. Amtrak keeps losing money every year and it’s possible they changed things up?
The food in the dining train was fine, like a mediocre restaurant. Much better than airline food but nothing to write home about. The view trains with glass sides were amazing though, and there are a lot of interesting people who travel by rail. If you’re traveling solo you’ll get seated at a table with strangers, so it’s a good way to meet them.
Do bring a book or two, maybe a card/board game if you feel like getting social, and definitely some headphones. The one major downside (IMHO) is that passenger trains are frequently delayed and you may end up stranded somewhere for hours or days at a time, especially in the winter. If you have to be there in time for a deadline with your daughter, I would personally try to get 2 or 3 days of buffer if at all possible. My cross country trip was delayed 2 or 3 times, one stretch for more than 18 hours. Luckily I was in a sleeper then or that would’ve been miserable.
Rail travel is really amazing here, since it goes through areas where there are no roads and you can only see by train. But fast it is not, so it’s better when you can take your sweet time and not have a deadline.
Off the train, Chicago has great deep dish pizza (anywhere, really) if you want to try something different. I don’t think you can really get bad food anywhere in the city, especially near Union Station. The French Market is a very walkable food a couple blocks away with a lot of variety, for something fast and easy.
Too bad you don’t have more time there. There is so much to see right around downtown!
If you’re in LA, you should try to get some amazing Mexican food. A proper roach coach is best. Probably best in the country outside of Texas.
Rail passes are different now, they are not hop on and hop off anymore. You get 10 segments, to be used within 30 days of the first use. A segment is a city to a city. Can be Chicago to Emeryville CA or a shorter trip, you get 10 legs, but you have to have reservations and you can not upgrade to sleeping rooms from a rail pass. A rail pass is still a great deal though.
I’d have to say maybe this depends on which line you are on. Maybe 20 years ago when I was around 55, I took the Coast Starlighter from SF (Oakland) to Salem, Oregon and back. I found the seat cushion very roomy but hard, and wished I’d bought a pillow to sit on, because I couldn’t even remotely go to sleep or get comfortable. Fortunately, the snack car stopped service late at night, so I was able to stretch out for a while on the bench seats there. On the return trip, I was serenaded back there by a couple having loud sex in the bathroom. Did not keep me awake for very long.
Good advice. I’ll be listening to audiobooks (I’ll be borderline car-sick the whole trip, and reading would put me over the edge).
But Libby, Libro, and Audible all need at least occasional internet connections. Aha! Libro will let me download books as mp3 files, so I’ll load a bunch of those on my phone (maybe I’ll bring my old iPod Nano as backup).
The “Grounded Life Travel” train videos look great, even if I end up jealous of happy travelers.
Good food recc’s, thanks!
I ended up wandering through the French Market once, but had NO idea where it was… maybe I’ll get on the train with some tasty leftovers! (Does any place do individual slices of pizza?)