The USA by train

[Closed Account 2]

Was thinking of taking a train trip in the USA, anyone ever done this ?

What places would you visit if you were in the US for 2 weeks ?

[paul_oshea]

trains are a boring enough way to get across america. I would advise renting a car. americanroadtrips is a decent site. you have a couple of options, preferably renting in one airport and dropping off at another, or buying a crap car and getting insurance etc....if only for 2 weeks though i would advise just rent a car.

It depends what you are looking for really, nigthlife? things to see etc or what? i would try and start in chicago and work the way across the north, reserves and great things to see along the way, bar possibly nebraska and the corn fields of the mid-west. Washington is a great city for museums and stuff, very clean, but lacking in anything else really. Boston and New York are good, but if only there for two weeks and driving i wouldn't start there.....
San fran is good all the way up the west coast is good really, definitely offers something different, and you certainly "feel" like you are in a different country a far way away. I amnt really saying much here, but if you give more detail on what you are looking for then it might help!!

[Dodge]

US trains are very, very expensive.

[paul_oshea]

US trains are very, very expensive.

Not "that" expensive when you have sterling....and pay sterling prices for trains over here ;)

[jmurphyc]

Yeah the trains are extremely expensive. I remember I wanted to go from Philadelphia to NY and it was going to cost around 100 dollars so I shelved my plans to go there for a while. I'd say if you can rent a car that would be the best way, as there are lots of interesting places off the beaten track what with it being such a huge country. Other than that the best way of travelling would probably be a bus as it's quite cheap as far as I'm aware.

[Dodge]

Yep, the queen's train service is expensive

[strangeirish]

Don't know anyone thats actually done one, but this (http://www.whitepassrailroad.com/)
looks awesome.
Spectacular (http://www.wpyr.com/multimedia/photossubmitted.html)
Look at photo number 26!

[OneRedArmy]

Long-distance trains are expensive if you want any real level of comfort and as said above, the vast areas between Chicago and the Rockies are featureless and pretty much a waste of time in either a car or train.

The up and down the coast journeys are probably better, eg Coast Starlight from or the one from Seattle down to California.

[paul_oshea]

Long-distance trains are expensive if you want any real level of comfort and as said above, the vast areas between Chicago and the Rockies are featureless and pretty much a waste of time in either a car or train.

The up and down the coast journeys are probably better, eg Coast Starlight from or the one from Seattle down to California.

Ora, you are quite well travelled for an auld fella :p

[Paddyfield]

I got the train between NY and Boston in 2000. I booked two seats on
www.amtrak.com two months before we left Ireland. We arrived an hour before deparure only to find that we had to stand for half of the six hour journey (which didn't make Mrs Paddyfield too happy). The train route is like getting a train from Cork to Dublin but going via Limerick; it would have been quicker by car or bus.

[Thunderblaster]

I used the train from New Haven to Grand Central in New York and also from New Haven to Washington DC. The most expensive train would be the high speed Acela train that runs from Boston to Washington DC. The fares are not particularly cheap but you have got good trains over there.

[sonofstan]

Took a train (the train they call the city of New Orleans!) from Memphis to St. Louis this summer - went to the Amtrak station in Memphis a few days before to check the times and discovered that the timetable consisted of precisely two trains each day - one from NO to Chi, one the other way; that was it. Given that Memphis is about the size of Dublin, that's kinda sad; On the plus side, the train was really comfortable (big seats for my long legs) and there's loads of attendants, so safety isn't an issue - they also ask you where you're getting off and mark your seat so they'll wake you; on the minus side, it was pretty slow, especially compared to continental European trains, and even IE would have managed it quicker. Later, I took a train from STL to Chicago - much more choice with times, but still, the station in STL is smaller than the one in Enniscorthy...... it's definitely a minority option (it seemed cheap enough - less per mile than in most of Europe - $70 STL to Chi which is about 260 miles I think; it's more than €50 Dub to Cork these days isn't it?)

I have to say though, much as I love trains, driving in the US is a much better option - car hire is really cheap, especially if you book ahead, and the rail network is so limited in terms of places served and number of trains - and don't forget, internal flights are pretty cheap and frequent.

[Closed Account 2]

Yeah ideally i'd hire a car, but i havent driven since 2000 (been a student until 2004 and after that insurance prices were high and I could get by on public transport in London)... so I think driving isn't an option. It's a pain coz it restricts me to the train, but I do have some frequent flyer miles with United Air and South West which I can use on maybe one set of internal flights.

I also know for £200 approx you can get a full usa rail pass for 1 month. I found this map (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Amtrak_schematic3.png) and thought of going from NYC to Miami via WDC, or even from LA to WDC via the south.

Basically i've 2 1/2 weeks off that I have to take by the end of the year (work won't let me carry them over to 2008). The fact I've got 2 1/2 weeks means I want to go somewhere reasonably far away (ie not Europe), the dollar is very low at the moment so that seems like a good option. Australia and the far east (Thailand, Indonesia, Ankor Wat) I don't think I could really do them justice in 2 weeks.

I've friends in DC so ideally I would spend some days there, but I'm pretty open.

[sonofstan]

£200 sounds like a good deal if its really unlimited - let us know how you get on?

[Bluebeard]

Did a cross country trip by Amtrak Rail pass in 2000, from LA, to San Fran, to Seattle, to a small town in Montana by a National Park, to Chicago, to New York. Great experience, BUT:
:ball:Very dull after you leave the Rockies
:ball:It can be quite uncomfortable trying to sleep on the train for the overnighter bits (it seemed forever from Montana to Chicago)
:ball:It doesn't really stop long enough anywhere to get off and have a wander, something one gets used to on the Trans Sib.

That said, I would recommend it as a way of getting to see an America, and a great way of getting to meet real Americans.

[paul_oshea]

Ah, BB, i have the picture of you now, is this you:

http://www.emich.edu/public/history/moss/turg1880.jpg

Do you build model trains in your attic too, and stay there for days on end? going choo choo and spinning on a swivel chair as the train goes round and round?


That said, I would recommend it as a way of getting to see an America, and a great way of getting to meet real Americans.

I met one of them once, first time in chicago, got off the plane and sat down on the train with my mates and female american friend who picked us up and all of a sudden I was awoken from my slumber by this "real american" saying "We've got 6 kids, we dont believe in birth control, what the lord has in store for us he gives us ". His voiced reminded me of how we were supposed to learn french when asking a question. It was extremely accentuated on the "birth control" part. That was the motto of our 3 week holiday. And I never forgot it and I dont think I ever will.

[Bluebeard]

Ah, BB, i have the picture of you now, is this you:

http://www.emich.edu/public/history/moss/turg1880.jpg


Don't be ridiculous. It looks nothing like me.

I wear a hat.



Do you build model trains in your attic too, and stay there for days on end? going choo choo and spinning on a swivel chair as the train goes round and round?

Ooooh, spot the wealthy bugger with the attic!

I have actually met a couple of these types - very strange people. My favourite was a very peculiar gent in Stratford Upon Avon who ran his (dodgy) replica of the Stratford station strictly by the train timetables of the mid 1950s - visiting him one morning, he broke off mid-sentence, announcing that the 7.16 pm coal train from Brimingham was about to arrive. Until it had gone, and a train which passed through daily at 7.19 pm were dealt with, he spoke not a word other than to state what was happening at the station in his 1950s replica world.

I'm a train-traveller though, not a train-spotter. I would accept being called a "Spotter"-spotter, I suppose.

[superfrank]

Trains in Canada are brilliant. The best train journies I ever had were from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Québec City, Montréal and Ottawa. Not really that far distance-wise (comparatively) but fantastic scenery and comfortable trains.

I don't know about American trains but if they're anything like Canadian ones they'll be great.

One of my favourite possesions is a Canadian timetable I picked up back then.

[jmurphyc]

I don't really think that the east coast is anything special other than the cities. Between Richmond in Virginia and Jacksonville in Florida there's nothing there at all really (and it's about 800 miles between them). If you want to go down to Miami after visiting the north east it's best to get down there as quickly as possible as you wouldn't miss much in between. However, it really is worth getting there as there's such a variety of things to do in Florida.

[a.a.d]

I would rent a car if I were you, Rentals one way have an extra charge on them,shop around for the bets deals. I got a one way rentla from Vegas to San Fran and cost around $50 including tax for a full size car ad then again a one way from San Fran to LA for about $40 including insurance, Drove down the Pacific coast highway to LA and the benefit as most have already said is that you can stop when and where you want.

[Closed Account 2]

Good advice lads, good advice... anyone any tips on where to stay in Miami ?

[sligoman]

anyone any tips on where to stay in Miami ?PM strangeirish, he might let you stay with him:D

[paul_oshea]

ya, and introduce you to some female friends of his ;)