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I take Amtrak all the time from here, St. Louis, to KC and Chicago. You lose a couple hours compared to flying, but being 6'4", it is immeasurably more comfortable.
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I try to avoid using any kind of mass transit where the general public has access to the fucking brakes.
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Took one in 1975, don't remember a damned thing except being at Union Station.
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I went on the Amtrak to get to New York. Started in Mount Pleasant, IA. Had a five hour stop in Chicago. Total: 30 hours.
It was much cheaper than flying. I sat next to an Amish kid the first 10 hours and we talked about life and things. He was going to see his girlfriend in Indiana. You can meet some interesting people, and you can see the countryside, and you can just sit back and read if you want to. I enjoyed it. |
So the seats are comfortable? If you were sitting on one for an 18-hour trip, would it be okay, relatively speaking? And how crowded are they? Would I have someone next to me in most cases, and if I wandered to the viewing lounge could I find a seat?
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The seats were comfortable enough for me. I had no complaints. I never went to the viewing lounge. But you can get up and walk around anytime. I did go to the snack lounge and got a drink a couple of times. That wasn't crowded, and I do remember there being a booth/bench thing. |
I 've rode the Sunset Limited (sleeper car - great time, good food, awesome scenery, good movies, interesting fellow travelers), the Texas Eagle (San Antonio to Dallas - short trip) and a few "unnamed" trains.
It really depends on your disposition and expectations if you will enjoy the trip. You can walk around but spend the majority of your time sitting. Walking is at times challenging so if you have a drunken stagger perfected - you'll be fine. :) I'd recommend at least one train trip in your life. |
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I took one from Denver to Sacramento once. I enjoyed it. Very relaxing. I'd say get a sleeper if you are going to be more than one night.
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I've done it from STL to KC. Not a bad ride and they are improving ride times. You have more leg room than a plane and more ability to get up and move around. I'd definitely do it again.
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I'd highly recommend the trip from Denver to Glenwood Springs in the winter time. Awesome scenery. The time schedule works out good where you can leave Denver early in the AM, check out the scenery, arrive in Glenwood Springs around 3p, walk across the street to the Glenwood Hot Spings Hotel, hit the hot springs and stay the evening.. and then catch the train back around noon the next day. But be forewarned.. rock slides do delay the train frequently :)
IMHO Amtrak space-wise is like 1st class, but delays can drive you nuts. I wouldn't want to be on there for more than 1 day at a time. DT |
i use to ride it all the time as a kid -
went many many many many times from newton to topeka and a few times from newton to Cali (LA) - couple times to Colorado the seats were way better than a 15 hr plane ride |
never taken an amtrak, but took a Greyhound once from KC to Winfield KS; took fucking 9 hours (about a 3-4 hr car ride).
worst experience ever. I suspect a train trip is similar. |
I did several times as a kid but cant remember much about the experience that would be relevant now. I last looked into taking a trip about 8 years ago in college thinking it was cheap and was surprised that it was damn near the cost of a plane ticket.
The quality of the tracks and sharing them with freight trains severely limits the speed as well. It's hardly like anything in Europe where high speed rail travel is more feasible. |
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