I would rather fly.

If Amtrak is the little Lebanese boy from down the hall........then no....I haven't

I had a buddy that liked to jump out in front of trains and make them slam on the brakes.

It never really worked and he's dead now.

Gotta say, I love the Amtrak. Sure, it's slow but it is nice to see the country without having to drive. I took a train from Albaquerque to Milwaukee and back several years ago. And last year I took the amtrak from Chicago to San Francisco, and then San Francisco to LA. Bring stuff to do, and bring your patience and it is a very chill way to travel. Oh yeah, and you can take the Amtrak to Yosemite from San Fran for like $40 round trip or something. Great deal so you don't have a rental car sitting at your campsite for a week that you are paying for.

Last summer we got sleeper rooms both times. Hadn't really planned to on the last leg, but it was cheap ($100) upgrade. I definitely recommend it. I think total for my girlfriend and I was $820 from Chicago to San Fran. But, that was 52 hours of beautiful scenery and that $820 included all of both of our meals. When you add in the meals, it is really a decent deal to upgrade to. Always bought the cheapest sleeper room where the two of you face each other.

If you are travelling alone, though, probably doesn't make sense.

You also meet some interesting people on the train, especially during dinner when they seat you with other people.

And the observation car and lounge car are cool. The Coast Starlight down the western seaboard even has some wine tasting.

Definitely bring your own booze ( wine in my case ).. it helps.