Foo - Cross country train ride?

I'm thinking I'd go with the sleeper car... Have any of you slackers traveled this way? I've traveled all over England and France by rail, but the U.S. rail system seems..erm... lacking...

In Europe yes, but in the US no.

I looked at what it would take to go from Atlanta to Portland.
It was a week one way and if you wanted sleeper cars it would have cost six grand or so.

I have done limited travel on Amtrak in California. If I was traveling overnight I would definitely go for the sleeper car and some privacy.

There used to be a train from ATL to DC called the Emerald something or other. I rode that one time..was an overnight trip...and its a great way to travel

rawr

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070807/gallery/north_l.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DqvijITkw)

doh!

http://media.entertainment.sky.com/image/unscaled/2008/9/24/Bond-From-Russia-With-Love-03.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea7JxAvzUMg&feature=related)

I'm cool either way, pgoat. ;)

I just checked into pricing a grand for a nice 3 day trip with meals and bedroom included. :)

I did that many times to go to California when I was a teen. These days, if I had time to kill and didn't want to fly, I would drive, no question about it.

I've travelled all around japan by train. it's quite fun to go from tip to tip, and cheap too, if you use a JR rail-pass.

In canada you can travel across most of the populated areas in a very scenic route from vancouver to ottawa or toronto.

I haven't done it though.

I'd love to do it here but it's so expensive.

When I was around six, and we were living in Dallas, my father took a job in Oklahoma City. My mother remained in Dallas with my older brother and I so we could finish out the school year.

When we would go to visit my father, we would travel by AmTrak. As it was a day trip, we never used the sleeper. I still remember the adventure and intrique that the train held for me. This may be due in part to the fact that my grandfather used to ride the trains as a paperboy/snack vendor in the early 1900s and went on to become a steam locomotive repairman.

Whatever the cause, I loved riding that train back and forth between Dallas and Oklahoma City. We became such regulars, that one of the stewards, an older black man, befriended us. With our mothers permission, we would take my brother and I on tours of the train.

I can still recall standing in the open doorway of a baggage car, holding onto the chain link safety barrier, as the train rounded a bend by the river. You could see both ends of the train, which for a 6 year old was a pretty cool thing to see.

Someday, I hope that my boys inherit my love of trains, and as a family we can take some sort of great train journey. I would love to see Canada, esp. Banff by train.

I'd love to do it here but it's so expensive.

this is sad but true.

this is sad but true.

I'd still do it but when you factor in that it's slower, meaning you need to take more tie off, that makes dearer still, and so it's a tough choice. If I had a lot more vaca time, I'd love to do it someday. It would be so nice to avoid the airport but not have to drive.

I mean to make train travel itself the destination. I would not subject that on my young sons, as they need space to run. However, the prospect of sitting still for a week or two as the world moves outside my window as I enjoy a nice cocktail, an enthralling novel and the company of my beatiful wife is something that I hope to experience before I shuffle off this mortal coil

I mean to make train travel itself the destination. I would not subject that on my young sons, as they need space to run. However, the prospect of sitting still for a week or two as the world moves outside my window as I enjoy a nice cocktail, an enthralling novel and the company of my beatiful wife is something that I hope to experience before I shuffle off this mortal coil

It sounds romantic and all, but I'd be bored to tears. No chance I'd do anything like that.

Brother Jsharr,here is a link to help you plan that train trip. http://www.rockymountaineer.com/vacation_packages/package_details.aspx?id=284&view=true