Maximum mileage in 15 days?

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

caravanman

Engineer
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
4,799
Location
Nottingham, England.
Hi,

I have not used the newer "segment" railpass yet, all my railpass trips were with the older pass.

If I am starting in New York or Washington, what combination of long distance trains would give me the maximum mileage and scenic diversity with 8 "segments" over the 15 days?

I would consider paying for a short connecting bus or train ride as well, to preserve the value of the longer segments on the rail pass.

Yes, I am being a bit cheeky, I should try and work it out myself... ;)

Cheers,

Ed. :cool:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ed, I like the "cheeky" comment. I don't know, but you can bet that there are some minds whirling as I write this to give you a good answer.

Enjoy the trip when it happens! :)
 
for diversity sake, how about LSL , EB, CS, CZ(back to CHI), SWC, SL(to NOL and CONO or SAS and TE), finish with Card to NYP.

not sure if it aligns perfectly because of the 3 day a week nature of CARD and SL. could finish with CL from CHI to WAS (or NYP with connection) but I believe that is lower mileage. Just a quick run at this, I'm sure someone else can do better......
 
This one, created last June, is 4 days over your limit but is the longest one I could find that didn't pass over the same piece of track twice:

MarathonTripe.jpg

But this one required finding lodging for 7 nights along the way. Maybe just whack a total of 4 days of one or both ends?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
However, if you were willing to change your endpoints to Milwaukee and Seattle you could continuously go back & forth between between those two cities on the Empire Builder for 15 days (starting in one and finally ending in the other) and travel a total of 14,840 miles (7 trips of 2120 miles each). You'd have a scheduled dwell time of 1h 45m in MKE and 6h 15m in SEA so there'd be no hotel expenses and with time enough in SEA to grab something to eat off the train. However, after 7 consecutive trips through Montana and North Dakota you might find your mental faculties have deteriorated a bit! :blink:
 
This sounds like one of those ironic punishments spiritual people envision as Christian hell. A bit like the traveling salesmen problem but in reverse.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I notched up about 12,500 miles in 15 days on the old pass, but need to put some thought into the "segments" and connections with the current pass.

I wonder if a hobo with a small income could shuttle about by train for 45 days without spending the night in a hotel?

(No, I am not going to try!)

Ed. :cool:
 
Correction to Post #5: Instead of doing repeated trips of 2120 miles between MKE and SEA, you could do 50 additional miles by going back & forth between MKE and Portland for a total of 7(2120 + 50) = 15,190 miles. Your dwell time in PD would be 6h 35m, but you might have to change trains in Spokane.
 
I believe there is an anti-commuting clause with the railpass, that restricts the number of times you can travel over the same track... Thank Goodness !

Ed. :cool:
 
We did our crazy trip in 8 days and maxed out our pass: Salinas to SLO, to Los Angeles to New Orleans to Philadelphia to Boston to Chicago to LA via Southwest Chief and home. 2 nights not on the train - NO and Boston...... We actually had to pay for our Acela portion from Philadelphia to Boston.
 
LSL (one night), EB (two nights), CS (two nights), SWC (two nights), CZ (two nights), San Joaquin + bus, SL/TE (three nights), CL (one night). I think that's the limit, and it may actually be over the limit. If it's over the limit, finish with San Joaquin + bus, SL, Crescent instead.
 
Got bored with nothing to do and started to plan as if I was going to take such a trip. That's a good way to fritter away a few hours, plus it's kind of fun! Some questions:

Q1: Is it safe to assume you'd prefer to start and end your rail journey at the same place (NYP or WAS) rather than start at one and end at the other?

Q2: Looks like flying to WAS would cost about 50% more than to NYP, so would that make NYP your preferred start/end point?

Q3: Is there any city or place you would very much like to spend a day off the train to see the sights?

Q4: I've heard Savannah Georgia is quite a beautiful place, so have you been there yet?

Q5: It's impossible to go through New Orleans without spending a night in a hotel, the station or some jazz joint - did you have your heart set on seeing New Orleans?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The longest that I could picture for 8 segments would be:

1. NYP (or BOS) to CHI on LSL

2. CHI to PDX on EB

3. PDX to SAC on CS

4. SAC to Galesburg IL GBB on CZ

5. GBB to LAX on SWC

6. LAX to CHI on TE (must arrive in LA on the correct day of the week)

7. CHI to WAS on CL

8. WAS to NYP or BOS on NE Regional
 
This one is 9525 miles in 10 nights/11 days and does not involve any mandatory overnight stays off the train. It will work with no overnight stays only if started on a Monday on or after 14 March 2016. That's because of track work somewhere East of LAX on the TE/SL route and the necessity to start the Cardinal on a Wednesday and the Texas Eagle on a Sunday.

1. NYP to SAV on the Star

2. SAV to WAS on the Meteor

3. WAS to CHI on the Cardinal

4. CHI to PDX on the Empire Builder

5. PDX to LAX on the Coast Starlight

6. LAX to CHI on the Texas Eagle

7. CHI to WAS on the Capitol Limited

8. WAS to NYP on a NE Regional

The longest dwell time is about 15 hours in Savannah Georgia and the shortest is 1 hour in LAX. The others are 4 to 5 hours. There are no doubt trips that yield more miles, but this one seems to give a good sampling. Up and down both the East and West coasts, across the wide open spaces West of Chicago on a Northern and Southern route and a 4 day pad you could use to spend some nights and days wherever you desire - but be mindful that the Cardinal and Western part of the Texas Eagle only run 3 days a week.

Also note that if you wanted to spend a night in New Orleans, many other route possibilities arise.

Q: As airfare from the UK to WAS seems about the same as to Montreal, had you ever considered beginning your journey in Montreal?
 
Quick question: Why terminate in SAV if you're only doing the Star/Meteor? Presuming you need to do the Star south and Meteor north, you should be able to safely get to JAX (layover of about 10:30), WPK (layover of about 4:10), or ORL (layover of about 3:30). Given the choices, I'd probably angle for WPK since there are some good places to eat nearby, and hop off at DLD if I was running excessively late.

Edit: Doing this would also, I believe, nudge you over 10,000 miles.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,

Believe me, I have frittered many hours away planning my own past trips, all part of the fun!

No problem with a night or two off the train, just trying to imagine the best / maximum milage per railpass.

I have stayed in NOL several times, and love the vibe there. Never been to Savannah, that is somewhere on my wish list.

WAS listed as a potential start point because I know the HI Hostel there is a lot cheaper than the NY one, and I would spend some time before and / or after the trip just sightseeing.

Don't need to start and finish in the same place, as it would be only part of a longer visit to USA.

No "must see" places via the railpass trip.

I am not sure why airfares are so high at the moment, considering the oil price drop, the fares seem even steeper than a few years back? Although airfare to NYC is probably cheapest, the high price of hotels there can make other ports of entry better value.

I loved my 10 week visit, 2014, which was a mix of trains, car hire, and meeting up for the AU gathering in San Francisco. Still hankering after another Embarcadero steamed dumpling! :)

Ed. :cool:
 
Ding! Boston is closer to you than either WAS or NYP, and one-way air fares to BOS seemed the lowest of all when I checked Hipmunk for travel on 23 Mar 2016. Nottingham to Boston was $633, to NYP was $695, to Montreal was $817 and to WAS was $920. Fares from Dublin to those places were about $250 to $510 cheaper!

Q: Had you considered arriving in Boston and/or starting your rail journey there?
 
Quick question: Why terminate in SAV if you're only doing the Star/Meteor? Presuming you need to do the Star south and Meteor north, you should be able to safely get to JAX (layover of about 10:30),
I've never been to SAV or JAX. Which would have the most things for a visitor from the UK to see & do, like grand old mansions, best chitlins, etc.?
 
Hi,

Please don't spend too much time over my potential trip... At this point I am just scouting out options and possibilities.

Nottingham is not a great place to fly from, route wise, and I tend to fly out from London (any, LON), Manchester (MAN) or Birmingham (BHX).

Boston is another place that I would like to visit, so starting there would also be an option.

I found that if I fly to Dublin from Nottingham , EMA, and then fly back to London, and then to Chicago I can save quite a lot of cash, but it is not too eco friendly!

Someone kindly messaged me and pointed out that some airfares are on sale, so fingers crossed.

Thanks everypeople for your interest!

Ed. :cool:
 
This one covers 10,115 miles in 11 days/10 nights with no mandatory nights off the train. Same restrictions as before about the timing between the two non-daily trains (Card & Eagle) and that the connection in LAX will work only after the middle of March (assuming the track work gets done as scheduled).

1. BOS to WAS on Acela 2153

2. WAS to JAX on Star

3. JAX to WAS on Meteor

4. WAS to CHI on Cardinal

5. CHI to PDX on Empire Builder

6. PDX to LAX on Coast Starlight

7. LAX to CHI on Texas Eagle

8. CHI to BOS on Lake Shore Limited

I've no idea what the hostel situation is like in Boston, but the town is just sloppin' all over with history - if you're into that sort of thing.
 
Here's another longer one. Airfare from Boston to Chicago is as cheap as $51 on the date I looked. So LON to BOS to ORD = $409 + $51 = $460. Beginning and ending your rail odyssey in CHI lets you chalk up 13,321 miles with no track duplications using this one - but it requires an overnight in Seattle and New Orleans and perhaps others :

1. CHI to SEA on the Empire Builder

2. SEA to SAC on the Coast Starlight

3. SAC to GBB on the California Zephyr

4. GBB to LAX on the Southwest Chief

5. LAX to CHI on the Texas Eagle

6. CHI to NOL on the City Of New Orleans

7. NOL to NYP on the Crescent

8. NYP to CHI on the Lake Shore Limited

Changing the last leg to the Cardinal would add a few miles at the "expense" of repeating the 330+ miles of track between CVS and NYP. I'd think for the maximum miles alone, CHI
would be the natural place to start simply because there are more LD trains to & from there than anyplace else. There may be longer ones too. I'm getting jealous! :p
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi niemi24s,

Yes, the sloppin' all over with history in Boston quite appeals, although we are pretty flooded out with the stuff over here too! :)

Interested to know which airlines you are looking at to get the low fare to Boston.

Cheers,

Ed.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top