If you are going to be renting a car soon after getting off an Amtrak train it is hard to beat Galesburg IL with Enterprise within walking distance. I drove from Galesburg to Lima Ohio to a nice AirBnB. My trip this month included 6 nights in AirBnB's and one night for less than $80 in a...
As a veteran of several rail passes since 2001, I do agree to save segments and pay for rides of less than $50 out of pocket at the staffed departure station. Depending on how comfortable you are sleeping in coach seats, you might want to pick a spot to spend a night in a hotel bed so that you...
In August 2017 I hiked to the top of Sutton Mountain near Mitchell Oregon. After the eclipse, I found the geocache up there and put in a special eclipse coin for the next lucky finder. I did run into a bit of a traffic jam on the way back home. Last October I and many others had a terrible...
Depending on how far north you are coming from, you can get off the CS in Sacramento and have a good breakfast and then board the bus to Stockton and take the San Joaquin to Bakersfield and another bus to Los Angeles Union station. You will arrive at LAUS at least 2 hours before the CS arrives...
Galesburg (GBB) is a great place to get off. Not only to see the railroad memorabilia but there is an Enterprise car rental within easy walking distance. A few years ago I got off there and rented a car for a week. In that week I drove in 20 states (nearly 3000 miles). Arrived on the EB CZ and...
For anyone planning a trip to Flagstaff next year, you may want to avoid the Memorial Day weekend. The hotel rooms (even the expensive ones) will be booked by thousands of geocachers who are coming for GeoWoodstock XX. The main venue for the event is at the fairgrounds south of Flagstaff. The...
My experience with a very late Canadian was in late October 2001. The westbound train was scheduled to arrive around 4PM in Winnipeg. I and many other people slept on the hard floor of the Winnipeg station. The train arrived at 8AM, 16 hours late. It had not snowed a flake in Winnipeg but there...
My experiences with this transfer are as follows: First time we did a cross platform transfer to the CS and we left Los Angeles about 45 minutes late. Last time we arrived in Los Angeles hours late and the CS had left about an hour before we got there. They loaded all transferring passengers...
I do remember "riding backwards" from Philadelphia to Harrisburg many years ago. The train (Pennsylvanian?) had just come into Philadelphia from Harrisburg. It was at the end of my 30 day rail pass. Glad to get back home no matter which direction we were traveling.
My wife and I did use the city bus along the old US66 even with some luggage. The charge is only $2. Sadly the Route 66 hostel we stayed at has closed.
If you take the Zephyr westbound you will end up spending a night in Sacramento, Davis or Martinez and getting on the southbound Coast Starlight to Los Angeles the next morning. If you take the Southwest Chief westbound to Los Angeles and make the connection to the Coast Starlight you will...