Recent content by tomfuller

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...

In Gallup NM, there is an Enterprise car rental along the old Rt. 66 about halfway between the airport and the Amtrak station.

If you are traveling solo, try to get on early so you have your choice of the single seats instead of 2 seat pair.

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.

Freeze string cheese before leaving home. Try to keep it below 70 degrees until you eat it.

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...

I do remember making a cross platform transfer from either the SWC or the Sunset Limited to the Coast Starlight. Another time I arrived on the Sunset Limited an hour after the Starlight left. They directed us to busses to Bakersfield where we got on the San Joaquin train all the way to...

15 minutes before you get to a station stop is a good time to head upstairs and go to the Viewliner car. A few minutes after the train leaves you can decide if you have a better view from the upper level. You may sleep better in the lower level with a little less sway but maybe more rail noise.

As I remember it, the Sunset Limited leaves Los Angeles at 10PM (after the Coast Starlight arrives) which is long after sunset. You'll catch a sunrise between Yuma and Maricopa.