Least scenic Amtrak route/section of route?

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GlobalistPotato

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Because not every train is the California Zephyr...
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I know almost all of Amtrak's LD routes are fairly scenic for at least some section of the route. But there are many routes, mainly in the east, that aren't so scenic.

Some people may say that these routes are "scenic", but I think it just seems "scenic" because Amtrak takes different routings than the highways and therefor has an "alternative" perspective.

So if there is an overall route (preferable a LD route) that really is unscenic or boring, then what is it?

And sometimes it's a certain section of a route. For instance, the California Zephyr has some of the best views on Amtrak while riding through the Rocky Mountains, but the section through Nebraska probably isn't the most impressive sight in the SSL. Even though that section is traveled through at night. I guess it still counts.

At the same time, are there really scenic sections of the routes that aren't visible because Amtrak usually travels through them at night (unless the train is really late lol)?

I guess there could be a separate category for LD trains and corridor operations.
 
The approach to Chicago on the CL/LSL is pretty bad, and I've had to look at that more times than I can count on my way west. It's actually better at night because you get to see lots of city lights and none of the buildings emitting them. The difference between this and most urban areas is that it just goes on and on and on...

Toledo and Cleveland aren't that far behind, but you're usually asleep for them. I got to see Toledo one time when the LSL ran horridly behind...I kinda wish I hadn't.

Oddly enough, most of the NEC isn't too bad, and even in Newark...the Meadowlands may not be extremely scenic, but they're not the worst things to have to look at.
 
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Every LD route has it's share of Boring/Dull Scenery but if forced to choose would say overall that the Sunset Ltd., all things considered, has to take First Place for the Longest stretches of nothing to see. Most of Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, away from cities, is pretty mundane also, no matter what train you are on! (cornfields fail to excite most people unless they own them! :lol: )

Top two for Best Scenery are the Zephyr and the Starlight with the Adirondack in the Honorable mention category! :wub:
 
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Every LD route has it's share of Boring/Dull Scenery but if forced to choose would say overall that the Sunset Ltd., all things considered, has to take First Place for the Longest stretches of nothing to see. Most of Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, away from cities, is pretty mundane also, no matter what train you are on! (cornfields fail to excite most people unless they own them! :lol: )

Top two for Best Scenery are the Zephyr and the Starlight with the Adirondack in the Honorable mention category! :wub:

But I, being used to the greenery of the East, find the Sunset Limited's western territory to be quite enjoyable.
 
CZ in the Moffat Tunnel, not too scenic.
From that perspective, neither is the EB in the Cascade Tunnel or the Flathead Tunnel. ^_^

Personally, I don't think the Nevada desert on the CZ is exactly scenic, either. But I would tend to agree with that the SL/TE, just for the amount of time spent in what I'd consider less than scenic territory, is right up there.

And another I'd add, surprisingly to almost everyone, is a good portion of the Crescent. To be sure, it is pretty and green throughout, but on my trip from New Orleans to Washington DC a couple of years ago, all it seemed like I saw were trees right next to the right of way. Now I like trees, but I also want to see some of the surrounding countryside too!!!
 
Actually, Cleveland, lit up at night with the Terminal Tower, Key Bank Tower, and the bridge crossing over the Cuyahoga are not bad.

But of course most people are sound asleep when they arrive on the CL or LSL :lol:

We find any view out the window of an Amtrak train is a "scenic ride across America" :p
 
When you factor in timing and duration, I'd put the Capitol Limited near the bottom. Much of the run is at night, so (depending on the season) you only get a few hours of scenery.
 
Like Jim said the Sunset Limited is pretty darn dull for much of its run. If you happen to travel right after a big rainstorm then the desert may be teaming with life, but otherwise it's about as boring as any route I can imagine. On the plus side, as bad as the SL's route is it's still substantially better than the route I-10 takes. Although in I-10's defense it will get you where you're going much faster than the SL can and you have the freedom to stop at weird little towns along the way if you need to take a break from the trip.

But I, being used to the greenery of the East, find the Sunset Limited's western territory to be quite enjoyable.
I think my head just exploded. ;)
 
When you factor in timing and duration, I'd put the Capitol Limited near the bottom. Much of the run is at night, so (depending on the season) you only get a few hours of scenery.
Interesting observation. I've always thought that, from a railfan's perspective, the LD trains in the East are a poor choice, financially, compared to Western LD trains because so much of the scenic portions are at night. To wit: CONO mostly at night, CL and LSL at night (the latter esp. along the Great Lakes), and Crescent through the Carolinas and Virginia. The only eastern LD train that, IMHO, approaches the value-per-mile price for scenery for western LD trains, is the Cardinal. And for a sleeper, it's really pricy precisely for that reason!

As for the Sunset, yes it cannot compete overall with the CZ or EB or CS, or even the SWC. But there is something beguiling rolling through the vastness of Texas, sitting with a beer in the Sightseer lounge or sleeper contemplating the connection between the endless vistas and American (or at the very least Texan) cultural traits and thinking.
 
About a month from now, when the desert is in bloom, the Sunset Limited is a beautiful view of one of our many national assets. Guess I'm a glass half full guy.
 
LOL about the tunnel sections!

And the Sunset Limited? It's interesting because it is so empty. I guess. What I find surprising is that it goes between SAS and HOU in the night, while it should be going through there during the day and West Texas at night. I guess the scenery there are the big and bright stars in the sky!

I would have to agree with the statement about the Crescent. It was actually one of the eastern routes that I thought wasn't that scenic, with the possible exception of between Atlanta and New Orleans.

Probably the most scenic section of the NEC is the shoreline route, while the least scenic section is through the industrial areas of the NE.

Does anyone know how scenic is the nighttime section of the Texas Eagle, particularly between Poplar Bluff and St Louis? I guess you wouldn't know unless you've drove over there or if you've been on a very late Texas Eagle!
 
LOL about the tunnel sections!

And the Sunset Limited? It's interesting because it is so empty. I guess. What I find surprising is that it goes between SAS and HOU in the night, while it should be going through there during the day and West Texas at night. I guess the scenery there are the big and bright stars in the sky!

I would have to agree with the statement about the Crescent. It was actually one of the eastern routes that I thought wasn't that scenic, with the possible exception of between Atlanta and New Orleans.

Probably the most scenic section of the NEC is the shoreline route, while the least scenic section is through the industrial areas of the NE.

Does anyone know how scenic is the nighttime section of the Texas Eagle, particularly between Poplar Bluff and St Louis? I guess you wouldn't know unless you've drove over there or if you've been on a very late Texas Eagle!
It's beautiful! I caught the Texas Eagle three hours late out of Little Rock about three years ago and so the morning hours found us winding our way through dense green forest and picturesque riverbank scenery (this was in late June) for several hours before getting into St. Louis about 11 a.m. You would have no idea there was civilization not far way. It's too bad that the on-time runs traverse the area in darkness.
 
On further reflection, I think any section of train travel in daylight hours provides something of keen interest, even if the scenery is not the stunning nature vistas from the EB or CZ or CS. The sights from the NEC trains in industrial areas are not gorgeous, to be sure, but they surely make you think about the decline of America's industrial base as you pass brick factory after brick factory with broken windows, dilapidated infrastructure, and so forth. I first became aware of this as a college student riding the northeast corridor in the late 1970s, when factories had moved from the northeast to the south to escape unionization. Some of those same factory hulks are still along the tracks, joined now by others where the jobs have gone overseas. Overall, train travel gives a window unmatched by any other transportation mode of the contrasting beauty, complexity and cultures in America.
 
Empire Builder east of Cut Bank, MT on day 2 either direction. Eastern Montana and North Dakota are pretty boring. Mississippi River running on day 1/3 is great, the Cascades and Rockies are great, but the majority of the day in eastern Montana, not so much.
 
Empire Builder east of Cut Bank, MT on day 2 either direction. Eastern Montana and North Dakota are pretty boring. Mississippi River running on day 1/3 is great, the Cascades and Rockies are great, but the majority of the day in eastern Montana, not so much.
How can you say that, when there's so much to see, all the way to the horizon, in every direction, unhampered by trees, buildings, or any sign of habitation? I'd have to vote the Crescent as most monotonous scenery. It's a graduate-level course in kudzu.
 
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Last summer when I took the Empire Builder from PDX-CHI, I had "feared" the scenery across Montana and North Dakota would bore the meow out of a cat. I was wrong! Even in the flat areas, it was fascinating to look across clear open land and understand why this is called Big Sky Country.
 
What I find surprising is that it goes between SAS and HOU in the night, while it should be going through there during the day and West Texas at night. I guess the scenery there are the big and bright stars in the sky!
One reason (and the big reason) is that the schedule is such so the endpoints (LAX and NOL) are served at "reasonable hours"! Otherwise it would have to leave and arrive each late at night.

The other reason is that so much padding was added during the SP/UP meltdown that it became a night run. Before, the SL left LAX at 10:30 PM, stopped in ELP in late afternoon and ran overnight to SAS. Now it leaves LAX at 2:30 PM! (And you get to see "downtown" Alpine and Sanderson!
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Although I don't think the Silvers rank very high as to scenery, they are great people movers up and down the east coast1!
I took one of those a few times when I was in college in Miami the 80s and I remember very little that was good to look at. Many vistas of the backs of warehouses and the kind of folks down south who live next to the tracks, each with at least one rusty pickup truck up on blocks. There was one place, in South Carolina I think, where the train ran right through the middle of the street in a sleepy southern neighborhood, that was beautiful.

I'm with the glass half full crowd though. I love to look at anything out of a train window (OK, the inside of a tunnel is an exception) . I like to look at the little towns I would never visit and think what it must be like to live there.

One fun thing to look for south of DC is the Marine Corps base at Quantico. You can usually see the presidential helicopters parked there, and they are the shiniest helicopters I have ever seen!
 
On further reflection, I think any section of train travel in daylight hours provides something of keen interest, even if the scenery is not the stunning nature vistas from the EB or CZ or CS. The sights from the NEC trains in industrial areas are not gorgeous, to be sure, but they surely make you think about the decline of America's industrial base as you pass brick factory after brick factory with broken windows, dilapidated infrastructure, and so forth. I first became aware of this as a college student riding the northeast corridor in the late 1970s, when factories had moved from the northeast to the south to escape unionization. Some of those same factory hulks are still along the tracks, joined now by others where the jobs have gone overseas. Overall, train travel gives a window unmatched by any other transportation mode of the contrasting beauty, complexity and cultures in America.
I agree. I find what you descibed to be very interesting. There is a whole world of so-called "urban archeologists" who are fascinated with the details of urban infrastructure and history. Entire websites on things like streetlamps, signs, water hydrants, etc.
 
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