Eastbound or Westbound on Long-Distance Trains?

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Woodcut60

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Sometimes my colleagues ask me ”What is better, eastbound or westbound?” in terms of scenic beauty in daylight, travelling at night but missing interesting sites, etc., and I feel that it is difficult to answer. Or is it? What would you say about Amtrak’s long-distance cross-country trains in terms of getting the most value for your money?
 
The main factors for this, for all of the LD trains, are daylight and boarding/detraining times.

Look at the schedules for the trains that interest you, consider the time of year and part of the train's route you'll want to travel, and you'll see that some trains offer better calling times and opportunities for scenic views in daylight.

Remember to consider the possibility of delays as well. For example, if you're traveling westbound on the CZ, you're pretty certain to see the Rockies and Colorado River in daylight. No so certain eastbound, if the train is delayed.
 
On the Empire Builder, eastbound is better, hands down. The scenic highlight of the trip is Glacier National Park, which you pass through at approximately 8:00-10:00 AM eastbound and 6:00-8:00 PM westbound. The westbound trip is in darkness in the winter, and possibly in the summer if the train is late. The eastbound trip is almost guaranteed to be in daylight.

On the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief, the interesting scenery isn't nearly so concentrated, so you'll probably get some good views in either direction, even if the train is late.
 
On the Empire Builder, eastbound is better, hands down. The scenic highlight of the trip is Glacier National Park, which you pass through at approximately 8:00-10:00 AM eastbound and 6:00-8:00 PM westbound. The westbound trip is in darkness in the winter, and possibly in the summer if the train is late. The eastbound trip is almost guaranteed to be in daylight.On the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief, the interesting scenery isn't nearly so concentrated, so you'll probably get some good views in either direction, even if the train is late.
This post is both accurate and succinct. Our forum really needs a "like" or "thank you" button.
 
Eastbound on the Capital Limited and Cardinal also get you daylight on the best of the scenery.

However, eastbound also doubles your chances of missing your connection if you have a connection to make.
 
Eastbound on the Capital Limited and Cardinal also get you daylight on the best of the scenery.

However, eastbound also doubles your chances of missing your connection if you have a connection to make.
Missing connections is a problem at both ends, but actually probably less so at WAS. Most of the connecting trains at WAS have multiple frequencies so if one is missed, there is another, whereas at CHI, a lot of the connections are for trains running just once a day.
 
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What's appealing about going west is you leave the "best" for last. That is, if beautiful scenery is your interest. But having done 3, 5 and 7 all westbound (obviously) it would be a different experience to go the opposite direction. I did 422 (all the way from LA) earlier this summer and was a disappointing trip on most accounts. Probably will not do that again.
 
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