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Wow...

This is the best reading for those who like train travel I've seen in a long time. http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Train-Eastern-...y/dp/0618418873

On 30 and 31 August I was on the south-bound Texas Eagle from CHI to DAL. The train arrived at almost every stop on time or early (20 minutes early into DAL) with lots of UP freight trains waiting patiently on the side the entire length of the ride. It was wonderful but shocking.

My American Airlines flight recently landed at MidAmerica Airport (about 35 miles east of St. Louis) to wait for a storm to pass. This new airport (built in the late 1990s) reminds me of the airport in Normal, IL except that it has no airlines or scheduled flights save for a few charters once or...

I’ll be spending most of February on business tips on the Michigan trains: especially 350 and 353. What kind of equipment do these use, are they punctual, and what can I expect? I have to make one trip to Toronto on Viarail, and wonder if anyone has experience with the Tunnel Bus between...

Does anyone know why viewliner standard sleeper rooms seem wider and more accommodating than superliner standard sleeper rooms? Is the viewliner coach itself wider than a superliner? If not, what has been made smaller to give the impression that the viewliner standard bedroom is wider than the...

When taking a small group of five people on a business retreat I arranged from Dallas to San Antonio on a recent Friday, all was going well until the Texas Eagle was halted for six hours in Temple, Texas by a UP derailment a few miles to the south. Rumors circulated about busing the hundred or...

While riding along on various trips, I often wonder (with a little worry) about switches in the tracks. A derailment could be the result of an error. Who moves the switches? Does the engineer move them by radio, does he ask someone else to move them, or does everyone trust “the system” to have...

As I said elsewhere in this forum, I’m taking my first Acela trip next week; going first class between NYP, PHL, and WAS. What should I expect? Is it true that there is a separate waiting area for the Acela in certain stations? Is first class simply a service upgrade, or is it in a separate car?

So, here I am anticipating my first ride on the Acela next week. According to Bombardier, the HHP-8 Locomotive is capable of 8,000 HP, which seems very high for just about anything, never mind a locomotive. Does anybody know why the horse power rating is so tremendously high?

I have a sensitive question, which the moderator may –at his discretion- delete from the forum without offense. Here goes. The toilets on long Superliner trips can get rather raunchy, a situation not helped with the warm weather and the recent cutbacks in service staff. So, as I try to do my...

Early this month (June) I had to go to New York City from Dallas on business, so I went the Amtrak web site to make a reservation on the Texas Eagle and the Lake Shore Limited in both directions. The reservation system could not find me a seat on the Texas Eagle in either direction: not a coach...

The Empire Builder has two parts in Oregon and Washington that meet and split at Spokane. The two parts west of Spokane have only one locomotive. Now, the Texas Eagle has only one locomotive for the summer season. Why are there usually multiple locomotives when apparently only one will do the...

I am only a few days away from my first experience on Viewliner equipment: taking the Lake Shore Limited to New York on a business trip. (Yes, I’m excited.) As someone with lots and lots of Superliner experience, I’m having a hard time imagining a diner without a second floor. How is a Viewliner...

The superliner transition sleepers for the service crew have, like most cars, a door on each end. But these are a bit strange with a high-up door on one end to mate up with the other superliner cars, and low-down door on the other end to mate up with the baggage car. This seems to restrict the...

later this month I will take my first ride (in a standard sleeper) on Viewliner equipment. Is there anything someone like me with lots and lots of Superliner experience should know? I'll be getting off #49 (Lake Shore Limited from CHI) at NYP, and taking the Long Island Rail Road to Hicksville...

I'm taking the 8965 or 8967 bus from Chicago to Madison soon (after getting of the Texas Eagle from Dallas), but am not familiar with Van Gilder. What can I expect on the trip, which appears to be less than three hours?

I'm almost never on Amtrak the eastern U.S., but have to go to New York (from Dallas) on Business in May. Which train is best from Chicago: Three Rivers of Lake Shore Limited? I've not been on either of these and am without a clue.

I take the Texas Eagle twice a month and the Sunset Limited once a month (on average) for business travel. I always check the “Check Train Status” function on the Amtrak web site to judge the on-time situation, and have finally noticed that, for the east-bound Sunset Limited arriving in New...

I guess my question is a New Jersey transit question, but I'm not sure. If I have to get to Princeton, NJ, how should I get there: from the Philadelphia or Newark airports? Should I take Amtrak to New York (from Chicago)? If so, then what should I do to get to Princeton?