Least scenic Amtrak route?

[WabashMike]

Ugliest has got to be Trenton to Philadelphia, unless you are into late 20th Century urban ruins sometimes painted over in gaudy colors in an attempt to put lipstick on the pig.

Because we all like that 1946 Downtown Stalingrad look

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[WabashMike]

CONO/Illini/Saluki but I leave 50 miles east of Champaign so there’s that

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[railiner]

It may sound funny, but back when they had some dome cars on "The Main Line of Mid-America", I used to love to ride at night, and watch the figure '8' beam cast by the E-unit's Mars Light upon the grain elevator's and other 'scenery' along the way....hypnotic!

 

[MiniMax]

All of our cross-country train routes offer gorgeous views of the country. We all have our favorites, but for me, the #2 Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to New Orleans is magic. We leave our beautiful Grand Union Station at 10 pm. The lounge is open. Around breakfast time we stop in Tucson for a half-hour. The historic Congress Hotel where they busted John Dillinger is right across from the station. It is well worth a walk over just to see the old lobby and maybe pick up a newspaper. There's an excellent coffee shop/bakery next to the station too. Just east of Tucson we ride by the huge airplane graveyard and into the vast desert of southern Arizona where so many of our cowboy sagas played out. We roll slowly by the Mexican border just before reaching El Paso for our second 30-minute stop. From there we enter Texas Big Bend country with its rolling hills and quaint landmarks such as the Prada shoe store in the middle of nowhere (an art installation about consumerism). There's a brief stop in Marfa Texas, location site for the movie Giant among many others. Watch for the mysterious "Marfa Lights." Early the next morning there's a 30-minute stop in San Antonio and then the train moves into the forest country of Houston. Moving east of Houston we begin to enter the Cajun bayou country with its many water ways, weird reptiles, and trees dripping with Spanish moss. Imagining the tales of voodoo and hoodoo out there. Finally, we cross the Huey Long Bridge into New Orleans late at night, but in plenty of time to enjoy some of America's only true art form: jazz - and perhaps indulge in something exotic before turning in.

Returning on the #1 Sunset Limited to Los Angeles the day and night hours are reversed and you get to view all of the Big Bend and Alpine country that you passed through at night in the other direction. The train arrives in Los Angeles at the crack of dawn, but they'll give you an extra hour of sleep if you need it before de-training. The LA subway lines are all conveniently awaiting your trip back to all parts of the city.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

While my favorites for scenery are still #1 California Zephyr and #2 Coast Starlight I'll admit I had avoided the Sunset Limited for years for a few reasons.

#1 - back in the glory days of AGR I could go New Orleans to California by way of Chicago or Chicago AND Seattle and get alot more trains for free then if I just went straight across on the Sunset.

#2 - I thought the Sunset would be boring. Just lots of trees and then lots of dessert.

Last year I was in New Orleans for work and headed for California so I snagged a good rate in a Roomette and I was totally surprised. Really nice and diverse scenery and as a bonus the dining crew was among the best ever.

 

[cpotisch]

Last year I was in New Orleans for work and headed for California so I snagged a good rate in a Roomette and I was totally surprised. Really nice and diverse scenery and as a bonus the dining crew was among the best ever.

Completely agree about the Sunset. People say it's just a boring, endless stretch of desert, but I love that it's really the only train in the Amtrak system that lets you see so much of the south. The desert was beautiful, I saw plenty of wildlife, and the crew was fantastic. I would say the Zephyr still holds the title for best views (though I haven't taken the Starlight), but the contrast brought by the Sunset's scenery was definitely worth it.

 

[rrdude]

IMO,all things considered,I agree that the Sunset/Eagle Route overall takes the prize.Others include the California Zephyr Route between Chicago and Denver ( with the exception of the Crossing of the Mississippi @ Burlington) and the Chief between Chicago and Raton Pass as the least scenic routes, with honorable mentions to the Heartland Flyer,Lincoln Service Route, Crescent,Meteor and the Starvation.( lots of these have the best scenery in the dark!)Special mention goes to the San Joaquin routes between Bakersfield and Stockton. ( with the connections to Ambuses for LA contributing)

Being from the south plains - the llano estacado - I thought the Crescent was lovely, at least between NOL and ALX. Admittedly I rode in the summer, the leaves on the trees and all that. Also admittedly I was surprised to see all that Kudzu in Virginia.

I’d vote for the Crescent, or the AT, Silvers....

 

[Bob Dylan]

Slight correction on the #2 Route which stops in Alpine,not Marfa, and you do get to cross the Huey Long and Pecos High Bridges in daylight on #1 heading to West to LA!

 

[chakk]

Hopefully, it’s among the ones I’ve never ridden.

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[cpotisch]

The Silvers really aren’t that bad (I’ve taken the SS/SM 15 times). The Meteor is, I think, the better of the two, with plenty of scenic lakes and rivers, and I would say that the farmland has charm. The scenery is not amazing, but I would object to calling it ‘the least scenic route’.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Out of the routes I have ridden, the Silvers are by far the most boring, especially in Georgia and North Florida. The most boring stretches in my opinion are Savannah-Jacksonville and Palatka-DeLand. To me, any scenery can be interesting if it is changing. Every mountain and urban area is different, so those areas never bore me. Meanwhile, except for in populated areas, much of the route in Florida and Georgia looks identical. I could see deserts or farmland being boring too, but I have less experience with them. Although I have been on the CL/LSL from Cleveland to Chicago multiple times, it is not constant farmland as it has urban areas, industry, and some water views, so that doesn't bore me. When I went on the CZ and EB, the farmland is covered in snow which made it very interesting to me; I don't think there's much better than riding a train through snow. The only experience I have with deserts that weren't at night was the CZ in Nevada, which could get boring after a while but had some interesting aspects such as the distant mountains and tiny towns. I found it very scenic as we got close to Reno with the skyline, Sierra Nevada Mountains, and even a few wild mustangs.

 

[neroden]

?

Any section of a route which runs entirely at night is the least scenic.

Except the LSL, because the steel mills and oil refineries are lit up at night.

I love the LSL scenery from Toledo to Chicago, but I like industrial history, so old steel mills are scenery to me.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

?

Any section of a route which runs entirely at night is the least scenic.

Except the LSL, because the steel mills and oil refineries are lit up at night.

I love the LSL scenery from Toledo to Chicago, but I like industrial history, so old steel mills are scenery to me.

There are actually some routes that can still have interesting scenery at night. The NEC trains travel through dense urban areas over most of the route so there is a lot of urban development to see if one is interested. On routes that are not entirely surrounded by trees, even terrain such as mountains can be visible, especially during a full moon. When I rode the CZ in December, there were some distant mountains visible in the Utah desert well after sunset. On the way back via the EB, mountains could easily be spotted between the Cascade Tunnel and Spokane.

 

[Sauve850]

I agree night scenery can be very good. Coming from the west coast on any train to Chicago I have trouble sleeping. Not because I'm not tired, I am.

I find it enjoyable to turn off the bedroom lights and open the curtains. The mountains lit up by the moon, the stars, the small towns we pass thru and even the interstates we parallel.

 

[Dakota 400]

I agree night scenery can be very good. Coming from the west coast on any train to Chicago I have trouble sleeping. Not because I'm not tired, I am.

I find it enjoyable to turn off the bedroom lights and open the curtains. The mountains lit up by the moon, the stars, the small towns we pass thru and even the interstates we parallel.

Opening the bedroom/roomette's curtains and watching the night time passing scenery has been an enjoyable experience for me as well.

Even before retiring for the evening and turning off the lights in my Sleeping accommodation, I really enjoy watching the after dark sights that I see.

 

[Lonestar648]

I always have my curtains open at night. Sometimes the moon lights up the landscape casting some beautiful scenes. There are the small towns with a few lights here and there. The middle of the night stop, watching the people around the station. On stormy nights, watching the lightning light up the area is a different scene to watch. I am sitting up in my bed watching out the window, occasionally dozing off, but most of the night enjoying the outside.