overnight train's virtues put anxieties to sleep
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amamba
Engineer
Nice article!
sunchaser
Conductor
Nice read. Good to see an article that doesn't go through a long list of negatives, but it did make me wish I could have ridden the older train routes! 
Cristobal
Lead Service Attendant
Nice article and video but one of the comments was typical of those that aren't on a train to "Enjoy the Journey". It was something to the affect of "But it takes 22 hours to go 1000 miles! That's only 45 mph average. They need HSR to get you there in just 6 hours!"
She could perhaps use the historical perspective of knowing that there was a time when the fastest trains from NYC to CHI took just under 16 hours. (as well as that there used to be many more trains)Nice article and video but one of the comments was typical of those that aren't on a train to "Enjoy the Journey". It was something to the affect of "But it takes 22 hours to go 1000 miles! That's only 45 mph average. They need HSR to get you there in just 6 hours!"
And no doubt the highway journey of that time, before interstates, was much longer than today.
Cristobal
Lead Service Attendant
The author spoke very highly of the experience. It was one of the reader's comments that I was referring to.She could perhaps use the historical perspective of knowing that there was a time when the fastest trains from NYC to CHI took just under 16 hours. (as well as that there used to be many more trains)Nice article and video but one of the comments was typical of those that aren't on a train to "Enjoy the Journey". It was something to the affect of "But it takes 22 hours to go 1000 miles! That's only 45 mph average. They need HSR to get you there in just 6 hours!"
And no doubt the highway journey of that time, before interstates, was much longer than today.
G
Guest
Guest
It is great she had a good time, but her experience is that of only a small percentage of passengers since she was in a sleeper. I wonder how she would have felt spending the night in coach?
D.P. Roberts
Conductor
1) I think some of these comparisons are unfair. In the "Golden Days" of rail travel, the Vanderbilts and Roosevelts may have traveled in gold-plated train cars. Modern train travel, even in the sleepers, isn't the same.
For comparison's sake, most major celebrities and the super-wealthy today fly in private jets. The fanciest private jets have leather couches, gold-plated bathrooms, and other amenities that are light years ahead of what the major airlines offer today, even in first class. 99.9% of Americans can't afford to travel in a private jet, and 99.9% of Americans back in the "Golden Era" couldn't afford a Vanderbilt-esque sort of rail travel.
2) Personally, the added time of rail travel isn't a problem. Flying anywhere in the US takes most of a day, if you add in the time it takes to get to/from an airport, waiting in security, and dealing with the side effects of all those Dramamine tablets many of us have to take. Personally, I'd rather take two days on the train. The problem, as the PP said, is the added expense of a room.
3) I've never been in a Viewliner roomette, but from what I've seen I'd take a Superliner roomette any day. While I'd like to have a second window (especially for that upper bunk), I have no interest in having a toilet right next to me, especially while I sleep, and I like the storage in a Superliner roomette better.
4) I love the comment that you see the "back side of the world" from a train. That was one of the most surprising and enjoyable parts of the train trip for me. The scenery, even in large cities, seemed so much more real - no building facades, billboards, or other distractions.
For comparison's sake, most major celebrities and the super-wealthy today fly in private jets. The fanciest private jets have leather couches, gold-plated bathrooms, and other amenities that are light years ahead of what the major airlines offer today, even in first class. 99.9% of Americans can't afford to travel in a private jet, and 99.9% of Americans back in the "Golden Era" couldn't afford a Vanderbilt-esque sort of rail travel.
2) Personally, the added time of rail travel isn't a problem. Flying anywhere in the US takes most of a day, if you add in the time it takes to get to/from an airport, waiting in security, and dealing with the side effects of all those Dramamine tablets many of us have to take. Personally, I'd rather take two days on the train. The problem, as the PP said, is the added expense of a room.
3) I've never been in a Viewliner roomette, but from what I've seen I'd take a Superliner roomette any day. While I'd like to have a second window (especially for that upper bunk), I have no interest in having a toilet right next to me, especially while I sleep, and I like the storage in a Superliner roomette better.
4) I love the comment that you see the "back side of the world" from a train. That was one of the most surprising and enjoyable parts of the train trip for me. The scenery, even in large cities, seemed so much more real - no building facades, billboards, or other distractions.
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Cristobal
Lead Service Attendant
Unfortunately, that's a double-edged sword. Yes, there may be those that see what is out there along the rails as 'America past' but I'm afraid that many more might see 'America lost'.
Just this last week I rode the CC from GAC to SAC and back and I saw a lot of what most don't see including a "bum" completely passed out and laying near the track in the middle of the afternoon within the first 1/2 mile of leaving Sacramento. The poor guy looked dead to me but he was probably just a 'regular'. The other thing that stands out on many train trips is the graffiti that is predominate along the walls and buildings no longer in use while you are rolling through town.
I too enjoyed the arcticle. As for highway travel....I find travel on todays interstates mostly boring. Nothing but trees, for the most part, except the towering signs from motels and gas stations clustered at the exits.
I used to enjoy travel on the old highways back in the fifties. You would usually go right down the main street of small towns (larger towns had "bypass routes"), and the signs and roadside "kitsch" tourist attractions (or 'traps'), made for an interesting journey. You got to see the real flavor of a locale, not the homogenized scnario that is today where the restaurants and everything else seems the same from coast to coast.
It was the same for traveling by train. Each railroad has its own unique personality (good or bad). For an easterner like myself, it was a real thrill the first time I climbed up into a Burlington Vista-Dome for an engineers eye view from the right front seat leaving Chicago.
RailFanLNK
Conductor
I enjoyed the article immensely and thanks for sharing it. Cristobal, I think the graffitti thing is mainly a California thing. Yes, I have seen graffitti elsewhere in the US but the second I seemed to hit CA for the Get Together over a year ago, there was graffitti etched into mirrors in public restrooms, benches, sidewalks, walls ...I mean...it was everywhere. I thought it was sad.
sueb
Train Attendant
I see people said it was a nice article. Unfortunately, to read it i would have had to install an updated Flash player which will not fit on my "home" drive on my elderly desktop MAC. Could posters please warn people if videos and links need software upgrades to be viewed. Yes, it would be nice if I could get a newer machine, but that isn't happening until I find a new job or get called back from lay-off. Anyone know of any openings for an experienced business analyst/technical writer/project manager, I'm available. Can't relocate but willing to make long commutes - preferably by rail.
wayman
Engineer
There's a video at the top of the page (I haven't watched it, but it's there and it fills the entire screen when you load the page), but we're talking about the lengthy article below the video. Try scrolling down -- I suspect it's there.
G
Guest
Guest
LOL, because flash wont work on Apple's newest product either.
http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/us/a...o_sleep?mode=PF
Try this format, you should be able to read the article here.
Jack
Try this format, you should be able to read the article here.
Jack
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