Rail pass midwest/north coast circle next Spring

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morgan51

Train Attendant
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
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54
Location
Lincoln, NE
I'm hoping to do a 15-day Rail Pass next Spring, to and from where I live in Lincoln, NE over to the Pacific coast and back. I would love any advice or suggestions:

Other than enjoying the ride, my only goal is to spend some time at an inexpensive B&B or motel on the coast. I've lived in places up and down CA, OR and WA, and am vaguely familiar with some areas. My granddaughter and I traveled via Amtrak Rail Pass in 2011, and we stayed in Florence, but we had to drive to get to a beach.

This trip I want to avoid the added expense of renting a car, so I'm hoping to find a place within walking distance to the ocean. Plus if I avoid the car, I might be able to afford a group charter fishing trip. Someplace like Westport, WA might be a good idea, if there is a way to work out transportation to and from Amtrak.

Anyone know of any towns or package deals that might work for me?

I am disabled and live on a tight, fixed income, but with a cane I am very mobile, and I don't mind a hike. I don't need or want a sleeper car. And weather is unimportant, too. I love the ocean, rain or shine, wind or calm. I want to walk on the beach, read, rest, and just get away for a while, because if I don't, I'm going to end up even crazier than my family tells me I am already.

I can either take the southern route (Lincoln westward then north out of Sacramento - did that last time) one direction, and the northern route (either Seattle to Everett to Spokane, or Portland to Spokane) the other direction. Either way is fine as long as I stay within the limits of the Rail Pass regarding time and legs of the trip. I might enjoy a few hours in Seattle or Everett where I used to live.

My problem is how to skip the unnecessary travel east of Lincoln. There is a 24-hour layover in Chicago, which adds too much time and distance. Plus, I imagine those routes are pretty congested?

Should I find a way to go from Lincoln to a smaller station up north, then head west? For example, Fargo, ND is a 6-hour drive from Lincoln. Then I could come back home directly into Lincoln via the southern route, through Sac, Reno etc. I don't know if there is bus service between here and Fargo, though, or any other stations outside Chicago along that way.

Thinking out loud here, so thanks for reading this far. I would love any comments or suggestions!

-- Carol Z.
 
I'm not sure how your transportation situation is in Lincoln, but the bus depot and the Amtrak station are about 5 miles apart. A taxi or some other transportation would probably be needed to get between those two. I think they're closer in Omaha, though it's still a mile or so if memory serves me correctly.

Your best bet if you want to take the Empire Builder is to connect from bus to rail (or rail to bus) in St. Paul. Most of the other stations on the Builder's line are pretty far apart, but in St. Paul they go to the same building (it's a very convenient connection there.) Either way should work, but I would probably do the bus connection first rather than last. Doing it first does have a 4:55 AM departure from Lincoln in order to get to St. Paul by 6:30 PM or so, but doing it last puts you at the mercy of the Builder's random lateness, and the afternoon/evening bus back to Lincoln from St. Paul bus has some awful-timed layovers. Plus, the only "tight" layover on the way up from Lincoln to St. Paul on the 4:55 AM schedule is the transfer in Minneapolis to get to St. Paul, and if that's missed it's about a half-mile (maybe a mile, but I don't think it's that long) walk to the light rail that goes between the two cities every 10 minutes, so you should still be able to easily make that connection yourself.
 
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Thanks, jebr, that's very helpful. I didn't know anything about the St. Paul area or station, so that's helpful info. I thought I'd read the bus station here in Lincoln closed down, but I'll check into that. Once I get the brochures I've requested by mail from Amtrak, I should be able to plan better. Sounds like bus to St. Paul and connect to Amtrak there might be my best option. Thanks again!
 
It seems that your major goal is to get to the ocean on the west coast, correct? Here's what I would do: Take the Zephyr from Lincoln to Glenwood Springs, spend a day or two there,enjoy the hot springs, continue on to Emeryville. Catch the Starlight north to Eugene, and the thruway bus to Florence, where you have been before, or all the way to Coos Bay. Or get off in Albany and bus to Newport Beach. It seems like those places would be more ocean like than say going to Seattle or Everett, you know on the Puget Sound, since you lived there; hard to get to the coast without a car. And then return home in reverse, see the same views, but at different times of the day. I have some ideas for heading south also if you are interested! I am not sure about how this would work with the Railpass,not familiar with how that works.
 
How to avoid a long layover in Chicago: Get on the eastbound CZ (about 3:30AM) and go to Galesburg (GBB) arriving about noon. Hang around Galesburg (nice railroad town) until 5:30PM and board the westbound SW Chief all the way to Los Angeles (LAX). You should make the connection to the northbound Coast Starlight. If you miss that connection, buy a ticket on the next Pacific Surfliner to Santa Barbara.

The SBA station is within walking distance of the pier and several hotels.

The next leg of the trip is SBA or LAX to Coos Bay Oregon which involves a short layover in Eugene with a bus to Coos Bay.

Take the bus back to Eugene and another Amtrak Cascades bus to Portland or Seattle.

Come back south on the Coast Starlight to Sacramento arriving about 6AM. Have a good breakfast in SAC and then take the CZ about 11:15AM. If you have enough days and segments left, make a 24 hour stop in Glenwood Springs. There are a couple old hotels next to the world's largest hot spring fed swimming pool. For a hike I went up to the hilltop cemetery to see the memorial stone for Doc Holliday
 
Thanks tomfuller, great suggestion! Coos Bay was on my short list, I used to fish around there when my kids were little. And Galesburg sounds great too. Funny you suggest Santa Barbara because we had to skip that leg last trip, but this time it might work for me. I'd love to take the SW Chief, never been that route. I still was hoping to find a way to incorporate the Empire Builder because I've always wanted to go that way, but getting to or from Lincoln without going through Chicago is the difficulty. Thanks also for the cemetery and memorial suggestion. I love old cemeteries. I grew up in Reno and visited Virginia City many times. I love history. Anyway, lots of ideas and I thank you all so very much.
 
Thanks also, Ronbo. You are right about Puget Sound, I think that was nostalgia talking. I miss that area so much, just riding by on the train would be nice. Glenwood Springs is sounding better and better, and I'll look into your suggestion about Newport beach too, I'm not familiar with it. Just planning this trip is enough to get me through yet another awful midwest winter.
 
tomfuller (or anyone else), can you tell me if there is any way to connect from the Empire Builder eastward from Spokane to the California Zephyr back westward to return to Lincoln NE, or is there still a long layover in Chicago? I have the schedules but not sure I am reading them right. I'm still hoping to take that Northern route somehow instead of going through LA or any points south.
 
Well I agree with you about planning your trip, to me that is half the fun! I have spent many hours planning numerous potential itineraries that I would like to take, and I don't know if I will ever be able to actually make them a reality, but I will be ready when I do!

Anyway, enjoy the process and enjoy your trip when it happens, and let us know how it goes!
 
Thanks, Ronbo, will do! I know it's a long time until Spring, but I'm already excited - and motivated to save up for the trip. Yes, the process is half the fun! I'm having a blast thinking about where I could go, where I could stay. Or I may decide to ride the entire trip and then simply turn around and come home. I loved riding Amtrak before and am fairly well practiced at "Amtrak restroom etiquette and long-trip grooming" LOL I definitely will keep posting and let you all know how it turns out. So far the suggestions have been so much fun. Thanks to you all.
 
After looking along the Oregon Coast on Google Maps, I see what you mean by needing a car to get around and to the ocean in Florence, access cut off by the Siuslaw River! To bad they don't have a pedestrian bridge somewhere along there. Coos Bay is kind of the same situation. But when you look at Newport, it is right next to the beach! Plus it is also served by a thruway bus out of Albany.There seems to be several accommodations along there also. And public transit which you could use to explore the town if you wanted to.

It might be kind of neat also to travel from Lincoln,NE..............to Lincoln City,OR!!! But I am not sure how to get there without the use of a car.

Have fun!

Ron
 
Ronbo, I'm already having fun just thinking about this trip. Newport is one place I'm considering. I have a friend in Northern California who is going to drive up for a day on the beach, too. I didn't know about the bus out of Albany, so that's helpful. I have another forum thread going where I was asking about the Chicago layover, and it looks like I'm going to do that after all. With some planning it would be an affordable way to go the route I originally wanted, plus enjoy some sight-seeing and relaxing in-between trains. So, things are falling into place, but my only lingering problem is that Spring can't get here soon enough!
 
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