Riding Amtrak for fun?

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
dadonatrain

dadonatrain

Service Attendant
Joined
Feb 17, 2022
Messages
195
Location
Easley, SC
I love to ride trains. I’d ride Amtrak just for the sake of riding a train and watching the world go by out a train window. I don’t do it anywhere near as much as I’ve always wanted to, and I’m scared I’m running out of time. I’ve told my family if they bury me I want my epitaph to be “All things considered, I’d rather be on a train”.

But from the tone of some messages here, on trainorders.com, and elsewhere, it seems sometimes that riding Amtrak just isn’t much fun anymore. Late trains, dirty windows, mediocre food, yada yada yada.

I’m well aware that most of us railfans who think things are all hunky dory aren’t as likely to post msgs saying that as folks who had an unpleasant experience are. So the messages themselves aren’t a valid indicator of real conditions, I suppose.

So I’ll ask for opinions. I’m not asking you to bash Amtrak! I’m not asking you to bash me for how I feel about riding trains or why. I just wonder: all things considered with what Amtrak is doing these days, is it sensible at all to maybe just buy a USA pass and use it up riding up and down the east coast from SC where I live and back again for as many day train rides as I can squeeze out of it? Or is it just not that much fun any longer to just hop on a train and see where it goes?
 
Back at n Sept I took the Silver Star to Winter Park then hopped on the Silver Meteor a few hours later to return home.
Winter Park was a nice same-day turnaround point. You’ll have more time to spend there if you did a 91 to 92 turnaround. *I did it in sleepers both ways*

So, yes, riding the train just for fun is something I enjoy.
 
I have ridden the train for fun for most of my life. I am 57. I have experienced delays, surly crews, a cancellation, and a trip schedule altered two days before departure because a sleeping car had been removed from the consist.

The way Amtrak handled the cancelation and the sleeping car fiasco was infuriating at the time. The cancelation, understandably occurred when Donner Pass was closed for blizzard conditions. Amtrak's miscommunication caused me to dash into the Sacramento station to get hotel accommodations from a ticket agent who knew nothing about it. There also was no compensation for the two days I had to wait on the Zephyr during the summer. My GF was major league pissed at me for wanting to stay and wait on Amtrak. She flew home and is in never again territory for overnight travel.

On nearly every other trip I had an enjoyable experience. I know the procedures and expectations of the crew so I avoid most of the minor annoyances of Am scolded for not waiting at the entrance to the diner or for some other minor transgressions. When I experience a particularly obnoxious employee I know how to push back and be left alone.

I enjoy train rides so much that my non-railfan friends know to playfully encourage me to ask for a refund when the train arrives early at my destination. Or to say that I was fortunate to get 7 hours more train time when the train was delayed.

In the past 30 years, I have probably traveled 500,000 miles on Amtrak. For the most point, all of the routines of train travel are a welcome respite from daily life challenges. I enjoy getting to the station early to wait in the Chicago Metropolitan Lounge. I enjoy the first meal in the diner on a West Coast train knowing that I will be on it for the next two nights. Settling into a roomette is second nature to me. On the California Zephyr route, several of the crew members know me and it is a pleasure seeing them again. On most of the routes I know the route well enough to know where the train is and I enjoy having this insider knowledge. One night, on a quick rt on the Lincoln Service after a crappy day at school, I assisted a conductor when he momentarily forgot if we met a passenger train going the other direction. Since I saw it and knew what it was, I reminded him of the approximate time, and which side the other train passed us. He thanked me. I had overheard him asking himself this question, and I discretely assisted.

I do not like the flex dining at all. But if I "Need a train ride" I will tolerate it. If I have a choice I will go west every time.

On my last trip, a round trip to Minneapolis in early January of this year, the windows were immaculately clean on 7 and 8. I have observed that the venture cars are filthy. I have decided to wait until things straighten out in the Chicago yard before riding Midwest corridor trains.

I maximize three day weekend by flying to the West Coast on Friday and then catching an eb train back to Chicago on Saturday.

I have not gotten tired of the scenery on the west coast trains. It is different every time because of the weather and other situations.

Hope this helps.
 
The answer to your question, OP, probably has a lot to do with how fun you think it will be. That's more important than almost anything. The tenor of your post suggests that you would have fun with it. And that you're flexible and don't have any specific time or location requirements. So if something cancels or the weather is bad one day, you'd just go another day. It seems like from SC, you could travel either north or south depending on various factors. Why not indulge yourself in some impromptu adventures then. I've seen some recent Amtrak emails that there is a current 50$ off deal on that pass (which I'm also not familiar with) so you might want to take advantage of it. I can see the appeal of just joyriding without pressure, so far my life doesn't really accommodate that and if it's a long trip I'm not going in coach. But again does that really mean anything to you? Heck no. It sounds like you would really enjoy having that rail pass and just taking it day by day.
 
I guess the pass is still on sale for $449, a great deal if you ride longer trains. It's less than $50 per trip.
If you want to limit your trips to daytime only does that mean you would ride someplace to a motel? Then you could continue the next day or return home. Or are you planning on short daylong round trips? That would probably limit your options so would you get bored with the same trip after a time or two? And you might want to check the schedules to see if the pass really saves you money on whatever short trips you plan. Maybe you could just take a couple of trips and buy a bunch of train videos :)
How much did you enjoy the last train trip you took?
I usually think they're a lot of fun but on some longer trips it can get tedious. If there are delays the trains amenities become especially important.
 
Ask yourself this one: What does how much fun some train rides are for someone else have to do with how much fun some other train rides will be for me?

My recommendation is - if you need to ask, then don't go.
 
dadonatrain said:
I love to ride trains. I’d ride Amtrak just for the sake of riding a train and watching the world go by out a train window. I don’t do it anywhere near as much as I’ve always wanted to, and I’m scared I’m running out of time. I’ve told my family if they bury me I want my epitaph to be “All things considered, I’d rather be on a train”.

But from the tone of some messages here, on trainorders.com, and elsewhere, it seems sometimes that riding Amtrak just isn’t much fun anymore. Late trains, dirty windows, mediocre food, yada yada yada.

I’m well aware that most of us railfans who think things are all hunky dory aren’t as likely to post msgs saying that as folks who had an unpleasant experience are. So the messages themselves aren’t a valid indicator of real conditions, I suppose.

So I’ll ask for opinions. I’m not asking you to bash Amtrak! I’m not asking you to bash me for how I feel about riding trains or why. I just wonder: all things considered with what Amtrak is doing these days, is it sensible at all to maybe just buy a USA pass and use it up riding up and down the east coast from SC where I live and back again for as many day train rides as I can squeeze out of it? Or is it just not that much fun any longer to just hop on a train and see where it goes?
Click to expand...
The thrill of being out on the rails going somewhere is still there in spite of Amtrak's sometimes poor or inconsistent service. So if you love riding trains, you should still seek out that experience. The complaints here and elsewhere might help you decide to avoid certain trains or routes. In my own case, flex food has soured me on most of the eastern overnight runs, but other people tolerate it just fine. And even without those trains, I still enjoy the excitement of rail travel on the Northeast and Empire corridors, the Downeaster, the Ethan Allen and other eastern day trains, and even from a lowly Metro North or NJT commuter run. If you're riding mainly to get from A to B, of course, on a bad day a train ride can turn into a chore or worse, but it partly depends on your frame of mind. You know best what you enjoy and what you're willing to tolerate.
 
Last edited:
Do keep in mind, as mentioned above, that you can't make all your rail pass rides over the same "segments"...
I loved using the pass, and riding Amtrak for fun, but I am not so sure nowadays.
It may be my age, as I find that even my India train trips are not the attraction that they once were.
With Amtrak, when I first began to use it, one almost always got an empty coach seat beside one, much easier to rest. Now, with fuller trains, it is good for Amtrak revenues, but not so welcoming for me!
As an experienced Amtrak customer, I know how low the whole service bar can be set at times, and I accept that variable, if I just survive each trip intact! ;) :cool:
 
I have to admit all my Amtrak trips have been for transportation although in many cases I chose the train when driving or flying would have been more practical. I think the only time I ever rode a train just for fun was in 1982 in the UK with a Britrailpass I rode from Orpington to Ashford just to ride one of the unique "Hastings" DEMUs on what was then BR Southern Region.

But I think I have always enjoyed a train trip even going back to the Penn Central days and shabby P70 coaches on a clocker from NY to Philly. There is something special about a train.
 
If you want to just ride trains, come on north and find a reasonably priced hotel or airbnb somewhere on the NEC between Washington and Boston and ride day trains to your heart's content. There's the Boston-Washington Regionals and Acelas, but there's also the side lines like the Keystone (which have cheaper fixed prices), Empire Corridor, Springfield line, etc. Plus the Ethan Allen and Vermonter. And the trains to Virginia. The trains are frequent and pretty reliable. Of course, like any transportation, you can have an "adventure," but the frequency of service means you will nearly always get home that day. No dining cars on most trains, but one could splurge for a roomette on the Silver Meteor or Silver Star between New York and Washington and get a lunch in the dining car with traditional dining.
 
My husband and I ride the train "mostly" for the fun of it. We've taken a couple of trips from Toledo, Ohio to Chicago via Amtrak mostly for the opportunity to ride on the train. In March we are taking the train from Toledo to New York City which is a 14.5-hour ride just to spend one night in the city before hoping back on the train to return home. There's something about being on the train that we both love!
 
How I wished that any of my relatives or friends would love to ride the train with me. At that point I might even be able to tolerate flex dining.When they do get on the train it’s complain and more complaining. It’s so slow, it takes too long, why are we stopping, can we go faster. I’m only on here because of you mom(lol) if u enjoy the train take the train. Never realizing the peacefulness of riding a train. I load up on music, videos, snacks, etc and enjoy the ride. So few things today calm the mind and soul so if it’s trains/ go for it
 
A pleasure of living in cities (DC and Pittsburgh) with reasonably good public transit is that I can take trips for fun. I subscribe to the Economist which comes relentlessly every d**n week, well, duh, that's why I pay for it, and which takes hours to get through properly. Joy-riding one of WMATA's Metro lines to its terminus, or Pittsburgh's "T" to South Hills Village or Library, is a great way to alternate reading and looking out the window. Trainfans will understand. I should do that sort of thing more often on Amtrak. A weakness, I suppose, is that I enjoy scenery, even scenery that many fellow riders consider bleak or blighted or boring. So the Economist remains unread.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Light_Rail
 
You are a bit of a drive from Charlotte but the NC Train Host Association does have member in SC ( I think the Rock Hill area) and VA (Danville area it seems.) You could ride the Carolinian from Charlotte to Rocky Mount and then take the return back to Charlotte in one day. I think it is about 16 hours not counting your time to get to Charlotte. You could ride the Crescent as it is in Charlotte about an hour before the Carolinian leaves and they ask you be at the station 30 minutes before your host ride starts. Getting back to Easley is more problematic given the arrival time of the Crescent southbound.

You have to go through training and that happens when it happens and right now hosts are not traveling to Rocky Mount due to construction at the Rocky Mount station but Charlotte to Raleigh is happening and points in between. You could also do some other runs such as Charlotte to Greensboro and check out some of the other stations with rides on the Piedmont trains. Greensboro is worth visiting (I am biased but it is beautiful.)

N.C. Train Hosts | North Carolina Amtrak Service
 
Last edited:
I recommend trying a few solo trips first. If you like it try including your significant other. I have tried numerous times to include my GF and she is just not interested in trains. This is okay, and she encourages me to take train rides on my own.

Our first overnight effort was on the Capitol Limited back in the summer of 1997. We had a roomette. Things got off to a decent start with an on-time departure. The waiter in the diner was rude. After dinner I thought playing Barry White would set an interesting soundtrack to sharing the wonders of riding in a roomette with the lights off at night. A thunderstorm flashed outside, and we rolled along. Then we stopped. We sat through two long Barry White songs. GF asked questions. I turned off Barry White. His smooth voice was replaced by the harsh chatter of railroaders trying to straighten out a mess. The signals were out, and the storm had blown trees over onto a stopped freight train. We sat for two hours looking at the same house. We were just west of Porter. I can identify that house 30 years later.

We went to bed. GF asked how long the delay would be. I speculated we would be eating breakfast in Toledo. GF asked what time we were due into Toledo. I told her 12:00 a.m. She did the math. My god, we will be 6 hours late.

It was early in are relationship and she was always encouraging me to find the blessing in any situation. I pointed out that this was a blessing because we would see the section of track from Toledo to Pittsburg in daylight since we were so late. She did not see this as a blessing. LOL.

Our most successful trips were short ones to St. Louis and a trip on the Acela in first class. She has learned enough from me to book her own trips. If she is traveling back from St. Louis she deliberately avoids booking on the Texas Eagle because "It is always late and that is disharmonious to her". She even knows that it is identified as train number 22.

Once you have experienced Amtrak enough you will learn how to navigate around the minor pitfalls and some of the major ones. Then you can include your significant other to see if they like train travel. If the person asks many questions about why you take the slow train, and just in general does not sound positive, this is a good indicator to leave them at home and go solo.
 
In my own case, most of my Amtrak trips were fun trips. OK, I did end up looking around and being a tourist in the places the train took me, and I discovered some fascinating places I would probably never have seen. But in all but a few cases, the train always was the main attraction. The other stuff was just something to do now that I was here anyway.

In this situation, it doesn't really matter when a train is late. In fact I was once 6 hours delayed on the CZ and positively enjoyed the delay as it meant I had more time to savor on that train. On many long journeys I actually feel a little sad arriving as I'd much rather be staying on the train.

Yes, surly crews, cancellations and stuff that doesn't work can be annoying too. But you just need to be prepared and bring a positive attitude and these things suddenly don't matter very much any more. Hang around in the SSL, and chat to people and make new friends. Bring something to read to lessen the waiting time. Even surly crews can cheer up when you spare them a smile and a little sympathy.
 
Steve4031 said:
I recommend trying a few solo trips first. If you like it try including your significant other. I have tried numerous times to include my GF and she is just not interested in trains. This is okay, and she encourages me to take train rides on my own.

Our first overnight effort was on the Capitol Limited back in the summer of 1997. We had a roomette. Things got off to a decent start with an on-time departure. The waiter in the diner was rude. After dinner I thought playing Barry White would set an interesting soundtrack to sharing the wonders of riding in a roomette with the lights off at night. A thunderstorm flashed outside, and we rolled along. Then we stopped. We sat through two long Barry White songs. GF asked questions. I turned off Barry White. His smooth voice was replaced by the harsh chatter of railroaders trying to straighten out a mess. The signals were out, and the storm had blown trees over onto a stopped freight train. We sat for two hours looking at the same house. We were just west of Porter. I can identify that house 30 years later.

We went to bed. GF asked how long the delay would be. I speculated we would be eating breakfast in Toledo. GF asked what time we were due into Toledo. I told her 12:00 a.m. She did the math. My god, we will be 6 hours late.

It was early in are relationship and she was always encouraging me to find the blessing in any situation. I pointed out that this was a blessing because we would see the section of track from Toledo to Pittsburg in daylight since we were so late. She did not see this as a blessing. LOL.

Our most successful trips were short ones to St. Louis and a trip on the Acela in first class. She has learned enough from me to book her own trips. If she is traveling back from St. Louis she deliberately avoids booking on the Texas Eagle because "It is always late and that is disharmonious to her". She even knows that it is identified as train number 22.

Once you have experienced Amtrak enough you will learn how to navigate around the minor pitfalls and some of the major ones. Then you can include your significant other to see if they like train travel. If the person asks many questions about why you take the slow train, and just in general does not sound positive, this is a good indicator to leave them at home and go solo.
Click to expand...
My first ride with my wife was on our honeymoon. It was late but I had prepped her for that. We did not take more long trips for a long time due to kids and not being able to afford it to be honest. We did do some day trips and I took a few long trips for workshops on my own but never in a sleeper. Our next trip in a sleeper was our 25th Anniversary. And we are running late and then we derail under WAS. Not a great trip but we had traditional dining and some nice conversations with our tablemates.

For our 30th Anniversary trip last summer we were a little late due to storms and a tree on the track, but around Lynchburg my wife is sleeping and makes a comment about not caring if we are late as she was enjoying the trip and was sleeping fine. I don't think she really wanted to detrain at 12:30 AM if on time or 2:00 AM as expected. So things are moving in the right direction with her attitude. And she clearly puts up with train trips with me. I did get her to open her own Amtrak CC for the points. Again moving in the right direction.
 
Any time I see a [passenger] train, I ask myself "Why am I not on that train?" I have experienced bad service, delays, surly crews, and excellent service, on-time (not too often), and cheerful crews.
I'm 74. In March I am going from Austin, Texas to New York to see my brother (76), not in good health. I have a roomette on the Eaglet, hotel in Aurora, Illinois (I rarely do a same day transfer, with the Eaglet as bad as it is on timekeeping [thanks, UP]), a bedroom on the Cardinal. Four days in NYC, NE Regional to Boston Back Bay (please be on time), about two hours to cross Boston to North Station, Downeaster to Brunswick, Maine, in Business Class. Two nights. Return to Boston, cross to South Station, bedroom on the Lake Shore Limited, hotel in Aurora, Illinois, Bedroom on the Eaglet. Twelve days, Seven trains. It's fun. The whole trip is discretionary, and rediculously expensive, but It's fun.
 
Last edited:
Second thank you after so many neat responses after ,y first thank you.

I’m very encouraged by how many of you also seem to love just hopping on and riding. I esp like the idea of the short ride binge trip to New England. I have never seen much of VT, NH, or ME. I haven’t done the historical things around Boston in nearly 50 years. I definitely want to do those again. I’d love to take a boat tour of Norfolk harbor. See the Yorktown historical things. Tons of places to go.

Thank you all again for your heartening messages.
 
dadonatrain said:
Second thank you after so many neat responses after ,y first thank you.

I’m very encouraged by how many of you also seem to love just hopping on and riding. I esp like the idea of the short ride binge trip to New England. I have never seen much of VT, NH, or ME. I haven’t done the historical things around Boston in nearly 50 years. I definitely want to do those again. I’d love to take a boat tour of Norfolk harbor. See the Yorktown historical things. Tons of places to go.

Thank you all again for your heartening messages.
Click to expand...
I went from Southern California to the Bay area to NYC and then back to Southern California by the more direct route a year ago. Then just straight to NYC and back in September. I visited my daughter but she had just been here for Christmas so it was as much to ride the California Zephyr in the winter and just riding the SWC for the heck of it. I had a good time but it was more fun riding w/ someone I know vs just riding alone.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top