Tips for cross country California Zephr/Lakeshore Ltd

[Pooh2]

Looking for some tips on a cross country trip next month, leaving Emeryville on the California Zephyr, then the Lakeshore Ltd to Boston.

We booked a bedroom on both trains.

Any tips for stations breaks, good photo ops?

Where can I find an schedule with how long the stops are?

Is it okay to go into the station on the breaks to take photos and stretch our legs?

Do any of the stations have interesting stores/concessions?

Any tips for items to make the journey more comfy?

Have to say, I am a little worried about getting in over our heads booking such a long trip!

The longest trip we've done is 30 hours.

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

 

[Willie1946]

Wouldn't count on going into many stations, stops are generally short. Train will never leave before scheduled time so if you are really early into a station there might be time. Always check with car attendant before going farther than the side of the train. If you get surprised far from your car when they holler all aboard, just get on the nearest car and walk through.

Take a 8ft or longer extension cord with multiple outlets. Only two, sometimes one outlet in the bedroom. Depending on which room you get, the outlet may be far from the small table by the windows.

I always carry a short length of duct tape, it will come in handy somewhere.

The door between rooms that can open to make a suite sometimes rattles. Folded paper towels can help but I've also crammed a crushed water bottle into the gap to stop the rattling.

Best advise ... have fun!

 

[NETrainfan]

Hi- Have done this trip three times. We use the Amtrak pamphlets for each train and bring a USA by Rail book with us to be aware of the photo ops and special places before getting to them. There are so many photo ops on the CZ. Have a great train trip.

 

[Lonestar648]

The longest stop on the CZ is 20-30 min in Denver, though there is a buffer so if the train is on time you could have longer. On the LSL has a 5 - 10 min stop in Buffalo, then 15 in Albany to break apart the two trains, none long enough to walk very far. Remember the Met Lounge in CHI between the North and South Waiting areas.

 

[niemi24s]

The Amtrak website has much of what you seek: Route Guides for each of your trains containing a summary of some things to look for; Amtrak System Timetable containing timetables (schedules) for each train. In addition to what others here may suggest as being worth a look-see, see for yourself by using the Directions mode of Google Maps or Google Earth which will highlight the route. Then (when in Google Earth) you can actually see from rather good satellite imagery what's along the route of any Amtrak train. Another tool is USGS Topographic maps on this site... http://www.mytopo.com/maps/index.cfm ...which in my opinion do a much better job of displaying terrain features along the routes - if you follow along the track symbols. Any of us can tell of sights that drew our interest, but our interests may differ from from yours.

You may have as much as 6 hours or so between trains in Chicago and the only thing I can recommend seeing on the inside is the Great Hall. And as Lonestar648 mentioned, the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago is a good place to kill any spare time. Others will no doubt suggest things to do & see outside of Union Station.

 

[KmH]

Photo OPs

Book Cliffs

Ruby Canyon - The CZ joins the Colorado River in Ruby Canyon and follows the river for the next 250 mile until just before Granby, CO.

There are a lot of birds along the river.

De Beque Canyon

Glenwood Canyon

Red Canyon

River rafters 'mooning' the train.

River rafters not 'moonin' the train

Gore Canyon - remote, grade V white water and rafting.

Byers Canyon

Fraser Canyon

Moffat Tunnel

South Boulder Creek

Gross Reservoir Dam

Views of Denver and vicinity during the descent down the Colorado Rockies Front Range.

Big Ten Curve

Big Ten Curve approach/departure from an airplane

Moffat Tunnel Route and the Tunnel District - 29 tunnels between Denver and the Moffat Tunnel.

You can follow the route of the CZ (and other trains) on this map.

 

[jshell]

Double and triple check with your attendant / conductor about the length of station stops, especially if the train is behind schedule. There aren't many chances to explore past the station itself so stay as close to the train as possible. I saw one woman nearly get left behind twice - "I thought I had time to go up to the little shops!" (she had run up to the train after the doors had closed but we hadn't pulled away yet). After the incident I saw (in Glenwood Springs, CO), our attendant said that it happens there quite a bit, and if it happens, you're on your own for making it to Grand Junction (on the 5, going west) if you want to get back on the train.

As it happens, when we pulled in to Grand Junction, I saw a woman waiting at the station who had been a passenger on the train (I'd had dinner with her the night before), so I imagine this situation happened to her.

 

[Pooh2]

Thanks for all the great information!

 

[chakk]

The shop inside the Grand Junction Amtrak station sells a 3-volume guide to the CZ route. This stop is always long enough for a visit to this shop, as the cars are watered at this stop. The conductor even encourages passengers over the P.A. to patronize the shop, noting that it sells stuff (like Coca Cola) not available for sale on the train. Just don't try to go visit other shops in town - then you will be left behind.

 

[Sauve850]

I have never been on a train trip that was too long. I always have a bedroom and get extra blanket as it can get chilly at night. I have a white noise app on my phone but have earplugs also. I sleep well. Wash cloth folded between the two rooms stops the rattling.

I have done the CZ many times. Then overnight in Chicago and CL to Washington and Silver Meteor on to West Palm Beach. Doing that same trip this summer. I find many stops on the CZ give me plenty of time to stretch my legs. Not much in the stations maybe Grand Junction.

Photo ops are plentiful especially out the back window of the last car. Can get some great tunnel type pics. As stated lots of birds, canyons, river pictures, mooners, fly fisherman and wildlife. As KmH stated coming down the front range is also very good. I have good shots of Donner Pass and Truckee area. I take plenty of pictures of the farms in Iowa and Illinois as well.

After the beds are made and its dark turn off the lights and open the curtains. Watch the sky and the world at night go by. Relax and enjoy.