Between us, Lorna and I have traveled about 100,000 miles by Amtrak. We have also traveled about 7,500 miles by train in Scotland, England, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and France. Considering myself a seasoned rail traveler, I offer these thoughts on how you can have a happy rail adventure.
These are our long-distance train trips on Amtrak:
- In 1995 I took the Lake Shore Limited and then the Texas Eagle to St Louis to visit my sister, and then reversed the route homeward.
- Spring 1997: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the Empire Builder to Seattle then up to Vancouver to visit Lorna's relatives.
- Home to Boston via the Empire Builder and the Lake Shore Limited.
- Summer 1998: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the California Zephyr to San Francisco to meet with a new employer, then we flew home.
- Winter 1999/2000: The Northeast Regional Service to NYC and the Crescent to New Orleans, then the Sunset Limited to Los Angeles. This was to celebrate the millennium New Year with friends in Santa Cruz.
- Home on the Southwest Chief and the Lake Shore Limited.
- Summer 2003: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles for a vacation touring the California and Oregon coast.
- The Southwest Chief to Chicago and the Lake Shore Limited to Boston.
- In May 2008, we took the Northeast Regional Service to a conference in Philadelphia, and then we took the Acela home.
- Summer 2008: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles,
- Then the Coast Starlight to Seattle
- The Empire Builder and the Lake Shore Limited home to Boston - almost circumnavigating the country by rail.
- Autumn 2009: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the California Zephyr to San Francisco for Lorna's big birthday trip to the Wine Country.
- Home on the California Zephyr and the Lake Shore Limited.
- In 2011 Lorna delivered a car to St Augustine and then took the Silver Meteor homeward to New Jersey and we drove home together from there.
- 2013: The Great Transcontinental Railroad Adventure: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago and the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles.
- Home by way of the Southwest Chief to Chicago and the Capitol Limited to Washington DC, then the Northeast Regional Service home.
- 2017: The Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, then the Southwest Chief to Riverside, CA. This tripped was marked by lateness - see Running Late on Amtrak. We flew home on a miserable JetBlue redeye flight and wished we were on the train!
People often ask me about these subjects: