My 7-year-old granddaughter gets her first overnight train ride today. We’re leaving from Los Angeles this morning on the Coast Starlight and will arrive in Seattle tomorrow evening. I am unashamed to admit this is my favorite of all Amtrak’s long-distance trains … … and it’s the Pacific Parlour Car that makes the difference. It…
An hour out of Denver and heading west, the Zephyr climbs up through the Flatirons and skirts a broad expanse notorious for very high winds … winds so strong at times that heavy rail cars have been toppled. At the worst spot is a row of a dozen or so hopper cars filled with gravel…
People are always asking me about which of the Amtrak trains I like best. And that’s hard, because there are different reasons for liking certain trains. For instance, I think the California Zephyr’s route is the most scenic. The Adirondack is the train for Fall colors. And if you’re into hot, flat and dry landscapes,…
I had two overnight train rides on my recent trip – from Paris to Hamburg en route to Copenhagen and from Copenhagen to Cologne on the return. Both were on a City Night Line train. Both were disappointing. Accommodations were acceptable, if rather drab. But the combination bathroom/shower was a marvel of efficiency and…