It really is easy to book a train trip on line at either the Amtrak or the VIA Rail (Canada) web site and that’s the best way to go unless your trip is complicated. By that, I mean if you’ll be changing trains along the way, or if you want to stop several times en…
I wish I had kept track of all my Amtrak journeys. It would be fun to know how many times, for instance, I have ridden the Empire Builder between Seattle and Chicago. Or how many total miles I’ve logged. What I can tell you is that, except on very rare occasions, I have been tremendously…
After two nights on the Empire Builder and a 24-hour layover in Chicago, I’m ready for another overnight ride. This one will be aboard the Cardinal, which I think is Amtrak’s best-kept secret among all its eastern trains. In my opinion, the eastbound train is the better choice because you will pass through more of…
Well, as promised, Amtrak has announced plans for the purchase of new equipment. The first phase of the program, which Amtrak describes as “priority,” will include the purchase of a number of different locomotives and passenger cars. They plan to replace all of the AEM-7 locomotives (these are the electric locomotives that operate along the…