The California Zephyr was a few minutes late leaving Emoryville but, start to finish, it was a good trip. As always, however, there were a few things that popped up and struck me as interesting and worth passing along. For instance, I thought the car attendant in my sleeper—a woman of about 50—went about her…
If you’re a regular reader here, you already know that Amtrak has been having a problem with late trains. You also know that much of the blame for this issue falls on the freight railroads for ignoring the law and failing to give preference to Amtrak trains operating on their track. To be clear, the…
It’s hard to explain to someone who has never done it, why a long-distance train trip is so rewarding. Half of the secret is simply paying attention–and I mean really paying attention– to what’s passing by outside your window. . For instance, deep into the Rocky Mountains on the California Zephyr, spotting a sign painted…
Without doubt, the question I get most frequently is what’s my favorite long-distance train ride? And that’s really hard because the scenery varies dramatically from, for example, the desert you pass through on the Sunset Limited or the Southwest Chief to the magnificent evergreen forests you see from the Empire Builder. Some of the scenery…