If you have never been on a long-distance train, I’ll acknowledge you might have a hard time understanding how anyone could justify taking three days to cross the country when it can be done in only six hours by plane. And I’m guessing much of that hesitancy is because you have an image of spending…
Sometimes I wonder if the powers-that-be at Amtrak understand the real difference between coach passengers and sleeping car passengers. The difference is in our expectations. Let’s say I’m in Chicago and today I’m talking the train to visit my brother and his wife who live near Galesburg, Illinois. That’s about a three-hour ride on train …
Before Hurricane Katrina wrecked much of the railroad infrastructure east of New Orleans in 2005, Amtrak’s Sunset Limited was a three night, trans-continental train from Los Angeles, California, to Orlando, Florida. About 20 years ago, the Management Team overseeing that train—they were based in New Orleans—conducted an interesting, even radical, experiment. I wish I had…
To the profound distress of seasoned rail passengers, Amtrak’s “Contemporary Dining” service is now in effect on all overnight trains operating east of the Mississippi River. I have not yet had an opportunity to personally experience this . . . uh . . . this experience, but Andrew Selden has, and he was not pleased….