Call it a dining car or a diner or, as in Europe, a restaurant car, but the one thing people remember most about a long-distance train ride is the experience of having a full-on meal in a rolling restaurant. And no wonder. There you are, enjoying a cheeseburger with bacon and a cold beer for…
SALT LAKE CITY — The annual Fall meeting of the National Association of Railroad Passengers has ended and Jim Mathews, our new president and CEO, has met the membership and has impressed one and all. As indeed he should. He’s personable, experienced, smart as a whip, and brimming with ideas. In his first six weeks,…
When pressed to pick Amtrak’s most scenic train, I’ll talk about the Cardinal and the Adirondack and the Empire Builder or the Coast Starlight. But I always end up picking the California Zephyr. Amtrak runs the Zephyr every day in both directions between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. Assuming the train is running…
Most Americans focus on time when they travel … how long it takes to reach their destination. Here’s a conversation I’ve probably had a hundred times over the years when someone learns that I’ve just traveled halfway across the country by train: Them: Really? By train? From L.A. to Chicago? Me: That’s right. Them: Wow!…