Amtrak’s pressing need for new, better, and more equipment can be experienced first hand when you ride the thrice-weekly Cardinal between Chicago and Washington, as I did on this past...

I really like the Viewliner sleepers. I like the convenience of having a sink and a toilet right there in the room. I like the spacious feeling you get from...

In late March, I’ll be making my annual visit to Washington for the Rail Passengers Association’s Spring meeting. It’s a day of education and enlightenment with seminars and guest speakers....

I’m often asked what makes a really good sleeping car attendant on one of Amtrak’s long-distance trains. I really don’t know what Amtrak’s employee manual says, but here’s what I...

Five of Amtrak’s long-distance trains feature Viewliner sleeping cars: the Silver Meteor, the Silver Star, the Crescent, the Cardinal and the Lake Shore Limited. Those trains travel over routes with...

Amtrak ordered new Viewliner dining cars months—no, years ago and for some time now, a prototype diner making trial runs has popped up as part of a working consist. In...

A prototype of the new Viewliner dining car has been around for some time, giving Amtrak crews chance to test them and make recommendations for changes and improvements. Of course,...

I have had countless numbers of delightful encounters with fellow passengers in Amtrak dining cars, many of which I’ve chronicled here. Friday night was no exception as I found myself...

You only have to cross the country a few times on one of Amtrak’s long-distance trains to learn a few little tricks that will make overnight travel by train a...

This is one of my favorite rides. The Cardinal runs between New York and Chicago, but it takes a meandering southern route that makes it, without doubt, one of the...