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Post by Liiisa on Dec 28, 2023 18:27:26 GMT -5
I've been going back and forth about this for weeks now, as I keep mentioning here from time to time: I want to take the train home from Portland this summer, just because I've never done it and finally will have enough free time. But I can't afford a sleeper car AND to stop places en route; it's one or the other. So, what would you do?
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Post by sophie on Dec 28, 2023 18:52:13 GMT -5
Many of the places where trains stop are not what they used to be. And the sights/interesting things may need a rental vehicle which drives up the costs. I’d vote for the sleeper.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 28, 2023 18:58:47 GMT -5
True, and a lot of those places don't have decent coffee anyway (believe me, I've looked).
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 28, 2023 19:16:01 GMT -5
I’d take the sleeper for the experience.
Having said that, I travelled to Sydney in a sleeper on the night train from here last year, and probably won’t do it again until they update the carriages!
I did the day train both ways on my next trip.
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Post by fishface on Dec 28, 2023 19:20:47 GMT -5
Sleeper. And if there is an interesting food or coffee service, see if uber eats will deliver to meet you at particular stops  |
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Post by wombatrois on Dec 28, 2023 19:28:11 GMT -5
If you've researched and can't find decent coffee or anything to do, then the sleeper. I've been on the Indian Pacific (imaginatively named for the two oceans it connects) several times, albeit not for a very long time, and it was great fun. Stopping at little stations (or not so little) and getting a trainside view of the places was interesting enough. The dining car (if yours has one) is a great place to while away the time and meet people if you are that way inclined. I suppose with 21st century connectivity you don't actually need to speak to anyone now.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 28, 2023 20:14:21 GMT -5
I'm going to get out at Sacramento one way or the other because it's the capital of California and I've never been there, so really the decision is whether to stop in Denver and Chicago or not. I know lots of people in Chicago, which is actually a bit of a problem since I'd really need to stop for 2 or 3 nights....
lol wombat "21st century connectivity" -- not on Amtrak, there's no wi-fi on the cross-country routes! Which I suppose is another vote in favor of stopping frequently.
Plus their coffee really is terrible. But the sleeper car!
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Dec 28, 2023 20:15:44 GMT -5
I've done a sleeper from Melbourne to Adelaide, it was great.
Not a coffee drinker, so that wasn't an issue. I did like being woken by the conductor in the morning with my tea (he'd taken all our orders the night before)
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 28, 2023 20:52:01 GMT -5
Yes, our sleeper train has no wifi, and even phones only work when you are travelling through or stopping in a fairly large town. It causes chaos for the crew, who use phone apps to check seating allocations, etc.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 28, 2023 21:51:32 GMT -5
Sounds meditative, at least. I kind of miss that kind of travel, where you disappear into the wilds where no one can reach you at all.
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Post by shilgia on Dec 28, 2023 22:26:58 GMT -5
Wait, would you be actually stopping places and spend time there, or just sleep in a hotel so as not to sleep on the train? If the latter, sleeper car, obv. Not worth the hassle of getting on/off the train just to sleep in a hotel and get right back on the train. And if you're going to make your way through the country pretty quickly, then doing the entire thing on the train will be the more interesting experience, no?
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 28, 2023 22:32:55 GMT -5
Well I was thinking of it as having time to wander around outside for a while and find decent coffee. But that's possibly not enough of an incentive to ride for 4 days in coach, now that I think of it.
But you've had their coffee, haven't you? It's a sad sad thing.
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Post by shilgia on Dec 28, 2023 22:44:42 GMT -5
True. But four days in coach may be sadder, no? Can you bring your own coffee or go without for a few days?
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Post by wombatrois on Dec 28, 2023 22:51:44 GMT -5
I don't understand this bit - "go without for a few days"
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 29, 2023 7:20:07 GMT -5
Yes, you should put a content warning on terrifying statements like that, shilgia  There's enough of a layover between trains in Sacramento that even if I don't stay there overnight, I can still get a reasonable coffee, but after that it's Amtrak coffee all the way since it only stops for like 10 minutes unless there's a delay. Maybe I'll buy a couple cans of cold brew in Portland. I think you all have convinced me to go with the sleeper car, thank you. |
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Post by scicaro on Dec 29, 2023 7:40:40 GMT -5
We were discussing sleeper trains the other day. There's a Copenhagen to Berlin one and one that goes Berlin to Paris.
Could be a fun trip with a few days in each place.
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Post by jimm on Dec 29, 2023 23:01:28 GMT -5
I've done a couple of short Amtrak trips, and 1 overnight trip. The overnight (LA to Santa Fe/Lamy) was just 1 night, but I had a sleeper. The extra cost was comparable to a night in a hotel and 3 meals (dinner, breakfast and lunch), so I thought that was ok. I fell into a small community of interesting fellow travelers (met in the dining car), and that added to the experience. I didn't forget to tip the dining car waiter or the sleeping car attendant - both provided excellent service.
Amtrak is much better than the Aussie interstate trains I have been on.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 30, 2023 6:58:36 GMT -5
Thanks jimm!
The cost per night is equivalent to a hotel, sure: but it would be an extremely nice hotel - pretty steep, but then of course food and transportation are included.
And tipping everyone, of course; this is the land of tipping.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 30, 2023 11:18:40 GMT -5
Was just about to buy all the train tickets, but on reflection I really want to stay in the Chicago insect-themed AirBnB and see my friends there. But that adds $400 to the trip, so that means spending one night in coach.
I guess the Chicago to DC leg would be the least disruptive, since I could then catch up on sleep when I got home, right? Right
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Post by Webs on Dec 30, 2023 18:07:17 GMT -5
Wait this is the train from Portland OR?
What is the shortest leg? If you're getting off in Chicago to sleep in an AirBNB for $400 is it really that worth it?
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 30, 2023 20:41:29 GMT -5
Last leg before home would definitely be the best one in coach.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 30, 2023 20:50:18 GMT -5
Wait this is the train from Portland OR? What is the shortest leg? If you're getting off in Chicago to sleep in an AirBNB for $400 is it really that worth it? Oh no, not just for that - I know a couple people there who I'd like to get together with, and plus I've never really spent any time in Chicago. The insect AirBnB is just a nice extra touch. |
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Post by jimm on Jan 2, 2024 23:35:31 GMT -5
I've done Buffalo to NYC and can say it's a nice trip. (It was the train that starts in Chicago.) The bit along the upper Hudson is great.
There is something special about arriving at Penn Station then emerging onto 34th Street ... best way to arrive at NYC.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 3, 2024 3:25:46 GMT -5
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 3, 2024 6:44:56 GMT -5
I've done Buffalo to NYC and can say it's a nice trip. (It was the train that starts in Chicago.) The bit along the upper Hudson is great. There is something special about arriving at Penn Station then emerging onto 34th Street ... best way to arrive at NYC. Agree about the train to Penn and 34th St - and now Penn has supposedly been fixed up, though I haven't gotten there yet. |
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 24, 2024 5:35:50 GMT -5
Back in this thread again because over the past couple of months I've been tracking the on-time performance of Amtrak trains and I think that a 4-hour layover in Sacramento may not be enough time - if the southbound train from Portland to Sacramento is late (these trains can be VERY late), then I'm going to miss my connection eastbound to Chicago.
So now I'm in the inevitable "let's spend even more money on this trip" portion of my planning in order to move things up by one day and spend the night in Sacramento
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 24, 2024 18:15:55 GMT -5
In your position, I’d definitely be spending the night in Sacramento.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 24, 2024 18:27:39 GMT -5
Yup, just finished tweaking everything! At least now I'll have a place to do a little laundry so I don't have to carry 11 pairs of underwear and socks... can't quite see myself washing clothes in a moving train, though I suppose it's been done.
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Post by tzarine on Apr 6, 2024 19:47:35 GMT -5
Yup, just finished tweaking everything! At least now I'll have a place to do a little laundry so I don't have to carry 11 pairs of underwear and socks... can't quite see myself washing clothes in a moving train, though I suppose it's been done. on our cross country amtrak trip, we did use a sink to wash some things loved the sleeper stopped in houston & nola. both close enough to interesting sights & food the food on amtrak was classic american - meat potatoes sides which sometimes were quite good the kitchen had a good baker - some lovely pies buen viaje |
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Post by tzarine on Apr 6, 2024 23:13:09 GMT -5
I've done Buffalo to NYC and can say it's a nice trip. (It was the train that starts in Chicago.) The bit along the upper Hudson is great. There is something special about arriving at Penn Station then emerging onto 34th Street ... best way to arrive at NYC. Agree about the train to Penn and 34th St - and now Penn has supposedly been fixed up, though I haven't gotten there yet. new penn is nice. lot cleaner, cool space there's posh food there. pricy but really tasty - eak ramen + maison du chocolat! |
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