Ranking Long Distance Amtrak Trains

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Philly Amtrak Fan

Engineer
Joined
Jul 25, 2015
Messages
2,060
Location
Philadelphia Area
Of course my list is biased but my criteria is cities/states served, based on population, attractiveness of cities/states, ridership, revenue, schedule of trains (both times departing/arriving and travel distance/times between popular destinations (shorter the better). The western trains do in general have higher ridership/revenue than the eastern trains but run much longer distances. I think PM/TM would be a way to balance ridership with train miles. http://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L17387

I'm sure you can guess which one I'm going to guess is last but you might be interested in which I have at the top of the list...

I will not count the Auto Train because that is a special market and the Palmetto because it has no overnight service.

13. Cardinal

12. Empire Builder

11. Sunset Limited

10. Coast Starlight

9. Crescent

8. City of New Orleans

7. Texas Eagle

6. California Zephyr

5. Southwest Chief

4. Capitol Limited

3. Silver Star

2. Lake Shore Limited

1. Silver Meteor

In addition to my obvious bias towards my area, I went to school at the University of Illinois so the CONO is higher than I think would be nationally and I have family in California. To me, the SM isn't that much more desirable than the SS since I'm not really into the diner car. If I do go down to Florida, I might take the SS next time if I could get a good rate on a roomette. The SM does get to Florida faster and the travel times are better to Philly than the SS times are though. Also, the SS gives direct access to Tampa without a Thruway bus and also serves Raleigh. I would think on a national level the Crescent would rank above the CONO because it serves more major cities and the CS would be higher while the CL would be lower.

Obviously the Broadway/Three Rivers would be #1 to me if it were still around. If they were still around, I'd probably rank the National Limited behind the California trains, the Lone Star at or near the Texas Eagle, the Floridian and Desert Wind around the Crescent/CONO (it might help me get to Louisville/Nashville), and the Pioneer/North Coast Hiawatha at or around the Empire Builder (if both the EB and NCH were around, one might rank below the Cardinal as both served the same major cities and the second one would serve zero new major cities).

I will not count the Auto Train because that is a special market and the Palmetto because it has no overnight service.

Feel free to rank them yourselves using your own criteria...
 
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1. California Zephyr

2. Empire Builder

3. Capitol Limited

4. Lake Shore Limited

5. Coast Starlight

6. Southwest Chief

7. Texas Eagle

8. City of New Orleans

9. Crescent

10. Cardinal

11. Silver Meteor

12. Silver Star

13. Sunset Limited

Ranked based on frequency and my opinion of equipment, cities served, and scenery.
 
1. Empire Builder (CHI,MKE,MSP,FAR,GFK,MOT,HAV,SPK,SEA/PDX)

2. Lake Shore Limited (CHI,CLE,BUF,ALB,NYP/BOS)

3. Coast Starlate (SEA,PDX,EMY,LAX)

4. Texas Eagle (SAS,AUS,DAL,FTW,STL,CHI)

5. SW Chief (CHI,KCY,ABQ,LAX)

top five for cities served, even if they are at 1AM
 
1.Starlight

2.Zephyr

3.Chief

4.Cap

5.Cardinal

6.Builder

7.Lake Shore

8.Meteor ( Because of SCA Leo)

9.Crescent

10.Eagle/Sunset

(0)Starvation (Higher Rank if Diner is returned)
 
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Pre-Amtrak Rankings:

1. Super Chief

2. Broadway Ltd.

3. 20th Century

4. Panama Express

5. City of St.Louis

6. City of San Francisco

7. Rio Grande/Burlington Zephyr

8. Southern Crescent

9. Mopac Texas Eagle

10.Sunset Ltd.

( I never got to ride the North Coast Ltd and the Milwaukee Road and Empire Builder Trains in the NW)
 
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Eric S said:
jis said:
crabby_appleton1950 said:
jis said:
And the purpose of this ranking is?
Click to expand...
Doe there need to be a 'purpose'? It could just be filed under 'personal opinions".
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That's fine. "None" is a perfectly acceptable answer. I was just curious if it was anything else, that's all.
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I assume it's so we can argue that my train is better than your train. Or something like that.
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Or even better, that my theoretical train is better than your actual train, as evidenced by the fact that your actual train gets a low-ranking by me.
 
I did ride both the North Coast Ltd and pre-Amtrak Calif Zephyr, and the Cascade and Super Chief and City of Portland and City of LA. Of those trains I would rank CZ #1, followed by NCL, City of Portland, Super Chief, City of LA, and Cascade -- based mostly on scenery as all had fine Pullman accomodations and dining and domes (except Cascade).
 
JoeBas said:
Eric S said:
jis said:
crabby_appleton1950 said:
jis said:
And the purpose of this ranking is?
Click to expand...
Doe there need to be a 'purpose'? It could just be filed under 'personal opinions".
Click to expand...
That's fine. "None" is a perfectly acceptable answer. I was just curious if it was anything else, that's all.
Click to expand...
I assume it's so we can argue that my train is better than your train. Or something like that.
Click to expand...
Or even better, that my theoretical train is better than your actual train, as evidenced by the fact that your actual train gets a low-ranking by me.
Click to expand...
Or my politician is better than your politician? :giggle:

Incidentally, the Vermonter and the Pennsylvanian are long distance trains from an operational and mechanical standpoint. I don;t know if that changes the ranking for some.
 
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Based on utterly biased personal utility to me:

1. Lake Shore Limited

2. Southwest Chief

3. Empire Builder

4. California Zephyr

5. Coast Starlight

6. Capitol Limited

---- These are the 6 I've actually used

7. Cardinal

8. Texas Eagle

9. Sunset Limited

10. Crescent

11. City of New Orleans

12. Silver Meteor

13. Silver Star

14. Auto Train

15. Palmetto

This ranking is heavily, heavily biased by the fact that I never have reason to visit the South or Florida, and biased further by my starting point and my preference for visiting LA over visiting Denver. :)

By contrast, based on how useful I think they are to the country in their current state:

1. Lake Shore Limited

2. Silver Meteor

3. Capitol Limited

4. Coast Starlight

5. Empire Builder

6. California Zephyr

7. Texas Eagle

8. Southwest Chief

9. City of New Orleans

10. Crescent

11. Auto Train

12. Silver Star

13. Palmetto

14. Cardinal

15. Sunset Limited

Cardinal and Sunset Limited are at the bottom because 3/week makes them unusable most of the time. Auto Train, Silver Star and Palmetto are low even though they're great trains because the "lifeline" value of 1/day on the other routes is more important than the value of the second and third frequencies which these trains provide.
 
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Where are we going with this discussion? Depending where you live and your reason for traveling can alter the opinions of what trains are important. Therefore, what is correct? We are all using our own criteria for making our lists.
 
Lonestar648 said:
Where are we going with this discussion? Depending where you live and your reason for traveling can alter the opinions of what trains are important. Therefore, what is correct? We are all using our own criteria for making our lists.
Click to expand...
Unless there is some criteria for the rankings, it is all meaningless. That doesn't necessarily mean we can't discuss matters of solely personal opinion, but there is no factual basis for the discussion.
 
Bob Dylan said:
Pre-Amtrak Rankings:

1. Super Chief

2. Broadway Ltd.

3. 20th Century

4. Panama Express

5. City of St.Louis

6. City of San Francisco

7. Rio Grande/Burlington Zephyr

8. Southern Crescent

9. Mopac Texas Eagle

10.Sunset Ltd.

( I never got to ride the North Coast Ltd and the Milwaukee Road and Empire Builder Trains in the NW)
Click to expand...
My favorite pre-Amtrak trains:

The Broadway Limited, all-Pullman until the end of the PRR

The Florida Special with its Recreation Car....bingo, movies, fashion show, television, telephone, candlelight dinner in diner, etc...

The combined Afternoon Zephyr/Empire Builder/North Coast Limited up to 8 dome cars!

The Panama Limited featuring the 'King's Dinner' in the diner

The California Zephyr

The combined Super Chief/El Capitan

The City of Portland with its dome diner

The Capitol Limited with its domes in the east featuring floodlights lighting the Allegheny scenery

And a whole lot more.... :)
 
Ranked in order of my actual enjoyment

1. California Zephyr

2. Coast Starlight

3. Cardinal

4. Southwest Chief

5. City of New Orleans

6. Empire Builder

7. Lake Shore Limited

8. Texas Eagle
 
I have one disagreement with the criteria. I believe Auto Train should be in this ranking. Current Auto Train management has bent over backwards to eliminate the things that made the onboard Auto Train experience unique. On a recent trip, a standard Sightseer Lounge was supplied, which did not have provision for self-service complimentary hot coffee & tea, nor any provision for the showing of the film. Food service has been modified to be a lesser experience than it used to be.

Yes, the Auto Train has a unique route and clientele; and it's the only one that allows you to travel with your personal automobile. But I think this thread is mostly concerned with the onboard experience. Much to the displeasure and disappointment of veteran Auto Train OBS employees, that has been eroded. The train ought to be compared to other trains, if only to illustrate how far it has fallen. In making these comparisons, please differentiate between the things that are under the staff's control and those that are under management's control. While the onboard experience has been diminished due to management decisions, I have every reason to believe that the Auto Train's onboard employees are still among the best, if not the very best overall.

As for the quality of the other trains, my own personal experience with them is too limited to allow me to comment,

Tom
 
Don't worry Tom. You pretty much get to choose your own criteria as long as it is an Amtrak train. As long as it travels a reasonably long distance it is fair game. No one can really deny anyone their opinion in an open ended thread like this. :) Just because the OP chose a criteria for his choices means nothing for the rest.
 
So much has been cut from various trains in the name of making a profit, one wonders how many passengers Amtrak might actually be carrying had these amenities or and quality levels were still in place. Actually, the little things many times make the biggest difference, though in the DC it is a massive difference. In the sleeper, I remember the days when the table was out with white linen and a metal vase of flowers. Coffee was all day, and there was a newspaper under your door in the morning, and mints on your pillow when the room was made down at night. Each train was unique rather than uniform government gray.
 
The new and improved Floridian Chicago Nashville Atlanta Jacksonville Orlando Miami is 1st on my list. OKay, allow this Nashvillian my vane hope. Being 74 I never expect to see this happen.

After the Floridian is:

1 California Zephyr - Westbound

2 California Zephyr - Eastbound

3 Empire Builder

4 Coast Starlight - EMY to LAX southbound

Will be flying early October to Chicago for couple days and then riding numbers 1 and 4 with a three night stop in Emeryville and two nights in LAX followed by nonstop flight LAX to Nashville.
 

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