Recent content by Ranke

Actually, the more immediate problem you face in trying to realize this trip, as I found in planning my own, is that the Lake Shore no longer connects same day with the Texas Eagle. The former arrives Chicago Mo/Th/Sa; the latter leaves Tu/Fr/Su.

Thanks for the fine trip report. Just as I thought we had overcome our disappointment at having to postpone this summer's trip to Newfoundland, your beautiful photos reminded us of what we were missing. The overnight ferry at North Sydney is an easy day's drive from central Maine, and next time...

I'd recommend Club Quarters, which I've used several times - 6-8 minutes away - don't think there's anything closer. In any case, have a map, for downtown Boston streets are something of a maze.

I'm taking the LSL from Chicago to Albany at the end of this month, so I began reading this thread  - and glad that I did! Thanks to Bratkinson, in particular, for drawing my attention to the unlikelihood of getting a good night's sleep in a 448 (Boston section) roomette, now that there's no...

(Maybe you've already considered this, but...) You could also transfer from CZ to SJ at Martinez - save a few miles and bucks, and overnight in a more pleasant, laid-back small town, where Joe DiMaggio was born and John Muir chose to live (I'm old enough to recall the former, but not the...

Thanks for commenting; and to the questions raised: I provided both cell-phone number and email address when buying tickets, but no notice of delay, or subsequent explanation, has been received. No explanation was offered for the missing business class car; instead, there was a regular cafe...

Does anyone know what happened to yesterday's Lake Shore Limited #448 - why it arrived into Boston ten hours(!) late? I ask because this is apparently why today's #449, with my wife aboard, departed Boston four hours late; and has her arriving Syracuse, and being fetched from 45 minutes away by...

Just received a recorded message from Amtrak informing me that tomorrow's 449, the Boston-Albany section of the Lake Shore Limited (and my trip on same - first leg of a cross-country tour), has been cancelled. No reference to the storm as the cause of this disruption; or any other specific...

You might try Club Quarters, where we have reserved (for a weeknight in January) at a price of $139. (+ Masstax). I've used this hotel before: the rooms are compact, but perfectly fine; and most importantly, it's an easy eight-minute walk to South Station, even with suitcase in tow.

There's a third option: when going to St. Augustine by train, we usually use Palatka. It's closer, involves no big-city traffic, and there's an Enterprise agency nearby that will collect you at the station.

If OP is still collecting suggestions, here's another (not all that different from those above): take the morning Wolverine to Detroit; take a taxi 3.5 miles to Rosa Parks Transit Center (if you like Cajun food, you'll find some upstairs); take the Tunnel Bus to Caesar's Windsor casino; and...

:) Great post, fairviewroad. Actually, I don't understand why, if you really want to appreciate music (as opposed to just sinking into some great noise), you would not use headphones - not just to avoid annoying your neighbors, but to reduce the ambient noise; which already makes it difficult...

I think that charging the same flat rate for a half-mile ride into the CBD as for more distant destinations - four years ago it was $12., and others have reported even higher late-night fares - may fairly be termed a scam, however minor - if you're going to the CBD. Nor is it clear how OP, who...

If by "near to the station" you mean a place you can walk to, without dealing with streetcars and taxi scams, then I would suggest the Hotel Lafayette. While its Tripadvisor reviews have been "mixed," I had a real good experience there last March [i too arrived on #2 and left, some days later...

We just returned from the kind of trip you are looking forward to, and visited both CAs. The one in Boston is indeed worth seeking out: spacious, comfortable, and quiet. The one in NYP is considerably less so - while it surely beats hanging around the station itself, and is useful for storing...