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We'll have about 5 hours to kill in Sacramento on New Year's Day, roughly between 6 am and 11 am, while waiting for a connection from a southbound CS to eastbound CZ. All museums I checked are closed. Are there any suggestions of interesting things to do near the train station? Thanks!

It's right in the downtown area, which is safe unless you're there in the dead of night. Lots of restaurants nearby. Both of these attractions are walking distance: http://www.csrmf.org/ http://oldsacramento.com/

You can do that -- the Arizona Shuttle stops right at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. But if you're going to stay there, you might as well take the Grand Canyon Railway round-trip -- it's only about $70 in coach, and I think you get a discount if you book it as a package deal with a hotel stay...

I'd say it's worth it to take the Grand Canyon Railway (GCR) one way, and Arizona Shuttle the other. Note that it's usually cheaper to buy one-way GCR tickets on amtrak.com: if you call 1-800-THE-TRAIN, they charge you the round-trip fare for one-way travel. The station to enter on amtrak.com is...

Greatcats -- once again, thank you for this info, it quite literally saved the day! I was asking these questions for my girlfriend who was a bit nervous about traveling out of the new DUS, and, as it turned out, with good reason. The ticket counter did not open at 5:30a as advertised, there was...

Thanks, greatcats, very helpful! We should get together for a drink in Flagstaff one of these days (I live here too). Anyone have any insight on parking?

Urgent help is needed with the following questions: (i) Do the Amtrak thruway buses still leave from Wynkoop street across from Union Station, or have they been switched over to the new bus concourse? (ii) Where the closest public parking to the station is located. Street parking is ok. Thanks!

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. The trains in question were #3 and #14. One of the previous agents was telling me that "the lowest buckets are sold out, so any roomette change would result in a price increase", and the other just flat out told me "we can't do that". But thanks to the...

We have two parties booked in two roomettes in different train cars, and I'm trying to see if there is a way to switch rooms so we can be next to each other or across the aisle. There's plenty of availability, but the two agents I spoke to said that any room switches would result in a...

Here's a full report on the Union Station re-opening, complete with lots of photos: http://denverinfill.com/blog/2014/07/denver-union-station-update-128-the-historic-station-opens.html Looks great, although it perhaps has more of a "shopping mall" than a "train station" ambiance.

The trick is to use http://amsnag.net/, which allows you to view prices, for both coach and sleepers, over a 30-day window. That way, you can figure out what the lowest bucket is, and will be sure to get the best possible deal.

As someone who's tried introducing friends, in the late 20s-early 30s age group, to long-distance train travel, particularly in sleeper cars, I can offer a few comments on this. My efforts were met with mixed results, and some of the reasons why LD trains were perceived as "uncool" or "dorky"...

To answer #2: There is a regularly scheduled shuttle between Glacier Park Lodge and Many Glacier Hotel called the East Side shuttle: http://www.glacierparkinc.com/tour_detail.php?id=1 (That said, if you're arriving by train and trying to avoid renting a car, you might prefer staying in a hotel...

Yes, the train was completely deserted. There were only two other people besides us in the first class car. On the downside, both attendants appeared totally hammered and could barely walk straight. One actually burped when taking our food order! 30 minutes out of NY, both passed out in their...

We are a family of four, going NYP-WAS tomorrow at 7pm in Acela First. It's my dad's birthday and of course New Year's Eve, and we would really like to have dinner together at one of the four-person tables in first class. The problem is, there's only four of those, and seating is first-come...

I feel like we're speaking different languages. "Time" and "hurry" are relative concepts. There are certain things that humans need to do, like eat and sleep. These can be done while riding a train, but not while driving a car. Therefore, although a trip can be done in a car in fewer hours and...

That's funny, I took the train to Los Angeles a lot when I lived in Tucson. Back then, it was an overnight run both ways, which was extremely convenient: sleep, shower, get dressed, have breakfast, and be ready to go early in the morning at your destination. *That* is the real strength of...

Most tracks that Amtrak travels on are limited to a top speed of 79 mph for passenger trains. Also, there's padding built into the schedule to make up for delays caused by freight traffic. The only real solution to both of these problems is to build dedicated high-speed lines for passenger...

The new temporary station is about 3/4 of a mile away from Wynkoop Brewery if you follow the streets and sidewalks, or maybe 1/2 mile if you take a shortcut through a hole in the fence and a parking lot. The whole area is very confusing; you'll be walking under two highways, a set of railroad...

Just to clarify... there are no luggage racks above the seats in coach: there are bins, which are smaller than the ones found on a typical airliner, and are meant for "personal items" such as backpacks, purses, etc. An airline-sized roll-aboard will not fit; these are stored on the luggage racks...