I'd been planning my "big trip" since March 2023. Here's a summary of what happened, from the fingers of an Englishman taking his first LD Amtrak trip.
1) ARN (Arnside, South Cumbria, England) to LAN (Lancaster, Lancashire) early start on the Northern service. Sharing the train with lots of school children and folk going to LAN fror work. 20 mins later arrive bang on time. £6.60
15 min connection in LAN, which had about 6 other services coming, going or travelling through.
2) LAN to MIA (Manchester Airport). Trans Pennine First Class. Brew and a biscuit and it took about 75 mins to deliver me into Manchester Airport.
10 min walk to security (checked in the night before and travelled hand luggage only)
Through security within 2 minutes - my flabbers were gasted.
Chance to invest in a bottle of Malt to keep me company, bite to eat, pint, watch the world go by until
3) MAN to JFK. Travelled in Virgin Atlantic on a "light" fare. Plane left on time and arrived early. Everything on the flight was good. If you are on a Virgin A333, Row 50 seats are excellant. Return fare £450
Short wait at New York Immigration, chatted with Immigration Officer who had no concet at all about travvelling across the country on Amtrak then going straight home.
4) JFK to "belly of the beast". Short wait for Airtrain and paid $9.25 for my ticket at vending machine (getting rid of a load of shrapnel) to Jamaica. Then LIRR to Penn station. Happily enough, a "can I help you" LIRR person pointed me in the directions of a $5 fare. I popped out of Penn Station about 400 yards from my room for the night, The New Yorker. It didn't cost me a great deal and was perfectly situated for my arrival departure in NY. The hotel must be of a decent enough standard, as Virgin Atlantic used it as a hotel for the flight crew that I'd come over with.
Not going into details about NY, as most people will know what they need to know.
Slept like a log, got up at stupid o clock in the morning and walked the 400 yards to Moynahan train hall. As I said previously, perfect location for my trip.
5) Moynahan train hall. Very impressive place and a lovely place to spend a bit of time ahead of the 06.45 departure on the Cardinal. Met by Wayne the SCA (very helpful, friendly and professional) and taken to carriage 5109, roomette 4. There have been lots of things said about the roomettes previously, my only addition is that for a 6ft 3" 250lb man, I was very comfy. Enjoyed the 45min stop at Washington DC for a few tourist pics. I ate all my meals in my roomette as a) it was convienient and b) the cafe car was set up like an Amtrak staff members club, with others tolerated, but not really welcomed. Othger than some blatant disinformation beinmg dished out from the conductor to another passenger, all was good. Wayne was excellant and did a really good job. A quick mention for flexible dining which was as poor as I'd read previously. The chicken parmignon was a crime against food. Rocked into Chicago a few minutes early. Left Union station for a mooch around, came back and took pictures of both the staircases (still not sure which one featured in the Untouchables !), then went down to the longue to while away the time until it was time to load. Whilst in the longue, why are some people so loud !??!!?! You are sat next to each other, so why talk so loudly that people 12 feet away can listen to your inane prattling. If you're making a phonecall, put it to your ear and talk, don't walk around with the damned thing a foot from your face. Gormsters walking around on their own saying "ooo, I wonder what drinks are available at the drinks section" out loud, rather than keeping the thoughts inside their head like normal people would etc etc. Found a quiet corner and thanked my luck stars that the CZ was still running. It looked like it was going to be the last Westbound train going the entire way for the next few days.
6) Led through Chicago Union in a conger to platforn 22, to be met by Mike the SCA for my trip. I was on the CZ in 531, room 2. For me, it worked out very well. Next door to the coffee machine, opposite and across from the loo and Mike the SCA was in roomette #1. If/whenI needed his help, I'd catch him as he was out and about, rather than using theb call button. You will have seen lots of travel reports about the Westbound CZ, so I won't go into details. Travelling in the cold of January, the scenary was spectacular, the food was excellant (Buttercakes alone made the trip) and the service from all the Amtrak staff was spot on. A double hat tip to Mike, who helped make the trip even more enjoyable. One of my dreads ahead of the trip was the forced seating arrangements at mealtimes - I really wasn't looking forward to sharing my table with a numpty whilst I ate my food. This never happened and all of my meal time table companions were good company. Over the course of lots of conversations, except for 1 person, all of us were Amtrak LD newbies, all were having a very enjoyable time**** and all would do it again. Some people had been keeping an eye out for a fare reduction ($770 for a roomette CHI-SFC) and some had taken advantage of the buy 1 get 1 free roomette promotion. Across the trip, the train was nearly always full in sleeping and coach - maybe the very bad weather helped. We arrived at EMY an hour ahead of schedule, which given the weather conditions that we'd been through, was very impressive. Booked 10 months ahead, my ticket cost $1478, which I thought was very good value for money (even more so when the food and soft drinks are included). The price went as low as $1276 about 45-60 days out and went as high as $1650 on occassions
7) Amtrak coach to San Fransisco. The driver couldn't have been less interested if she'd tried, but trying wasn't on her agenda. She was more interested on what was on her phone (& it wasn't anything work related) than helping/dealing with her passengers. The phone only went down when she was driving. But as soon as we stopped, back on it she went. She acted like she didn't have a sh*t to give.
8) Small walk to my downtown hotel in San Fran for the night. King George Hotel was absolutely fine and well located downtown. However, downtown San Fran isn't a nice place to be, unless you're a drunk, druggie, vagrant, mentally challenged or living an alternative lifestyle, in which case you'll fit right in. The following morning, $13.55 got me a BART ticket into SFO.
9) A KLM 787-10 left spot on time to take me to Amsterdam for my (supposedly) brief stopover. KLM and the team did as good a job as they could do, to keep me comfy in the economy seats and we arrived on time in Amsterdam. If you have never considered flying KLM, give it some thought - it was a positive experience and much nicer than flying with one of the 3 giant US carriers.
10) Bad weather had messed with flights is Amsterdam and my 3 hour layover extended out to over 6 hours (bored, bored, bored, bored, bored). Eventually I got onto Manchester just over 3 hours late. If their is a silver lining in the cloud, it looks like I fit the criteria for an EU261 claim for a delayed flight. If so, that'll be 300euros/$ coming back to me. Immigration back into the UK went easily and quickly.
11) Transpennine Express train from Manchester to Oxenholme. After a brief moment went the train wouldn't "arm", the power was turned off, the plug was removed, waited 30 seconds, plugged in again and all was good. Wifi, brew, biccies, crisps (chips to people on the Western side of the Atlantic) and 90 mins later I'm at Oxenholme, Cumbria (1st class ticket £20). I'm greeted by Mrs Sharky and 10 mins later I'm home. Knackered and jetlagged to hell.
To summarise, it was one of the best things that I've ever done and the best rail trip that I've ever taken. The Amtrak folk (except for one), were very, very good and really added to the trip - especially the CZ SCA Mike, who lives in New Orleans and works the CZ from CHI - EMY, then straight back again. Nothimng was to much trouble to him and all was done with a smikle. I would have happily made the return journey the following day, the trip was than enjoyable. The only downer of the trip was my overnight in San Fran/Zombieland, but I can erase that from my memory.
I've come home and I'm now in the planning stage of doing another LD Amtrak trip - next time it will be with my adult son, who is an even bigger version of me, so it'll be bedroom, rather than roomette.
As the Fonz would say "Happy Days"
**** from further up. The most frequent request that I heard, was for couples asking to upgrade from roomette to bedroom, but sadly nothing was available. They all (had to) made do and managed, but all would have enjoyed some additional space.
1) ARN (Arnside, South Cumbria, England) to LAN (Lancaster, Lancashire) early start on the Northern service. Sharing the train with lots of school children and folk going to LAN fror work. 20 mins later arrive bang on time. £6.60
15 min connection in LAN, which had about 6 other services coming, going or travelling through.
2) LAN to MIA (Manchester Airport). Trans Pennine First Class. Brew and a biscuit and it took about 75 mins to deliver me into Manchester Airport.
10 min walk to security (checked in the night before and travelled hand luggage only)
Through security within 2 minutes - my flabbers were gasted.
Chance to invest in a bottle of Malt to keep me company, bite to eat, pint, watch the world go by until
3) MAN to JFK. Travelled in Virgin Atlantic on a "light" fare. Plane left on time and arrived early. Everything on the flight was good. If you are on a Virgin A333, Row 50 seats are excellant. Return fare £450
Short wait at New York Immigration, chatted with Immigration Officer who had no concet at all about travvelling across the country on Amtrak then going straight home.
4) JFK to "belly of the beast". Short wait for Airtrain and paid $9.25 for my ticket at vending machine (getting rid of a load of shrapnel) to Jamaica. Then LIRR to Penn station. Happily enough, a "can I help you" LIRR person pointed me in the directions of a $5 fare. I popped out of Penn Station about 400 yards from my room for the night, The New Yorker. It didn't cost me a great deal and was perfectly situated for my arrival departure in NY. The hotel must be of a decent enough standard, as Virgin Atlantic used it as a hotel for the flight crew that I'd come over with.
Not going into details about NY, as most people will know what they need to know.
Slept like a log, got up at stupid o clock in the morning and walked the 400 yards to Moynahan train hall. As I said previously, perfect location for my trip.
5) Moynahan train hall. Very impressive place and a lovely place to spend a bit of time ahead of the 06.45 departure on the Cardinal. Met by Wayne the SCA (very helpful, friendly and professional) and taken to carriage 5109, roomette 4. There have been lots of things said about the roomettes previously, my only addition is that for a 6ft 3" 250lb man, I was very comfy. Enjoyed the 45min stop at Washington DC for a few tourist pics. I ate all my meals in my roomette as a) it was convienient and b) the cafe car was set up like an Amtrak staff members club, with others tolerated, but not really welcomed. Othger than some blatant disinformation beinmg dished out from the conductor to another passenger, all was good. Wayne was excellant and did a really good job. A quick mention for flexible dining which was as poor as I'd read previously. The chicken parmignon was a crime against food. Rocked into Chicago a few minutes early. Left Union station for a mooch around, came back and took pictures of both the staircases (still not sure which one featured in the Untouchables !), then went down to the longue to while away the time until it was time to load. Whilst in the longue, why are some people so loud !??!!?! You are sat next to each other, so why talk so loudly that people 12 feet away can listen to your inane prattling. If you're making a phonecall, put it to your ear and talk, don't walk around with the damned thing a foot from your face. Gormsters walking around on their own saying "ooo, I wonder what drinks are available at the drinks section" out loud, rather than keeping the thoughts inside their head like normal people would etc etc. Found a quiet corner and thanked my luck stars that the CZ was still running. It looked like it was going to be the last Westbound train going the entire way for the next few days.
6) Led through Chicago Union in a conger to platforn 22, to be met by Mike the SCA for my trip. I was on the CZ in 531, room 2. For me, it worked out very well. Next door to the coffee machine, opposite and across from the loo and Mike the SCA was in roomette #1. If/whenI needed his help, I'd catch him as he was out and about, rather than using theb call button. You will have seen lots of travel reports about the Westbound CZ, so I won't go into details. Travelling in the cold of January, the scenary was spectacular, the food was excellant (Buttercakes alone made the trip) and the service from all the Amtrak staff was spot on. A double hat tip to Mike, who helped make the trip even more enjoyable. One of my dreads ahead of the trip was the forced seating arrangements at mealtimes - I really wasn't looking forward to sharing my table with a numpty whilst I ate my food. This never happened and all of my meal time table companions were good company. Over the course of lots of conversations, except for 1 person, all of us were Amtrak LD newbies, all were having a very enjoyable time**** and all would do it again. Some people had been keeping an eye out for a fare reduction ($770 for a roomette CHI-SFC) and some had taken advantage of the buy 1 get 1 free roomette promotion. Across the trip, the train was nearly always full in sleeping and coach - maybe the very bad weather helped. We arrived at EMY an hour ahead of schedule, which given the weather conditions that we'd been through, was very impressive. Booked 10 months ahead, my ticket cost $1478, which I thought was very good value for money (even more so when the food and soft drinks are included). The price went as low as $1276 about 45-60 days out and went as high as $1650 on occassions
7) Amtrak coach to San Fransisco. The driver couldn't have been less interested if she'd tried, but trying wasn't on her agenda. She was more interested on what was on her phone (& it wasn't anything work related) than helping/dealing with her passengers. The phone only went down when she was driving. But as soon as we stopped, back on it she went. She acted like she didn't have a sh*t to give.
8) Small walk to my downtown hotel in San Fran for the night. King George Hotel was absolutely fine and well located downtown. However, downtown San Fran isn't a nice place to be, unless you're a drunk, druggie, vagrant, mentally challenged or living an alternative lifestyle, in which case you'll fit right in. The following morning, $13.55 got me a BART ticket into SFO.
9) A KLM 787-10 left spot on time to take me to Amsterdam for my (supposedly) brief stopover. KLM and the team did as good a job as they could do, to keep me comfy in the economy seats and we arrived on time in Amsterdam. If you have never considered flying KLM, give it some thought - it was a positive experience and much nicer than flying with one of the 3 giant US carriers.
10) Bad weather had messed with flights is Amsterdam and my 3 hour layover extended out to over 6 hours (bored, bored, bored, bored, bored). Eventually I got onto Manchester just over 3 hours late. If their is a silver lining in the cloud, it looks like I fit the criteria for an EU261 claim for a delayed flight. If so, that'll be 300euros/$ coming back to me. Immigration back into the UK went easily and quickly.
11) Transpennine Express train from Manchester to Oxenholme. After a brief moment went the train wouldn't "arm", the power was turned off, the plug was removed, waited 30 seconds, plugged in again and all was good. Wifi, brew, biccies, crisps (chips to people on the Western side of the Atlantic) and 90 mins later I'm at Oxenholme, Cumbria (1st class ticket £20). I'm greeted by Mrs Sharky and 10 mins later I'm home. Knackered and jetlagged to hell.
To summarise, it was one of the best things that I've ever done and the best rail trip that I've ever taken. The Amtrak folk (except for one), were very, very good and really added to the trip - especially the CZ SCA Mike, who lives in New Orleans and works the CZ from CHI - EMY, then straight back again. Nothimng was to much trouble to him and all was done with a smikle. I would have happily made the return journey the following day, the trip was than enjoyable. The only downer of the trip was my overnight in San Fran/Zombieland, but I can erase that from my memory.
I've come home and I'm now in the planning stage of doing another LD Amtrak trip - next time it will be with my adult son, who is an even bigger version of me, so it'll be bedroom, rather than roomette.
As the Fonz would say "Happy Days"
**** from further up. The most frequent request that I heard, was for couples asking to upgrade from roomette to bedroom, but sadly nothing was available. They all (had to) made do and managed, but all would have enjoyed some additional space.
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