Cross-country trip in December

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ceo418

Train Attendant
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
43
Hello. I am looking into the possibility of a one-way trip from Trenton, NJ-Tacoma, WA in early December (will be flying back after a short stay with family). I'd be booking a roomette and have some questions for anyone who's traveled recently:

1)Are station lounges in WAS and CHI open (with masking/sanitizing, I presume?)
2)If I chose to go the Capitol Limited/Southwest Chief/Coast Starlight route, I'd probably choose business class on the Coast Starlight. Are business passengers given access to the dining car, or just the cafe?
3)The route I'd most likely take is Northeast regional TRE-WAS, Capitol Limited WAS-CHI, Empire Builder CHI-SEA, Cascades SEA-TAC. Any suggestions about this route?

Thanks in advance! I hope to be able to book this within a couple of days. :)
 
1. Yes, lounges are open.
2. No, only sleeper passengers have dining car access.
3. I ride the Builder fairly regularly, and I think the Portland section through the Gorge has superior scenery. Stevens Pass is pretty, but it is heavily forested, so you are pretty much looking a lot of trees with occasional breaks. The Gorge has big vistas. The Cascades is also more scenic Portland-Tacoma, though a longer ride. Seattle-Tacoma is all through the Seattle metropolitan area, and a lot of it is through light industrial and warehousing districts. But its only about an hour.
 
Thanks! I've taken the Empire Builder both to Seattle and Portland before, although the last time was about 17 years ago in coach. I grew up in Tacoma so I'm familiar with the industrial "scenery." :)
 
I have booked a cross country trip in early December. Maybe we will cross paths on the SWC or Coast Starlight.
 
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