Greetings from Europe

[Andreas]

Hi everyone,

new here: my first post in this forum (yet I've been reading for a couple of weeks).

We live near Basel, where three European countries meet: Switzerland, France and Germany. (We can see the hills in all three from our kitchen window.)

Geographically and otherwise, everything here seems very tiny compared to the U.S.. That also includes the railways. The sheer size of Amtrak Superliner cars and various double-stack freight trains, let alone their length, is something very unusual and impressive for European eyes and minds.

I am roughly 3 weeks away from a trip to, and through, the U.S. (and Canada). The whole trip should last 14 days, will involve trips on the Cardinal, the LSL (short stretches only) as well as SWC and CZ (over night) plus more "tourist-oriented" short trips on the Royal Gorge Route, Pikes Peak cog railway and the Grand Canyon Railway. In Canada I will do the western bit of the "Canadian" from Vancouver to Edmonton and the "Ocean" from Montreal to Halifax.

A main aim of the trip is ... train travel. You might have guessed it. My wife who quite likes travelling said "well, you go" after I presented her the itinerary.

One of the highlights of a train trip for me is a visit to the train's dining car in case there is one. There is a dining car thread currently active on the "passenger" forum and I will post a number of questions there regarding what to expect on the Cardinal (where I travel in coach), the LSL where I travel in a roomette but only for a short stretch from NYP to Albany and the question is whether I will get my micro-waved or steamed "flex dining" dinner in the Viewliner dining car before I get off again at Albany. Trips on the SWC (Flagstaff to LAX) and the CZ (Denver to Emeryville) will involve more opportunities for visits to the respective dining car.

Many thanks and best regards from Europe.

Andreas

 

[Willbridge]

Hi everyone,

new here: my first post in this forum (yet I've been reading for a couple of weeks).

We live near Basel, where three European countries meet: Switzerland, France and Germany. (We can see the hills in all three from our kitchen window.)

Geographically and otherwise, everything here seems very tiny compared to the U.S.. That also includes the railways. The sheer size of Amtrak Superliner cars and various double-stack freight trains, let alone their length, is something very unusual and impressive for European eyes and minds.

I am roughly 3 weeks away from a trip to, and through, the U.S. (and Canada). The whole trip should last 14 days, will involve trips on the Cardinal, the LSL (short stretches only) as well as SWC and CZ (over night) plus more "tourist-oriented" short trips on the Royal Gorge Route, Pikes Peak cog railway and the Grand Canyon Railway. In Canada I will do the western bit of the "Canadian" from Vancouver to Edmonton and the "Ocean" from Montreal to Halifax.

A main aim of the trip is ... train travel. You might have guessed it. My wife who quite likes travelling said "well, you go" after I presented her the itinerary.

One of the highlights of a train trip for me is a visit to the train's dining car in case there is one. There is a dining car thread currently active on the "passenger" forum and I will post a number of questions there regarding what to expect on the Cardinal (where I travel in coach), the LSL where I travel in a roomette but only for a short stretch from NYP to Albany and the question is whether I will get my micro-waved or steamed "flex dining" dinner in the Viewliner dining car before I get off again at Albany. Trips on the SWC (Flagstaff to LAX) and the CZ (Denver to Emeryville) will involve more opportunities for visits to the respective dining car.

Many thanks and best regards from Europe.

Andreas

By the time you have finished you will have seen more of the U.S. and Canada than most North Americans have seen. I'm hoping things go well for you.

In 2018 I spent a morning in Basel, connecting from Berlin on Nightjet and crossing over to France to continue on a TGV to Montpellier. I was glad not to have a tight connection, as the layout of the station combined with construction to make it complicated. Still, I was happier with that routing than with the cross-Paris transfers beloved by the on-line booking systems!

If you are in a sleeper DEN>EMY you should be able to have breakfast in the mountains a few minutes after departing Denver Union Station. After breakfast there usually is some turnover in the Sightseer Lounge, as the scenery lasts longer than many can imagine.

Denver Union Station may feel vaguely European. One of the key architects on its renovation was Finnish. The main terminal building is Beaux-Arts style.

 

[Andreas]

Thank you! Looking very much forward to the trip (and will have an eye on Denver Union Station architecture).

 

[Manny T]

Hello and kudos on your ambitious travel plans. You will board the LSL for a 340pm departure and arrive in Albany if on time at 6:20pm. In my experience they will begin serving dinner for a "first seating" in the dining car around 5pm and btw will pretty much halt service in Albany. So if you can be sure to get a "first-seating" reservation (talk to your SCA -- Sleeping Car Attendant) and can finish and get your luggage together to depart the train by 6:20pm, you'll have your meal. Ironically, you won't be spending much time in your roomette in this scenario.

The other idea is to ask your SCA to serve your meal in your roomette and eat it there -- he will bring it you, hopefully as early as possible, which could be around 5 and you can enjoy the "comfort" of your flex meal in your roomette -- but that doesn't get you any time in the diner.

One thing you might want to consider -- since you will be arriving in Albany at dinnertime, and Europeans tend to eat late, I think -- is to skip the meal on Amtrak and eat at your destination. From the point of view of cuisine, you won't be missing much, although you might want to experience "flex" to see what it is, I get that. Please note, if you decline your dinner, you will still be entitled to your beverages and one free adult beverage -- that I would not skip.

Btw I've been to Basel and rode the rails many, many times in Switzerland, including up to Jungfraujoch, which was unforgettable. The cleanliness, and absolute punctuality of the trains was amazing -- you could set your watch by them. If they said they were departing at 3:45pm, they left when the second-hand reached the 12 and it was 3:45 exactly on the dot. I once missed a train by a few seconds. You seem to be well-read, so I am sure your expectations for Amtrak are tempered, as they should be.

 

[Andreas]

Thank you for your kind message! I will try to combine dinner in the dining car (1st seating) and Hudson River views, hoping to get a table on the left hand side in the direction of travel. This would be the only opportunity to enjoy (or "enjoy") Flex dining. (I know it is just warmed up.) Before that I might have the chance to stretch my legs in the Roomette for a bit more than an hour, after having stretched my legs already in the NYP station lounge which seems to be a nice place.