Riding the Rails in mid-January, 2010

[Longford]

I'm thinking about taking a rail trip over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in mid-January, 2010 and would like some advice on which of the train routes out of Chicago are considered the "best" at that time of year. I rode the Empire Builder this past May and I'd like to try another route. Any advice and sharing of experiences will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[the_traveler]

I like the CZ at any time of the year, but I would love to see the Rockies and Donner Pass in the snow! When I went thru Donner Pass in March, there was a big snow storm. That just made it better - especially from inside a warm train!

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'm thinking about taking a rail trip over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in mid-January, 2010 and would like some advice on which of the train routes out of Chicago are considered the "best" at that time of year. I rode the Empire Builder this past May and I'd like to try another route. Any advice and sharing of experiences will be appreciated. Thanks!

Either the CZ or the SWC would be pretty nice if you like snow and mountains (who doesnt?) I'd probably allow time for layovers since that time of year there could be delays/cancellations due to storms and sub-zero conditions! Have fun wherever you go, Id normally recommend the South but unless youre over 80 and wealthy Florida is too crowded and expensive and NOL is full of hard core Bourbon Street folks, Texas is full of snow-birds (were big on trailer parks and RV sites in the winter) and Arizona is full of the rich and retire Mafia chieftans! California is always nice, perhaps too cold and dreary in the NW then but SOCAL is great anytime, especially LA and San Diego!

 

[Steve4031]

A circle trip on the Capitol Limited and Carndinal would be interesting too. Though the Cardinal does have single level cars, and they tend to suffer breakdowns in the cold weather.

 

[Longford]

Thanks for the input. This will be a one-way rail journey and I'll either fly someplace and return to Chicago by rail, or ride the rails to a destination and fly home.

 

[railiner]

Thanks for the input. This will be a one-way rail journey and I'll either fly someplace and return to Chicago by rail, or ride the rails to a destination and fly home.

If it were me, I would probably want to escape from the Chicago winter for a short respite. Since you only have a long weekend, that doesn't give you much choice. I'd take the fastest route to the sun, which in this case would be the CONO. Spend a night or two there, then fly home.