Ugliest Amtrak scenery.

[creddick]

OK. There is a posting for the most scenic Amtrak route. How about the ugliest? What is the ugliest Amtrak route you've been on? I vote ANY stretch through Michigan. For a beautiful state, the Amtrak routes are hideous!

 

[ThayerATM]

OK. There is a posting for the most scenic Amtrak route. How about the ugliest? What is the ugliest Amtrak route you've been on? I vote ANY stretch through Michigan. For a beautiful state, the Amtrak routes are hideous!

Having been born and raised in Flint MI, I have to jump to Michigans defense. Michigan is (was?) an automobile state. Their mentality was set, since the early 1900s, as: "the automobile is the way to travel." I'm inclined to think that that's the mental set of the Michigan legislature too --- money goes for roads, not railroads.

I'd love to catch a train in Rochester NY and ride to Rochester MI to visit the kids.

If the tourist industry could support it, imagine a train trip from Toledo, to Detroit (for practical reasons) and continuing north to Flint, then stopping at Saginaw, Bay City, Standish, West Branch, Roscommon, Indian River and all the way to Mackinaw City. Gorgeous country north of Flint, but you've got to stick with the Interstate.

Amtrak's time has come, but it'll take a couple of generations to build its infrastructure in Michigan.

Meanwhile, let's applaud Amtrak's attempt to provide reasonable railroad access to those few places (Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Flint, Port Huron, and Kazoo (sic) that can support it.

Amtrak routes in Michigan are hidious now, but the day is coming !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JayPea]

I've never been east of Chicago on Amtrak, so have to confine my nomination to the midwestern and western U.S. Amtrak routes. While the scenery in the mountains is spectacular, there are many spots on the routes I've taken (EB, SW Chief, and Cal Zephyr, that leave a lot to be desired as far as scenery. The worst, hands down, without a doubt, no question about it, IMHO, is the California Zephyr route in Nevada; specifically, the stretch between Elko and Reno. The one time I took the Zephyr, it was daylight beginning at about Elko, and there is absolutely NOTHING to see. NOTHING!!! WIthout ever having been to Michigan, I can guarantee Nevada's scenery, at least to Reno, is much worse than anything Michigan has to offer. I'm taking the Zephyr again this fall, this time from Chicago to Sacramento; I've never been that far before on the Zephyr and I know the scenery in the Sierras will more than make up the nothing of most of Nevada.

 

[greatcats]

I remember being on the CZ across Nevada years ago and enjoying the early morning crossing the desert with the mountain ranges. I also enjoy driving across the remote highways of Nevada, such as U.S. 6 and 50, although not I80, which parallels Amtrak. I'd say the ugliest is though North Philadelphia.

 

[dan72]

I have to add that ugly does not always equal uninteresting. Probably the worst for me was when I took the Acela from Boston to NYP last year and just outside of the tunnels going into New York, I saw piles and piles of garbage going up the hill from the ROW. Now, that's ugly IMHO.

Dan

 

[Guest]

Somewhere in the upper northeast, possibly around Newark, NJ. I distinctly recall viewing the rear of buildings resplendent in concertina wire, replete with grafiti. (This was the late '80s so perhaps things have changed.)

 

[Walt]

The underground tunnels leading in/out of NYC's Penn Station.

 

[had8ley]

I don't want to rattle any cages but most of the right of way south of New Haven on the NEC looks like an extension of the New York City Department of Sanitation landfill; i.e., junk cars, old refrigerators, old mattresses and furniture mixed in with about 25 years of decaying garbage. As far as towns go coming into Houston from the west and coming into Memphis from the north are two of the most dismal spots I can think of. Bridgeport and Back Bay are losers in the station department. I'd say Beaumont but it doesn't qualify being a ballast landing zone with absolutely no structure.

 

[ThayerATM]

I don't want to rattle any cages but most of the right of way south of New Haven on the NEC looks like an extension of the New York City Department of Sanitation landfill; i.e., junk cars, old refrigerators, old mattresses and furniture mixed in with about 25 years of decaying garbage. As far as towns go coming into Houston from the west and coming into Memphis from the north are two of the most dismal spots I can think of. Bridgeport and Back Bay are losers in the station department. I'd say Beaumont but it doesn't qualify being a ballast landing zone with absolutely no structure.

America, The Beautiful.

We have a lot of work to do.

 

[gswager]

In my opinion, that would be Los Angeles River. It may be pretty to some, but not to me. I can't imagine robbing the wildlife away when humans put cement. Oh, look at the graffiti! It's so cute.

 

[dan72]

In my opinion, that would be Los Angeles River. It may be pretty to some, but not to me. I can't imagine robbing the wildlife away when humans put cement. Oh, look at the graffiti! It's so cute.

I would agree (I forgot about that one). Probably the only redeeming quality (if you care to find any) is the fact it's been used for many movie chase scenes including current governor AHHNOLD.

 

[the_traveler]

How about the steel mill in Gary, IN? That's all you see for many minutes!

Is it even in use any more? :huh:

 

[PerRock]

OK. There is a posting for the most scenic Amtrak route. How about the ugliest? What is the ugliest Amtrak route you've been on? I vote ANY stretch through Michigan. For a beautiful state, the Amtrak routes are hideous!

Having been born and raised in Flint MI, I have to jump to Michigans defense. Michigan is (was?) an automobile state. Their mentality was set, since the early 1900s, as: "the automobile is the way to travel." I'm inclined to think that that's the mental set of the Michigan legislature too --- money goes for roads, not railroads.

I'd love to catch a train in Rochester NY and ride to Rochester MI to visit the kids.

If the tourist industry could support it, imagine a train trip from Toledo, to Detroit (for practical reasons) and continuing north to Flint, then stopping at Saginaw, Bay City, Standish, West Branch, Roscommon, Indian River and all the way to Mackinaw City. Gorgeous country north of Flint, but you've got to stick with the Interstate.

Amtrak's time has come, but it'll take a couple of generations to build its infrastructure in Michigan.

Meanwhile, let's applaud Amtrak's attempt to provide reasonable railroad access to those few places (Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Flint, Port Huron, and Kazoo (sic) that can support it.

Amtrak routes in Michigan are hidious now, but the day is coming !!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I have to object. There are some very nice stretches in MI; not Glacier Park nice but a lot nicer than some of your other choices. There is a particularly nice stretch just west of Ann Arbor where the Huron River winds around the tracks.

peter

 

[Shotgun7]

South Florida from just north of Palm Beach to around Winter Haven

 

[ThayerATM]

OK. There is a posting for the most scenic Amtrak route. How about the ugliest? What is the ugliest Amtrak route you've been on? I vote ANY stretch through Michigan. For a beautiful state, the Amtrak routes are hideous!

Having been born and raised in Flint MI, I have to jump to Michigans defense. Michigan is (was?) an automobile state. Their mentality was set, since the early 1900s, as: "the automobile is the way to travel." I'm inclined to think that that's the mental set of the Michigan legislature too --- money goes for roads, not railroads.

I'd love to catch a train in Rochester NY and ride to Rochester MI to visit the kids.

If the tourist industry could support it, imagine a train trip from Toledo, to Detroit (for practical reasons) and continuing north to Flint, then stopping at Saginaw, Bay City, Standish, West Branch, Roscommon, Indian River and all the way to Mackinaw City. Gorgeous country north of Flint, but you've got to stick with the Interstate.

Amtrak's time has come, but it'll take a couple of generations to build its infrastructure in Michigan.

Meanwhile, let's applaud Amtrak's attempt to provide reasonable railroad access to those few places (Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Flint, Port Huron, and Kazoo (sic) that can support it.

Amtrak routes in Michigan are hidious now, but the day is coming !!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I have to object. There are some very nice stretches in MI; not Glacier Park nice but a lot nicer than some of your other choices. There is a particularly nice stretch just west of Ann Arbor where the Huron River winds around the tracks.

peter

Peter,

I wasn't suggesting that the above is the route that Amtrak "should" take. I was suggesting it as a route that Amtrak "might" take.

If you want to take a pen and draw a line from an already existing Amtrak serviced city (say... Detroit) in Michigan and go up, around, and back to Chi, what cities would you choose? I think that Traverse City would have to be included. There are several places in the Upper Peninsula that would be kewl to include, but it's rather impractical to ask any railroad to attach tracks to the Big Mac bridge.

This route would include spiffy new stations with hundreds of anxious travelers waiting at each stop to board.

It's a pipe dream that the population density could never support.

I was fantasizing.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

Ugly is more objective than beutiful.

Personally, I find graffiti quite interesting to look at. Some of it is even beautiful.

 

[rtabern]

Hands down...The Texas Eagle... Chicago to Joliet.

Oil refineries... about 4 RR crossings that you always get stuck at... a crumbling sanitary canal... I-55... etc.

 

[Windy City LSA]

Hands down...The Texas Eagle... Chicago to Joliet.
Oil refineries... about 4 RR crossings that you always get stuck at... a crumbling sanitary canal... I-55... etc.

Ohhhhhh....I spent my first 24 years in a small town in that very stretch not far from Joliet. It's not so bad away from the tracks. I love my hometown...although it's grown quite a bit since I left.

I do agree with the Texas Eagle. That was my first thought when I saw the subject. I recall seemingly endless miles of junk yards and the like along the tracks in Texas.

 

[dan72]

How about the steel mill in Gary, IN? That's all you see for many minutes!
Is it even in use any more? :huh:

I'm not sure if it was Gary, or not, but I remember going by several on the LSL last year. At night, they were all lit up which was a pretty cool sight. Daytime, well, not so pretty, but again, I found it interesting.

Many steel mills do a lot of their peak production at night due to cheaper electrical costs, so in the day they may look shut down.

Dan

 

[VentureForth]

Texas Eagle between Dallas and Ft Worth. Some great opportunities to enjoy some of the best of North Texas scrap yards...

 

[Larry H.]

Beauty must be in the eye of the beholder.. I found the Nevada rather interesting from a standpoint of how the formations of the earth were so unusual. I can recall taking the Empire Builder many years ago and would have voted for all that open space between Glacier and Minnesota. The last time we took it I found it a breath taking expanse of endless views, what a wonderful country.. Nevada is sort of a brown and bumpier version.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

In my opinion, that would be Los Angeles River. It may be pretty to some, but not to me. I can't imagine robbing the wildlife away when humans put cement. Oh, look at the graffiti! It's so cute.

At least the river has the saving grace of all those cool old bridges (seen in many movies, TV shows, and commercials). For truly ugly, there's the straight line drag through the San Fernando Valley; Glendale, Burbank, Van Nuys, Chatsworth (Pacific Surfliners and Coast Starlight, plus Metrolink).

 

[creddick]

OK. There is a posting for the most scenic Amtrak route. How about the ugliest? What is the ugliest Amtrak route you've been on? I vote ANY stretch through Michigan. For a beautiful state, the Amtrak routes are hideous!

Having been born and raised in Flint MI, I have to jump to Michigans defense. Michigan is (was?) an automobile state. Their mentality was set, since the early 1900s, as: "the automobile is the way to travel." I'm inclined to think that that's the mental set of the Michigan legislature too --- money goes for roads, not railroads.

I'd love to catch a train in Rochester NY and ride to Rochester MI to visit the kids.

If the tourist industry could support it, imagine a train trip from Toledo, to Detroit (for practical reasons) and continuing north to Flint, then stopping at Saginaw, Bay City, Standish, West Branch, Roscommon, Indian River and all the way to Mackinaw City. Gorgeous country north of Flint, but you've got to stick with the Interstate.

Amtrak's time has come, but it'll take a couple of generations to build its infrastructure in Michigan.

Meanwhile, let's applaud Amtrak's attempt to provide reasonable railroad access to those few places (Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Flint, Port Huron, and Kazoo (sic) that can support it.

Amtrak routes in Michigan are hidious now, but the day is coming !!!!!!!!!!!

This is great. I love these discussions.

While not being a Michigan native (Paducah, KY, actually), I have lived here since the early 50's. My uncle was the trainmaster for the NYC in Bay City and then Jackson. The route you describe sounds like the old Timberliner route to Mackinaw. Many nights I stood at the station in Bay City and watched it go through.

I would love to see Amtrak go farther north in Michigan but I don't think it'll be in my lifetime. Oh, and I stand behind my statement. Amtrak's routes through Michigan are hideous (IMHO).

 

[Spokker]

I can't imagine robbing the wildlife away when humans put cement. Oh, look at the graffiti! It's so cute.

You do know that the river was cemented to prevent deadly floods right?

 

[Dan O]

In my opinion, that would be Los Angeles River. It may be pretty to some, but not to me. I can't imagine robbing the wildlife away when humans put cement. Oh, look at the graffiti! It's so cute.

I believe I heard it was cemented in to keep the river on course. Seems like I heard it changed course and came out near Marina Del Rey way back in the day. So it's not just to be ugly that it is all cement. But I agree..it is ugly. I don't know if they still use it for this but I saw bus drivers who were learning to drive down on the bottom of the river several years ago.

Dan O