West Coast to New York - which way is best

[ScouseAndy]

So due to the disgusting terrorism in Sri Lanka last weekend and the subsequent UK Govt advice against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka currently I need a plan B for my wife and I's vacation in mid September this year as if the travel advise is retained our travel insurer will insist on reimbursing us for the trip to Sri Lanka and refuse to cover us.

I love the West Coast USA and want to do a 2nd transcontinental trip by Amtrak and my wife although not a massive train buff like myself is open to the idea with the proviso we end the trip with a weekend in NY so she can hit the shops.

BUT which route is best to complete mid September scenery wise and most importantly most reliable in September? We would be traveling by roomette with a night in either New Orleans or Chicago BUT we want to limit the chance of a bustition wherever possible.

We can start in any city on the West Coast and take up to 7 days to complete the trip to NYC with 1 or more stopovers on route (we quite fancy the idea of 24 hours in a midwest or a rocky mountain small town to break the journey and see a different side to US life).

Any recommendations welcome.

previously I went CZ/LS San Francisco - Boston but as Holly hasnt it isnt ruled out.

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

If you wanted to do New Orleans and don't mind the overnight stay, you can try Sunset Limited/Crescent, leaving from Los Angeles. I don't know what the scenery is like on either train. I imagine there has been a lot of trouble with the Crescent in the past but that could be a different time of the year.

If you are looking for a new experience west of Chicago, you can do the Southwest Chief/Lake Shore Limited, also leaving from Los Angeles. Otherwise, California Zephyr/Lake Shore Limited out of the Bay Area. You can also plan some time in Washington DC and take the Capitol Limited and then take a NER or Acela up to NYP.

 

[duty_trains]

Traveling east from the west coast, I think the southern routes (Sunsent Limited, SW Chief) don’t vary as much with the seasons. I think the Empire Builder is a stunning ride any time of year, but certainly heading into fall (might be a little early to really hit peak foliage) would be beautiful. If you’re starting in LA, you could take the Starlight up to Seattle or Portland (Portland has the better view as it winds along the Columbia, though you’ll be without a diner for the few hours between Portland and Spokane).

I’m of the opinion that there simply isn’t that much to see between Chicago and New York, so I’d pick the most direct/economical option, of which there are several. In general I’d have a slight preference for coming up to NY on the Crescent rather then over/down from CHI, but that would require you to either cut down to NOLA from CHI, adding an extra day do your journey, or have taken the Sunset from LA to NOLA in the first place.

Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[Asher]

Wow, lots of choices. My only trip thru NYC was Zepher from Sacramento and Lakeshore Limited to New York. We missed a connection from Chicago to Washington DC on the Capital and got re routed on the LL. I Was happy as a clam just to be able to see the name of cities I never thought I'd ever visit as we stopped at the various stations.
Fill us in on your choice and let us know how it all goes.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I would recommend taking the zephyr and stopping in Grand Junction or Granby Colorado. Grand junction is close to arches national park, and only a little drive to Durango home of the Durango and Silverton steam train, which is great in the fall. Durango is also close to Mesa verde national park. Granby is a nice little town right next to Rocky Mountain national park.

Another option would be the empire builder and stopping over at Izak Walton inn or east glacier.

 

[caravanman]

A lot depends on whether you would like to hire a car for excursions?
If you can visit the Grand Canyon, that is pretty special. As mentioned above, the Mesa Verde park is extra impressive too. I love the Zephyr scenery, and love Chicago too, so if there is no car hire option involved, I would take the Zephyr.
I imagine that the Sri Lanka stuff will fade away quite soon anyway, but one never knows...

 

[SarahZ]

I would take the Empire Builder from Seattle or Portland. You could break your trip with an overnight at Izaak Walton Inn. Depending on how warm it is going into mid-September, the leaves in Minnesota might not be at peak color yet, but the Mississippi Valley is beautiful no matter what time of year it is. Sugar Maples tend to change quite early, and we may have a cooler autumn this year, so you may luck out with some autumn foliage.

From there, I would connect to the Lake Shore Limited out of Chicago. That gives you a buffer if the EB is running late. If you get in on time, you could have dinner in Chicago and walk around a bit.

If you want something more scenic, I would take the Cardinal out of Chicago. That is an extremely close connection, however, so I would plan on overnighting in Chicago and then catch the Cardinal the next day.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I'm with Sarah on the Empire Builder/Cardinal route. Being further north, the fall colors will appear on the Empire Builder earlier in the fall than on the more southern routes. Expect flaming red vine maple in the Cascades (it paints the avalanche chutes red, so you know where to look for snow slides later in mid-winter...). In the Rockies of Montana, expect yellow aspen trees and Douglas maple. September may be a little early for color, but a dry summer and crisp nights will bring on the color (and it is definitely too early further south).

I took the Cardinal on one of my trips from Oregon to the northeast, and it was a highlight of my train traveling years. I loved the New River Gorge. You will want to schedule a night in Chicago between trains - that is a connection you *don't* want to miss, due to the three-times-a-week schedule of the Cardinal. To avoid arriving at its NYC terminus at midnight or later, plan an overnight stop in Washington or Baltimore and take a daytime NE Regional up the eastern seabord (a few nice water views, lots of them if you continue north to Boston).

Eastbound is the preferred direction on both of those trains, as a late train only means more daylight in the most scenic sections. If you end up with any extra time, the Izaak Walton (classic railroad hotel), or one of the Glacier Park stops, is an excellent choice.

 

[Rasputin]

I think there are some great suggestions here and I think that any of those routes would be fine. I would lean toward the Cardinal on the eastern part of your trip. I think LA to Portland and Portland to Chicago would be great.

As far as stopovers in smaller towns en route: On the Empire Builder route I would suggest Whitefish, Montana. On the Zephyr route, I would suggest Grand Junction, Colorado or Glenwood Springs, Colorado. On the Southwest Chief route, I would suggest Las Vegas, NM, or Raton or Trinidad. On the Sunset route, I would suggest Alpine, Texas although that may require a stay of 2 or 3 days since that train is tri-weekly.

Look forward to your report.

 

[Sauve850]

I too would vote for the Empire Builder with a stop in Whitefish, MT. Very cool area. On to Chicago, I'd overnight there and take the LSL or Cardinal to NYC.

On the CZ I would stop in Glenwood Springs then on to Chicago.

 

[chakk]

I think there are some great suggestions here and I think that any of those routes would be fine. I would lean toward the Cardinal on the eastern part of your trip. I think LA to Portland and Portland to Chicago would be great.

As far as stopovers in smaller towns en route: On the Empire Builder route I would suggest Whitefish, Montana. On the Zephyr route, I would suggest Grand Junction, Colorado or Glenwood Springs, Colorado. On the Southwest Chief route, I would suggest Las Vegas, NM, or Raton or Trinidad. On the Sunset route, I would suggest Alpine, Texas although that may require a stay of 2 or 3 days since that train is tri-weekly.

Look forward to your report.

Grand Junction has an Enterprise rental car office 4 city blocks from the Amtrak station. From mid-September they offer special low rates on 3-day weekend rentals — pickup Friday morning and drop Monday morning. Use those three days to visit Durango, Mesa Verde National Park, Arches National Park. There are also free rock wall drawings near Thomspon, Utah on the drive from Arches back to Grand Junction. Aspen trees in southwest Colorado will be nearing their peak colors at the highest elevations around Silverton.

 

[niemi24s]

Once upon a time, Amtrak published paper pamphlets and online versions called Route Guides - one for most of its long distance routes. Due to the monumental expense of providing such informative paper documents, those paper documents were discontinued and are no longer found in stations or trains. Then, not too long ago, due to the tremendous cost of providing such informative pdf documents online, those too were discontinued.

But if you search online for "Amtrak [name of train] Route Guide" or "Amtrak [name of train] Train Route Guide" you can find one for all of your prospective routes. Here's a link to one just found with a Google search for "Amtrak Cardinal Route Guide": https://www.eiseverywhere.com/file_...Amtrak-Cardinal-Train-Route-Guide-Revised.pdf

But since Amtrak quit hosting all of them, the genuine Amtrak Route Guides available from other sources online must be searched out individually using the train name. A search for just "Amtrak Route Guides" was fruitless for me. I've saved all those for the long distance trains (except the Auto train, which I can't seem to find - if there ever was one) just in case those individual sources dry up.

Other ways of finding out what lies along the routes are to use Google Earth or scrollable topographical maps, such as these: https://www.mytopo.com/maps/index.cfm Sometimes which particular track the train takes is difficult to discern and the maps available here will help: https://fragis.fra.dot.gov/GISFRASafety/ This may be a bit tedious, but at least you can see for yourself what's along each route and not have to rely entirely on the words of others.

 

[MARC Rider]

I’m of the opinion that there simply isn’t that much to see between Chicago and New York, so I’d pick the most direct/economical option, of which there are several. In general I’d have a slight preference for coming up to NY on the Crescent rather then over/down from CHI, but that would require you to either cut down to NOLA from CHI, adding an extra day do your journey, or have taken the Sunset from LA to NOLA in the first place.

Sounds like a fun trip!

Actually, crossing the Appalachians is just as spectacular as travelling through the west in some ways. The continuous greenery is in contrast to the dusty rocky scenery of the west, where even the forests (in my opinion) seem dry and dusty. Both the Capitol Limited and the Cardinal provide a daylight crossing of the Appalachians. It should be daylight by the time you get to Connelsburg PA on the eastbound Capitol or Charleston WV on the eastbound Cardinal. On the Capitol, you get to see the Youghegheny River gorge, the descent on the Sand Patch Grade (which includes its own "horsehoe curve") and the passage through the Ridge and Valley county between Cumberland and Harpers Ferry. The Capitol has a sightseer lounger, so the scenery is mor visible than on the Cardinal, which is your viewliner sleeper, or the windows of the Amfleet lounge/diner, from which you may be kicked out (like I was once) at times by the crew. Scenery on the Cardinal includes the New River Gorge and the Ridge and Valley country between Clifton Forge and Charlottesville. There's a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge mountains from the south side of the train as you descend into Charlottesville. The Virginia Piedmont scenery between Charlottesville and Manassas is also pleasant, assuming you're not so lat that you're running in the dark. If you're willing to stop in Charlottesville, you can rent a car and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline drive, check out a number of historic sites, like the University of Virginia, Monticello (home of Jefferson), and a lot of wineries, many of which even produce good wine.

If you take the Capitol Limited, you have to change in Washington to a Northeast Regional or Acela to get to New York, whereas the Cardinal runs through to New York. But maybe you might want to stop in Washington and see the Imperial City and its excellent (and free) museums and other monuments and monumental architecture. Or stop in Philly and check out our Colonial history in well-preserved neighborhoods from the 1700s and various historical sites.

Lots to see between Chicago and New York!

 

[ScouseAndy]

Thank you everyone, we are leaning towards the EB from Portland and then take either the Cardinal or CL with breaks in either Essex or White Fish and Chicago. Due to time restraints we may have to skip LA and start the trip in SF.

If we did take the CL from Chicago would we benefit from changing at Pittsburgh onto the Pennsylvanian and taking in the Altoona Horseshoe curve? Its a very early wake up call for us (assuming the CL is on time) and a tight(ish) connection. My main concern would be what is the likely outcome if we did miss this connection, would they allow us to remain on the CL through to DC and then take a regional express north to NY or would we be stranded in Pittsburgh for 24 hours and lose a day in NY?

Washington, Philly and the Blue Ridge mountains are being saved for another trip along with Boston etc so will be skipping them this time around.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

There is no perfect way to do this. All long distance trains in this country have great scenery at certain points in their journey, All long distance trains in this country arrive at some point to a very interesting city that someone might want to just get off the train for a day or two. Some people love big cities, some people love tiny towns and some people just scratch their heads and book a trip and ride a train because it is just relaxing. I am of the relaxing variety!

 

[Seaboard92]

I would personally do the Cardinal because it’s a lovely route in all regards. For the Midwest to Northeast leg. I’ve ridden it over thirty times and it never gets old. The Capitol Limited has great scenery going east but I always find it incredibly slow till Cumberland.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Thank you everyone, we are leaning towards the EB from Portland and then take either the Cardinal or CL with breaks in either Essex or White Fish and Chicago. Due to time restraints we may have to skip LA and start the trip in SF.

If you skip the LA-SF part of the trip, you will miss the namesake California coast, but you'll still ride through the great Oregon Cascades, and possibly the Puget Sound, if the Point Defiance Bypass isn't open by then. You might see the scenic Sacramento River valley and Mt. Shasta too if the train is late or if you wake up early enough.

Also, the CS to EB connection at Portland is only scheduled for 1 hr 13 mins, so I'd consider staying a night there. If you're late enough, they might bus you from Klamath Falls to Pasco, and you'll miss the Columbia River Gorge. Or, you could go to Seattle and stay a night there.

Enjoy the long distance trains while you can!

 

[BuffaloBoy]

My experience on the Cardinal was the bumpiest ride I've ever had, but the visuals were incredible.

 

[seat38a]

Thank you everyone, we are leaning towards the EB from Portland and then take either the Cardinal or CL with breaks in either Essex or White Fish and Chicago. Due to time restraints we may have to skip LA and start the trip in SF.

If we did take the CL from Chicago would we benefit from changing at Pittsburgh onto the Pennsylvanian and taking in the Altoona Horseshoe curve? Its a very early wake up call for us (assuming the CL is on time) and a tight(ish) connection. My main concern would be what is the likely outcome if we did miss this connection, would they allow us to remain on the CL through to DC and then take a regional express north to NY or would we be stranded in Pittsburgh for 24 hours and lose a day in NY?

Washington, Philly and the Blue Ridge mountains are being saved for another trip along with Boston etc so will be skipping them this time around.

Go with Whitefish vs Essex. At Whitefish there are many options to rent a car and drive around Glacier NP. Essex your pretty much a captive to izaak walton inn. I've personally stayed at the Village Inn At Apgar and it was the best experience. Your going to need a car to really appreciate the place.

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[user 6862]

So due to the disgusting terrorism in Sri Lanka last weekend and the subsequent UK Govt advice against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka currently I need a plan B for my wife and I's vacation in mid September this year as if the travel advise is retained our travel insurer will insist on reimbursing us for the trip to Sri Lanka and refuse to cover us.

I love the West Coast USA and want to do a 2nd transcontinental trip by Amtrak and my wife although not a massive train buff like myself is open to the idea with the proviso we end the trip with a weekend in NY so she can hit the shops.

BUT which route is best to complete mid September scenery wise and most importantly most reliable in September? We would be traveling by roomette with a night in either New Orleans or Chicago BUT we want to limit the chance of a bustition wherever possible.

We can start in any city on the West Coast and take up to 7 days to complete the trip to NYC with 1 or more stopovers on route (we quite fancy the idea of 24 hours in a midwest or a rocky mountain small town to break the journey and see a different side to US life).

Any recommendations welcome.

previously I went CZ/LS San Francisco - Boston but as Holly hasnt it isnt ruled out.

Do you mind changing trains a couple of times Andy? The real Mid-West as we found it is not that close to Amtrak stations all the time, maybe a one way car rental to get from one station to another? Have slightly different idea to most of the above, but there may be 3 train changes.

 

[oregon pioneer]

My experience on the Cardinal was the bumpiest ride I've ever had, but the visuals were incredible.

Ah, yes, there is a section of jointed track on the Cardinal, a very bumpy ride as you rocket along, swaying to and fro, for an hour or two. It was wonderful to have that part over with. I think between the Cardinal and the Cap Ltd, one is not really slower than the other. The mountain and river terrain on both inhibits running at high speed. And some of the Cap Ltd's scenery crossing the Appalachians (then through Cumberland farm country) was as lovely as it gets. It is more like England with higher hills, though, and the Cardinal goes through some parts that are culturally unique to the region. It's a toss-up.

That inn on the lake in Whitefish is lovely!

If you do take the Coast Starlight northbound from California, and you are not an early riser, you can just get off the train for a bit of fresh air in Klamath Falls. Look south along the platform (back towards where you came from). Visibility permitting (in summer, it usually does), Mt. Shasta will be glowing in the morning light on the horizon. But if you wake up earlier, as you pass the town of Mt. Shasta, or soon afterwards, just look out the right-hand side of the train and it will be right in your face. If your accommodations are on the left side of the train, you can head to a lounge for the best views.

 

[Seaboard92]

Portland is well worth a night or two. I could give you some fun pointers.

 

[PaTrainFan]

I'm headed to Portland later this month for two nights. Was there briefly a few years ago and was so impressed wanted to return. I, too, am interested in suggestions.