What I miss about Amtrak train rides . . .

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1.Listening to the Whistle Blow as the Rocking and Swaying of the Car lulls me to Sleep!
2. Waking up to the Smell of Coffee brewing in the Sleeper and having a Cup before heading to the Diner for Breakfast.( obviously in a Full Service Diner)

3.Hanging out in the Sightseer Lounge watching the Scenery roll by and talking with people from all over.

4.Getting my Diner Reservation from the LSA as they come through the Train.

5. Sitting down in the Diner and placing my Drink and Food order and getting to know my tablemates while we wait on our orders.

6. Taking a Shower once everyone is in bed and the Train is quiet.( obviously I'm a night Owl)
 
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I miss anything and everything about Amtrak train rides. In "normal" times I can hear the Amtrak Pere Marquette go past a few crossings a mile to the south of me, and I hear it pull in and out of the station which is three miles away. I miss that too since the PM has had it's services suspended. I do hear freights on occasion but it's just not the same to me.
 
All of the above....although I'm a night owl myself, I usually change my schedule to be up and in the shower before anyone else, then go to a satisfying full-course breakfast with bacon and eggs. On eastern trains to/from Chicago, I buy all my meals 'to go' before boarding.

I also miss the 'private-ness' of my roomettes. I sleep in the lower, and sometimes make it into a chaise-lounge position due to digestive issues. I'll put it in the upright position, and back to chaise-lounge of flat multiple times each trip. Taking a mid day nap is heaven!

I also miss having strangers as table mates. Several times, I've had lengthy conversations that ran so long that the dining crew was giving us the 'eyeball'...

Hopefully, they'll actually RESTORE full service dining on the Western trains when COVID-19 isn't such a media frenzy issue.
 
What we miss most (and what we’re looking forward to):

- The ocean views as seen from a Pacific Surfliner train.

- Listening to the crew on our scanner.

- The historical ambience of Los Angeles Union Station.

- Getting settled in our Southwest Chief bedroom.

- Deciding what to order from the dining car menu.

- Railroad French Toast for Breakfast

- The Arizona and New Mexico scenery.

- Tracking our train’s progress on our route map.

- The passage through Apache Canyon.

- Crossing the Mississippi River.

- Seeing Midwest corn fields and farms.

- Riding on a Red Cap’s cart through Chicago Union Station.

- Writing a trip report once we get home.

Eric & Pat
 
I love the first sight of our sleeping car: on which side is our room? Is it a Superliner I or II? What is the temperature inside? Does it smell okay? Are there any major maintenance deficiencies? Then I relax...

On my first trip on Amtrak departing South Station on the Minute Man, I was distracted and the train started moving so smoothly that I didn't notice we were moving. I'll never forget that sensation.

I'm usually up early to take a shower, and then I anxiously wait for that amber light to illuminate on the coffee machine.
 
Oh, so many things listed above! And also...
  • The "Me" time for three days as I cross the country, where the direction of my thoughts and my hands belongs only to me. I knit, crochet, read, nap, talk to people, or just watch the scenery as I please.
  • The rocking motion of the train, which keeps me awake the first night and then lulls me to sleep for the next two (and is remembered by my body on the return trip, so there is no wakeful night at all).
  • The enjoyment of "gracious travel", where I can sip my tea and watch the scenery roll by, knowing that I won't have to take my turn paying attention only to the road ahead.
  • And last but not least, the welcoming smiles and loving arms waiting for me at both ends of the journey!
 
"Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer...."

The first time taking a shower on the lower level of a Superliner sleeper.

Breakfast in the Dining Car; somehow the food always tastes better to me than breakfast at home.

Riding in the Red Cap's cart through any large station with Chicago and Washington being the most interesting for "behind the scenes" views.

Visiting with fellow travelers in the Lounge Cars of any train as well as meeting people from many parts of the country and the world.

The anticipation of boarding the train and starting my journey.

Before retiring for the night in my Roomette, watching the passing scenery in the darkness of my roomette. Particularly during a Winter rail journey when there is or has fresh fallen snow.

Traveling along I-95 in places and being appreciate that I am not in all of that traffic!

Before Amtrak, as a child, flushing the toilet and watching the railroad ties go flashing by. (And, if I am caught in the loo when we come into a station and knowing that I ought not to flush the toilet: what should I do? Thinking: how long am I going to be "stuck" in the restroom.)
 
Great posts so far!

I miss getting off the train for Fresh Air brakes at stops in towns I’d never heard of, and probably would never visit otherwise.

I miss waking up in the middle of the night in my roomette as we pass through a small town and I see the red lights from the crossing gates whiz by and I can faintly hear the clanging of the alarm on the street.

I miss the flurry of activity as we all head toward the train at Union Station—everybody climbing aboard and finding their rooms getting settled in for an exciting trip across the country. Its just another day for Amtrak, but it’s a big deal for all of us going on a trip.

I hope I get to do these again some day.
 
Feeling the train creep forward and accelerate as it departs my origin station.

Hearing the horn and knowing that I'll be seeing a crossing pass by me soon.

Walking the train while it is moving

Seeing parts of my home area (upon departing or arriving) that I can't really see by car.

The vibration when the train hits a rail switch.

The legroom.
 
Unlike others ... I miss riding in COACH

  • Feeling the train start moving before I have settled in my seat
  • Watching out the windows as scenery I cannot see while driving goes by
  • Feeling the train rock, sway and jostle
  • Talking with people I have never met before that also like riding the train
  • Walking the aisles while the train is zipping along - can't do that while riding in a car
  • Watching a movie on my tablet while someone else is driving and I actually have leg room
  • Using the "facilities" without having to "pull over" to do so
  • Riding through the night and being able to sleep while the train just keeps on going
  • Stepping into the shiny tube in my home city and stepping out of the same tube in a city hundreds/thousands of miles away
  • Being able to bring my own food and not having to stop to eat it

I'm sure there are other things ....
 
Waving back at kids who wave to the trains

Waking up to the smell of the fresh coffee the SCA just finished making

The anticipation I feel when I board at the start of a long trip

Going through a large city at night, seeing all the lights

And all of the above posts.

I was supposed to take a trip next week from FTW to TUS, which I cancelled. I've decided that if this %&@# ever ends I'm going to spend some serious money and take the trip I've wanted to take for years, FTW to LAX, LAX to PDX, PDX to CHI, CHI t0 FTW. I'd like to take the SWC to Lamy instead but for a trip that long I'd want to check luggage.
 
On a hot summer day, getting on your sleeper, then walking in the door and being enveloped by the cooling hush as you walk down the aisle.

Raising the shade as the sun rises and being mesmerized by.....

Setting up the table in your room for the cocktail hour with your spouse as twilight accentuates the scenery

Covering up with the blanket as you snuggle in your upper berth while being lulled by the soft rumble of the wheels

Hanging out at the railfan window as you listen to the clickety clack of jointed rail somewhere west of Raton watching the semaphores drop

That first cup of coffee in the morning, with the shade partially open, as the brakes grab on your approach to a stop in some nameless small town

Dinner in the diner with a really interesting couple from some far off land

An SCA and dining car server who really understand good customer service
 
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Great responses all!

Eating my dinner as while we cross the Mississippi river.
Setting in the dome car watching the sun rise over the high plains.
Waking up and looking out the window to find I am in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Memphis, or ?????
Buying a Denver Post with a bagel at the Denver station.
Getting a deep-dish pizza in Chicago while between trains.
Watching the changing geography in the as we travel this great land.
 
Unlike others ... I miss riding in COACH

  • Feeling the train start moving before I have settled in my seat
  • Watching out the windows as scenery I cannot see while driving goes by
  • Feeling the train rock, sway and jostle
  • Talking with people I have never met before that also like riding the train
  • Walking the aisles while the train is zipping along - can't do that while riding in a car
  • Watching a movie on my tablet while someone else is driving and I actually have leg room
  • Using the "facilities" without having to "pull over" to do so
  • Riding through the night and being able to sleep while the train just keeps on going
  • Stepping into the shiny tube in my home city and stepping out of the same tube in a city hundreds/thousands of miles away
  • Being able to bring my own food and not having to stop to eat it

I'm sure there are other things ....

Although I would like to travel in a room on Amtrak (haven't done it yet), I think sometimes that coach travel doesn't get the respect and recognition it deserves. 😊
 
Although I would like to travel in a room on Amtrak (haven't done it yet), I think sometimes that coach travel doesn't get the respect and recognition it deserves. 😊

Yes, I would like to try a sleeper so I could miss those things, too - but, so far, I have only been able to ride coach ... and I'm not ashamed to say so and I don't consider myself "second class" for riding coach

I feel another thread coming on ...

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/how-do-feel-about-riding-coach.77332/
 
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I leave the curtains open 24/7...I can look out day or night without having to get up!

You are not understanding what I was trying to say in my post.

I am a sleeper that tends to face towards the window of an Amtrak Roomette. If I hope to get to sleep, the curtains must be closed. The lights, etc. that the train passes during the night distract me from going to sleep.

That morning when the train was in Utah and I opened the curtain, as I said, provided a view of a landscape that I don't see when I awake in Dayton, Ohio.

I hope you understand what I was saying.
 
I leave the curtains open 24/7...I can look out day or night without having to get up!

Obviously, you must sleep in the upper berth when in a Viewliner or lower level Superliner. I always take the lower, and keep the drapes closed when I'm trying to get some ZZZs.
 
I miss the little bubble of excitement that I always get at the start of even the shortest trip. How much stronger that bubble is when I step aboard an Amtrak train on the other side of the world!
It seems to me that while I get much enjoyment from watching the scenery pass, chatting to my fellow passengers creates the most vivid memories, and the most lasting enjoyment.

Ed.
 
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