The Road Less Traveled

“When was the last time you saw someone wave at a bus? And when did you last see someone snapping pictures out the window of a jumbo jet?”

Modern air transport, save for those who fly or charter their own airplanes, is hardly travel. It is, at best, transfer. After an intrusive and humiliating security check one is herded aboard a cramped metal tube where you have the privilege of huddling in a too-tight seat for several hours, whereupon you exit into a building much like the one you just left.

Two-thirds or more of the passengers have seen nothing at all of the scenery en route. Those fortunate few who did secure a window seat have often seen little more than some clouds and a wing.

There Is An Alternative

For over a century and a half, the romance of the rails has beckoned to travelers the world over. While the days of white-gloved porters aboard luxurious streamliners speeding from city to city on schedules so precise you could set your watch by are now regrettably in the past, a reminder of those bygone days still operates on many of the routes made famous by the Super Chief, the Twentieth Century Limited and others.

Rail travel is not for everyone. If you must be in Denver by ten o’clock Friday I advise you to look elsewhere; on-time performance in the USA’s Amtrak network is spotty at best. But, if you have some flexibility in your schedule and a yen to sample the road less traveled, then you are perfectly positioned to sample the undeniable joys of rail travel.

  1. Comfort

    Traveling in an Amtrak coach seat

    My two nephews on a recent trip in coach on Amtrak

    Even a coach-class seat on an Amtrak long-distance route is comparable or superior to an airline first class seat. Overnight trains feature comfortable reclining seats with leg rests and plenty of legroom; if you can sleep in a reclining chair you should have no trouble sleeping in a long-distance Amtrak coach.

    For a truly memorable trip, reserve a sleeping accommodation which will feature a real full-length berth with blanket, pillow and sheets in a private roomette or bedroom.

  2. Cooking

    A meal in the dining car

    Real food. Real scenery. Real people. Really good!

    Long-distance dining car fare is comparable to what one might find in a “family restaurant.” It is far superior to anything you would likely be offered on an airliner.

    Coach passengers pay as they eat, while, for Sleeping Car passengers, all meals (save alcoholic beverages and appetizers) are inclusive with your ticket.

    For those who travel north of the border there is added cause for delight; VIA Rail Canada’s Silver and Blue class still features meals fit to rival a fine restaurant!

  3. The Company

    Rail passengers represent a true cross-section of North America, and you might on any given trip find yourself chatting with a retired business executive, a sailor on leave, a schoolteacher from the Midwest, or the relative of a famous baseball star. Long-established custom in the dining car is for passengers to share tables, which provides a great opportunity for conversation as the scenery rolls past out the windows against a backdrop of the setting sun.