Trip of a Lifetime

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Hi, folks. I've been away for awhile and just got back from the trip of a lifetime, fulfilling a long-standing ambition to travel from Philadelphia to San Francisco and return entirely by train.

It was a great trip. I love the peace, quiet, and privacy of traveling in a roomette. I slept (lower berth) much better than I expected--the train whistle didn't bother me, but rough track would wake me up if I was asleep. Food in the dining cars was generally better than I expected, too. 

Since there is no longer a direct overnight train from Philadelphia to Chicago    I left home Saturday, Aug. 1, and took a Corridor train down to Washington to take the Capitol Limited to Chicago. Since I'm mainly used to the rides on the Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Service, the ride up through Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg was quite pleasant.

I lay over in Chicago for one night, then took the Empire Builder to Seattle. I've been dreaming of taking the Builder to Seattle for years, and I must say it was actually the best train of my trip. The cars seem to have been updated and were in good condition, the ride was smooth (I guess I have BNSF to thank for that), and we even had real crockery in the dining car. 

I stayed overnight in Seattle (and hope to go back some day for a longer visit) before I took the Coast Starlight to San Francisco. I'm sorry to say I found the Starlight to be a bit disappointing. The "Pacific Parlour Car" was out of service for maintenance. I understand that equipment needs to be maintained from time to time, and Amtrak did provide a dinner-lounge car for sleeping car passengers' private use, but in the end I just did not think the train lived up to Amtrak's hype of it as one of the railroad's "premier trains." The also charge for the wine and cheese tasting; that was free (with reservations) to sleeping car passengers on the Builder.

I'd never been to San Francisco before, and I had a wonderful time staying in the city from Friday to Monday. I look forward to going back there again, too. Monday morning, Aug. 10, I caught the California Zephyr for my return east, and I highly recommend a trip on the Zephyr to everyone. The train itself wasn't quite as nice as the Builder, but the scenery is spectacular. First you cross the Sierras on the historic Central Pacific/Southern Pacific route. Then you cross the deserts of Nevada and Utah. Then from Grand Junction, Colorado, you cross the Rockies, through the Moffat Tunnel, to Denver. It was an absolutely wonderful ride. I'm sure I will do the San Francisco--Denver portion of the route again some day. 

I stayed overnight in Chicago again, and then I caught the Capitol Limited eastbound to continue my return home. I got off the train in Pittsburgh at 5:15 a.m.  in order to transfer to the Pennsylvanian, as I was planning to stop with my father in Lancaster overnight. I completed my trip home on a Keystone Service train Saturday, Aug. 15.

Funny, but the whole trip went by so fast that it didn't seem like I'd been gone two weeks. 

[jettrainfan]

that sounds great! I went down to San Diego back when i was 5... if their is one thing i'll never forget... their were about 3-5 running G scale trains and 10+ on display or not running! Where? McDonald's! I would not mind the ride... pass through any yards? it sounds like you went through collinwood but it would be late and early in the morning. But the good thing is that you enjoyed the ride! thanks for sharing!

[Terry Toenges]

If we could ever quit smoking, I'd love to take train trips. We have to drive everywhere because we both smoke.
Too bad there aren't planes, trains, and boats for smokers. We smokers would take to the air, the rails, and the rivers and oceans and maybe they would do more business.
You can get drunk, but not smoke. I don't drink, I smoke.

[jward]

jet,
to answer your questions.....
no he wouldn't have gone through collinwood. the capitol enters cleveland station coming down the hill on the old pennsy line just east of downtown. collinwood is several miles east of the junction on the old nyc line.

major yards he'd have passed through: csx cumberland, md; ns conway, pa (at night); ns elkhart, indiana; quite a few in chicago; union pacific north platte ( the largest in the world); and up roseville, ca. those are the ones i know off the top of my head.

the only thing that would have made the trip better would have been if the dome cars were still running. there's nothing like ridiing the dome. it is second only to riding the cab in the view you have.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

the capitol enters cleveland station coming down the hill on the old pennsy line just east of downtown. collinwood is several miles east of the junction on the old nyc line.

Of course, I slept through Cleveland both westbound and eastbound. 

major yards he'd have passed through: csx cumberland, md; ns conway, pa (at night); ns elkhart, indiana; quite a few in chicago; union pacific north platte ( the largest in the world); and up roseville, ca. those are the ones i know off the top of my head.

I would have to double check the route maps; I can't remember offhand whether we went through Elkhart. I don't believe we went through North Platte--not, anyway, if the yard is in the Nebraska city of the same name. The Zephyr was diverted earlier this summer, but I would swear I heard someone on the crew say that the train was back on its usual route, and that we went through Lincoln. Of course, I slept through most of Nebraska anyway, woke up just before Omaha, just in time for breakfast. ... 

Pulling into Seattle on the Builder, we went past what appeared to be a still-working roundhouse. That was neat! 

the only thing that would have made the trip better would have been if the dome cars were still running. there's nothing like ridiing the dome. it is second only to riding the cab in the view you have.

I'm sure the view is spectacular, but I really loved the peace and quiet of traveling in my roomette.