Anbody ever travel on Amtrak?

[Stash]

So I am heading to the Pittsburg area next weekend, and have decided on going Amtrak. Cost is 150, probably spend more on gas driving there. I have never traveled via train, just wondering if anyone else has. I figure its cheaper than flying, I'm not in a rush so the extra time it takes to get there doesn't bother me. Just want to make sure no one has any horror stories about them before I purchase the ticket. I think it will be an interesting experiance if nothing else.

[Greg86z28]

My grandparents take it out west once and awhile. My cousin just took it too Alaska I believe. Never heard any complaints. I went to Chicago once on a train. It's different. Something worth doing.

[ragdoll]

One time when I was in a larger city I observed a few gentlemen standing at the entrance of a dirty alley. They had a few brown paper bags with some sort of bottled liquid in them. They randomly would shout random/obscene remarks to passing cars whilst smoking something that they undoubtably also sell. As they initiated a fight with some dude walking down the street I thought to myself, "These guys probably never travel. They probably never leave the state. Heck, they probably never even leave the inner city."

Then I took an Amtrak to Philadelphia and realized... They DO travel and then DON'T fly. Some gentleman who, I am sure are long lost relatives of the guys from above, were on the Am from Chicago to Philly in the same car as me. They were loud and seemed to keep to their own group for banter and massive gestures to themselves... then they got bored. And pretty much would talk about each person on the train as a group while glaring at them... it seemed to make everyone uncomfortable because they would do it very quietly while covering over their mouth. I started to miss the loud conversations they had with each other.

I was trying to have a pleasant conversation with the lady with her 3 year old girl until she mentioned that her man was a drug dealer... which sparked the attention of the only other white person in the car(probably on the whole train) who immediately struck up conversation with my conversation partner about how she deals in the Pittsburg area. They had great conversations about their life/line of work.

Ohhh....memories.




Watch your cornhole.





P.S. Oh yeah, Greyhound is the same thing but multiply the above by 5.3.

[Stash]

Sounds like it should be interesting!

[TSi_II]

Greyhound is something everyone should try, especially trips that take you through the night. Bring a gun. :lol:

I've never done an AmTrak though, my parents have taken them a few places, and I might take one down to Kansas City this summer, so keep us updated on how it goes.

[devlish]

i think a few extra bucks for a plane ticket would be well worth it. andy and jesse got one way flights for something like 150 each out to NY. and they'll be there in 3hours. instead of 14 hours, or whatever it'll take you.



My cousin just took it too Alaska I believe.she took it from Portage to Seattle, yes... and said it was great and highly recommended, other than the sketchy bathrooms!

[SPSRA]

I know this is an old thread, but did you end up taking the train or what. My wife and kids and I might be taking one next year to Alaska, so I'm a little curious.

[TomKat]

God no SPSRA. Drive. Take the M5.

[EVILUTION]

Wife and kids on a train.... ahahahahahahahahhahahaa

[TomKat]

LOL. Talk about a slow, miserable trip.

One word - torture.

[Stash]

Yes, I did take the train. I really don't have any complaints about it. It was cheap and got me where I needed to go. It wasn't as easy sleeping on the train as I had thought it would be and I didn't try any meals in the dining car. As long as you have something to read or a mp3 player time passes rather quickly. However I didn't go nearly as far as Alaska and I went by myself. I will tell you this, I was surprised at how many attractive women I saw on the train and at the station.