Crossing America By Rail?

BarstowRick Mar 22, 2019

  1. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    $20 for a 2-hour ride in a Superliner doesn't seem quite so unreasonable.
    When I visit relatives along the northeast corridor, we usually take a day trip by train into New York City.
    The cheapest option is by commuter rail and costs about $20 for about a 2-hour trip.
    However, the rolling stock is closer to subway car than Superliner.
    The same trip via Amtrak, in a Amfleet car, costs at least double.
    If you want to travel in business class in an Acela Express train, then the fare can be well over $100.
     
  2. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    You got my point

    Primarily, I was talking about a ticket cost, a fare that doesn't exist. Last time I checked it was well over $50.00. If I wanted a coach seat on the South West Chief from San Bernardino to Barstow it didn't come cheaply. Now riding Metro is a totally different story.

    On another note: Many of us in the desert areas wanted Metro to reach out to Barstow thus allowing us access by train to the downtown areas of the La Arena. Hasn't happened yet but could. There is plenty of room for overnight storage of trains that would leave Barstow in the a.m. and return in the p.m. If you get my drift. Some talk about, once the third main was in to Barstow that might work-out. Something about avoiding congestion on the Cajon Sub.

    We also wanted to see the line into Redlands restored and terminate out at the college so students and residents alike could ride Metro, running from Redlands to the down town LAUPT. We got some of that but not enough to make it work. Metro would most likely, have to buy the line.

    And of course some of the information I have is old by today's standards and there may be things happening, all meant to be transparent, behind closed doors. Huuunh?
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2019
  3. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    If you buy well in advance and choose the "saver" (non-refundable after 24 hrs) option, the Amtrak fare for a coach seat on the Southwest Chief from San Bernardino to Barstow is $17. It's $40 for a fully-refundable ticket.

    Daily Southwest Chief service leaves Barstow at about 4AM and arrives at LA at 8AM.
    The return trip leaves LA at 6PM and arrives at Barstow at about 10PM.
    Would that schedule have met your needs, or did you want something different?

    Also, the cheapest Amtrak fare between Barstow and LA is $26.
    Is that low enough or, if not, where should the price have been set?
     
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  4. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes. True. However, when compared to any of highways, airways and waterways, the amount we spend to subsidize Amtrak is pitiful, almost minuscule in fact. I don't understand why it it folks tend to jump on this amount, but none of the others- In fact usually rallying for huge increases for highways, etc, etc. It is much like happily spending $50,000 on a new car, then complaining about purchasing a candy bar for 98 cents. :unsure:
     
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  5. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Amen to what Ken just said. Car travel is subsidized by Interstates that you and I paid (pay) for and maintain, Air travel is subsidized by airports and air controllers that you and I paid (pay) for and maintain. Rail travel and corridors other than the NEC, locomotives, and cars, were bought, built, maintained and operated by private corporations who are taxed by the federal government, just like you and me. Until we, every voter, can convince our legislators and our neighbors that rail travel is a viable alternative to car and air travel, we are stuck with what we have, which is getting worse over time.
     
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  6. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    Joe Biden used to commute between Delaware and D.C on Amtrak.
    Are there any current U.S. Congresspersons who regularly ride Amtrak?
     
  7. McCloudRiver

    McCloudRiver TrainBoard Member

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    I have traveled by Amtrak regularly, but mostly when I was a teenager (83-87). I would go from Los Angeles to San Diego monthly to visit my mom. I believe at the time the cost was less than $20.00 round trip. My dad would drop me off at Union Station around 5 am before he went to work get to San Diego a little over 2 hours later. Never had a bad trip.

    Later I took the family (now ex wife and 2 boys) from Seattle to LA after we got off a week long cruise in Alaska. That was a expensive trip. Booked a family room witch was a little cramped but well worth the money as my boys still talk about the train ride more than the cruise.

    Have also rode the train from LA to Santa Barbara several times for a quick weekend away from it all. 2 hours on the tracks beats 4 or more hours in traffic any day and you can just walk around town when your there.

    Short trips and up the coast for me are nice. Anything across the USA I think I would need mental help afterward.
     
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  8. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just nail me to the floor? Ouch!:cautious: Thanks for pointing out the actual prices. Still it's out of my reach...at the moment.

    It's been years since I last priced a round trip from San Bernardino to Barstow. It was higher... then you've mentioned here. Cheaper to hitch hike. Sigh!

    The idea was to get from San Bernardino to Barstow and back in hopefully the same day. Allow me to share the following.

    At a much earlier date. To set this up we lived in Victorville, Ca., at the time. I was planning on taking a bunch of Girl and Boy Scout types on an outing. Drive to San Bernardino, Catch Amtrak and I think you can figure out where this is headed.

    The late hours Amtrak, keeps was to much for the parents to agree to. As in no way in hades or someplace hotter (Furnace Creek), were they going to allow that. Of course the question of... what do I do in the mean time, in Barstow? On foot? It would have been better if we headed into L.A. and rode Metro (cheaper). Then perhaps a trip to Knott's Berry Farm or Chuckie Cheese's. So I took them out for Pizza, where else :rolleyes: in Victorville, Ca? The parents had a great time. :sneaky:(y):whistle:

    I did arrange to get a tour of the Santa Fe Barstow Yard. We got a group of parents together and car-vanned over to Barstow, Ca. Stopped for ice cream before we ended the day at Del Taco. Yumm!

    That was fun. :LOL::coffee:;)

    Anyway, an Amtrak train ride never came to fruition and the idea died... about as fast as you can flush a toilet.o_O:rolleyes: You heard it flush...right?:X3:
    .
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2019
  9. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    The article is hard to read because of the writer's millennial snarkiness. The writer lost all credibility with me once she mentioned, "We were deep in a conversation about one of my favorite topics, which is myself."

    Ugh...really?

    Worst of all, she mentions none of her fellow passengers by name and only describes them in very superficial terms.
     
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  10. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    She should "go Greyhound" next time.
     
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  11. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I over looked the "Millenial Snarkiness," as Metro pointed out. You did read it.

    This is how a lot of writers...what else...write. They think they are entertaining, humorous or even funny with the put downs. It is fun to write humor into what we write but at what cost? It's the things she mentioned as interesting to her... that I appreciated.

    For the most part riding a train and the view out of the window is looking at people's back yards. Not enticing, not always a pretty site and usually the tracks pass through the low income districts. It isn't until you get out into the wide vista's, canyons and tall mountains the view changes for the better. Still looking at peoples back yards but you can look beyond that.

    The people you meet. All kinds from all kinds of places. If you love sitting in a mall watching people go by and interacting with them you might enjoy a train trip.

    Now the sad part about all this is, I had a family of rails who had the means and ways to travel by train. They could of taken me on any number of Santa Fe's passenger trains but no one was interested in taking me. Ornery little son of a :censored:. The rails in the family said, "To much like work" AND "Why would I want to ride a train when all I do, day and night, is drive one." Never mind the fun one grandson would of had. That didn't count.

    If you enjoy a train trip well...may I suggest, you get out there now and enjoy what you can before it disappears into the annuals of the history books.

    I just know someone is going to point out... why didn't you ride them once out on my own? What? Do I have to explain everything. No way! Wasn't going to happen. Family, kids, job where I had to be available 24/7 - 366 days a year. No mistake, seems if they found a way to sneak in another day I worked it. :confused::(:cautious: And for what?

    Okay, got to get off the hot seat and run to town. Heck, I might catch the Boise Local heading out of town.:D
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2019
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  12. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    I'm actually a professional writer part-time. If I ever wrote an article on LD Amtrak travel, I'd not only feature some of the stories of my fellow passengers (and mention them by name, a lot of people love getting mentioned in an article and inevitably share it with their friends/relatives (which increases readership/clicks -- which is what all newspapers want for their online presence in the first place), but also mention that the transition between East - Midwest - West makes much more sense when traveling the US by rail.
     
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  13. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    I agree, there are wonderful environments between New York, through New Orleans to Los Angeles. Forests, mountains, rivers, swamps, bayous, farms, ranches, deserts, facilities we shouldn't ask about :censored:, and the occasional urban sprawl thrown in, all in a matter of 50 hours...never a dull moment.
    We have a great country, all we have to do is slow down, ride through it on a train, and appreciate it. :cool:
     
  14. hoyden

    hoyden TrainBoard Supporter

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    Amen! I enjoy seeing the back yards and industrial areas. Trains provide a view you can't get by car. I'll be traveling Amtrak to Seattle in May; my third trip. I don't always have the time for Amtrak. Timing worked for me this year.
     
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  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Going to visit the folks at Lake Whatcom? :)
     
  16. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Sounds like a great idea to me. Let us know if you do ever decide to write....
     
  17. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I've been through a few of those southern scenes. But by bus or auto. Will never be able to forget one trip made when it was getting set to thunderstorm. Mid-morning, yet dark. The swamps and bayous. The moss, trees. I was half way expecting a "B" grade movie swamp monster to come forth, as the rains started and lightning began to flash. Eeek.... :eek::ROFLMAO:
     
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  18. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    Amtrak started on equipment and money extorted from the railroads for getting out from under the thumb of the ICC. Regardless if what trains I'd like to see, I suspect the only way this would happen would be for the federal government to distribute equipment in exchange for the railroads operating Amtrak's existing services for a period of time.
     
  19. Point353

    Point353 TrainBoard Member

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    The Genesis locos are on the verge of being replaced and Amtrak is already looking for replacements for the 30-40 year-old Superliner cars.
    Even if the existing equipment is given to the railroads, it's not likely to last that much longer.
    Do you expect the railroads to buy new passenger equipment in the near future?
     
  20. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    I don't put it past them.

    They get that boondoggle off their rails, they get to advertise, they get to prove they can do what the government cannot. That's got to be a temptation. The whole thing will be newsworthy, and could build considerable goodwill.

    I think it's a conversation that should happen. Is there any harm in running it up the flagpole and seeing if any saluting happens?
     

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