When was the last time you slept overnight on a passenger train and where were you going?
My last trip was Montreal to Halifax in the 1960s.
It was May 28th, 1962 on the MP Eagle to San Antonio from St. Louis.
July of this year, returning from Chicago to Sacramento. Earlier the same year I took a trip from Sacramento to Portland, also an overnight trip (but just one as opposed to two on the California Zephyr to Chicago.)
I took a nap on the Capitol Corridor train from San Francisco to Sacramento but perhaps that doesn’t count…
October of last year, I went from Detroit Lakes, MN to Chicago, IL. I take coach and sleep very well in the large reclining chairs with foot rests. This October I’m going drom Detroit Lake to Toronto via Amtrak. Love taking the train!
1950 or 1951. From N.Y. to Miami. I was 14 and travelled alone.
Phil
Oct 1987 - Overnight from Chicago to Topeka on Amtrak, with my 3 1/2 year old son… Great ride, the sleeping car attendent was original ‘old school’ and even did some babysitting for a couple hours! Needless to say, he got a real nice tip when he woke us up before arriving in Topeka at 6 AM…
Jim Bernier
In late 1984 I went from Bangkok to Singapore, two nights on the train. Ex-wife complained the whole trip that I was spending too much time hanging out the open vestibule on the next car shooting pictures. [:D]
One day I need to see if I can find any of those old pix.
Ed
Last summer on the Cresent from just north of Atlanta to Washington and back.
Late 60’s from Southern Thailand to Bangkok. The first class sleepers had already been taken so the wife and I had to take the 2nd class. No AC, slatted roll up windows. the shower was in the baggage area. You stood on a pallet and pulled a rope for water (cold water). But, the service was exellent. They treated us like royality.
I will never forget the train snaking its way through the jungles and buying items from trackside vendors out our window at the many stops. I hung out the window most of the time like egmurphy said he did. The clickity-clack of the rails. It was a wonderful/fun experience and we will always cheri***he memory.
REX
About 1979, Christmas. Amtrak from Seattle to mid-Ohio and back. It was the first year that Amtrak was serving airplane diners and the kitchen and diner staff were unhappy about it. The conductors and few other staff had better than 30 years so were a great source of information. The younger staff were officious. Lot’s of interesting passengers including the toddler that threw a full blown hissy fit at O’dark ugly in the morning about Devil’s lake. Waiting for the kids to get bigger and couple of bills to disappear then will do it again. Probably New Orleans to DC. This time get a sleeper.
My last overnite trip was on the Southwest limited from Chicago to Topeka KS on 3 Dec 86. I had out processed from the Air Force 2 days earlier. I traveled from Trenton NJ to Chicago on the Broadway Limited.
Ch
About 10 years ago, heading from Oslo, Norway to Copenhagen, Denmark. We were actually in a sleeper that time, unlike the trip to Oslo earlier where we were stuck in coach all night thanks to some frantic changes brought on by a airline strike.
Spring of 1982, Baltimore to Miami and back 3 days later. Dummy me, coach the whole way. Coach seat was about as comfortable as a rock! [:(!] Wound up spending both nights playing poker with total strangers in the club car the whole way. Actually wound up winning enough to pay for the whole trip, playing cards , for a nickle ante, quarter limit! Staff in the club car stashed us some ice and soda at 2 am when they quit, which was enough to keep us going until 7 am when they reopened! [:D]
Never did sleep on the train, too busy railfanning and playing cards!!!
The last time overnight would have been 40+ years ago between Omaha and Cheyenne. My last time in a sleeper car was last May, between St. Paul and Chicago and back. The trips were not overnight, but we booked a sleeper for the space and the privacy. It was the most relaxing and enjoyable way I’ve ever traveled.
My wife and I are planning a true overnighter in the next year or so. Either from St. Paul - Chicago - Washington DC or from Kansas City (we would drive there from Mpls to avoid an overnight layover in Chicago) to Flagstaff, Arizona.
[:)]
I probably shouldn’t post again, but reading Roadtrp’s post got me thinking of when my wife and I thought about taking a train with sleeper to Denver and visit with my Daughter and family (about two years ago).
One of the two ways we could have made the trip was to leave Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Washington D.C., to Chicago, to Denver. Can you imagine that. You use to be able to go from Birmingham straight to Chicago.
The other way was to New Orleans with a 9 hour over-night layover , to Memphis, to Chicago, to Denver .
The round trip tickets through Washington D.C. were going to be around $2,300.00
To rich for our blood.[xx(]
It’s a rotten shame that something so enjoyable is out of reach for many.
REX
Summer of 1989. Toulouse to Paris.
Andre
1990s
Tampa to New York. Silver Star. Traveled by coach. Two F40s from Florida to Washington leg.
Actually not bad. Seats more comfortable than those aboard an airliner in the coach section. Enjoyed the railfanning. The Heritage Fleet lounge car was very comfortable and had better riding qualities than the Amfleet cars or “AmCans”.
Only negative experience: I was low on cash so I asked the lounge car attendent behind the counter for a cup of ice. Young guy about 22. He gave it to me and said: Don’t make it a habit! Instead of arguing and ruining my memories I decided to walk away.
Rest of the trip was excellent. At Washington the locomotives were swapped. Our 15 car train was pulled by just ONE E60. We hit 90mph in stretches. Nice looking electric locomotive, though the horn was a high pitched “yucker”.
On the return trip we were delayed in S. Carolina. Our train hit a motorcycle on the tracks! Apparently the 2 boys on it jumped off just in time! Delayed two hours. What really cheesed me off is that when the police showed up, the boys’ father was walking around casually as if nothing was a big deal!! Our engineer and conductor were upset, but professional. Had it been me, my parents would have gone into MELTDOWN with an old fashioned, well earned butt whipping! No Dr. Spock mush!
Last May. Dallas to St. Louis. Stayed in the crew area on the Texas Eagle coming back.
RMax
August of last year I helped a friend move his household goods from Port Townsend, WA to Altoona, PA. After a few days touristing me around the Altoona area and including the East Broad Top RR, He put me on Amtrack for the trip back to Seattle. One night train to Chicago where I had enough layover to take a bus down to the Museum to see the Zephyr and the BIG layout. Then bus back to town to catch the Empire Builder. I rode coaches on both trains, but it was a lot more comfortable than the coaches I rode in the '40’s and '50’s! What a wonderful trip I had.
Late 1950’s from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to Abbotsford B.C. behind steam on OLD sleepers on our way to air cadet camp, imagine a coach full of 14-17 year old insane cadets on a train with windows that opened( great fun in the spiral tunnels) Then the return trip, most of our possessions were dropped out the windows of the coach, no souvenirs. Good Times eh?