วีดีโอ

I used to take the Wolverine back and forth while going to a college in Chicago like a 2 decades ago and have been thinking about doing a short trip for my birthday. But I remember coach and business class being very comfy. If that's changed maybe I'll just fly. BTW when I did I'd always pick it up from Dearborn, The parking lot is right behind the police station and I always felt safe. Downtown lot was reporting having their cars broken into overnight. But my driver's window was missing at the time, so I put a towel over it and left it there for a few days, never had an issue in Dearborn.

Honestly seeing that the St. Paul Metropolitan Lounge looks nice, but the Station needs a restaurant. I’m someone who loves traveling by train, just wish that Amtrak would advertise that if a person buys a sleeping car ticket, that meals and beverages are included. I’m certain that would make the train more appealing to the public? Also, the next thing you that needs to change is the food service on Amtrak. Amtrak should go back to preparing regional foods, as just serving prepackaged meals works fine for limited service trains, but for the longest time distance trains serve a plated meal.

Business Class used to have much nicer seats

How long did it take? was it on time or earlier or later

I love the Acela. It's old, and has its issues but it's a fun train. I am very much looking forward to the new trains. I'll miss the old ones though. That first class upgrade with the Amtrak card is also the best.

Use the RI line mostly every weekend on good weather to escape the boring romeoville

I remember taking Acela from Baltimore to DC and it was a wonderful experience. I've recently booked a trip from Florida to NYC on the new Floridian train that will connect in DC to Acela. I'm super happy to be able to ride Acela again. I rather like the older trainsets of Acela, but I am looking forward to the new ones.

Great video!

At last a vloger who is extremely intelligent and informed about our entire transportation system !!! I learned somethinng about NE corridor catenary system I did not know : the over all tensioning system ! My hat is off to you sir !

The Trenton reference at 21:46. I see you watch other popular channels.

Every time my wife and I have traveled first class on Amtrak (most often by far), we've been greeted by name as we boarded.

Ngl i also ride the trains just to get food shopping or a free Starbucks water lol

Well spoken. I rode trains as a child and teenager with my father who had a pass with ACL railroad. It was a great adventure for many years for me. But the rail companies gave up on passengers for may reasons. And the US government gave us a big favor creating AMTRAK (originally known but not for long as RAILPAX). IF not for Amtrak we would have nothing. My advice is to demand that Congress stop using Amtrak as a whipping boy and work for the populace. At one time many years ago any and all towns and cities were linked for transportation by rail to any and everywhere in USA. Have we come far as a country? No.

Very beautiful region 💞

Cool video, well done!

cool videos

I've ridden the Wolverine on about a dozen roundtrips within Michigan and have never been asked for ID. Even had my significant other take the trips instead of me a couple times and they only scan the ticket barcode, they don't look at names on their devices.

I am now your 800th subscriber congratulations

At 9:23, thanks for pointing out the film studio. It’s a point of interest that’s often missed. The area is called Corriganville, a filming location for decades. In recent times, Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” used the area as the stand-in location for Spahn Ranch. The long-gone original Spahn was not far from there, on the Chatsworth side of the long tunnel.

Thanks for the video. I am looking forward to taking this route!

That Spirit hangar opened brand new a few years ago

Glad I got to ride this in full bedrooms when they had the Sightseer lounges and Dining cars. It was great then. We enjoyed Chicago with a stayover and traveled too the Grand Canyon via Amtrak SW Chief and the Grand Canyon Railway.

I know Amtrak Surfliner has the name, but I personally prefer the Metrolink services from LA to Ventura and through Orange County. Newer, nicer, cleaner cars...but no cafe cars (I believe).

I'm sure it's probably obvious, but the California population boom centered around the car and freeways. With passenger rail dead, rail corridors were relegated to industrial and marginal land use (trains being a noisy, dirty, undesirable neighbors). California is desperately trying to "re-invent the wheel" by using existing rail to re-establish passenger rail service, but it's why many of the city views are the abandon, backside of a city and not a Disney version of rail travel until after Ventura.

Roughly 2 months ago I took the Borealis myself, it was a great trip and I took Coach.

The Cap does normally use Superliners and it will again when service resumes. the Cap and Star are being combined as a "two birds, one stone" scenario. The main reason is for the East River Tunnel project, of which the Silver Star passes through, Silver Star is NY-Miami. The other reason is this allows Amtrak to divert some traffic away from the NEC and by proxy the tunnel, while also allocating equipment elsewhere in the meantime. Silver Star runs with single level Amfleet and Viewliner, Cap runs with Superliners, using the Star's equipment as a placeholder frees up the Superliners for other services (Superliners are in the process of being overhauled, there's an equipment shortage on some routes). Chicago-Miami service still allows Amtrak to continue running without major delays while still rerouting away from the tunnel project.

lol at 3:08 “Jaywalking” in CA is no longer a thing (or at least less of one) per the 2023 “Freedom to Walk“ bill. 😊

Maybe a weird observation but I noticed the single seat row face backwards. I would have probably gotten dizzy lol

The flight out of Detroit to Atlantic City is a charter for Caesars casino.

Great video I really enjoyed it! I also have a TH-cam channel all about aviation and travel based in Detroit called Caleb’s Aviation I have yet to fly with Suncountry Airlines or visit Minneapolis yet but I hope to do so someday! Also, I have flown from the Evans terminal at Detroit only once when I flew with Frontier Airlines, and that video is on my channel or linked here if you’re interested: First Time Flying Frontier! A320neo VS Classic A320 Economy DTW=MCO th-cam.com/video/LcHkZDxy2OE/w-d-xo.html I also have a number of playlists everything from behind-the-scenes at different airports around the world. I made a video at Detroit quite recently with Delta Airlines going behind the scenes at their operation center and I even fly small planes in my Flying Lessons playlist. I also recently got back from a big international trip which saw me fly on a “mystery trip” where I was flying with Delta out of the country somewhere else I had no idea the final destination until landing (turned out to be São Paulo Brazil) that was a super fun video and it’s also on my channel as well as a very interesting aviation museum video from São Paulo and flying Delta A330 Comfort Plus from São Paulo back up to Atlanta! Please check out the videos videos and consider subscribing to my channel. I’d really appreciate! Thanks -Caleb’s Aviation Also at 19:00 that’s a Delta B757-200 not an Airbus A321! 😂

Munsinger Gardens used to be called Munsinger Clemons Gardens. It’s beautiful! Your Dad and I have been there many times.

I ride the 60 daily and route 5 from Johnston and Merle Hay. You are correct they need to connect Merle Hay with Valley West. Perhaps Expanding route 50 from Douglas to 86th to University so you wouldn’t have to transfer on University to catch 3 then go to WDM. Great video I ride almost daily. Urbandale and Grimes (ending in ‘26) is limited in service. I used to live in Ankeny and On Demand runs 5:30A-6:30P, getting from Ankeny when you can’t drive is more difficult. I had to move closer to transit. Hopefully Johnston does not lose service. We get ridership so I think it will stick around awhile D-Line shuffle ending in 2 weeks. Again great video, developing transit system, perhaps add light rail to Pleasant Hill (they are leaving DART too). Light rail could be funded elsewhere. Boarding regional trains could be done at DCS downtown and we could run 2-4 train lines to the suburbs using existing rail lines. Purchased from BNSF. Thoughts?

I'd hate to be a pax now on the Floridian westbound when the train is running 6 hours late coming from Florida, they'll definitely miss their connections in Chicago.

I was able to quickly locate Kalamazoo in your video by all the garbage and tents by the railroad tracks.

do you have any specific ideas about how to make trains relevant in the US outside the NE ? What do you think of Mag Lev Inter City travel at 300 mph for Inter City travel up to 1,000 miles ? Systems like that are being developed in Japan to go beyond the wheeled Shinkansen that can do 200 mph. Mag Lev would be good for the Environment too. Methinks that Amtrak is blowing their $16 by Windfall courtesy Biden for mundane improvements and just shoveling US public funds to German Siemens ( all they do in Sacramento is Loews tech assembly, all the Engr. and complex components are brought in from Germany. Beats why AmTrak Mgmt. ( mostly non technical MBAs posing as Engr.s ) are not just refurbishing the classic Rolling Stock. Nothing that I have ridden in Japan or Europe comes close to the Super Liners, the ONLY right way to See America !

I got back from Europe. I like Amtrak trains more with the announcements that go on forever because the workers really want to make sure you and your kids are safe. TY for the video. The cafe cars are nice on Amtrak, too. Missed those in Europe.

Fun. During the early 90s, I was a coach driver on the Thruway service between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. These days I use the Surfliner train quite often to get up and down the coast.

Steve, Great video. I haven’t had the chance to take this train yet, but I wanted to let you know one thing Steve. Saint Paul Union Depot is owned by the county, not by the city. Just so you know for future reference in any videos

Thank you for making this video. The conductor's announcements seem to be designed for 'low information' passengers who cannot figure out that restrooms are at the end of each car [where else would they be?], etc. It becomes irritating to listen to after a few minutes. 😅 Scenery is great, though!

I thank you for this video and great narrative. I don’t like short videos as they tend to avoid details

Wheres the saint cloud to target feild video

In addition to being a life-long fan of the B&O, and passenger trains in general, I worked for 14 years in Amtrak OBS out of DC, and later Train and Engine service on CSX. I think I have some pertinent observations to offer. Superliners will fit through the First St. Tunnel in DC. It was enlarged in the early '90s to accommodate VRE bi-level cars. For a couple of years in that era, the Cardinal was started out of DC and ran with Superliners. The Cap was re-equipped with Superliners in the Fall of 1993. Private Pullman "Dover Harbor" belongs to the Washington, DC Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and operates private outings on the back of Amtrak trains out of Union Station. It was probably coupled to the MARC car so it could get Head End Power. Long Distance overnight passengers are put in an isolated car of the train so they can sleep undisturbed by intermediate passengers boarding and detraining in the middle of the night. FRA maximum speed for the route (and most of the freight routes Amtrak uses) is 79 mph, not 78. The Capitol Ltd. never turned West at Cumberland for Cincinnati. It went Northwest to Pittsburgh, using the P&LE through that area, then connected back to B&O trackage at New Castle, PA to continue West to Chicago through Akron, and Willard. There is a daylight scenic highlight westbound for much of the year between Martinsburg and Cumberland, the Magnolia Cutoff of the B&O, which crosses the Potomac a few times between West Virginia and Maryland over a couple of high trestles and long tunnels. Eastbound in daylight, the crossing of the Allegheny Mountains over Sand Patch grade is a highlight. It's too bad Amtrak got rid of all of their dome cars, putting one back on the revised service would be a real amenity. They were always well-used on the 1980s single-level Cap. As you get closer to Chicago, one of those rivers you cross is the Calumet. There are also two branches of the Chicago River. As for breakfast coming into Chicago, if you are not in the sleepers with an included breakfast, I would highly recommend walking a couple of blocks around the corner from Chicago Union Station to Lou Mitchell's Restaurant, a breakfast and lunch icon, and a place a lot of Amtrak crews patronize.

This pains me. I spent the better part of two decades working on board 29/30, and I have been distressed at how the company let it go downhill in recent years.

I like riding LA-SLO because it has the best view but i like riding the LA-SD because it skip some stations but LA-SLO is not,not every station,also i like this video how many hours you took this train?

If there's any consolation here Steve, at least the Floridian will have traditional, sit-down dining instead of that god awful "flex-menu" garbage. Personally, I can order better food from Uber Eats or Door-Dash...

I remember riding the Capitol Limited in the “good ole days” in coach from DC to Cumberland to ride the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. I enjoyed the days of the dining car for ALL passengers and sightseer cars on the route. I can’t wait for traditional dining to return on the Floridian!! I also totally agree about the Cardinal becoming daily and having traditional dining, I’m taking that train in December in coach and would love to have an Amtrak steak for dinner 😂!

I❤ 774 and 777

Contraction parallel to tracks in DC is the future Purple Line

I seem to be the only person who prefers viewliner sleepers!

I've always wanted to ride the Capital Limited with the superliner cars. Btw the trackside project is the construction for the MDOT's Purple Line, A light rail that will connect New Carrollton on the Orange Line to Bethesda on the Red Line by way of College Park on the Green Line and Silver Spring on the other end of the Red Line..