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Thanks for the background! I would like to take the eastbound train at some point.

Thank you and agreed. The food quality is pretty good but the overall meal experience isn't up to the quality of other long-haul carriers now.

🤦‍♂️😂

Unfortunately, you can't tell. They don't seem to know which was the trains will be oriented in advance, so they don't show the direction of travel on the seat selection diagrams.

Unfortunately, no. They don't seem to know which was the trains will be oriented in advance, so they don't show the direction of travel on the seat selection diagrams.

Thank you!

They give you the option to pick up from "Le Bar" car or deliver to your seat. I picked up my order from the car, and they seemed surprised to have an order, which suggests people don't use the online ordering much. Having ridden these trains a few times now, I haven't seen an order be delivered to someone's seat.

Thank you. I think I was in roomette #3 on that one.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thanks for the comment! That trip sounds great, and covers the most scenic part of the Cardinal.

Thank you for the comment! The only Brightline West deep dive I've watched so far is from @LucidStew (th-cam.com/video/hXF_g_aq8vc/w-d-xo.html). It shows the issues you've raised: lots of single-tracking, curves and grades in the route that limit speed, and terminal stations outside of city centers (a little outside in LV, a lot outside in LA). It's a 215 mile trip they plan to make in just over 2 hours, so at least the average speed of around 100mph is faster than driving. Hopefully it turns out, but we'll see...

I actually think Amtrak buying both lines would be good for the entire system since connectivity between BL and Amtrak’s rail network would be much better than it is now. It would be nice to have some intermodal terminal somewhere connecting the two services somewhere since the only way one can connect to BL is by car or plane. That being said, the budget and property rights along both BL west and east makes it difficult to build a good service.

I think it's just an operational change. When I took it in early April, the train was: -Front section (to Boston) - Viewliner II sleeper, cafe, two coaches -Back section (to New York) - three coaches, Viewliner II diner, two Viewliner I sleepers Earlier (last year), one of the New York sleepers was usually a Viewliner II, but Amtrak shuffled the equipment, and Amtrak may shuffle the equipment again at any point.

@@SightlinesTravel Thanks for the reply man! Traveling in two weeks fingers crossed🤣

Thanks for the comment and the tips! My particular car didn't have the squeaking connector door issue, luckily. It did have a different mildly annoying noise of an electric motor starting and stopping every few minutes, which wasn't helpful when trying to sleep. I've read this is specific to the B bedroom on the Viewliner 2s.

@@SightlinesTravel I know the sound you mean. I'm pretty sure that's a compressor for flushing the toilet.

You should have gotten an email from etickets@amtrak.com with a PDF attachment. That attachment has the QR code you show to the conductor. Alternatively, you can install the Amtrak app and log in with the same email address and password you used on the website to get the QR code. If neither of those work, I’d suggest calling up Amtrak reservations and they should be able to look up your reservation and tell you what to do. Happy travels!

Thank you very much. I last traveled on Amtrak in 2010, and I think things have changed.

Thank you and enjoy your trip!

Unfortunately the dining car was closed when we departed Chicago at 9:30pm, so dinner there wasn’t an option. The sleeping car attendant mentioned that the cafe car was open until 11pm (or later, I forget exactly what time she mentioned), and I could get a complimentary drink. I assume they had some snacks for sale too. Happy travels, I hope you’re able to take the LSL again!

@@SightlinesTravel Thank you for the information. I guess, as I remember it, the departure time at the time was more like 6-7 pm and there were two dinner seatings. With the later departure it figures to be too late for dining on board. I opted for second seating, and there turned out to only be two diners, so we were sat together. And my dinner partner was a very peculiar gent who ended up with most of his main course down his shirt front and with no conversation :-) I had some great trips on Amtrak in the 80s and 90s. IT seemed a notch better then, especially when you clicked to have a crack on-board crew. look forward to seeing more of yoru videos having just now discovered yoru channel. FWIW my favorite Amtrak route is the Southwest Chief. Good travels! ---Mike

I often do exactly this trip, in a bedroom to Boston. The cafe car is usually open within minutes of leaving Chicago. Show them your ticket showing that you're in the sleeper, and they'll generally provide a hot meal (I like the cheeseburger) and one alcoholic beverage (I like the wine splits) without charge. Don't forget to tip the cafe attendant!

@@thomasstambaugh5181 You're so right. On my last trip (on the California Zephyr) a fellow diner (who always seemed to be there when I was there) was constantly telling stories demonstrating how wealthy he was, and yet never left a penny of a tip for the entire journey! The cafe & diner personnel really remember those who are grateful & generously show it. It makes a difference on a multi-day trip to the service you experience. I think all Amtrak trips are like buying a lottery ticket: it is the cabin crew that makes it a WIN or LOSE trip.

Thanks for the info, good to know! And I agree that tipping the folks providing service -- cafe attendant, dining car attendants, and sleeping car attendant -- is definitely a good idea.

Thank you for the anecdotes and glad you enjoyed the video! Today, they decouple the locomotives and front four cars of the train from the rest of the train, and that front part heads to Boston without having to reverse.

Thank you!

Thank you and fair point. The Wi-Fi is pretty much non-existent. I've never gotten it to work reliably on the long distance trains, and use my phone instead. On this trip, I had cell service the whole way except for about an hour stretch in western Massachusetts. Happy travels!

Probably the best feature of the Viewliner 2s! 😊

You'll still want a power strip or extension cord if you want anything near the window.

Thank you!

When the lower bed is made up for sleeping while you're somewhere else, it takes gymnastics to enter the bedroom. There is literally NO space between the edge of the lower berth and the sink. If you're tall, the lower berth has more length. I like to sleep with my head towards the window.

@@thomasstambaugh5181 Superliner Bedrooms are like that. Bad design.

@@randall8379 The superliner bedrooms have more space between the front of the berth and the sink. Even the Viewliner I bedrooms were a little better. This particular "feature" seems limited to the new Viewliner II equipment.

@@thomasstambaugh5181 I've ridden in Superliner and Viewliner I and II Bedrooms. I remember how tight the space was in the Superliner Bedroom between sink and lower berth. I forget just how tight it is in the Viewliner Bedroom. My guess is that the designers aren't experienced in overnight train travel in sleepers.

It was also nice to have the upper bunk made up but still be able sit on the couch (lower bunk) until ready to sleep. And it does seem like the designers of the VL2 sleepers missed some things the VLs had, like a place to store the ladder to the upper bunk. A couple of sleeping car attendants have complained about that.

The food was very good overall! The veggie omelet at breakfast was my least favorite, not bad but somewhat bland, despite the pesto. The cake dessert was rich and chocolatey. The beef brisket on the way back was excellent, very tender, and the salad with mango was a nice contrast. It was definitely the best meal of the two.

Yeah, when Amtrak is late, it can be very late. I've had good luck so far.

I actually arrived Chicago 8 hours behind on a Late For Sure Limited back in 2017

It's a good point. As they add more stations, I'm guessing they won't have every train stop at all stations. Right now, only every other train stops at Boca Raton, for example. But we'll see.

@@SightlinesTravel If more people start using it they are not going to make people wait because we are talking about money here. If they are looking to make a profit without government backing they will be the first train company in the world to achieve it. It's a vicious circle, if the numbers start to drop they will put up the fares, which in turn will make the numbers drop further, and if they are not making a profit they will go out of business. Every other country runs their trains for the overall benefit of the people, some lines make a profit but most don't.

I don't understand why they don't have track sidings at the stations so they could have express trains between Orlando and Miami.

@@TheRailwayDrone That costs money, they are not in it to spend money they are in it to make money, that's the difference between private and government money, the government can afford to look long term, with private you are there while it's making money, as soon as it looks as if it's coming unstuck the investors are gone. The difference between the USA and other 1st world countries is they are run for the benefit of the people, while in the US things are only run for profit, it's why the military and the health businesses are so huge, the people come second.

@@Shytot-1 Well as the guy in the video pointed out, they're LOSING money. Most people would take trains if it were faster. There are clear examples of this on the Northeast Corridor. It may not be high speed rail by definition, but I still get to NYC from DC MUCH quicker than driving. Additionally, given the many accidents they've had caused by stupid drivers, they have to spend money to repair those engines. So while they're in it for the money, doesn't seem as though the decisions they've made is going to make them much money. I really hope they succeed, but I think things could have been better with Brightline (Florida primarily). But then again, thank Rick Scott for it.

Yeah, that's a good point, the toilet is in the way when showering. And even running the shower for just a few minutes to do a quick wash/rinse as I did leaves a half-inch or so of water on the floor that's slow to drain and dry.

It's a nice trip. Hopefully you get better weather that I did. 😊 I'd like to take the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief too at some point.

@@SightlinesTravel I’ll be taking the zephyr over the 4th of July holiday to California for my 50th birthday. I’m hoping to see fireworks along the journey!

Sounds like a fun summer trip. Happy travels and an early happy birthday!

Hope you’re trolling. Otherwise go get that tumor in your brain checked out.

This ragebait? Cause it's the dumbest Idea I have ever read. " Just one more lane bro"

I kind of agree, for me there is nothing more freeing than to drive where I want to go. On the other hand, I sure love trains.

From Orlando to Miami? No, there aren't any non-stop trains now.

@@SightlinesTravel They ned to make that happen. Imagine getting their faster than you can in a car? I thought they would have figured that out by now.

It would be great if they could shorten the 3 hour 25 minute train trip, but I think it's often faster than driving when south Florida traffic is factored in. Right now, Google Maps is showing 4 hours to drive from Orlando to Miami due to traffic.

@@SightlinesTravel Yeah dude, but the train also has delays as short as they may be. There's videos of people experiencing almost that. Apple Maps iOS telling me 3:38 right now using the turn pike. That's not bad either way not having to drive. I like that but we need a direct trip & wouldn't mind paying the extra charge for it. It's not like anyone rides this thing to save money.

Fair enough. It would be great if the train trip was always significantly shorter than driving to justify the higher cost. Hopefully they can speed it up.

Good advice!

Those are both good points. Their ridership is below their initial long-term projections and they've subsequently lowered those projections a few times. So those were clearly too optimistic. But ridership is growing rapidly now, and it will be interesting to see how it goes when they add more coaches and have trains longer than four cars later this year. I agree that better grade separation for faster speeds would be great. I believe they're working on that between West Palm Beach and Cocoa especially, trying to get government grants for it, as it also improves safety. It will be expensive and difficult to do further south as development gets more dense. I thought it was already competitive with cars time-wise, given traffic in South Florida? But I don't live there and don't know for sure. It does still seem slower than flying based on a couple TH-cam "train vs plane" videos out there. The train is a better experience though. Not having to deal with TSA is a big advantage alone. 😊

That app is just called "Speedometer". There are a bunch of speedometer apps on both the Apple and Google app stores. They just need a GPS signal to work. Have a fun trip on the Empire Builder! I'd like to take that one someday.

Miami has some great buildings.

Also, the ride was smooth and comfortable, and I enjoyed eating empanadas in my coffee in the Orlando station.

Brightline definitely is a smooth experience. Thanks for sharing!

Enjoy the trip!