I'm from North Jersey so I'm officially a pizza expert and whatever that was, was not pizza. Legally it can only be called "Peetzah' Similar to wyngz and Cheez Whiz
The Zephyr has an observation car. I saw it in the consist during the video, so it was on their train. Amtrak retired some of the dome cars that were used back east-those were really old.
It is inexcusable that they left Chicago without a chef. Amtrak is more expensive than flying in first class, when you're in a sleeper. The backup plan to feed dinner to passengers who've paid a few thousand dollars for a bedroom should not be random pizza delivery. i find it very hard to believe other kitchen staff couldn't step in and cook dinner that night. It's not like they serve gourmet french cuisine. It's all very basic food, and much of it is frozen and prepared. This type of service has always been a huge problem for Amtrak. They just don't seem to value their first class passengers.
You’ve been to more states than I have and I’ve lived in America my whole life! Living vicariously through you with these videos, I love watching people travel.
That cold Pizza Hut dinner doesn't look fantastic but it does look a lot better than Greyhound leaving you outside a gas station in the Utah desert at 3am
I love Noel he’s just a humble northerner who always dresses for comfort not to impress, and not pretending he’s an astronaut. You could give him first class food but he will settle for a bag of monster munch! Definitely one of my favourite TH-camrs have a good Christmas Noel 🎉
@@clvrswine give your head a wobble, it’s really not polite to call someone out over Grammer. It says more about you than it does them, it’s not clever, just rude!
Been on the Zephyr twice, beautiful trip. There's actually four types: bedrooms, roomettes, family room and accessible room. I'm a retired sleeping car attendant who worked mainly on the Capitol Limited between DC and Chicago. I must say you took that first night VERY well. You can ring for your attendant to make your beds up although many people do their own. A power strip and extension cord are helpful on train trips.
I rode Capitol Limited from South Bend IN to DC in around 15-20th December 1998, I was 14. The train was suppose to arrive in SB around 11pm and had a 2-2.5hr delay, because The Zephyr arrived late in Chicago, and some passengers were getting from CZ to CL, do the train waited accordingly. It arrived around 1-1.30 pm, I slept through IN, OH, parts of PA, I woke up some time way before Pittsburgh, being able to see the appalachian and all the countryside to DC. It was an amazing perspective, to see that backroad US not seen before in movies as a I kid. Plus thebrought in some hired clown who blew baloons for kids, sorta like to make up for the delay? I rode CL back to South Bend on 1/2 jan 1999, arrived to a city covered by 30 inches of lake blizzard. Amtrak seemed marvelous in comparison to Polish postcommunist railways I rode as a kid in the 90s broke-ass-public-transit Poland. Thanks for bringing back the memory of America 25years ago. Magnificent time that was, especially being 14-15 and being able to see America at its best BEFORE 9/11, 2008 etc etc.
Hi Noel! when you mentioned that you liked the leather on the seats and it reminded you of Delta, there’s actually a reason for that. For a couple of years, former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson was placed in charge of Amtrak to help aid in the company’s recovery. During his time in the company he incorporated some of the Delta flair at Amtrak. Happy travels!
And unsurprisingly the new Venture cars that are eventually going to replace the Amfleets have seat material that looks quite similar to Delta seats, though it's the exact same seats which are on the brightline trains (which is a good thing as those seats are exceptional).
I traveled on this route in August this year in Coach. It was a great experience and all the people I met on my journey were soo nice. Being only 18 I felt very safe at all times and the staff was very kind. (Still had an 8 hour delay 😂)
They do have delays for sure, but the thing I’ve noticed is that unlike a plane, no one seems to mind! No one is in a hurry on a train. In fact, I’ve kind of welcomed the delays-more meals! lol
No matter what happens on Amtrak (I once had a nine hour delay because some idiot tried to beat the train to a crossing and failed), you're not going to lose a kidney like Greyhound! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year mate!
I have Fibro and muscular pain that I have to take pain medicine for, and Crohn's. Rachel is so strong for agreeing to go on this trip. I've been and it's some incredible strength with that kind of nerve pain because sleeping on a moving vehicle is so uncomfortable and painful with Fibro--the ache feels like laying on concrete that's also too hot. I don't think I could do it in my 30's. She's amazing
Hello from New York. We have taken the Auto train the last 2 years staying in a roomette which is the size of a small closet. Last year the train was delayed 7 hours ,and they bought in Pizza Hut to eat in station 😅. This year we have a bedroom,looking foward to extra space. Terrible about the cold and burnt dinner. If u call Amtrak customer service they might issue future credit
As ever Noel, a well polished travelogue, every bit as good and enjoyable as the old BBC Holiday reports. You’re delivery gets better and better, and it was so nice to see Rachel steal a bit of the limelight! Well done again mate, really enjoying watching you on your travels.
Had a similar issue on the Empire Builder last year - electrical fire in the kitchen car shortly after leaving Chicago, so no food for the entire trip. The crew did pretty well organising pizza and Subways to be delivered as well as pastries for breakfast but it was a bit disappointing given the food on board is supposed to be pretty good! And because it was a fire we couldn't eat in the dining car so had to go and collect food and eat in cabins
You deserve a medal with what you willingly subject yourself to with the various means of travel across the globe. And you never break the positive attitude!! Keep up the great work!
Finally a travel TH-camr who took the California Zephyr and mentioned the crappy tracks. We took this last year and we were delayed over 12 hours so they were going 80mph in some parts and the train was shaking so violently while trying to sleep that a few times my wife and I thought we for sure had derailed. The grill was also broke the entire trip so we had all microwave food. Worst trip ever
I love your videos because you tell it like it is. I've been on the trains of Europe, Japan and here in the US. And your Amtrak experience is very similar to the ones I have had. Just add on the Amtrak employee who barked at us as if we were cattle at the Los Angeles station and our Los Angeles to Seattle trip would have been nearly identical to yours. Every few years I get the urge to take a long trip on Amtrak thinking surely the service has gotten better. And every few years I discover it's the same. I'm thinking of taking the NYC to Chicago route someday. Hopefully, Amtrak will finally get it's act together by then.
I work part-time time for Pizza Hut. When warm & fresh, their pizza is among the best. When burnt & cold, it truly does transform itself into flavored cardboard. We do however have a few customers who request their pizza be slightly burnt.
As someone who worked for Pizza Hut for many years, I can say the times pizza look like that are when they are old (maybe discarded orders kept in the walk-in fridge) and then run through the oven to warm them up, but someone didn’t adjust the temperature. And considering this was an emergency, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pizza Hut they used just rushed out reheated old pizzas to fulfill the order.
Glad you got to go on this trip - you got authentic Amtrak there. Amtrak is one of those things in the US that is both amazing and terrible at the same time. The scenery and staff are almost always amazing. The fellow passengers are almost always great people. But the rail cars are in terrible condition and the administrative staff - it leaves a lot to be desired. If anything goes wrong with the food, you're on your own. Which at $1k per person, is inexcusable. Amtrak could be so much better if they actually invested in the hard product and the food. But good luck with that.
Texas Eagle is longer, as you don't change trains, so you have the same sleeper all the way. They add cars or combine, but as a passenger, you don't change anything.
I took the Texas Eagle 2 years ago and a month ago and loved it. Enjoy traveling on Amtrak cross country. Food was great! Why didn't they just have the porter make up the beds?
Well done Noel & Rachel, That was a journey, despite the lack of a chef for the 1st 24 hours you guys made it seem so relaxing….. thank you for sharing.
I took Amtrak from NY to Austin TX a few years ago. Got a roomette with my daughter and I got to wiggle into the top bunk and I’ll tell ya, it was tight. I don’t think I could do that again. Otherwise, I loved riding Amtrak. They treat you very well.
Winter Park resident here! I've been watching your videos for a couple of years now and it's awesome to see you passing through my neck of the woods. Cheers and happy holidays Noel and Rach!
was on the zephyr early nov, absolutely loved it. beautiful views, gd meals and most importantly, a nice comfy spacious seat. loved how the conductors introduced the famous scenery with little jokes and stuff to make it even more entertaining. btw, i would consider the texas eagle to be the longest route, a couple cars splitting off midway to join the sunset limited doesnt discount the rest of the train still making the 65hr journey from chicago to LA..
We took the Zephyr from Reno to Chicago (we had went to visit my wife's aunt and uncle). The train was overbooked, and our family of 4 ended up in the crews quarters (at least our mini cabins were across the aisle from each other. Of course, we had to walk through the (literal) great unwashed masses to get to the dining car. The food was there the whole time, sort of - it kind of ran out at the end. This was probably 15-18 years ago, during summer, so the boaters when we went through mooned us. I tell people they should do something like this at least once. Once. It cost as much as it did for us to fly out there -- and that didn't include every person in an Amtrak uniform holding out their hand expecting a tip for even the smallest thing. Anyway, after that, we decided if we ever went back, we'd just book some smaller hotels along the way and drive - it was bound to be cheaper, even with hotels and food stops.
6:20 I am so wise up to that when it comes to train travel, I always carry a few mixed sandwichs & fruit & a bottle of soft drink because I have, over time, become so accustomed to potential dissapointment. Better to be fully prepared than unfed 👀👍❗
Done Chicago to LA with my wife in a roomette 8 years back and it was a nice experience to enjoy once. We still talk about it fondly. Respect to the attendants who just did an amazing job.
Much better than the Greyhound 😆 This could be quite enjoyable i think. I ''attacked'' Denver from both LA and Frisco by car years ago, and both were my favorite trips in the US. Just the beauty and change in landscape, absolutely spectacular. I can highly recommend. Take your time, 3 or 4 weeks. Easy to find cheap motels. Thank you ! Fun video !
As you paid for the bedroom, I don't understand why you didn't ask for the attendant to prepare your beds. You've paid for that, plus a little tip. Also, if you had purchased the trip INTO San Francisco, there is a bus that takes you from Emeryville to downtown SF. Then a cheaper Uber ride to the DoubleTree. I take the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to San Francisco every year. I use the through service to downtown SF. I love Amtrak. Please don't misconstrue these comments. I truly enjoy your travels. I follow with much contentment!
The banter between you and Rach is absolutely hysterical and wholesome. Glad she is doing better and seems to be back to her normal self! Also I have seen some properly nuked pizza hut, and what y'all ate made what I have consumed look raw. Apparently they are cremating pizza in Iowa.
Travelled on the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin in the NT last year. I can sympathize with you on the bedding arrangements as I to drew the short straw and ended up with the top bunk and the gymnastics required to climb onto it. When it came to the sleeping car, the five star dining car, and the lounge car, they were leaps and bounds ahead of what Amtrak seem to offer. If in Australia sometime take the trip, you wont be disappointed.
The only time I’ve been on an Amtrak train where they had catering brought to us. We were running 14 hours late from glacier Park in Montana heading into Portland. When we got to Pasco, Washington, they had KFC brought to everybody on board. Great memory now, and it was a great experience, because I got to see Idaho in the daylight. So I feel your pain a little bit on not being able to get real meals on the train
Wow, what an incredible journey on the Amtrak California Zephyr! It was so fascinating to see the beautiful landscapes and experience the unique train ride. The hilarious moments and unexpected twists with the dining options added such a fun element to the trip. The video was so engaging and informative. I would love to see more train adventures in the future. Keep up the great work and looking forward to your next exploration!
Union Station is one of the gems in Chicago architecture - glad you were able to see it. Hope to take the Zephyr trip one day. Merry Christmas Noel! And Rachel! Hope you enjoyed the trip.
1. I understand stuff happens, but leaving without a chef that takes the cake even by Amtrak circa 1995 standards. 2. Tip: when me and then now, Mrs., took the train on 2019, we made it a point to drop our bags early in the morning, have an early deep dish pizza lunch and then proceeded to the nearest Trader Joe’s to stock up on wine and snacks for the trip ahead. When I took the southwest, chief solo in 2015, I also followed the same formula. Preplanned the nearest convenience store on on a smoke break(in that case it was Albuquerque) and then run to the nearest convenience store to restock.
Glad to see Northern California added to your bucket list. That Truckee stop remains on my mind from my Zephyr trip in 2000. I guess that's why it's called the California Zephyr and not the Colorado Zephyr
24:00 Several years ago I stayed at the Westin, down the road from the Doubletree. Had a short layover there after our co-pilots windscreen cracked and we diverted to SFO. It was a charter flight from Vegas to Honolulu so I don't know how a commercial airline would've handled the situation. Luv your presentations!
certainly different from London to Brighton!!!! So envious to see the amazing views and the lovely sunsets....Thank you.....Lovely to see the both of you looking so well!
you guys are so awesome. my mummsy and I just decided tonight that we are going to go to Alaska on the ferry. Your channel really inspires me to make the most out of life.
Funny I worked for UP/SP railroad 40 years and never went on a train during that time. When small Mom and I would leave a few weeks before Dad had vacation and we would take Amtrak to Little Rock, Ark from our home in Tucson, Az. Wouldn't be nice to have chairs like that in airliners A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours. The wife and I so much enjoy the adventures of you two. Looking forward to your adventures next year. That bedroom was a lot bigger than most of those strange hotels in Japan.
I never did travel on the California Zephyr but it is on my bucket list. I'm from Ireland and went to the US last August for my 50th birthday to visit family over there and we took the Coast Starlight (hubby, my niece and I) and the train was just lovely, more room between seats than a plane and the scenery was lovely, we travelled from Seattle, WA to Portland, Oregon only 4 hrs journey, pure heaven
It's rather annoying to see so many negative comments. Amtrak is not for those you want to save money, but for those who want to see the vast diversity of landscape of North America. My 1st year in the United States as a freshman at Northwestern University in Chicago my friends and I crisscrossed the country from New York to Chicago to Seattle down to LA and then back again and loved every single second. What we seem to have here are a bunch of tourists, not travelers.
So I took the Zephyr and the Coast Starlight in 1997. The sleeper car is definitely the way to go. Though, I still think about the mountains in Nevada and how they looked like someone just poured sand out. Taking the coach was trying. It wasn't quite as bad as the Greyhound, but it was pretty rough.
Nice video mate. I absolutely love these long train journeys. I recently took the old iron ore train from Narvik in Norway, to Luleå i Sweden. Great trip as well, through some very barren land.
You mentioned the train boarding area reminded you of Birmingham @2:02 . I once got stranded by Greyhound when the bus broke down right downtown Birmingham in the early 1970's. Luckily there was still passenger train service there & i boarded their "Midnight Flyer" which ran from Birmingham to New Orleans (my destination.)
How many sleepers on the Zephyr are the “renovated” ones? Taking the CZ from Chicago to Emeryville in early Feb. Reserved a bedroom and would love to have a refurbished one!
@@tomulator they are mixed up system wide. No way of knowing if you will get one until you board. They are doing a handful of refurbishments per month on sleepers, diners, lounges and coaches. Maybe another year or two until the whole fleet is done.
I had the pleasure of taking this train durning the pandemic from Sac Valley Station all the way to Osceola, Iowa station where a cousin picked us up. I shared a little room with my sister. Being gen z in the moment I hated not having any cell coverage but in retrospect it was a much needed break. Didn’t have the food experience you did but overall quite a beautiful experience to take in.
There’s definitely not enough investment in infrastructure. Definitely. Compared to Europe and Asia, this place looks like it hadn’t updated much since the Industrial Revolution lol Sad. Looks like you had a much better time than the bus, minus the burned pizza😊 Thank you for sharing!
I have been on The Texas Eagle from Chicago to LA. It is The Texas Eagle the whole way through if you start on it. If you start on the other train it changes. They mix all the cars around after you get into San Antonio.
As an airline family, we do travel more via airlines but I love train travel. Wish the US had more! I personally love seeing Rach on trips with you! Happy Christmas to you and your family!
It's not just you. it has been like that for decades amazing stations with non existent platforms - if you watch Michael Palin's around the world in 80 days, he notes exactly this on the Desert Wind going from LA to Chicago. Of course in those days (not sure about today) the Desert Wind and California Zephyr would combine in the rockies and go to Chicago that way...
I live about 45 minutes from the Emeryville Amtrak station and have actually considered taking the California Zephyr all the way to Chicago. I definitely may have to give it a go as it looks like a great way to see a large part of the USA. Great video
I love your reactions, this one was extra funny with the two of you trying to do the beds after wine lol. The music as you both are trying to do the beds fits perfectly. Wonderful duo you are!
Glad to see you were so impressed by the area around Truckee. That's North Lake Tahoe. The whole Lake Tahoe area is staggeringly beautiful. North of Interstate 80 (the freeway you could see from the train window) is Gold Country. Along State Route 49 north of Auburn in Placer County. An amazing drive. South Lake Tahoe is even more beautiful than the North end of the Lake. Like Emerald Bay. The drive from Sacramento on State Route 50 to the south end of the lake is much more scenic than on Interstate 80 to the north end of the lake. And if you follow State Route 49 all the way south you eventually end up at the entrance to Yosemite Valley. The Sierras are immense. About 400 miles long. From close to Oregon border to the Mojave Desert. And are both more accessible and more beautiful than the Colorado Rockies.
I’ve traveled Amtrak and never had such food served. Part of the cabin experiences all sleepers is the food. It’s very good. I think Amtrak should refund 50% for that miss.
Definitely. And especially since so many people will see this, find a way to essentially over correct with Noel and any passenger really on that train. The food is surprisingly good-although not a ton of variety if you ride for long periods or frequently. I did a 4 day journey and had steak every night haha. No complaints though.
Truckee / Tahoe is the best part of living and working in the Reno area. Not all of Reno is as bad as you advertised, although, the train station is in a rough part of town.
Nice video! Wish you'd been able to see more of Reno as they lowered the station below street level and you only see the old parts of town. Though you did get a nice picture of where we board our dog in Reno (Pet Playhouse) and thought that was funny. We have been planning to take the Zephyr from Reno to Emeryville and back just for a fun weekend. Gonna definitely do thanks to your video! Awesome as always!
You'll have to come up and do the Rocky Mountaineer train between Vancouver and Banff in Canada one summer. It's SPECTACULAR and the service is unparalleled. Full recommendation!
@@frederickvondinkerberg7721 It's a daytime leisure train route for tourists. Past Banff is boring and non-scenic on a train line. It's also extremely expensive as it is. If you want to go across the country, Via Rail exists. You may see it as a "problem", but it's extremely popular because of it's length and route.
6:52 nice spot! thats a 2004 mercury marauder in silver birch. 1 of 997 in silver, 1 of 3,214 for 2004 and 1 of 11,052 total for all the marauders between 2003 and 2004
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
Even with the terrible pizza, the trip was so much better than the cross country Greyhound nightmare. 😬
That should be Amtrak's advertising slogan. Amtrak! At least we're not Greyhound. Also, Greyhound Nightmare is a cool band name.
I'd take a cattle car over a Greyhound.
Crawling on your knees across the country is better than Greyhound was.😂
Train always better than the bus 😂
I'm from North Jersey so I'm officially a pizza expert and whatever that was, was not pizza. Legally it can only be called "Peetzah' Similar to wyngz and Cheez Whiz
It's a crime that Amtrak retired most of the glass top observation cars because the views from the upper deck were unbelievable.
What were they? Vista domes?
The observation cars now aren’t too bad.
The Empire Builder still has theirs.
The Zephyr has an observation car. I saw it in the consist during the video, so it was on their train. Amtrak retired some of the dome cars that were used back east-those were really old.
Oh wow I didn’t even realize that
I think you need a Via journey through the Canadian Rockies to enjoy these observation cars.
It is inexcusable that they left Chicago without a chef. Amtrak is more expensive than flying in first class, when you're in a sleeper. The backup plan to feed dinner to passengers who've paid a few thousand dollars for a bedroom should not be random pizza delivery. i find it very hard to believe other kitchen staff couldn't step in and cook dinner that night. It's not like they serve gourmet french cuisine. It's all very basic food, and much of it is frozen and prepared. This type of service has always been a huge problem for Amtrak. They just don't seem to value their first class passengers.
From what I have read as well this is a regular occurrence
I enjoy your videos when you are by yourself, more enjoyable
2 chicken wings and a slice of cold pizza is way cheaper than a proper hot meal
Amtrak - $
Passengers- 0
I agree. Some of the staff should be cross trained to atleast a cook.
Maybe a union issue that the staff can’t cook?
You’ve been to more states than I have and I’ve lived in America my whole life! Living vicariously through you with these videos, I love watching people travel.
That cold Pizza Hut dinner doesn't look fantastic but it does look a lot better than Greyhound leaving you outside a gas station in the Utah desert at 3am
Exactly
That’s 💯
Not so much considering this probably cost like 10 times as much
Holy shit. Story time !! What happened to you. I'm about to take greyhound 😮😮😮 tomorrow morning
Even warm Pizza Hut pizza is bad!😂
I love Noel he’s just a humble northerner who always dresses for comfort not to impress, and not pretending he’s an astronaut. You could give him first class food but he will settle for a bag of monster munch! Definitely one of my favourite TH-camrs have a good Christmas Noel 🎉
Yes he's genuinely a good guy!
Nice comment, but your sentence structure is embarrassing. Please brush-up on basic syntax. Punctuation matters. Use it like an adult.
no one asked @@clvrswine
@@clvrswine Brother its a youtube comment section not a bachelor paper
@@clvrswine give your head a wobble, it’s really not polite to call someone out over Grammer. It says more about you than it does them, it’s not clever, just rude!
Been on the Zephyr twice, beautiful trip. There's actually four types: bedrooms, roomettes, family room and accessible room. I'm a retired sleeping car attendant who worked mainly on the Capitol Limited between DC and Chicago. I must say you took that first night VERY well. You can ring for your attendant to make your beds up although many people do their own. A power strip and extension cord are helpful on train trips.
I've never made my own. I'm not all that sure how to do it.
I rode Capitol Limited from South Bend IN to DC in around 15-20th December 1998, I was 14. The train was suppose to arrive in SB around 11pm and had a 2-2.5hr delay, because The Zephyr arrived late in Chicago, and some passengers were getting from CZ to CL, do the train waited accordingly. It arrived around 1-1.30 pm, I slept through IN, OH, parts of PA, I woke up some time way before Pittsburgh, being able to see the appalachian and all the countryside to DC. It was an amazing perspective, to see that backroad US not seen before in movies as a I kid. Plus thebrought in some hired clown who blew baloons for kids, sorta like to make up for the delay? I rode CL back to South Bend on 1/2 jan 1999, arrived to a city covered by 30 inches of lake blizzard. Amtrak seemed marvelous in comparison to Polish postcommunist railways I rode as a kid in the 90s broke-ass-public-transit Poland. Thanks for bringing back the memory of America 25years ago. Magnificent time that was, especially being 14-15 and being able to see America at its best BEFORE 9/11, 2008 etc etc.
Hi Noel! when you mentioned that you liked the leather on the seats and it reminded you of Delta, there’s actually a reason for that. For a couple of years, former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson was placed in charge of Amtrak to help aid in the company’s recovery. During his time in the company he incorporated some of the Delta flair at Amtrak. Happy travels!
But he has no idea about how to operate a RR... and he doesnt understand the market of the long distance trains.
And unsurprisingly the new Venture cars that are eventually going to replace the Amfleets have seat material that looks quite similar to Delta seats, though it's the exact same seats which are on the brightline trains (which is a good thing as those seats are exceptional).
I traveled on this route in August this year in Coach. It was a great experience and all the people I met on my journey were soo nice. Being only 18 I felt very safe at all times and the staff was very kind. (Still had an 8 hour delay 😂)
They do have delays for sure, but the thing I’ve noticed is that unlike a plane, no one seems to mind! No one is in a hurry on a train. In fact, I’ve kind of welcomed the delays-more meals! lol
I did this in August as well!
Nothing like cold burnt pizza, and a glass of wine! Amtrak is cutting new ground!
I think this sounds decadent.
Accurate…and par for the course! 😜
No matter what happens on Amtrak (I once had a nine hour delay because some idiot tried to beat the train to a crossing and failed), you're not going to lose a kidney like Greyhound!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year mate!
Whenever a train and car tie, the tiebreaker goes to the train, haha.
Or lose a head. Check it out. A true Greyhound story
@@willee5348it happened in Canada in 2008, dude who did it was convinced the guy he killed was a zombie.
@@willee5348 I was just thinking that
Amtrak! At least we're not Greyhound.
I have Fibro and muscular pain that I have to take pain medicine for, and Crohn's. Rachel is so strong for agreeing to go on this trip. I've been and it's some incredible strength with that kind of nerve pain because sleeping on a moving vehicle is so uncomfortable and painful with Fibro--the ache feels like laying on concrete that's also too hot. I don't think I could do it in my 30's. She's amazing
Hello from New York. We have taken the Auto train the last 2 years staying in a roomette which is the size of a small closet. Last year the train was delayed 7 hours ,and they bought in Pizza Hut to eat in station 😅. This year we have a bedroom,looking foward to extra space. Terrible about the cold and burnt dinner. If u call Amtrak customer service they might issue future credit
As ever Noel, a well polished travelogue, every bit as good and enjoyable as the old BBC Holiday reports. You’re delivery gets better and better, and it was so nice to see Rachel steal a bit of the limelight! Well done again mate, really enjoying watching you on your travels.
Many thanks!
Had a similar issue on the Empire Builder last year - electrical fire in the kitchen car shortly after leaving Chicago, so no food for the entire trip. The crew did pretty well organising pizza and Subways to be delivered as well as pastries for breakfast but it was a bit disappointing given the food on board is supposed to be pretty good!
And because it was a fire we couldn't eat in the dining car so had to go and collect food and eat in cabins
Yeah, they can't replace those superliner cars fast enough, the newest ones were built in the early 90s, most were built in the 80s.
You deserve a medal with what you willingly subject yourself to with the various means of travel across the globe. And you never break the positive attitude!! Keep up the great work!
It looks like a much better experience than the Greyhound bus
Few travel options in the world are worse than Greyhound. Buses in developing countries are usually better than Greyhound
Yeah with Amtrak making less stops than Greyhound.
13:25 I’ll pass on the bunk experience! Yikes! Hopefully, it was at least bump free! 😮
Only thing worse than Greyhound is the slave trade, literally.
Finally a travel TH-camr who took the California Zephyr and mentioned the crappy tracks. We took this last year and we were delayed over 12 hours so they were going 80mph in some parts and the train was shaking so violently while trying to sleep that a few times my wife and I thought we for sure had derailed. The grill was also broke the entire trip so we had all microwave food. Worst trip ever
I've taken this twice from Grand Junction to Denver and finally last December from Emeryville to Denver. Such a beautiful stretch of scenery
I love your videos because you tell it like it is. I've been on the trains of Europe, Japan and here in the US. And your Amtrak experience is very similar to the ones I have had. Just add on the Amtrak employee who barked at us as if we were cattle at the Los Angeles station and our Los Angeles to Seattle trip would have been nearly identical to yours. Every few years I get the urge to take a long trip on Amtrak thinking surely the service has gotten better. And every few years I discover it's the same. I'm thinking of taking the NYC to Chicago route someday. Hopefully, Amtrak will finally get it's act together by then.
Thanks Noel, stuck on an oil rig in the North Sea, fantastic to see the scenery, looks like a fabulous trip. Merry Christmas to you and your family :)
jeez dude, must be rocking and rolling with the weather out there
@walterfillingham527….Awww, Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 up at the COLD 🥶 North Sea 🌊 my friend!! Sending you sunshine and warmth from Arizona 🙋🏽♀️🌵🌞💕
I work part-time time for Pizza Hut. When warm & fresh, their pizza is among the best. When burnt & cold, it truly does transform itself into flavored cardboard.
We do however have a few customers who request their pizza be slightly burnt.
Pizza hut is too greasy. I have to sop the grease up with multiple paper towels just to be able to stomach it.
I’m that guy 😂
As someone who worked for Pizza Hut for many years, I can say the times pizza look like that are when they are old (maybe discarded orders kept in the walk-in fridge) and then run through the oven to warm them up, but someone didn’t adjust the temperature. And considering this was an emergency, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pizza Hut they used just rushed out reheated old pizzas to fulfill the order.
6:51 Wow, you managed to film a Mercury Marauder driving. That's a pretty rare sight anymore.
ikr panther platform for life!
Glad you got to go on this trip - you got authentic Amtrak there. Amtrak is one of those things in the US that is both amazing and terrible at the same time. The scenery and staff are almost always amazing. The fellow passengers are almost always great people. But the rail cars are in terrible condition and the administrative staff - it leaves a lot to be desired. If anything goes wrong with the food, you're on your own. Which at $1k per person, is inexcusable.
Amtrak could be so much better if they actually invested in the hard product and the food. But good luck with that.
Texas Eagle is longer, as you don't change trains, so you have the same sleeper all the way. They add cars or combine, but as a passenger, you don't change anything.
I took the Texas Eagle 2 years ago and a month ago and loved it. Enjoy traveling on Amtrak cross country. Food was great!
Why didn't they just have the porter make up the beds?
Was looking for this comment, lol. Texas Eagle longest route. =P
The California Zephyr is a wonderful train, it is one of my favorite Amtrak Routes. The scenery between Denver and Salt Lake City is awesome.
Couldn't agree more!
Well done Noel & Rachel, That was a journey, despite the lack of a chef for the 1st 24 hours you guys made it seem so relaxing….. thank you for sharing.
I took Amtrak from NY to Austin TX a few years ago. Got a roomette with my daughter and I got to wiggle into the top bunk and I’ll tell ya, it was tight. I don’t think I could do that again. Otherwise, I loved riding Amtrak. They treat you very well.
Winter Park resident here! I've been watching your videos for a couple of years now and it's awesome to see you passing through my neck of the woods. Cheers and happy holidays Noel and Rach!
Thanks for watching!
was on the zephyr early nov, absolutely loved it. beautiful views, gd meals and most importantly, a nice comfy spacious seat. loved how the conductors introduced the famous scenery with little jokes and stuff to make it even more entertaining. btw, i would consider the texas eagle to be the longest route, a couple cars splitting off midway to join the sunset limited doesnt discount the rest of the train still making the 65hr journey from chicago to LA..
We took the Zephyr from Reno to Chicago (we had went to visit my wife's aunt and uncle). The train was overbooked, and our family of 4 ended up in the crews quarters (at least our mini cabins were across the aisle from each other. Of course, we had to walk through the (literal) great unwashed masses to get to the dining car. The food was there the whole time, sort of - it kind of ran out at the end. This was probably 15-18 years ago, during summer, so the boaters when we went through mooned us. I tell people they should do something like this at least once. Once. It cost as much as it did for us to fly out there -- and that didn't include every person in an Amtrak uniform holding out their hand expecting a tip for even the smallest thing. Anyway, after that, we decided if we ever went back, we'd just book some smaller hotels along the way and drive - it was bound to be cheaper, even with hotels and food stops.
6:20 I am so wise up to that when it comes to train travel, I always carry a few mixed sandwichs & fruit & a bottle of soft drink because I have, over time, become so accustomed to potential dissapointment. Better to be fully prepared than unfed 👀👍❗
Done Chicago to LA with my wife in a roomette 8 years back and it was a nice experience to enjoy once. We still talk about it fondly. Respect to the attendants who just did an amazing job.
When we upgraded to first class amtrak it included all 3 meals for free. The website said only dinner was included so we were very excited for that
Much better than the Greyhound 😆 This could be quite enjoyable i think.
I ''attacked'' Denver from both LA and Frisco by car years ago, and both were my favorite trips in the US.
Just the beauty and change in landscape, absolutely spectacular. I can highly recommend.
Take your time, 3 or 4 weeks. Easy to find cheap motels.
Thank you ! Fun video !
As you paid for the bedroom, I don't understand why you didn't ask for the attendant to prepare your beds. You've paid for that, plus a little tip. Also, if you had purchased the trip INTO San Francisco, there is a bus that takes you from Emeryville to downtown SF. Then a cheaper Uber ride to the DoubleTree.
I take the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to San Francisco every year. I use the through service to downtown SF. I love Amtrak.
Please don't misconstrue these comments. I truly enjoy your travels. I follow with much contentment!
The banter between you and Rach is absolutely hysterical and wholesome. Glad she is doing better and seems to be back to her normal self!
Also I have seen some properly nuked pizza hut, and what y'all ate made what I have consumed look raw. Apparently they are cremating pizza in Iowa.
Travelled on the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin in the NT last year. I can sympathize with you on the bedding arrangements as I to drew the short straw and ended up with the top bunk and the gymnastics required to climb onto it. When it came to the sleeping car, the five star dining car, and the lounge car, they were leaps and bounds ahead of what Amtrak seem to offer. If in Australia sometime take the trip, you wont be disappointed.
The only time I’ve been on an Amtrak train where they had catering brought to us. We were running 14 hours late from glacier Park in Montana heading into Portland.
When we got to Pasco, Washington, they had KFC brought to everybody on board. Great memory now, and it was a great experience, because I got to see Idaho in the daylight.
So I feel your pain a little bit on not being able to get real meals on the train
Wow, what an incredible journey on the Amtrak California Zephyr! It was so fascinating to see the beautiful landscapes and experience the unique train ride. The hilarious moments and unexpected twists with the dining options added such a fun element to the trip. The video was so engaging and informative. I would love to see more train adventures in the future. Keep up the great work and looking forward to your next exploration!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Union Station is one of the gems in Chicago architecture - glad you were able to see it. Hope to take the Zephyr trip one day. Merry Christmas Noel! And Rachel! Hope you enjoyed the trip.
Supposedly, there is a location in the Rocky Mountains where the campers, hikers like to moon the Amtrak trains!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Love seeing you guys make the best of every situation! Merry Christmas to you and yours, Noel! Thanks for all of the great content!
Thank you!
1. I understand stuff happens, but leaving without a chef that takes the cake even by Amtrak circa 1995 standards.
2. Tip: when me and then now, Mrs., took the train on 2019, we made it a point to drop our bags early in the morning, have an early deep dish pizza lunch and then proceeded to the nearest Trader Joe’s to stock up on wine and snacks for the trip ahead. When I took the southwest, chief solo in 2015, I also followed the same formula. Preplanned the nearest convenience store on on a smoke break(in that case it was Albuquerque) and then run to the nearest convenience store to restock.
Noel and his wife are so cute. I love it when she joins him. They have the cutest dynamics between them. ❤️
This trip is on my bucket list! I could sit for hours watching the sunset over the small towns
Thank you for posting and doing this trip! You've convinced us to do it...hopefully with a chef onboard!
Have fun!
I love the train videos it's so good to have a fellow British American to watch
If you want to see more of my train videos, you can find them here www.youtube.com/@noelphilips/search?query=train
Glad to see Northern California added to your bucket list. That Truckee stop remains on my mind from my Zephyr trip in 2000. I guess that's why it's called the California Zephyr and not the Colorado Zephyr
24:00 Several years ago I stayed at the Westin, down the road from the Doubletree. Had a short layover there after our co-pilots windscreen cracked and we diverted to SFO. It was a charter flight from Vegas to Honolulu so I don't know how a commercial airline would've handled the situation.
Luv your presentations!
Merry Christmas Noel and family. This video is a gift as it was my parent’s favorite trip on Amtrak.
Gorgeous run - thanks for the vid. The Empire Builder is maybe even better west from Chicago to Seattle.
I have a video of that, you can see it here th-cam.com/video/Mn_Oj8w_DQE/w-d-xo.html
My grandfather was an Amtrack engineer for 40 years and - just kidding. Good video.
certainly different from London to Brighton!!!! So envious to see the amazing views and the lovely sunsets....Thank you.....Lovely to see the both of you looking so well!
ive never heard of Amtrak leaving without a chef, that's pretty rough sheesh
you guys are so awesome. my mummsy and I just decided tonight that we are going to go to Alaska on the ferry. Your channel really inspires me to make the most out of life.
You passed right by my house in Nebraska! Of course, you were asleep! They plan Nebraska for the overnights…
You can also hop off in Richmond CA and take BART directly to downtown SF, takes about 30 mins
The lack of a chef was bad enough but where was your sleeping car attendant to make your beds? I hope you didn’t tip him or her!
Funny I worked for UP/SP railroad 40 years and never went on a train during that time. When small Mom and I would leave a few weeks before Dad had vacation and we would take Amtrak to Little Rock, Ark from our home in Tucson, Az. Wouldn't be nice to have chairs like that in airliners A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours. The wife and I so much enjoy the adventures of you two. Looking forward to your adventures next year. That bedroom was a lot bigger than most of those strange hotels in Japan.
Best thing about Reno? Only 40 miles from Lake Tahoe. That is a truly gorgeous part of the country.
I never did travel on the California Zephyr but it is on my bucket list. I'm from Ireland and went to the US last August for my 50th birthday to visit family over there and we took the Coast Starlight (hubby, my niece and I) and the train was just lovely, more room between seats than a plane and the scenery was lovely, we travelled from Seattle, WA to Portland, Oregon only 4 hrs journey, pure heaven
It's rather annoying to see so many negative comments. Amtrak is not for those you want to save money, but for those who want to see the vast diversity of landscape of North America.
My 1st year in the United States as a freshman at Northwestern University in Chicago my friends and I crisscrossed the country from New York to Chicago to Seattle down to LA and then back again and loved every single second.
What we seem to have here are a bunch of tourists, not travelers.
So I took the Zephyr and the Coast Starlight in 1997. The sleeper car is definitely the way to go. Though, I still think about the mountains in Nevada and how they looked like someone just poured sand out. Taking the coach was trying. It wasn't quite as bad as the Greyhound, but it was pretty rough.
Nice video mate. I absolutely love these long train journeys. I recently took the old iron ore train from Narvik in Norway, to Luleå i Sweden. Great trip as well, through some very barren land.
You guys are the loveliest couple. Always enjoy when you bring along Rach!
Great video as always Noel! Merry Christmas and a happy new to you and your family.
You mentioned the train boarding area reminded you of Birmingham @2:02 . I once got stranded by Greyhound when the bus broke down right downtown Birmingham in the early 1970's. Luckily there was still passenger train service there & i boarded their "Midnight Flyer" which ran from Birmingham to New Orleans (my destination.)
Although the food experience wasn’t what you paid for and expected, I’m glad you got one of Amtraks “refurbished” sleepers with an updated cabin.
How many sleepers on the Zephyr are the “renovated” ones? Taking the CZ from Chicago to Emeryville in early Feb. Reserved a bedroom and would love to have a refurbished one!
@@tomulator they are mixed up system wide. No way of knowing if you will get one until you board. They are doing a handful of refurbishments per month on sleepers, diners, lounges and coaches. Maybe another year or two until the whole fleet is done.
I had the pleasure of taking this train durning the pandemic from Sac Valley Station all the way to Osceola, Iowa station where a cousin picked us up. I shared a little room with my sister. Being gen z in the moment I hated not having any cell coverage but in retrospect it was a much needed break. Didn’t have the food experience you did but overall quite a beautiful experience to take in.
Noel you would never make it on a naval ship where the midshipmen had bunk beds with half the space
I like when you travel with the wife. You guys seem to enjoy each other and have fun.
Great to see Rachel again. Hope Amtrak gave some sort of discount for the trouble you went thr.
There’s definitely not enough investment in infrastructure. Definitely. Compared to Europe and Asia, this place looks like it hadn’t updated much since the Industrial Revolution lol Sad. Looks like you had a much better time than the bus, minus the burned pizza😊 Thank you for sharing!
Amtrack should be ashamed. That pizza looked disgusting
it is always nice to see rachel traveling with you
I thought this would be just another zephyr video. However, you (and Amtrak) managed to make it unique. Nice.
I have been on The Texas Eagle from Chicago to LA. It is The Texas Eagle the whole way through if you start on it. If you start on the other train it changes. They mix all the cars around after you get into San Antonio.
As an airline family, we do travel more via airlines but I love train travel. Wish the US had more!
I personally love seeing Rach on trips with you!
Happy Christmas to you and your family!
I love when the two of you travel together, adds a lot of extra entertainment
Great to see Rachel back traveling with you. Glad to see she's doing well
It's not just you. it has been like that for decades amazing stations with non existent platforms - if you watch Michael Palin's around the world in 80 days, he notes exactly this on the Desert Wind going from LA to Chicago. Of course in those days (not sure about today) the Desert Wind and California Zephyr would combine in the rockies and go to Chicago that way...
Sadly the Desert Wind and the Pioneer were canceled in 1997.
I live about 45 minutes from the Emeryville Amtrak station and have actually considered taking the California Zephyr all the way to Chicago. I definitely may have to give it a go as it looks like a great way to see a large part of the USA. Great video
I love your reactions, this one was extra funny with the two of you trying to do the beds after wine lol. The music as you both are trying to do the beds fits perfectly. Wonderful duo you are!
Glad you enjoyed it
Hey Rachell !!!!! Hey Noel !!!!! Great to see you out and about Rachelle. Im PROUD of you!!!!! ❤😊
This is a trip I’d love to take! Thank you for such an entertaining and detailed video! Merry Christmas to you and Rachel! ❤
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow you got lucky and got a refurbished sleeper car I have yet to even see one in service!
First Jeb Brooks, then Will from Trek Trendy, and now Noel! Amtrak Trains are very underrated and deserve some love!
Even Eva zu Beck has done an Amtrak video a few years back.
Safiya just posted an Amtrak review too!
U just listed all the travel TH-camrs I watch, except for Kara and nate
@@ItzChickenYall me too.
I think Paul Lucas from Wingin It has done Amtrak videos too.
Glad to see you were so impressed by the area around Truckee. That's North Lake Tahoe. The whole Lake Tahoe area is staggeringly beautiful. North of Interstate 80 (the freeway you could see from the train window) is Gold Country. Along State Route 49 north of Auburn in Placer County. An amazing drive. South Lake Tahoe is even more beautiful than the North end of the Lake. Like Emerald Bay. The drive from Sacramento on State Route 50 to the south end of the lake is much more scenic than on Interstate 80 to the north end of the lake. And if you follow State Route 49 all the way south you eventually end up at the entrance to Yosemite Valley. The Sierras are immense. About 400 miles long. From close to Oregon border to the Mojave Desert. And are both more accessible and more beautiful than the Colorado Rockies.
Both burnt and cold, that takes quite a skill 😂
It was great to see, the Mrs. with you Noel❤
I’ve traveled Amtrak and never had such food served. Part of the cabin experiences all sleepers is the food. It’s very good. I think Amtrak should refund 50% for that miss.
Definitely. And especially since so many people will see this, find a way to essentially over correct with Noel and any passenger really on that train. The food is surprisingly good-although not a ton of variety if you ride for long periods or frequently. I did a 4 day journey and had steak every night haha. No complaints though.
Lovely to see Rachel out and about
Its lovely to watch you both travelling.
I think my husband and myself would have been arguing who wasn't sleeping on that top bunk😂
Truckee / Tahoe is the best part of living and working in the Reno area. Not all of Reno is as bad as you advertised, although, the train station is in a rough part of town.
Nice video! Wish you'd been able to see more of Reno as they lowered the station below street level and you only see the old parts of town. Though you did get a nice picture of where we board our dog in Reno (Pet Playhouse) and thought that was funny. We have been planning to take the Zephyr from Reno to Emeryville and back just for a fun weekend. Gonna definitely do thanks to your video! Awesome as always!
It seems like I was on the Zephyr right before you! I took it December 3-4 from Reno to Denver. It was gorgeous!
You'll have to come up and do the Rocky Mountaineer train between Vancouver and Banff in Canada one summer. It's SPECTACULAR and the service is unparalleled. Full recommendation!
Isn't a sleeper though...
@@frederickvondinkerberg7721 Never said it was. The onboard experience is one of the best (if not the best) you’ll find in North America though.
@@kyle604 which is it's main problem... turn it in to a sleeper and cross the entire country
@@frederickvondinkerberg7721 It's a daytime leisure train route for tourists. Past Banff is boring and non-scenic on a train line. It's also extremely expensive as it is. If you want to go across the country, Via Rail exists. You may see it as a "problem", but it's extremely popular because of it's length and route.
6:52 nice spot! thats a 2004 mercury marauder in silver birch. 1 of 997 in silver, 1 of 3,214 for 2004 and 1 of 11,052 total for all the marauders between 2003 and 2004
What did the tickets cost and what, if any compensation was offered or given for the lack of a decent meal, which everyone paid for and expected?