One thing I don't think gets talked about enough is how good Amtrak Thruway bus network is as well. Amtrak is a National Rail Provider AND a National Bus Network. They manage to do quite a lot with a little on their long distance network.
Because Amtrak already has experience running a nationwide regional bus network, FlixBus sucks and is slowly killing intercity bus services, Amtrak could have paid them more.
I love learning about the auto train history! Part of the reason the auto train failed was because they were trying to expand in Louisville, Kentucky to Florida and did it very unsuccessfully. Combine that with some of the maintenance issues that they were having causing derailments due to deferred maintenance, lead to the decline of the auto-train. Amtrak should renamed the route to Snowbird express! It’s very popular with retirees using it during winter season to travel to Florida.
I've taken the Coast Starlight, every summer, from San Francisco (Emeryville) to Seattle, for several years. In my childhood, we took Southern Pacific's "Shasta Daylight," from Oakland, to Portland, to visit my grandparents. That, of course, was before AMTRAK. Today's journey is quite poignant, for me, as it is the same route that I enjoyed, then ... with the additional mileage to beautiful Seattle. My next trip begins in 5 days ... Sept., 1, to Sept. 8. I'm SO looking forward to it. there's something that I'm sorry can't be covered in the YT presentations about the Coast Starlight. Much is made about the lovely AMTRAK stations in Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle ... and, rightly so1 The station in Emeryville, is a small, new building, of glass and steel. It has no "allure," whatever. HOWEVER, the long-haul trains cannot come into San Francisco, as it would require that they become amphibious. Today, passengers from SF are bussed over to Emerviille, to connect to the train. When I was little, we reported to the San Francisco Ferry Building, for a ferry ride to Oakland. The Ferry Building is a beautiful old building, on a par with the stations I've mentioned. It was our point-of-departure, for the train journey north. It would be a sweet segment ... and historic footnote ... to some YT presentation of the Coast Starlight.
The branch line Amtrak used to go to Phoenix has been out of service since the 1990s. From what I heard, that branch was sabotaged to the point of unusability.
Yep, basically my ranking as well. The Zephyr and the Starlight are truly incredible experiences. Not just incredible rail experiences, but true bucket list stuff that I would argue everyone and anyone should try at least once in their lives.
The Hudson portion the Lake Shore Limited runs along (as well as other Amtrak services) is also used by the Metro North Railroad's Hudson Line! I grew up riding the Hudson Line when I lived in Tarrytown! The Hudson Line is an incredible line, as not only is it shared with Amtrak trains and has spectacular views of the Hudson Palisades and Hudson Highlands, but most of its electrified zone has four tracks (usually two express and local tracks in each direction), it has Manitou and Breakneck Ridge for hikers, there's connecting peak ferry service at Ossining and Beacon to go across the Hudson to Haverstraw and Newburgh respectively, you can take it for Yankees games at Yankees-East 153rd St, and the suburbs along the Hudson Line like Yonkers and Tarrytown are walkable! Before Amtrak, the Auto Train didn't just have a route between Virginia and Florida, there was another from Kentucky that they started in 1974! The Auto-Train Corporation began in 1971 and was the idea of Eugene K. Garfield, a former employee of the US Department of Transportation. The decaying Louisville and Nashville Railroad track between Louisville and Florida (which also hampered Amtrak's Floridian) hindered operations, and a pair of derailments stretched the company's finances to the breaking point. So after lack of success from its Louisville operations, high crew costs, and accidents, the company ceased in 1981, and Amtrak took over the Virginia-Florida route two years later. Before the Auto-Train was taken over by Amtrak, Amtrak actually planned to introduce a Midwest-Florida auto train service called "AutoTrak" in 1974, running between Indianapolis and Poinciana to compete with the Louisville route. However, when they ran a test train with 20 auto-carrier cars and rented autos, the train damaged the autos, so the idea was cancelled. The Sunset Limited was first introduced in 1894 by the Southern Pacific Railroad along the Sunset Route as the Southern Pacific’s premier train, making it the oldest continuously operating named train in the US! The original Sunset Limited operated to San Francisco but the Los Angeles to San Francisco section was cut in 1942. The Sunset Route was envisioned as the best gateway to the West Coast compared to routes from Chicago and St Louis, as before the Panama Canal, the Sunset Route vastly shortened the time to reach the West Coast from the Atlantic as New Orleans was already an established seaport for those seeking to reach the US interior, had all-around good weather without having to worry about brutal winters, and the Sunset Limited allowed passengers to reach the West Coast in a few days, not weeks! Initially, it operated with all Pullmans, with sleeping cars and no coaches, running from New Orleans to San Francisco via Los Angeles. The San Francisco portion was cut in 1942. This was originally gonna be temporary due to an equipment overhaul, but it became permanent. From 1993-2005, the Sunset Limited operated an extended service to Miami but service east of New Orleans ended after Katrina. In 1993, the Sunset Limited derailed off the Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured.
I've taken all these routes except the Autotrain, always by sleeper, and I agree with your ranking. I have a trip booked on the Zephyr next January -- I hope there are no issues related to the election. I last took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Emeryville and connected to the Zephyr 20 years ago. At that time, the Coast Starlight offered shrimp cocktails after our Seattle departure. Those days are long gone. I still want to do the Coast Starlight from end to end. I contemplate the Texas Eagle/Sunset on one leg, then the CZ, and then the Empire Builder on the other. I live in Boston, so my trips always begin and end with the Lakeshore. I think that's 9 nights on the train and at least one layover in either LA, Seattle, or both.
I took the auto train for my first time (and my first time riding Amtrak for that matter) and I think it’s the smarter move for the price. I was able to fit my Chevy Silverado on for $325 and snag a coach seat for $75 under a summer promo. For $400 that’s an insane deal and saves about 800 miles off my drive to NY. I’m getting back into trains as an adult and it was a really cool experience. Also I really enjoyed this video talking about the different routes and consists, very informative 🤙🏼
Thanks for creating and posting this video. I think it, as well as some others, are going to inspire me to do a rail tour of the Western US. I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, so connecting the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr via the Coast Staright just seems like a wonderful way to spend a summer vacation and see some of the most scenic parts of the USA.
The Empire Builder is actually named after a person! The Empire Builder got its name from the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway which originally began in 1929 and was retained by Amtrak in 1971. It was named in honor of Great Northern Railway founder James J. Hill, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately funded transcontinental railroad, thus building his own empire. The Silver Meteor was first introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between NYC and Florida. It was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The Silver Star on the other hand was first introduced in 1947. The difference between the two NYC-Miami services is their routes through the Carolinas as the Silver Star travels inland via Raleigh instead of along the Carolina coast like the Silver Meteor, and then they meet again at Savannah. Both the Silver Star and Silver Meteor were selected as names via a contest when 30 out of 76,000 entrants proposed the winning names. The name Cardinal was first used in 1977, as the northern cardinal is the state bird of six states through which it ran, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. With the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the canyons of Utah, the route of the California Zephyr is truly a love letter to the western US! The Moffat Tunnel is quite cool! If it wasn't for the Moffat Tunnel, Denver wouldn't have become the economic engine that it is today! David Moffat was unable to raise sufficient funds to build the tunnel before he died in 1911, but the fight for the tunnel continued in his honor! In 1920, a bill was passed by the state legislature to build new tunnels, but other regions blocked it because they didn't want Denver to gain an advantage in commerce. Blocking this would backfire big time when Pueblo was devastated by a flood in 1922 and Denver took this opportunity to say they'll vote for emergency funding for Pueblo in return for bonds for the tunnel. Eight hundred men ended up working round the clock for three and a half years, moving 1.5 million tons of rock! The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, the flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which was inaugurated in 1936. The Santa Fe launched the Chief in 1926 to supplement the California Limited, and then introduced the Super Chief which gradually eclipsed the Chief, with the Chief ending service in 1968. The Santa Fe merged the Super Chief with its all-coach counterpart, the El Capitan, in 1958 as the Super Chief/El Capitan. Amtrak revived the Chief for three months in 1972. In 1973, Amtrak changed the name of the Super Chief/El Capitan to just the Super Chief. It was then renamed to the Southwest Limited in 1974 because Santa Fe wanted them to stop using Chief before finally being allowed to use Chief again, this time as the Southwest Chief, in 1984. The Crescent is a direct descendant of the Southerner, a streamlined passenger train operated by the Southern Railway from 1941 to 1970 between NYC and New Orleans. The name refers to its sister the Crescent which took a more coastal route to New Orleans via Mobile but after a push by partners to discontinue, chose to combine them into the Southern Crescent, operating on the Southerner route via Birmingham instead of Mobile. The Southern Railway initially opted out of Amtrak, but gave them full control in 1979, and Amtrak simplified the name back to just Crescent. The Crescent refers to one of New Orleans’s nicknames, the Crescent City, referring to the bend of the Mississippi River as it flows through the city!
I was born and raised in Oregon where (half of) that train's western terminus is, the original lyrics of their state song "My Oregon" written in 1920 had the first lines go "Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West." So I always thought it was named for that and the pioneers that settled there.
If (hopefully when) Amtrak updates and refines the Texas Eagle line in the near future, it's definitely gonna climb up the tier list. St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas and San Antonio are all underrated stops, the addition to travel to Los Angeles is super tough too! Once again, just hope they refine the service line soon!
The biggest need Texas Eagle has, is to bring its sightseer lounge back. Unfortunately, it still runs without a sightseer lounge railcar. Yes I do know if you ride west of San Antonio there is a sightseer lounge, but that is a separate train(Sunset Limited) and this is via a thru car service(where 1 coach car and 1 sleeper car are regularly transferred between Eagle and Sunset) that is done 3 days a week. Texas Eagle is a daily train, and Sunset Ltd. only 3 days a week. I'm hearing mixed reports, whether regular traditional dining was brought back on Eagle. Some sources say it was brought back this year, while other sources say it only still has flex dining. If the traditional dining menu is back, then lack of an observation car is now the biggest need for the Eagle.
I’ll be taking the Cardinal this fall from Cincinnati to DC. Definitely looking forward to being able to properly enjoy the views as opposed to sitting behind the wheel the whole time.
Traveling from coast to coast has always been on my bucket list. During the Covid coma of 2020 (mask and all) it became a reality for me when I took the Lakeshore Limited/California Zephyr to Emeryville CA. ( Then, I took a bus down to Santa Maria to visit some family for a few days . Next I took the bus back to Emeryville.) I returned home almost the same way except it was the California Zephyr/ Cardinal route via Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Trenton. And yes, it was a blast from end to end.
My summer 2022 experience on the Texas Eagle was quite the let down without the observation car and we weren't allow to hang out in the cafe car. Basically get your food and go back to your seat.
Having lived my entire life on the West Coast basically everyone I know in the US lives somewhere serviced by the Coast Starlight. I can vouch that there are some absolutely stunning views. If you've got time to spare, it's far better than flying.
I've wanted to travel up the coast from LA to Seattle and have thought about taking the Coast Starlight, but worry about sleeping on the train without a room. People are willing to take overnight flights so I imagine taking an overnight train would be doable and possibly more comfortable.
I think these rating are greatly fair. Amtrak's Autotrain from south of Washington DC to near Orlando Florida is an experience in itself with only a fuel stop along the way and longest train by far any passenger train will likely ever experience because of the auto racks. It is unique. I rode it when I was 12 in the 1970s. We rode overnight in the vista dome watching out through the front glass I could see the auto racks stretching out, but I'd only catch glimpses of the locomotive headlights occasionally because it was nearly 1/2 mile away winding its way through the dark with the sound of a strong distance horn through the dense flying insect South. The vista dome cars give a much better viewing experience than the superliner sightseeing lounge cars because you can see forward through windshield and up. The Capitol Limited is a find because it provides Superliner cars from an east coast city other than Autotrain. I rode the Amtrak Broadway limited in June 1981 that goes from Washington DC via Harrisburg PA to Chicago. The Capitol Limited superseded the Broadway Limited. The Broadway Limited travels the famous Pennsylvania mainline through the steel and anthracite coal heart of Pennsylvania. I remember thinking about using the Cardinal through WV, but getting to ride the famous Pennsylvania mainline and part of the NEC in a famous train was too much to pass up. It was also about 4 - 6 hours faster than the Cardinal as well. I went to WV Tech Montgomery WV that is a stop on the Cardinal allowing me to use it several times. A had friend, John Carrier from Albany NY that was a very knowledgeable rail fan. He fill me in on what was going on with much railroad activity. I was usually too worried about my EE studies to appreciate the various types of equipment the Cardinia would ferry along the Beach Grove IN, but I'd watch for them and take notice. I think Locomotive 273 was a common sight heading the train. I think I should put the Coast Starlight on my must do passenger train travels. The West coast was known to be expensive, but a great place to live. I don't think I'd want to live there anymore, but the Coast Starlight is a winner. I might start down at San Diego on a regional Amtrak train and ride up to Los Angles to cover the coast. Amtrak should reintroduce the private single sleeper slumber coach. Having to buy a roomette for two when they are almost always for a single person is very expensive and about the same comfort level. I used a slumber coach 4 times always being able to take advantage of the $10 on board upgrade cost from a coach seat if a slumber coach was not reserved after 8 PM. New Superliners should have a modern version of the single sleeper slumber coach and plentiful amounts of them so they are nearly always available. Right now to get a roomette costs about $500 compared to coach seat at $100 and they need to be reserved months in advance because Amtrak is far too scarce of sleepers. This is a near necessity to encourage young rail fans.
Infrastructure ownership is the main thing holding the US rail back. Privatized operations are fine. Probably even desirable in US context. But all the complication about private rail ownership is causing the entire system the be way less efficient than it could, even for freight.
My tier of Amtrak Long distance by scenery S: California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight A: Capitol Limited, and Cardinal. B: Lakeshore Limited and Sunset Limited C: Crescent D: Silver Service, Palmetto, Texas Eagle, and Auto Train F: City of New Orleans
I think the Southwest Chief should be in S tier. The views on that train are like being on another planet, and they just don't get the credit they deserve.
Where you rate 'on time' for routes, some mention of what holds services up wouldn't go amiss. On many lines, the freight of owning rail companies understandably keeps their attention, but where conflicts are due to poor track layouts or signalling at critical points, some road map to vastly improved reliability may come in to view.
I'd probably rank Southwest Chief as a B instead of a C rating, since it was never downgraded to flex dining unlike the Texas Eagle. Also the sightseer lounge was never removed from its regular train consist, unlike Texas Eagle. It's unfortunate that some of the scenic parts are only passed through at night(unless there is a VERY major delay of hours), particularly the part between Barstow and Flagstaff. Honestly all these long distance trains should have a 2nd 12 hour apart train also on the schedule, but it would take enough railcars to ensure another train can run, plus negotations with the freight companies to get their okay for another such train. And additional funding, so that Amtrak can run an addtional train. Plus they'd have to hire additonal employees.
There are some real highlights during the daytime though, e.g. in Gallup NM they give you some time to peruse the Navajo traders who meet the train at the station to sell what they can to tourists. Another spot of note along the route is going through Glorietta Pass, the most important Civil War battlefield west of the Mississippi, as you follow along the northern portion of the Rio Grande. But you are right that there's a whole lot of nothing in Kansas and Iowa too.
And now the Capitol Limited and Silver Star will be combined into the new Floridian line this November... that means no more Superliners but Viewliners instead on the currently C.L. part, but on the other hand, it shall now have full-scale dining. Can't argue with the California Zephyr being S Tier, it's for good reason! My first Amtrak trip across the country was in 1995 partly on the Pioneer from Portland to Chicago (began in Seattle) that was discontinued 2 years later, from Denver east it combined with the C.Z.
I would put the Amtrak Southwest Chief train in A-tier. It passes through vast deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as nice cities such as Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Kansas City, Fort Madison, and Chicago. It it is definitely one of my favorite Amtrak trains!
Sunset Limited, to me, is A-tier. First, it's a heritage route (pre-plane famous), two dining car dinners, good (not great) views, but always with a viewing lounge which always has open seats. Plus NOLA and LA are in my top five US cities.
The annoying fact it only runs 3 days a week aside, I like this train otherwise. I like some of the scenery parts in west Texas, some of it which can only be seen in daylight if you're riding west from San Antonio.
I've lived in LA all my life and have wanted to visit SF, Portland, and Seattle eventually. I'd love to take the train at least once to one of the destinations, but I do wonder if it's worth it on the return trip as well. I dunno how comfortable it would be to sleep on the train without one of the private rooms which bumps the cost significantly. Might be worth it to do the return trip in coach overnight to basically save on a plane ticket + hotel if the seats are sleepable. Maybe one day we'll get our own North East Corridor tier Amtrak service for the West Coast.
I was about to get up in arms in defense of the Chief's views, but I reminded myself that while snow in the desert is almost life changingly beautiful, it is not a normal rider experience. The open Mojave should warrant A tier in general, but C seems fair when I remember the number of times I was in a passing siding gnashing my teeth and muttering obscenities about Union Pacific, and the insanity of a single track mainline in general.
Here's my tier list. S. Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, A. Sunset Limited, Empire Builder, Cardinal B. Silver Service, Lake Shore Limited, Auto train, C. Capitol Limited, D. Crescent, Texas Eagle F. City of New Orlean.
As someone who has taken it many times, the Boston route is ... fine. You get some nice stuff traversing the Berkshires, but it basically follows the same route as I-90 once you get to Springfield MA. One upside of that section is that it has little to no freight traffic slowing you down, though, which helps if things are running behind schedule.
Absolutely. And that is a very important fact to mention. Many people get lost or don't understand when that train splits and why it does at Albany. Good catch bro!!!!
It’s crazy that you said basically most Amtrak routes have boring scenery unless you’re literally dangling off a cliff on the Capitol limited. Almost all Amtrak routes have stunning or at least historic views at some point along the route.
No, Borealis is a regional route between Chicago and Saint Paul. And just happens to supplement the Empire Builder, to provide an extra train between Chicago and St. Paul. And where Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois worked together to create this new train.
My biggest complaint about southwest chief? I cnat see the prairies of kansas like the flint hills!! Its all at night! What they SHOULD do if they are gonna keep the chief to limited service (which they shouldn't!!!) is have a second service on the route where everything thats in daylight/night time be switched!!
This criticism is applicable to all of the long distance routes because some people prefer not to show up to their small town station at 2 AM and not everyone goes from end to end.
I kind of both agree and disagree about the empire builder. It would be a much better and far more popular route if they tweaked the schedule by a few hours. They need to schedule it so you go through the mountains in Idaho and Montana during the daytime instead of during night time. If they tweaked the schedule to have it run during the daytime through the mountainous parts of Idaho and Montana, it would be right on par with the California zephyr.
The Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth Texas is a fantastic little 4 hour ride one way. Using 2 superliners (one with a cafe on the lower level) and 2 engines on each end it’s kinda basic but the service is almost always on time! You’ll pass through small towns, mines, prairies, and the famous Red River. All for $30 one way $60 round trip!
While the Southwest Chief is still my favorite, I do respect people ranking the California Zephyr higher, but that's not something I share for saying the Empire Builder is better than the chief. The chief offers a full day of scenery in New Mexico, and if you end up with some major delays heading west, you get more views of southern California. On the Empire Builder, you have to wait until sunset on day 2 to reach great scenery and if you end up running several hours late, you could miss glacier national park and then have to wait until day three which i defiantly think you be an inconvenience for sight seeing.
I think you’re being awfully generous giving any route an S based on your comments. It’s okay that there is, but do you think there’s some bias towards the train in general as a desirable way we wish to expand? If it was for anything other than leisure, I don’t think we could rank any full route above a B. A unique comparison that almost no one has done yet is to segment the routes and show where the train is competitive between city pairs already. I bet even with some lower grade routes, there are destination pairs that could beat plane or even auto already (pre hSR).
I’m sorry but placing the Auto train at B tier is a disgrace. It has great, reliable service that even though is only has two stops being Washington DC and Orlando, you can drive to places like Miami or Tampa and Philly or New York since you have your car with you.
It's on time rating is gained at the expense of the passengers. When I took it from the West Coast to Chicago it did not wait for the LA portion. We got stuck on a bus for 6 hours and than a waiting room for another 6 to catch up with the 'on time' train. We ended up two hours late anyhow because a tornado blocked the tracks for a short time, not Amtrak's fault.
Common, the Southwest Chief clearly deserves higher than a C tier, at least an A. Yes, it doesn't have a good on time performance, but it still has the traditional dining and lounge car and the views from the train deserve better credit than almost everyone gives them. It's like you're on another planet.
You should as least put the Southwest Chief above the Empire Builder because the chief gives you a full day of scenery to enjoy and the builder only give like an evening and morning of scenery to enjoy and besides that, the scenery is just flat and dull.
lol you do realize most of Amtrak is just land cruises only 2 lines are somewhat usable. The state supported routes are laughably bad and LD are blatantly just tourist attractions as they are globally. There are no useful services enjoyable yes useful no.
This is just factually untrue. Many people riding in coach class are a very diverse group of people usually just trying to get from one destination to another. I highly suggest riding long distance in coach to see for yourself.
Have you ever looked up ridership levels for each train route? These trains do serve a legitimate need for travel where little to no flights exist in some places, especially Montana and North Dakota on the Empire Builder route. Sure they may not be as fast as a plane, but I think MOST if not all Amtrak passengers know they are at the mercy of possible freight train delays that could be for a few hours. And of course Amtrak isn't as fast as flying, expect for possibly their limited number of high speed corridors(northeast corridor, Keystone service from Harrisburg-NYC, etc). Though if you think Amtrak is bad, then you probably never have ridden Greyhound/Flixbus(now the same company, as Flixbus bought Greyhound).
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One thing I don't think gets talked about enough is how good Amtrak Thruway bus network is as well. Amtrak is a National Rail Provider AND a National Bus Network. They manage to do quite a lot with a little on their long distance network.
I hope they purchase greyhound to expand it.
@@Seawiz21 Flixbus just bought Greyhound. Not sure why they would want to sell it to Amtrak.
Because Amtrak already has experience running a nationwide regional bus network, FlixBus sucks and is slowly killing intercity bus services, Amtrak could have paid them more.
Agreed. I've also taken it and it's here in napa valley as well. Great to have the bus network connect you to trains
I love learning about the auto train history! Part of the reason the auto train failed was because they were trying to expand in Louisville, Kentucky to Florida and did it very unsuccessfully. Combine that with some of the maintenance issues that they were having causing derailments due to deferred maintenance, lead to the decline of the auto-train. Amtrak should renamed the route to Snowbird express! It’s very popular with retirees using it during winter season to travel to Florida.
I've taken the Coast Starlight, every summer, from San Francisco (Emeryville) to Seattle, for several years. In my childhood, we took Southern Pacific's "Shasta Daylight," from Oakland, to Portland, to visit my grandparents. That, of course, was before AMTRAK. Today's journey is quite poignant, for me, as it is the same route that I enjoyed, then ... with the additional mileage to beautiful Seattle. My next trip begins in 5 days ... Sept., 1, to Sept. 8. I'm SO looking forward to it.
there's something that I'm sorry can't be covered in the YT presentations about the Coast Starlight. Much is made about the lovely AMTRAK stations in Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle ... and, rightly so1 The station in Emeryville, is a small, new building, of glass and steel. It has no "allure," whatever. HOWEVER, the long-haul trains cannot come into San Francisco, as it would require that they become amphibious. Today, passengers from SF are bussed over to Emerviille, to connect to the train. When I was little, we reported to the San Francisco Ferry Building, for a ferry ride to Oakland. The Ferry Building is a beautiful old building, on a par with the stations I've mentioned. It was our point-of-departure, for the train journey north. It would be a sweet segment ... and historic footnote ... to some YT presentation of the Coast Starlight.
Much more pleasant to travel than flying!
I never knew Chicago had so many routes leaving/ending there! So cool loved this video!
Chicago is the heart of the US rail system and has been for ~150 years! :)
8:57 Pre-Katrina, it ran from Miami to LA. I can't believe it's been over 15 years and that portion of the route still hasn't been fixed!
The branch line Amtrak used to go to Phoenix has been out of service since the 1990s. From what I heard, that branch was sabotaged to the point of unusability.
Yep, basically my ranking as well. The Zephyr and the Starlight are truly incredible experiences. Not just incredible rail experiences, but true bucket list stuff that I would argue everyone and anyone should try at least once in their lives.
The Hudson portion the Lake Shore Limited runs along (as well as other Amtrak services) is also used by the Metro North Railroad's Hudson Line! I grew up riding the Hudson Line when I lived in Tarrytown! The Hudson Line is an incredible line, as not only is it shared with Amtrak trains and has spectacular views of the Hudson Palisades and Hudson Highlands, but most of its electrified zone has four tracks (usually two express and local tracks in each direction), it has Manitou and Breakneck Ridge for hikers, there's connecting peak ferry service at Ossining and Beacon to go across the Hudson to Haverstraw and Newburgh respectively, you can take it for Yankees games at Yankees-East 153rd St, and the suburbs along the Hudson Line like Yonkers and Tarrytown are walkable! Before Amtrak, the Auto Train didn't just have a route between Virginia and Florida, there was another from Kentucky that they started in 1974! The Auto-Train Corporation began in 1971 and was the idea of Eugene K. Garfield, a former employee of the US Department of Transportation. The decaying Louisville and Nashville Railroad track between Louisville and Florida (which also hampered Amtrak's Floridian) hindered operations, and a pair of derailments stretched the company's finances to the breaking point. So after lack of success from its Louisville operations, high crew costs, and accidents, the company ceased in 1981, and Amtrak took over the Virginia-Florida route two years later. Before the Auto-Train was taken over by Amtrak, Amtrak actually planned to introduce a Midwest-Florida auto train service called "AutoTrak" in 1974, running between Indianapolis and Poinciana to compete with the Louisville route. However, when they ran a test train with 20 auto-carrier cars and rented autos, the train damaged the autos, so the idea was cancelled.
The Sunset Limited was first introduced in 1894 by the Southern Pacific Railroad along the Sunset Route as the Southern Pacific’s premier train, making it the oldest continuously operating named train in the US! The original Sunset Limited operated to San Francisco but the Los Angeles to San Francisco section was cut in 1942. The Sunset Route was envisioned as the best gateway to the West Coast compared to routes from Chicago and St Louis, as before the Panama Canal, the Sunset Route vastly shortened the time to reach the West Coast from the Atlantic as New Orleans was already an established seaport for those seeking to reach the US interior, had all-around good weather without having to worry about brutal winters, and the Sunset Limited allowed passengers to reach the West Coast in a few days, not weeks! Initially, it operated with all Pullmans, with sleeping cars and no coaches, running from New Orleans to San Francisco via Los Angeles. The San Francisco portion was cut in 1942. This was originally gonna be temporary due to an equipment overhaul, but it became permanent. From 1993-2005, the Sunset Limited operated an extended service to Miami but service east of New Orleans ended after Katrina. In 1993, the Sunset Limited derailed off the Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile. It was caused by displacement of a span and deformation of the rails when a tow of heavy barges collided with the rail bridge eight minutes earlier. Forty-seven people were killed and 103 more were injured.
Thanks for rating the California Zephyr S Tier! I’ve yet to take it even though I live in Denver and it’s the only Amtrak route in my city!
Loved this video! There are so many routes i want to take now!
I've taken all these routes except the Autotrain, always by sleeper, and I agree with your ranking.
I have a trip booked on the Zephyr next January -- I hope there are no issues related to the election. I last took the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Emeryville and connected to the Zephyr 20 years ago. At that time, the Coast Starlight offered shrimp cocktails after our Seattle departure. Those days are long gone.
I still want to do the Coast Starlight from end to end. I contemplate the Texas Eagle/Sunset on one leg, then the CZ, and then the Empire Builder on the other. I live in Boston, so my trips always begin and end with the Lakeshore. I think that's 9 nights on the train and at least one layover in either LA, Seattle, or both.
I took the auto train for my first time (and my first time riding Amtrak for that matter) and I think it’s the smarter move for the price. I was able to fit my Chevy Silverado on for $325 and snag a coach seat for $75 under a summer promo. For $400 that’s an insane deal and saves about 800 miles off my drive to NY. I’m getting back into trains as an adult and it was a really cool experience.
Also I really enjoyed this video talking about the different routes and consists, very informative 🤙🏼
Thanks for creating and posting this video. I think it, as well as some others, are going to inspire me to do a rail tour of the Western US. I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, so connecting the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr via the Coast Staright just seems like a wonderful way to spend a summer vacation and see some of the most scenic parts of the USA.
The Empire Builder is actually named after a person! The Empire Builder got its name from the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway which originally began in 1929 and was retained by Amtrak in 1971. It was named in honor of Great Northern Railway founder James J. Hill, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately funded transcontinental railroad, thus building his own empire. The Silver Meteor was first introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between NYC and Florida. It was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The Silver Star on the other hand was first introduced in 1947. The difference between the two NYC-Miami services is their routes through the Carolinas as the Silver Star travels inland via Raleigh instead of along the Carolina coast like the Silver Meteor, and then they meet again at Savannah. Both the Silver Star and Silver Meteor were selected as names via a contest when 30 out of 76,000 entrants proposed the winning names. The name Cardinal was first used in 1977, as the northern cardinal is the state bird of six states through which it ran, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
With the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the canyons of Utah, the route of the California Zephyr is truly a love letter to the western US! The Moffat Tunnel is quite cool! If it wasn't for the Moffat Tunnel, Denver wouldn't have become the economic engine that it is today! David Moffat was unable to raise sufficient funds to build the tunnel before he died in 1911, but the fight for the tunnel continued in his honor! In 1920, a bill was passed by the state legislature to build new tunnels, but other regions blocked it because they didn't want Denver to gain an advantage in commerce. Blocking this would backfire big time when Pueblo was devastated by a flood in 1922 and Denver took this opportunity to say they'll vote for emergency funding for Pueblo in return for bonds for the tunnel. Eight hundred men ended up working round the clock for three and a half years, moving 1.5 million tons of rock!
The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, the flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which was inaugurated in 1936. The Santa Fe launched the Chief in 1926 to supplement the California Limited, and then introduced the Super Chief which gradually eclipsed the Chief, with the Chief ending service in 1968. The Santa Fe merged the Super Chief with its all-coach counterpart, the El Capitan, in 1958 as the Super Chief/El Capitan. Amtrak revived the Chief for three months in 1972. In 1973, Amtrak changed the name of the Super Chief/El Capitan to just the Super Chief. It was then renamed to the Southwest Limited in 1974 because Santa Fe wanted them to stop using Chief before finally being allowed to use Chief again, this time as the Southwest Chief, in 1984. The Crescent is a direct descendant of the Southerner, a streamlined passenger train operated by the Southern Railway from 1941 to 1970 between NYC and New Orleans. The name refers to its sister the Crescent which took a more coastal route to New Orleans via Mobile but after a push by partners to discontinue, chose to combine them into the Southern Crescent, operating on the Southerner route via Birmingham instead of Mobile. The Southern Railway initially opted out of Amtrak, but gave them full control in 1979, and Amtrak simplified the name back to just Crescent. The Crescent refers to one of New Orleans’s nicknames, the Crescent City, referring to the bend of the Mississippi River as it flows through the city!
U WOULDN'T KNOW ANY OF THIS
I was born and raised in Oregon where (half of) that train's western terminus is, the original lyrics of their state song "My Oregon" written in 1920 had the first lines go "Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West." So I always thought it was named for that and the pioneers that settled there.
If (hopefully when) Amtrak updates and refines the Texas Eagle line in the near future, it's definitely gonna climb up the tier list. St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas and San Antonio are all underrated stops, the addition to travel to Los Angeles is super tough too! Once again, just hope they refine the service line soon!
The biggest need Texas Eagle has, is to bring its sightseer lounge back. Unfortunately, it still runs without a sightseer lounge railcar. Yes I do know if you ride west of San Antonio there is a sightseer lounge, but that is a separate train(Sunset Limited) and this is via a thru car service(where 1 coach car and 1 sleeper car are regularly transferred between Eagle and Sunset) that is done 3 days a week. Texas Eagle is a daily train, and Sunset Ltd. only 3 days a week.
I'm hearing mixed reports, whether regular traditional dining was brought back on Eagle. Some sources say it was brought back this year, while other sources say it only still has flex dining. If the traditional dining menu is back, then lack of an observation car is now the biggest need for the Eagle.
I’ll be taking the Cardinal this fall from Cincinnati to DC. Definitely looking forward to being able to properly enjoy the views as opposed to sitting behind the wheel the whole time.
took it from cinci to chicago in june. good luck!
Traveling from coast to coast has always been on my bucket list. During the Covid coma of 2020 (mask and all) it became a reality for me when I took the Lakeshore Limited/California Zephyr to Emeryville CA. ( Then, I took a bus down to Santa Maria to visit some family for a few days . Next I took the bus back to Emeryville.) I returned home almost the same way except it was the California Zephyr/ Cardinal route via Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Trenton. And yes, it was a blast from end to end.
My summer 2022 experience on the Texas Eagle was quite the let down without the observation car and we weren't allow to hang out in the cafe car. Basically get your food and go back to your seat.
Glad to hear the only Amtrak journey I’ve taken (crescent Tuscaloosa to NY) is rated a D😅 only up from here!
The Coast Starlight is my favorite long distance route no doubt
Having lived my entire life on the West Coast basically everyone I know in the US lives somewhere serviced by the Coast Starlight. I can vouch that there are some absolutely stunning views. If you've got time to spare, it's far better than flying.
I've wanted to travel up the coast from LA to Seattle and have thought about taking the Coast Starlight, but worry about sleeping on the train without a room. People are willing to take overnight flights so I imagine taking an overnight train would be doable and possibly more comfortable.
I think these rating are greatly fair.
Amtrak's Autotrain from south of Washington DC to near Orlando Florida is an experience in itself with only a fuel stop along the way and longest train by far any passenger train will likely ever experience because of the auto racks. It is unique. I rode it when I was 12 in the 1970s. We rode overnight in the vista dome watching out through the front glass I could see the auto racks stretching out, but I'd only catch glimpses of the locomotive headlights occasionally because it was nearly 1/2 mile away winding its way through the dark with the sound of a strong distance horn through the dense flying insect South. The vista dome cars give a much better viewing experience than the superliner sightseeing lounge cars because you can see forward through windshield and up.
The Capitol Limited is a find because it provides Superliner cars from an east coast city other than Autotrain. I rode the Amtrak Broadway limited in June 1981 that goes from Washington DC via Harrisburg PA to Chicago. The Capitol Limited superseded the Broadway Limited. The Broadway Limited travels the famous Pennsylvania mainline through the steel and anthracite coal heart of Pennsylvania. I remember thinking about using the Cardinal through WV, but getting to ride the famous Pennsylvania mainline and part of the NEC in a famous train was too much to pass up. It was also about 4 - 6 hours faster than the Cardinal as well.
I went to WV Tech Montgomery WV that is a stop on the Cardinal allowing me to use it several times. A had friend, John Carrier from Albany NY that was a very knowledgeable rail fan. He fill me in on what was going on with much railroad activity. I was usually too worried about my EE studies to appreciate the various types of equipment the Cardinia would ferry along the Beach Grove IN, but I'd watch for them and take notice. I think Locomotive 273 was a common sight heading the train.
I think I should put the Coast Starlight on my must do passenger train travels. The West coast was known to be expensive, but a great place to live. I don't think I'd want to live there anymore, but the Coast Starlight is a winner. I might start down at San Diego on a regional Amtrak train and ride up to Los Angles to cover the coast.
Amtrak should reintroduce the private single sleeper slumber coach. Having to buy a roomette for two when they are almost always for a single person is very expensive and about the same comfort level. I used a slumber coach 4 times always being able to take advantage of the $10 on board upgrade cost from a coach seat if a slumber coach was not reserved after 8 PM.
New Superliners should have a modern version of the single sleeper slumber coach and plentiful amounts of them so they are nearly always available. Right now to get a roomette costs about $500 compared to coach seat at $100 and they need to be reserved months in advance because Amtrak is far too scarce of sleepers. This is a near necessity to encourage young rail fans.
i love riding the Pennsylvanian and silver meteor
Infrastructure ownership is the main thing holding the US rail back. Privatized operations are fine. Probably even desirable in US context. But all the complication about private rail ownership is causing the entire system the be way less efficient than it could, even for freight.
My tier of Amtrak Long distance by scenery
S: California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight
A: Capitol Limited, and Cardinal.
B: Lakeshore Limited and Sunset Limited
C: Crescent
D: Silver Service, Palmetto, Texas Eagle, and Auto Train
F: City of New Orleans
I'll do the Zephyr , Empire, and the connecting portion of the Coast Starlight from Emeryville to Seattle next week (Late Oct. 24) Can't wait!!!
I think the Southwest Chief should be in S tier. The views on that train are like being on another planet, and they just don't get the credit they deserve.
@@TexasWorldExplorer-y5y Ur right
All that matters is that CZ is in S tier and thus I am happy lol
Where you rate 'on time' for routes, some mention of what holds services up wouldn't go amiss. On many lines, the freight of owning rail companies understandably keeps their attention, but where conflicts are due to poor track layouts or signalling at critical points, some road map to vastly improved reliability may come in to view.
I'd probably rank Southwest Chief as a B instead of a C rating, since it was never downgraded to flex dining unlike the Texas Eagle. Also the sightseer lounge was never removed from its regular train consist, unlike Texas Eagle.
It's unfortunate that some of the scenic parts are only passed through at night(unless there is a VERY major delay of hours), particularly the part between Barstow and Flagstaff. Honestly all these long distance trains should have a 2nd 12 hour apart train also on the schedule, but it would take enough railcars to ensure another train can run, plus negotations with the freight companies to get their okay for another such train. And additional funding, so that Amtrak can run an addtional train. Plus they'd have to hire additonal employees.
There are some real highlights during the daytime though, e.g. in Gallup NM they give you some time to peruse the Navajo traders who meet the train at the station to sell what they can to tourists. Another spot of note along the route is going through Glorietta Pass, the most important Civil War battlefield west of the Mississippi, as you follow along the northern portion of the Rio Grande.
But you are right that there's a whole lot of nothing in Kansas and Iowa too.
Do state supported routes next
I promise the Piedmont is far better than the Carolinian. 😭
And now the Capitol Limited and Silver Star will be combined into the new Floridian line this November... that means no more Superliners but Viewliners instead on the currently C.L. part, but on the other hand, it shall now have full-scale dining.
Can't argue with the California Zephyr being S Tier, it's for good reason!
My first Amtrak trip across the country was in 1995 partly on the Pioneer from Portland to Chicago (began in Seattle) that was discontinued 2 years later, from Denver east it combined with the C.Z.
I would put the Amtrak Southwest Chief train in A-tier. It passes through vast deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, as well as nice cities such as Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Kansas City, Fort Madison, and Chicago. It it is definitely one of my favorite Amtrak trains!
Sunset Limited, to me, is A-tier. First, it's a heritage route (pre-plane famous), two dining car dinners, good (not great) views, but always with a viewing lounge which always has open seats. Plus NOLA and LA are in my top five US cities.
The annoying fact it only runs 3 days a week aside, I like this train otherwise. I like some of the scenery parts in west Texas, some of it which can only be seen in daylight if you're riding west from San Antonio.
I've lived in LA all my life and have wanted to visit SF, Portland, and Seattle eventually. I'd love to take the train at least once to one of the destinations, but I do wonder if it's worth it on the return trip as well. I dunno how comfortable it would be to sleep on the train without one of the private rooms which bumps the cost significantly. Might be worth it to do the return trip in coach overnight to basically save on a plane ticket + hotel if the seats are sleepable. Maybe one day we'll get our own North East Corridor tier Amtrak service for the West Coast.
I was about to get up in arms in defense of the Chief's views, but I reminded myself that while snow in the desert is almost life changingly beautiful, it is not a normal rider experience.
The open Mojave should warrant A tier in general, but C seems fair when I remember the number of times I was in a passing siding gnashing my teeth and muttering obscenities about Union Pacific, and the insanity of a single track mainline in general.
Capital Ltd. has great scenery from Cumberland Md east thru Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg
Note the Amfleet ii has slightly larger windows than the Amfleet i counter parts
13:01 hes in boys he did it he said it
Here's my tier list.
S. Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Coast Starlight,
A. Sunset Limited, Empire Builder, Cardinal
B. Silver Service, Lake Shore Limited, Auto train,
C. Capitol Limited,
D. Crescent, Texas Eagle
F. City of New Orlean.
You forgot to mention that the Lake Shore Limited splits in Albany with one section going to Boston while the other goes to New York City.
As someone who has taken it many times, the Boston route is ... fine. You get some nice stuff traversing the Berkshires, but it basically follows the same route as I-90 once you get to Springfield MA. One upside of that section is that it has little to no freight traffic slowing you down, though, which helps if things are running behind schedule.
Absolutely. And that is a very important fact to mention. Many people get lost or don't understand when that train splits and why it does at Albany. Good catch bro!!!!
The Crescent has Scenery near New Orleans
I would rank the Southwest Chief one level higher.
It’s crazy that you said basically most Amtrak routes have boring scenery unless you’re literally dangling off a cliff on the Capitol limited. Almost all Amtrak routes have stunning or at least historic views at some point along the route.
Great video! Question, would you consider the Borealis a long distance route?
No, Borealis is a regional route between Chicago and Saint Paul. And just happens to supplement the Empire Builder, to provide an extra train between Chicago and St. Paul. And where Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois worked together to create this new train.
Hardly ever any View lounges on the Texas Eagle anymore
You should have reviewed the Palmetto separately from the Silver Services.
Silver service is best!
Glad you put the California Zephyr in the S tier.
My biggest complaint about southwest chief? I cnat see the prairies of kansas like the flint hills!! Its all at night! What they SHOULD do if they are gonna keep the chief to limited service (which they shouldn't!!!) is have a second service on the route where everything thats in daylight/night time be switched!!
This criticism is applicable to all of the long distance routes because some people prefer not to show up to their small town station at 2 AM and not everyone goes from end to end.
So what? Kansas if flat and dull and there's not much to see.
And do the tier list the western usa
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Suggestion: Ranking the transit to every US State Capitol.
Intercity transit?
@@grahamturner2640 Both intercity and local
what do you think of nasa plans to build a rail line on the moon i love both trains and space science.
I kind of both agree and disagree about the empire builder. It would be a much better and far more popular route if they tweaked the schedule by a few hours. They need to schedule it so you go through the mountains in Idaho and Montana during the daytime instead of during night time.
If they tweaked the schedule to have it run during the daytime through the mountainous parts of Idaho and Montana, it would be right on par with the California zephyr.
What are some of the best short routes in the US?
The Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth Texas is a fantastic little 4 hour ride one way. Using 2 superliners (one with a cafe on the lower level) and 2 engines on each end it’s kinda basic but the service is almost always on time! You’ll pass through small towns, mines, prairies, and the famous Red River. All for $30 one way $60 round trip!
While the Southwest Chief is still my favorite, I do respect people ranking the California Zephyr higher, but that's not something I share for saying the Empire Builder is better than the chief. The chief offers a full day of scenery in New Mexico, and if you end up with some major delays heading west, you get more views of southern California. On the Empire Builder, you have to wait until sunset on day 2 to reach great scenery and if you end up running several hours late, you could miss glacier national park and then have to wait until day three which i defiantly think you be an inconvenience for sight seeing.
Be smart, fly there!!
I think you’re being awfully generous giving any route an S based on your comments. It’s okay that there is, but do you think there’s some bias towards the train in general as a desirable way we wish to expand? If it was for anything other than leisure, I don’t think we could rank any full route above a B.
A unique comparison that almost no one has done yet is to segment the routes and show where the train is competitive between city pairs already. I bet even with some lower grade routes, there are destination pairs that could beat plane or even auto already (pre hSR).
I’m sorry but placing the Auto train at B tier is a disgrace. It has great, reliable service that even though is only has two stops being Washington DC and Orlando, you can drive to places like Miami or Tampa and Philly or New York since you have your car with you.
The Texas Eagle is just the Sunset Limited between LA and San Antonio. It's on time is bad.
It's on time rating is gained at the expense of the passengers. When I took it from the West Coast to Chicago it did not wait for the LA portion. We got stuck on a bus for 6 hours and than a waiting room for another 6 to catch up with the 'on time' train. We ended up two hours late anyhow because a tornado blocked the tracks for a short time, not Amtrak's fault.
I feel like crescent is one of the Amtrak Lines that could be upgraded to High Speed
Not going to lie. I disagree with a bunch of these, but each their own!
11:41 where is this from? Gets me everytime? 😂
Common, the Southwest Chief clearly deserves higher than a C tier, at least an A. Yes, it doesn't have a good on time performance, but it still has the traditional dining and lounge car and the views from the train deserve better credit than almost everyone gives them. It's like you're on another planet.
carolhinian where??
NEC Routes actually go as far as Norfolk and Roanoke
So true
6:19 Charlottesville Virginia! ( Come on narrator...Not West Virginia🤦🏻♂️)
Bro, he just made some text saying Charlottesville, VA
You should as least put the Southwest Chief above the Empire Builder because the chief gives you a full day of scenery to enjoy and the builder only give like an evening and morning of scenery to enjoy and besides that, the scenery is just flat and dull.
this is very scare, my cat sad
Williams Michael Jones Melissa Brown Michelle
Don't mispronounce Appalachia or I'll throw an apple atcha!
lol you do realize most of Amtrak is just land cruises only 2 lines are somewhat usable. The state supported routes are laughably bad and LD are blatantly just tourist attractions as they are globally. There are no useful services enjoyable yes useful no.
This is just factually untrue. Many people riding in coach class are a very diverse group of people usually just trying to get from one destination to another. I highly suggest riding long distance in coach to see for yourself.
After a single greyhound or flixbus that distance, anyone would be glad to take Amtrak long distance.
Have you ever looked up ridership levels for each train route? These trains do serve a legitimate need for travel where little to no flights exist in some places, especially Montana and North Dakota on the Empire Builder route. Sure they may not be as fast as a plane, but I think MOST if not all Amtrak passengers know they are at the mercy of possible freight train delays that could be for a few hours. And of course Amtrak isn't as fast as flying, expect for possibly their limited number of high speed corridors(northeast corridor, Keystone service from Harrisburg-NYC, etc).
Though if you think Amtrak is bad, then you probably never have ridden Greyhound/Flixbus(now the same company, as Flixbus bought Greyhound).