Auto trip

[cessna 310]

I'm looking for info on some good train watch spots in NE, CA(SF to LA),AZ, NM, TX, LA.

I'm also looking for some good "beanerys" with local flavor along my trip.

I'm going to be returning aboard the Amtrak "Silver Meteor" with a roomette, looking for any  rider's experiences or comments.

The time frame is mid Sept to mid Oct 

[travelingengineer]

Unless you are absolutely set on having just an Amtrak roomette as your accommodation, I would recommend upgrading to a full bedroom.  Your post here indicated that you were "looking for any rider's experiences or comments," presumably on this subject.  As I have posted elsewhere before, the bedroom has amenities that make LD traveling so much more pleasant.

Bedrooms and roomettes are all still in the same sleeping car(s), with the same complimentary meals, newspapers, beverages, etc.  But, the bedroom gives you a great deal more privacy, far more room (obviously) even when the bed is in use, can easily see out both sides of the train with bedroom drape open, a full and enclosed bathroom (shower and toilet), sink and mirror with lots of towels, lots of lights and electrical outlets, and so forth.  Plus, a friend can accompany you at just coach fare, using the fold-down upper bunk.

Sadly, I have often seen roomette passengers having to use the aisle to complete their dressing in the morning, before the beds were put away.  And, sharing a common bathroom with umpteen others can be very inconvenient (especially at night) and often quite unsettling with poor cleanliness, after a day or so of use.

Yes, bedrooms cost more than a roomette, but well worth it if this trip of yours is sort of an infrequent experience. 

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Barstow CA is a very good spot, especially from the station area.  Traffic (BNSF and UP) is heavy and shade is available nearby.  The Beep and a UP SD40-2 are on display near the station building.

[travelingengineer]

Here are a couple of CA railroad museum-type recommendations, to wit:

http://www.csrmf.org/  which is the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento CA.

http://sdrm.org/ which is in Campo CA, with a museum of sorts, a whole lot of stored RR cars (in the dry desert climate), at least one steam locomotive under rebuild, and a short tourist train ride.

[CShaveRR]

Hit The Plaza, across the road from the tracks in Gallup, New Mexico, west of the downtown. You wouldn't think about going into this place without a recommendation, and I've just recommended it, particularly for breakfast. They have a bottle of Tabasco sauce available for every person who comes, in,not just every table. Train pix on the walls, some from big-name train shooters.

[Bob-Fryml]

Cessna:-

Could you be a little more specific about your transportation arrangements?  Do you plan to drive anywhere along the way?  How is it that you will be going through "NE" (Nebraska)?

[cessna 310]

Thank you for the information but seeing as I will be traveling alone the bedroom upgrade is not worth the cost.

According to the Amtrak website virtual tour of a roomette it has its own toilet and sink within the roomette

Cessna 310

[cessna 310]

I'll be traveling I-70 to Norh Platte to visit "The Golden Spike Tower" at Bailey yard.

[cessna 310]

Thanks for the suggestion but we will not be traveling that far north in NM

Cessna 310

[travelingengineer]

Am not sure where you got the idea that Amtrak roomettes contain "its own toilet and sink."  That is not what its website details, to wit:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Accommodation_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1241210576173

Regarding cost of bedroom:  Be aware that bedrooms (and roomettes) are priced at five (5) different rates, depending on when and how you reserve.  Plus, one can often upgrade with the on-board conductor, space available.

Do not reserve your sleeping car accommodation on-line, for you are quoted, and therefore get, probably the most expensive rate.  Talk to an Amtrak agent at [phone].  Make them aware that you know that the same bedroom (or roomette) can often be had at any of the five rates.  Request the cheapest rate then available.  (This often depends on when Amtrak marketing releases the accommodation at cheaper rates - usually based on last-minute availability, season, or other strategy.)  It helps to know the five rates codes, so you know which you are getting (it will be printed on your ticket also).  More importantly, you can knowledgeably communicate with the agent (on the telephone) that you know the rate codes, and then work with her to get the currently-available cheapest rate, perhaps requiring only a slight change in departure dates.  If you want to know the rate codes, send me a PM, and I'll clue you in.

[CShaveRR]

cessna 310

I'll be traveling I-70 to Norh Platte to visit "The Golden Spike Tower" at Bailey yard.

I-80 will get you closer to North Platte than I-70, and U.S. 30 will keep you closer to the trains along the way than I-80. We've had lots of threads in the past about good places to eat in Nebraska along this route.

cessna 310

Thanks for the suggestion but we will not be traveling that far north in NM

Cessna 310

Okay--you're sticking pretty much to the Sunset Route. I took for granted that you'd be going along the ex-ATSF Transcon, which probably has more trains. Somebody else will have to help you along that line, as I haven't traveled it, either by train or by car.

[travelingengineer]

"cessna 310":  As with "CShaveRR," I can't quite figure out where, other than North Platte NE [Nebraska], you wish to travel, and by what conveyance.  You can certainly access North Platte via I70 and I80, but I can't figure out your choice of Amtrak route Silver Meteor.  So far as I know, it is not a present Amtrak route, per Amtrak's website list of current routes:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/Page/1237405732511/1237405732511

 Are you contemplating going on the Sunset Limited, which originates in Los Angeles CA and terminates (at present) in New Orleans LA ?  If so, I can give you information on that route, or you can get some of it by clicking on that route name at the above URL.

It happens that I shortly will be going on the Sunset Limited myself !

[cessna 310]

I spoke with an Amtrak ticket rep and she assured me that my train, The Silver Meteor, was a Viewliner and that there was a commode and sink in my accomadation.

She told me the Superliner roomettes on western routes had no such amenities

Again thank you for your concern

Cessna 310

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t

[cessna 310]

 The "Silver Meteor" is the train I'm taking from MIA to BOS, at the conclusion of my auto trip. Viewliner service to Penn station and Amtrak regional to Boston. All of the journey is by auto I-80 to North Platte and beyond to points west, southwest and back along I-10 which I assume is the "Sunset Route" to Louisianna and then along the Gulf coast to Florida. 

Thanks

Cessna 310

 

[travelingengineer]

Ah, you are quite correct, "Cessna 310."  There is a Silver Meteor train, which is on what Amtrak calls its Silver Service route (on its website and in its Timetable).  Thanks for your help.  And, yes, Viewliners do have a non-enclosed toilet and sink.  Quite different from the Superliner roomettes.  Now I know, thanks to you !

[mudchicken]

Hmmm...I-70 goes through Kansas, I-80 goes through Nebraska  

cessna 310

I'll be traveling I-70 to Norh Platte to visit "The Golden Spike Tower" at Bailey yard.

[CShaveRR]

So, it would appear, you're driving from Boston west, south, and back (south) east? No stops east of North Platte? (I'm thinking Fostoria, Chicagoland, Rochelle.)

Regardless, I'd still recommend taking U.S. 30 in Nebraska, at least between Grand Island and somewhere west, possibly as far as Cheyenne. You'd be right along the UP Overland Route for most of that distance, and that's an experience that can't be duplicated anywhere else in the country.

[cessna 310]

If I was my travel companion were a railfan all routes would be along the rights of way but alas not.

We will be stopping in Sacramento and going to the Cal State RR Museum and also Tehacapi and Cajon on our journey  up I-15 through The Streets of Bakersfield  toward NV

Thanks for your help

Cessna 310

 

[cessna 310]

I had a senior moment I will be going I-80 to North Platte after a stop at Iowa 80 truck stop

Thanks for your help

Cessna 310

[CShaveRR]

Nonetheless, a trip using U.S. 30 between Grand Island and North Platte will not be that costly in terms of time, might give you a good place or two to think about dining, and is guaranteed to make a railfan out of all but the most hard-hearted of travel companions!

[Mookie]

Plan at least 4 hours at the Spike in North Platte.  They have comfy seats, lots of windows and an excellent view.  You will definitely lose track of time, even someone not all that interested in "trains".