Can I still take a train trip cross country from the East Coast?

Question

To somewhere out west? How much would it cost, roughly?

Answer 1

Sure can, as long as by "west" you don't mean "Hawaii".

You got three choices from the northeast to Chicago

- Lake Shore Limited  (NYC-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland, fast)

- Capitol Limited  (DC-Pittsburgh-Toledo)

- Cardinal (NYC-DC-Kentucky-Cincinatti-Indy, slow/scenic)

And four more choices from Chicago to the west coast.

- Empire Builder (Minneapolis-Montana-Seattle/Portland)

- California Zephyr (Denver-Salt Lake-San Francisco)

- Southwest Chief (KC-Albequerque-L.A., very fast)

- Texas Eagle (Chicago-Dallas-El Paso-L.A., slow)

The farther west you get, the nicer the trains get.  This is not your NYC commuter train!

Cost depends a lot on booking time. $300-800 round trip.  http://www.amtrak.com/  Figure $40 a day for meals, more for alcohol.   You can get sleepers for about $100 per person per night additional, and those include meals.

Answer 2

yes you can.  it is pretty cool although very slow if you are used to flying.  

I took the train from Chicago to the east coast.  Slept in a sleeper car and everything.  

Check out Amtrak.com  http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentSer...

Answer 3

Absolutely.  And, I would recommend it if you can afford it.

Answer 4

Amtrak's  "Crescent"  connects New York City and New Orleans and makes several stops in Virginia, as well as some stops in the Carolinas and a couple of stops in Georgia. Of course, you would have to spend the night in New Orleans before catching the "Sunset Limited" to Los Angeles.