What is it like to ride on a train?

Question

I'm thinking of taking an Amtrak ride this week from Portland down to the Bay Area. This will be my first train ride. What are some people's experiences with trains? Is it a fairly smooth ride? Is it possible to sleep with all of the stops it makes? Thanks for any advice you can give.

Answer 1

It's fun!  Enjoy!

Answer 2

The Coast Starlight is the best train on Amtrak.  Nice pick for your first ride!

Definitely a luxury ride, and you'll be riding with a lot of luxury passengers. There's always a few "basic transportation" kind of folks that camp in their seat the whole trip and eat their own food, but on that train!? They don't know what they're missing

Move around the train a lot.  Spend 1/3 of your waking hours in the lounge car enjoying the view.  If you're a first class passenger, you have your own lounge car also, spend time in both :) preferably yours during the wine and cheese.

Eat in the dining car.  It's the best dining car on Amtrak, you'll enjoy some dishes unique to the Coast Starlight.  They'll also seat you with other people, engage them and be friendly, they most certainly will be!

Read the route guide and follow along.  

Pack so that moving around the train is no big deal.  For instance have a very small bag for your 'Pod, cell phone and valuables, so you don't sweat leaving your carry-on at your seat.

Now, here's a very important part.  Overnight trains in America can run LATE.  Very late.  They can lose 10% of their running time and sometimes more.  I've been on 50-hour transcon trips that fell down 5 hours.  Yours is a 24 hour run (from Seattle) so figure on 2-3 hours late.  Just plan for it, accept it, and don't be bothered when it happens, so it doesn't take the fun out of a really fun trip.

Congratulations! Great ride and I hope you make the best of it.

Answer 3

kind of bumpy, but its not too bad

Answer 4

it's ok

Answer 5

Check it out by putting your ear on the rail..............

Answer 6

Trains are very noisy and rock a lot but don't let that stop you from taking a great trip. I traveled from VA to NY, from LA to Sacramento and from Tulsa to San Francisco and loved the scenery and the people I met on the trains.  

Have a great trip.

Answer 7

VERY PEACEFUL AND CALM WITH SOME SHAKES IN BETWEEN. it's a sweet ride, u will def like it!

Answer 8

I'm not really sure how riding as a passenger is but as a BNSF Conductor the cabs of the Dash 9 is the most comfortable. The cab is pretty quite for the most part. The bets thing is the view, you can see everything coming at you and from pretty high up to.

Answer 9

It's easy to fall asleep on a train, but then again I've been on many of them.  Since you've never been on a train it might be harder for you to sleep.  Just bring a book or puzzle game or something to keep you occupied.  It's fun talking to the other passengers too, if you're not too shy.

Answer 10

It is Fun, exciting!, noisy, fantastic! great experience! its like your going back in time. Everything goes super fast and when your in a tunnel everything black. Its awesome.

Answer 11

IT's sooooooo much fun. Yeah it's comfortable. Kind of like a plane. You can sleep and it's very quiet if there's not lots of people around you. :)

Answer 12

i love to ride the train!! its a lot of fun , it rocks, gently as it goes along the tracks, just watch your bag when you put it over head, some times mean people , when they get off, will take your bag, very sad they do things like that, but it happens every where, on the train you can walk around, & go to the dining car & eat, & if your a smoker, the have a smoking car also, so take the train & have a nice trip!!!

Answer 13

Very smooth ride....if you get a window seat you get to see the view of different places while listening to your MP3 player or the music they provide you.  You can also sleep thru it all if you want to....some trains make everyone get off when it stops.....be sure to ask about this.

Answer 14

I recomend to you to travel by railroad...its amazing.

The last year I took Amtrak from Vancouver, Canada to Seatte, USA....it was a wonderfull and amazing travel, cheap and funny....there are a bar, you can see movies and the passenger go in silence, so you can sleep.

Answer 15

The seats are uncomfortable so you can't sleep.The price of food on the train is really high so bring some of your own.The ride is smooth enough though.If you can manage to sleep in

the uncomfortable seats you can sleep but don't sleep through your own stop.

Answer 16

I think it's ok I suppose...

I was on one from Prague to Brno in Czech Republic..

Without going into the details, it was late, the train was old, and it must have made 20 stops before we got to our destination.

Answer 17

fun :]

and ya if your tired you wil sleep

Answer 18

I have taken a train from Saratoga, NY to Atlanta, Georgia and back-2 times. (26 hr. trip one way) The first was in my own cabin with paid meals so it was quite a comfy way to travel! the second was in coach.....The Horror! people are cramped together, the seats suck! you can't sleep at all, the conductor is always making annoying announcments, terrible!....I cannot recommend a cabin enough if your traveling for an extended period of time. It costs more, yes.. but DEFINITALLY worth it.

Answer 19

The best ride your neighbors' tax dollars can subsidize.

Answer 20

Its very smooth and relaxing. Better than a plane in my opinion