Hello friends, I had such a good time on The Empire Builder this year that I'm thinking about doing it again.......not on The Empire Builder but on Amtrak out of San Francisco. It rolls through Colorado and Kansas and ought to be very scenic. Does anyone have any insights or experience with that train? Should I travel west or east? [ 10. October 2002, 19:51: Message edited by: Railfan462 ]
I took the California Zephyr (CZ) out of SF to Omaha Nebraska a few years ago and founf it to be a wonderful trip. As far as which direction to travel, I don't remember a significant difference either way. I do recommend going in winter though. I went in Febuary and in addition to the beautiful snow covered scenery, we also saw probably a half dozen rotary plows out on the line.
I've only ridden the zephyr from Sacramento to Reno--but it is one of the most scenic legs of the route to Chicago. I highly recommend it. My only problem with eastbound/westbound difference (which probably wouldn't matter if you travelled the whole route anyway) was that the train going eastbound--just stocked and cleaned in Oakland--was very clean and the snackbar full. Westbound, though, out of Reno, the train was understocked (the menu in the lounge was very meager) and you could tell some places were in need of cleaning. Maybe they've fixed this problem since I rode last... But of course, the train is the ONLY way to travel... Derek
Either way you ride is good, 41 tunnels between Denver & Salt Lake City inc Moffat. Going over Donner Pass and Big Ten Curve isalso Neat. Have fun!
A lot depends on what time of year you're going, needless to say summer affords many more hours of lite than winter. If it was me, I'd opt for the westbound train.
Thanks alot!! We had been to Amtrak's site but I didn't see the map an stuff till you pointed it out. Thanks again. Mr. Train P.S. end of May first of June
Wife and I rode #5 (CZ) from Chicago to Oakland(bus to SFO) in 1999. Deluxe BR accomodations, food was great, train was running about 6-8 hrs late due to the courtesy of my employer(BNSF) having put a coal train on the ground at Creston. We had to detour over the UP(C & NW lines) to Omaha and then rejoin the route. The upside was that we got to see some sights that normally would have been traversed in darkness,Or near darkness eg. the Humboldt Sinks, Great Salt Lake. Got to SFO very,very late in the evening but had confirmed hotel space as part of our package. Great train, great ride aside from the delay, good food, Fantastic scenery! CT
Thanks everybody, for all that input. Tentative plans would have me travelling east from San Francisco to Chicago and then on to New York. I am concerned though, that Amtrak doesn't discontinue these long distance trains.
