America's LONGEST Train Journey! The Texas Eagle!
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- This week, we take a look at America's longest single train journey, the Texas Eagle!
Date of Travel: March 2022
Class of Travel: Roomette (First Class)
Rolling Stock: GE Genisis P42DC with Superliner I & II
Operator: Amtrak
Service type: Long Distance Train
Train Number: 422 Texas Eagle
Origin: Los Angeles Union Station, California, United States of America
Destination: Chicago Union Station, Illinois, United States of America
Cost of Ticket: $1,350 (£1,115, €1,295)
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Dylan as a British person has been on more American trains than 99.9% of Americans.
Don't forget his partner in crime Ms Dylan
we already know what's wrong with our service & we choose not to use it.
Proud to be part of the 0.1%.
ENGlish person. ffs.
@@thearmchairspacemanOG You can be both British and English.
THANK YOU, I enjoy the trips, I'm disabled, so you two are my eyes on the world. No way you can imagine the sheer delight I get from your fine trip reports. Again, Thank You
Glad to hear you enjoy them 😁
Disabled people travel all the time. I'm disabled and it doesn't mean I have to stay home. I think you meant "poor", not disabled.
@@foobarmaximus3506not all the time! How often do you see a person on a wheelchair on a train? Depends where you are though, I'm from UK and accessibility varies.
18:05 burrito lady has been there forever! She used to do that at the Albuquerque stop but I believe Amtrak kicked her out. She then popped up at El Paso and has been doing that for years. Popular among veteran Amtrak riders
As Tony the Tiger said.... czcams.com/video/AT9GuLK7rME/video.html
How long ago was she in Albuquerque? I had no idea about that. Very nice lady and very good burritos 🌯.
At 21:42 you mention the Colorado River. There are two rivers named "Colorado": the one shown in the video is local to Texas, eventually emptying into the Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico). The other Colorado River on the west side of the Continental Divide is the one that goes through the Grand Canyon in Arizona & eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean (Gulf of California).
I figured someone would beat me on this one. The “real” Colorado goes through my town on its way to The Gulf of California (assuming there’s any water left). Most mornings I bike for a couple miles beside it, a peaceful way to star the day.
This was also confusing for me the first time I visited Texas 🙂
River names are not necessarily unique across the US, as the other comments make clear about the "Colorado". Love your Amtrak videos.
There is a Red River on the Texas-Oklahoma border as well as a Red River on the Minnesota-North Dakota and South Dakota border... I am sure there are others with the same names too...
I didn't know this.
You know, as a Canadian I am super-jealous of all the cool names America gives it's long-distance passenger trains. Names like Spokane Flyer, Southwest Chief, Silver Star, California Zephyr, Sunset Limited, Empire Builder, Gulf Wynd, Coast Starlight. But . . . Texas Eagle!?! That's gotta be the best one yet! I'd like to take that trip, at least from Chicago to Dallas, just to say that I've been on the coolest train in America.
Dylan, great travel info and video. One correction; the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, is NOT the river that flows through the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River in Austin flows mostly in Texas, whereas the much larger Colorado River that drains much of western U.S.(and flows through the Grand Canyon) is completely different from that Colorado River you saw in Austin.
You said it right! No real Chicagoan says Willis Tower… it will forever be Sears Tower for us! ❤
When at Los Angeles and using the lounge there is also Red Cap service available and takes you right to your assigned coach/sleeper, I'm on a cane and it is a very long walk from lounge to train as well as from the front entrance of the station. Have been using the Southwest Chief since 2013 and the journey is well worth the time between LA and Chicago. Only took the Texas Eagle once in 2016 and we were bussed from San Antonio to Fort Worth as the tracks were flooded between due to heavy rain. Oh yes, and the bus blew a tire as well. It is always an "Adventure with Amtrak" but their personal are great and made up for the 'detour'.
Unfortunately not all of Amtrak stations have red cap services, just the large ones in large cities... Most of Amtrak stations are not staffed by Amtrak, much less by anyone...
Hopefully you have the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada in your plans. In addition to the great scenery and service, the spiral loops inside the mountain are a miracle of engineering.
Great video Dylan. The LA train station was built in the tradition of the famous California Missions built during the time when Spain controlled this part of North America.
The missions were pretty much for the forced conversion of native people to Catholicism and were places of torture, forced labour, and death. Many native cultures were completely wiped out by the disease brought and the brutality of the missions. Not a legacy worth celebrating with something as wholesome as trains, but a history that should be remembered.
@@noeonoohno4219 As if there wasn't an inquisition in Europe...
@@ronclark9724 hot take: theocracy and imperialism are both bad
Dylan, you're warming up nicely towards THE epic rail journey of North America: the 4 night "Canadian" of VIA Rail Canada, running from Toronto right through to Vancouver on the west coast, and all in 1955-built Budd stainless steel coaches, sleepers, dining cars, and scenic dome cars. I've done the trip 3 times and hope to do it again within a year.
Its on my bucket list finally coming in September... Should be a enjoyable journey...
Bucket list item for me!
This trip really brightened my Friday. Thank you!
There is something quite special about US rail travel. I love it. El Paso is definitely worth a visit if you have time. It’s a fascinating city with an insane culture and history.
I prefer San Antonio with the downtown river walk and preserved missions...
LA Union station is amazing as it's a blend of Art Deco, Modern, and Mission style architecture. It's an amazing and beautiful structure. I don't think it looks like a church at all!
It's a blending of architectures. The three constituent railroads were the Southern Pacific (which tended to use Mission style architecture), the Santa Fe (which used Southwestern pueblo style architecture), and the Union Pacific, which used as little architecture as possible 😂 (although the UP did embrace art deco to a degree around the time of the Streamliners, in the mid-1930s).
Brilliant video,enjoyed it from start to finish. Thank You.
I am so glad you showed a brief clip of the Mineola train station. Living in the area, that was where I took my first train trip. Such a neat little stop and city with its sense of history during the heyday of rail.
As someone who rides Amtrak a lot I love hearing your comments as an "outsider". They are usually really spot on. A few comments of my own, the reason the flags in Texas are bigger is because everything in Texas has to be bigger. The state is bigger, the flags are bigger, the egos are bigger. Just ask a Texan. As for meals, I know you can get the traditional menu breakfast delivered to your room and I understand that if you are pushy enough (or tip enough) you can get lunch and dinner delivered as well. Finally, an hour and a half delay is pretty good! My trip in June was 6 hours and 26 minutes late into Chicago from Albuquerque. My worst was about 10 hours late on the Empire Builder from Portland to Chicago. We didn't even arrive on the right date! 🤣 The joys of long-haul train travel. Keep these videos coming!
Two jokes about how big things are in Texas:
1. Texas-style insult: "Big hat, no cattle"
2. Person one: "My ranch is so big it takes me two days to drive the fences around it" Person two: "Yup. I had a truck like that once."
I once had a 24 hour delay on the California Zephyr. It was so bad that they ran outta food and had to restock in Salt Lake City. Apparently a Freighter got a broken axel going thru the Rockies and we were stuck right before the Moffat Tunnel. Instead of a 48 hour trip it ended up being 72 but at least I woke up with an amazing view.
@@tspryaviation I have had a Amtrak train cancelled due to track flooding and another train delayed by a tornado warning for an hour...
What an epic trip! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks very much for the video. It makes me feel very nostalgic for when I was visiting the US for a week a month & managed to arrange both LA to nearly Chicago on the former train via Las Vegas / Salt Lake City / Denver and Seattle to LA on the Coast Starlight (in several pieces). The whole experience feels very stuck in the 80s/90s. I should go back some time.
The video was great even if the journey was somewhat disappointing. The more northerly Southwest Chief offers much more spectacular scenery and the downgrade in lounge car and meals seems unforgivable when you're paying over a thousand dollars. I love these long journeys and hope you do trans-Canada and trans-Australia someday.
I'm hoping to at some point!
@@DylansTravelReports I hope you get a chance to ride _The Canadian_, but if you thought the Texas Eagle was expensive ... prepare for severe sticker shock with VIA Rail Canada.
@@nicholasrusson8978 The UK is buying energy power to run a train overnight less than 500 miles, Amtrak is buying energy power to run this train nearly 3,000 miles over 3 nights and 3 days... Fares reflect that reality... I find it amusing that Europeans think 100 miles is a long distance, in America 100 miles is a short distance... However, if you desire to go this distance for much less moolah, ride in coach...
@@ronclark9724 Ron, I'm Canadian. I understand the _reasons_ for the cost differences. I was just pointing out to Dylan that if he finds the occasional "expensive" train trip in Europe to be a bad value, then travelling from Toronto to Vancouver on "The Canadian" in the cheapest coach seat would be Cdn$909 as of this morning.
@@nicholasrusson8978 I look at it as every night on the train in a sleeper is one less night at a just as expensive hotel without included meals. If you desired to cross the nation for much less, ride in coach... I am sure a VIA sleeper bedroom is more expensive than that coach fare... Europeans can't comprehend time and distance properly... LA to San Antonio to Dallas to Little Rock to St. Louis, to Chicago is a long distance by Google highway map of nearly 2700 miles. London to Moscow is 1800 miles. How many more British people fly that distance rather than ride a train to Moscow, much less another 900 miles?
I took the Texas Eagle from San Antonio to Chicago way back in July, 2009. I had a roomette, which was comfortable, and found it reasonably pleasant; the food was okay, like you said, nothing to write home about. It took us 30 hours to get to Chicago, or it would've if we hadn't ran over this car just on the outskirts near Jolliet (I watched it happen, I was in my car, near the front, the driver drove around the gate attempting to beat the train across the tracks, of course the train won). We were almost 5 hours delayed, so I missed my connection to the Lake Sore Limited to New York! Interesting trip, I may do it all the way from Chicago to LA next year. Well done Dylan!
Amtrak can usually get you a coach seat the next day and put you up overnight in a hotel in Chicago, but there is no guarantee you will get a sleeper accommodation you may have planned and booked earlier... With all forms of transportation, I recommend to plan your journey to arrive a day early, if not two... Cancellations and delays happen with buses, trains, cruises, and airlines... Frankly, I plan a layover in Chicago anyway as I desire a sleeper roomette, I can NOT sleep in coach... I find myself asking myself why don't I spend a day and a night at many towns and cities on my long train journeys. Well, I do now with planned layovers at any small town station if only to spend a day fishing at their local fishing hole... Layovers add spice to any train journey...
Thank you Dylan !
Thank you!
Enjoyed the trip Dylan! It was certainly good to see the Trinity Railway Express, I rode that train 5 times a week for 10 years. I lived in Ft.Worth and worked in Dallas. I’m now retired but would still like to do Amtrak.
Great video...thanks for sharing the experience Dylan 😎🇺🇸👀👍🏽🎉🎉🎉
I was looking forward to seeing the menu link that you mentioned. Aside from that I credit the two of you for what seems like a very arduous journey with boring scenery and two days of what may be microwave meals. That makes you travelers deluxe, taking one for the team.
During the pandemic all of Amtrak's sleeper trains had the freestyle dining preprepared meals. Unfortunately Amtrak has only so many cars in their fleet. You just can't wave a wand to create more cars overnight to do long deserved refurbishments for a fleet approaching 50 years in age.... Even with Amtrak Joe, Amtrak is NOT buying a new fleet of sleeper cars to replace the Superliner fleet....
Another excellent video Dylan; very interesting and informative 👍
Thanx for the great trip. I quite often see the Texas Eagle #22 pass thru Big Sandy TX and Texarkana , AR
WOW! that WAS a long train journey, well done! Great vid as usual.... Thank You. 🖖🤙🤘👌✌👍
Hi Dylan! I realy love your vídeo about AMERICAN SYSTEM TANSPORTATIONS. Great job you have done so far. Congratulations Dylan. Your lovely British speech is amazing. It's sounds good to me. Thank you so much for this wonderful job.💚🌎🤗💓🇺🇸💛💋💞🤦
That's very interesting about the food. Good to know. Because I would have thought it would have been all the same. Too bad that. Thank you for the info. Really enjoy your channel
I really enjoy the channel. Watched most of the items. You can tell you are from West Yorkshire and the Cleckhuddersfax area. Chapel! I've seen smaller cathedrals. Call it a church at least!. Keep up the good work. Highly enjoyable.
Thanks Dylan great video super interesting 👍
Wonderful trip report.
I so agree with you about the Southwest Chief being better! My mom and I took the Texas Eagle back from AZ after having taken the Chief west. Glad we had the experience but will always recommend and opt for the Chief!
Santa Monica was my favorite hangout spot when I was a kid. It was so cool to see it again.😊
Great trip report
Thanks!
Another great trip report Dylan.
Very cool that you filmed the Texrail Stadler train.
Stadler DMU, not a EMU...
Excellent video !
Before you get on a late night train at LA's Union Station, you should have eaten across the street at Olvera St. Both ends of the street have fabulous taquito stands.
Oh, sorry to see your head exploded.
I think that the roometts are perfect for one person or for two people that are REALLY IN LOVE 😍!!!
thank you
Great video as always Dylan! Surprised the missus let you get away with the haircut, as a fellow mad hair guy, I feel your pain 😂😂
I live in Tucson, AZ! You’re right about it being hot here in Arizona. I’ve taken Amtrak from Tucson to Seattle, changing trains in LA. It was a great trip! I rode in Coach, because it was cheaper. Scenery was beautiful too, especially in Northern California and Oregon. Great video as always!
How is it in coach? I’ll be making the same trip in November and also booked coach
Rode west on the Sunset Ltd from Houston to LA back in 2004 - brilliant experience - excellent service onboard. Even the delays due to UP's prioritising freight were at night, so we got more daylight travel.
Great video Dylan !!! While I think the "Southwest Chief " is a great train ride the "Texas Eagle" /Sunset LTD" is a great train ride which I will be doing in August !!! Can't wait...:):):)
This month I will be riding the complete route of the "Sunset LTD." That will fill in that route for me!!! :):):)
Thank you for sharing this with us...:):):)
It wouldn't be surprising if one of the occasional hills in Arizona was actually called 'Occasional Hill'.
The California Zephyr is well and truly on my bucket list.
1:50 the original ticket counters. I did that a few years ago. I had a blast.
Love the vid. I have taken this train in coach from Chicago to El Paso. Shame it now only has the flex dining between Chicago and San Antonio and is limited to sleeper passengers. I am taking the South West Chief sleeper in Feb to LA amongst others on my trip. I plan to take the Sunset Limited at some point. I hope they restore the link to Florida at some point.
Amtrak has to pull some cars from operations to do their long deserved refurbishments. Even under Amtrak Joe, Amtrak is NOT buying new cars to replace the aging Superliner fleet approaching 50 years in age... The Texas Eagle (north of San Antonio) and Capitol Limited shared train sets have been targeted for Diner and Sightseeing Lounge service cuts until the entire fleet has been refurbished. Obviously, the other more scenic routes have priority for both the diners and sightseeing lounges... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as I see beauty in the desert many don't....
Great video'
Point of Information: The Colorado River in Texas is NOT the same Colorado River that runs thru Arizona. Hence, the Colorado River in Texas could not have carved the Grand Canyon. I'm from Arizona and this was the first I heard of a Colorado River in Texas.
Interesting video as always Dylan. Not sure if I’d do this one, looked hard work tbh.
Will be taking this train next month between Dallas and San Antonio. Have never ridden Amtrak and wanted to try it out.
Colorado River, major river of North America, rising in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S., and flowing generally west and south for 1,450 miles (2,330 kilometres) into the Gulf of California in northwestern Mexico. The Colorado River in Texas was not responsible for the Grand Canyon. Nice video though.
27:50 it’s also possible to have at seat meals with traditional dining
Looks like an amazing journey Dylan but all that soda, enchiladas and sausages I’m sure glad I wasn’t sharing a room with you🤣🤣💨💨
(Apologies if somebody's already posted this) The Bedrooms can sleep 2 people, or 3 people if 2 of them are very thin, but I think they only let you book 2 people in a room at a time. They can, however, seat 3 people comfortably, and 4 people slightly less comfortably.
EDIT: Also, interestingly, the Superliner sleepers with mechanical push-button controls as opposed to your touch-button ones actually have an announcement volume dial.
The area first filmed at Union Station was the original ticketing area. I remember using them many times as a kid.
My grandmother’s house was right next to a Texas rail line that had those super-long freight trains all the time; our primary form of entertainment when I was 5 or 6 was trying to count the number of cars.
I topped off at 148 cars, plus 6 locomotives. Yours?
Austin definitely worth a cultural visit. Loved the music scene pre pandemic. Oh, you missed a trivia opportunity about Abraham Lincoln while passing through Springfield, IL. And it’s Joe-Lee-et, not Juliet. If you’ve watched the movie The Blues Brothers, it’s where John Belushi’s character “Joliet Jake” was incarcerated.
If you think LA Union Station looks like a chapel, then you got it. It's called Mission Style architecture because it pays homage to the Spanish Missions that the Catholic Church spread all up and down the California coast when it was Mexico, to convert the natives.
Also, the Colorado River in Texas is not "that" Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. It looks like our redundant naming plan to confuse foreign visitors is working well. ;)
I have watched the Amtrak's refueling on the webcam which is on the museum at Tucson. Great to see a different angle. A massive journey, not sure I could cope with that long a journey. However it is a fascinating video and trip. Those locos are massive!
You hit the nail on its head. When the US government itself chose to fly the mail long distances and truck the mail short distances more than 50 years ago, rail advocates should have taken notice. Surely, most passengers would too as well... And do... Hours instead of days...
This is a gorgeous trip that we can travel along with you. We delightfully do it vicariously and are thrilled. I don't mind not seeing you (but would be nice). Other vblogs as high end as they can possibly be, are recorded by a guy with a ball cap turned backwards and holes in his jeans. I would never travel with a bum. We want an exciting first class adventure. This is special. It is not special unless we make it special. (Just like Christmas. It's not Christmas unless we make it Christmas.) Anyways, an exciting, wonderful trip. My complements to you. A great job.
Interesting video, thank you. I love your accent, but just want to clarify for all non UK accent travelers Joliet, IL is not pronounced Juliet, it’s pronounced Joe-liet. Nice to see the downtown minor league ballpark from the window.
It really does look like a church,I hope you had a quick prayer 🙏😂😂🙏
Excellent Enterprising Endeavor 🤝 Hearty Greetings from India 🇮🇳
Thank you! I always enjoy your reports; American AmTrack rides are in my future... I enjoyed your bounces on a couple of locality names; I'm sure I would do worse in GB... Texarkana has a hard "R"--Tex-R-Cana and Joliet, Il isn't very jolly. It's Jo (long O) le-et. Come to Ohio, we have some names I still don't get correct...! Keep up the good works!
FWIW, in-room dining (brought by the attendant) is available on ALL sleeper accommodations -- it's available for traditional as well as flexible dining.
Living in Florida all my life, I actually find the desert landscapes of New Mexico and West Texas to be beautiful as it's very different than what I'm used to in my homestate.
As for Amtrak's new flexible dining, I noticed the UK's LNER has recently done something similar with their First class catering. Depending on the service, they now have Deli (the same food as in their Buffet car), Dish (similar to Amtrak's flexible dining food), and Dine (the traditional dining car) menus. From what I read, GreaterAnglia seems to have cut back on their InterCity first class catering as well.
Unfortunately the airlines have shown railways how to lower their food costs with preprepared meals... Not having a railroad union wage diner staff reduces payroll considerably...
Nice video
What a Great trip. Agree, Southwest chief is still the best of train between Chicago and LA. I think next you should try the Sunset Limited from New Orleans.
That is the same train. The sunset limited is connected to the Texas eagle to San Antonio than it splits there with the observation car and dinning car go to New Orleans and some other section goes to Chicago.
Definitely WORTH IT even IF it's out of necessity.
Some California information that you didn't grow up with:
The Franciscan friars built missions along the California coast, each a one-day's donkey ride from each other. California school children learn state history in 4th or 5th grade, and build a
papier-mâché mission as class project. The Los Angeles train station reflects the 'mission' look. The interior is a classic for its 1930s era, and has been featured in movies, TV shows and commercials. You are only a short walk from the station to the mission that gives Los Angeles its name, La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles.
@1:55...the few small shops and cafes are in competition with the abundance of places to eat and drink within a short distance of the station. There are so many interesting eating places in the area (Phillipe's, many places on Olvera Street, an Asian shopping center nearby, and others), that the station only needs to provide basics.
I did this route 4 years ago and it's not the most scenic but that's not really the point. If you want to get a flavour of all of America you need to see the different scenery, if all the scenery was like the Rockies you wouldn't appreciate it. I guess most people don't ride this route end to end, but like you I did it because it was there. Whilst most western routes don't have WiFi, when I rode the Southwest Chief, my carriage was WiFi enabled and the car attendant gave me the password. Keep up the reports, I enjoy them all
All the roomettes that I occupied on my recent multi-train trip had P.A. volume controls; I'm surprised that yours didn't. In the dining car, the salmon was my second choice behind the flatiron steak, but I wish they served it with a lemon slice and some tartar sauce. I found that all trains west of the Mississippi tended not to have wi-fi, so in between towns internet access often dropped to zero; I'm glad I had music to listen to on my iPhone! Flexible dining is usually reserved for the eastern trains; I'm surprised the Texas Eagle didn't have a dining car. My first dinner choice in that case would be the beef short ribs, but I'll have to keep the baked ziti in mind. I like the brownie, but I've seen rave reviews elsewhere for the blondie!
'Titanic'? journey? I live in Casa Grande AZ - the train runs through here in the early hours. At least you won't run into any icebergs!
Dream trip
You should go on the Caledonian Sleeper
I live in San Francisco and I've always wanted to go to New York via train. It just seems fo much better compared to a plane.
You will see America riding a train, not fly over the clouds. Unfortunately, it takes four days instead of six hours... And folks wonder why the USPS terminated their railroad mail contracts? No longer do American passenger trains have a dozen or more mail cars on their consists...
My first passenger train ride every was on the Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Phoenix (before Union Pacific forced it to abandon that portion of the route) when I was six years old. Returning was not as fun as we rode a Trailways bus back overnight since the train only runs tri-weekly.
Amtrak would need another three train sets to operate the Sunset Limited daily from LA to NO. Presently Amtrak does NOT have three extra Superliner train sets, nor does Amtrak appear to be buying any new sleeper fleet in the future... Amtrak is buying a new fleet of Siemens coaches to replace the Amfleet I coach and Horizon coach fleet though, but not to replace the Amfleet II coach fleet...
You may get your chance again. Idk the details but there are plans for Amtrak’s return to Phoenix!
Longest train ride in North America or even the world would be VIA's Canadian. 4 days and 4 nights Toronto to Vancouver.
Across the street from Union Station in L.A is Philippe.. the best French dip sandwiches anywhere.. I would definitely grab a couple of those before getting on the train
Another great video Dylan. I hope that you enjoyed the Texas Eagle. I had the pleasure of travelling on this route back in 2018 and I had a ball. Back then it had the sightseeing lounge for the full route as well as traditional dining which was a bonus. Shame to see that Amtrak have downgraded the Texas Eagle by taking away the Traditional Dining and Sightseeing Car between San Antonio and Chicago. Love your videos which have been a true inspiration especially when the last two years travel has been restricted so much.
Amtrak announced traditional dining will return to the Eagle/Capitol Limited fleet before the end of the year, but not a date as yet. Presently the aging Superliner fleet is being refurbished, the shared train sets of the Eagle/Capitol Limited have been targeted for the lost of service during the refurbishment process. Amtrak has to cut cars out of operation to do the refurbishment. It isn't done by waving a wand...
@@ronclark9724 Thanks for that info Ron it is appreciated. Many seem to think that it has gone for good so I am pleased to hear that. Yes it would be great if it was as simple as waving a wand but hey better that it comes than never at all. Best wishes.
@@ronclark9724did you mean the end of 2022 or 2023 because your comment is a year old and the eagle still doesn’t have neither and it’s only a few days until 2024 begins
Riding along the US-Mexico border just few meters away - almost like in Český Tešin on your route between Prague and Košice where you ran few meters from the Polish border ;)
This is the first Texas Eagle video I've seen showing the eastbound trip. It seems everyone who's ridden the full length of the TE complains about the Flex Dining meals between San Antonio and Chicago. My office is right next to the Texas Eagle tracks, and I know it's time to head home for the day when the southbound TE goes through in the mid-afternoon.
Traditional dining is expected to return before the end of the year, but no date has been set... The Capitol Limited has also been affected, sharing the same train sets as the Texas Eagle north of San Antonio using the same Cross Country Cafes...
The food served on the later part of the trip looked...🤔 Especially given the price you pay for a sleeper.
That's very interesting! Don't you plan to visit Australia? Would be nice to see The Ghan and Indian-Pacific. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to ride on them when I was in AU. Sydney local trains are also cool, btw
I have taken the Sunset Limited from Benson (stop after Tucson) to San Antonio several times. The scenery is very.... Sparse. Did you get any burritos from the burrito lady in El Paso?
Just FYI ... it's a different Colorado River at 21:45 ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_(Texas)
Ah, thanks for the info!
I rode this route back in 2021, got stuck after the Austin heading towards San Antonio (my stop) due to a disabled freight locomotive on single track that turned into a 7 HOUR delay as Union Pacific moved all their backed up freight past us after clearing the stuck train. The attendants were SO AMAZING, and it certainly wasn't Amtrak's fault, but I was very very unhappy with my arrival time being pushed from 8pm to 3 am the following day! My poor fiance was waiting the whole time, he was pretty exhausted for the drive home. Your coach was much more updated than mine ironically, the faucets for our bathrooms had to be held in order for water to come out, and the water pressure was so high you got a free bath with every trip to the restroom! But, in exchange we had a volume knob for the PA system, so I don't know which is the better deal lol. I wish I'd had a better experience, I want to travel by rail more, but it was not a very pleasant trip for me
All it takes is a hot single wheel axle on any train ahead of you, freight or passenger, including your train... I even had a train stopped by a tornado warning for nearly two hours... Yes all the trains stop for approaching tornado warnings... Probably something Europeans never ever experience...
@@ronclark9724 yeah, I understand how easy it is for a train/engine to have to suddenly stop, I just think that the whole "passenger train gets to sit and wait while we move all the backed up freight behind you, that you're in the way of, past you and once ALL our stuff is all moving, you can go" was a little... Infuriating. Arriving the following morning and going from a 7pm arrival to nearly 4am really pushed my poor fiance to try and do whatever he could to stay awake to pick me up since I had no idea when the train would start moving again. Not really a pleasant trip unfortunately
I’ve seen enough videos about Amtrak long distance routes to know that I’ll never travel the segments offering flexible dining! The flexible food offerings look atrocious. Shame on Amtrak for serving such poor quality meals, given the ticket prices and the fact that passengers have no decent alternative dining options on those routes.
Amtrak has train from Mobile, Al to Seattle, Wa 83 hours.
I think the Sunset Limited taking the Diner and Observation Cars after San Antonio is because that train used to go all the way to Florida. Post-Hurricane Katrina the tracks that it used were damaged and for various reasons the service was never restored past New Orleans.
"Various reasons" indeed -- like anti-Amtrak GOP governments that oppose anything and everything the government does.
LA Union Station looks like a Chapel because it’s styled in the Calif Mission theme. Calif Missions are chapels.
I did not like the roomette on our trip to Tucson. Being on the top level and then on the top bunk, the swaying was terrible. I found that sleeping in the reclined coach seat was just as good. PS the Colorado River in Texas is a different river than the one in the Grand Canyon.
Thank you for a great video ! I agree with all that you say, and the Texas Eagle is the only long distance Amtrak train I have not taken ! As you say, the South West Chief is the better train to take between Chicago and L.A. I do like all the Superliner stock,and the lack oF Wi-Fi is not a problem for me. The lack of proper dining facilities from San Antonio is also poor, and very surprising for such a long distance train. Many thanks for your efforts !
Presently the Capitol Limited shares the same fate as the Texas Eagle north of San Antonio with their shared train sets. Amtrak has to pull some cars from service to do the long deserved refurbishments for the entire fleet. It takes much more than a magic wand to refurbish cars....
But the Southwest Chief does NOT go to Texas the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle does from LA. Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston are large metros with over 7 million in population each, while Austin/San Antonio combined metros is nearly 5 million. Texas is the second largest populated state after California, but unfortunately Amtrak services in Texas SUCK. Where is that multiple daily train from Dallas to Houston, much less a direct daily train? Texas Central is coming with HSR services every 90 minutes during the day, unfortunately, not fast enough... Where is the Amtrak train to replace the legendary Burlington Texas Zephyr running from Houston thru Dallas/Fort Worth, Amarillo, Colorado Springs, and eventually to Denver? Just the Texas Zephyr would provide a daily service from Dallas to Houston... Denver has a metro with a population of nearly 3 million, Colorado Springs has a metro of nearly 700 thousand, Amarillo has a metro of nearly 300 thousand, the Texas panhandle has a population of nearly 1 million.
"Texas: It's not a very good state. But there sure is a lot of it."
Living in the St. Louis area... The Eagle is the best option as the southwest chief run4es out of Kansas City. MO.
A fantastic video and really wanting me to get back to the USA and do some more Amtrak journeys.
Word of advice though, there were times when your girlfriend/wife was visible in the reflection of the window when in your cabin.. Including what she was wearing. May be something to look out for in the future.
A vest. I have no issue being seen in a vest when it's about 30+°c