Have you ever taken a trip by train?

Question

Hubby was surprised to hear that I've never been on a train. Ever. If you've taken a trip by train, would you tell us about it?

Answer 1

My very first train trip was in 1950 when I was eight years old. My Dad had orders for Korea and to lengthen the time my parents could be together, we three took a train from N.C. to California where his ship was due to sail. That was when trains were SO grand - great, elegant service, remarkable food in the dining car, lounge cars and sleepers. I still remember traveling across Salt Lake in Utah and it looking like one great big sugar bowl! :-)



In Europe my parents and I traveled by train several times and that is some experience!...back then the trains barely stopped in the stations and we had to throw our baggage out the window and then jump off the train! lol



I traveled by train often thereafter, although increasingly by air.



In 2002 I took a train from DC to Miami to catch a Carnival Cruise......I had originally been booked on Delta Airlines but due to 9/11 my flight was cancelled....I rode coach and that trip was 24 hrs!...somewhat grueling, but fun in a way as I hung out in the Lounge car and chatted up with the Amtrak crew!

Answer 2

The longest I've spent is just over 24 hours on the train, however it was in Canada (from Toronto to northern Ontario), so I can't speak to what the trains are like in the US. There are probably "sleeper" cars so if you want to pay extra you can have a bed, or you can just sleep in your seat. The food on the Canadian train was rather overpriced, and not all that great. I've taken shorter train trips (Toronto to Montreal) and always brought my own food/drinks. There were several stops, but the train only stayed in each station for a couple of minutes - barely enough time for everyone to get on. I know some schedules are better than others (ie they by-pass some stops depending on when you want to leave/arrive). Personally I love the train - it's a great way to see the landscape without having to drive, plus you can always get up and stretch if you need to. Something else that always fascinates me is the graffiti that tends to follow the tracks in the more populated areas. It's really interesting to see IMO.

Answer 3

I have traveled by train many, many times. I love Amtrak. It is comfortable and I am able to sleep in their comfortable seats while I travel from Connecticut to New Hampshire. It is extremely relaxing. As a kid, I traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago, and it took a couple of days. If I were to go on a trip longer than a day or two I would have a private car with bathroom. Trains are more common for transportation back east here vs. the west coast. Everyone has a car in California and the idea of traveling by train is not common. Let me say, once you travel the coastline of the east coast, you never want to drive, it is so beautiful!

Answer 4

Twice, first time was around 1978 or so on a trip with my parents. I was awfully young and don't recall much about it. Second time, was a train that leaves out of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and goes north into the Agawa canyon. It's a sight seeing train and the trip was fun. The leaves were just changing, there were multiple waterfalls within the canyon. If you want to experience a train, and don't have a particular destination. I'd suggest a train trip like that one. If you have specific quesitons feel free to ask me.

Answer 5

About four years ago I took the train from Houston Tx. to Cleveland, Ohio to see my son and his family. I decided to do that instead of flying as I usually did simply because, like you, I never had been on a train and I wanted the experience. I'm here to tell you Lady G that it was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. I had my own berth (room?). It had a bathroom, etc. Being the loner that I sometimes am I spent most of my time in there just being in awe as I watched the little towns and farm country go by. I had a pull out bed that they would come and make up for me when it was time to retire and they did the same thing in the morning. I had a couple of meals brought to me and I went to the dining rm once. As I was sitting there in the dining car they sat a lady, her daughter and baby granddaughter with me. I noticed they just ordered milk for the baby and a piece of toast that they actually shared. They told me their story and I ended up

having them order their dinner, ( the baby was 18 mo's) and a little plate for the baby and I took care of it for them. The grandma cried.......so did I. Anyway, I also took the train back home after a long stay at my son's. What a wonderful experience. I'll never forget and plan on doing it again.

Answer 6

My new hubby and I took a trip to live in Las Vegas with my

new inlaws, after hubby came back from Okinawa in the army.

I wore a new knit going away suit, that was form fitting. And

since we sat and laid in our reclining seats for two days and

one night, I tried carefully not to stretch my suit out of shape.

And when I arrived, the skirt of my suit was in fact, stretched

to a larger size from moving around in my chair.

During the course of that trip, we found the dining car food

too expensive for what you got. And so we asked the con-

ductor if there would be any stops with a railside cafe or

something to grab a burger. And there was one. And we ran

off the train as soon as we could. Put a fast order in, and

walked away with what you'd have thought was the treat of a

lifetime. Those burgers tasted so good for we hadn't eaten

all day. And that's when a burger was the same shape as

what it was advertised to be. Nice and fat, with pickles and

lettuce, tomato and onion. Yum!

We had a drink in the smoking car that evening, and looked out the big windows at the stars at night. Oh it was so black out there.

We were traveling over desert wasteland and there wasn't a

cloud in the sky. The bartender said we looked like honey-

mooners. And we felt like them too, so we said we were. We

hadn't seen each other since our honeymoon, months before

anyway. So it wasn't a lie, we felt. It was still continuing. So we

had a romantic pause on our trip that evening, since other than the bartender we were alone at the other end of the car.

We arrived in Vegas that next evening, and saw all the

lights as we pulled into the downtown core. We were met by

my husbands' parents, and taken to their home. I remember

thinking I had never seen a town so lit up like that, in all my life. And that was when only the main strip downtown was

the attraction. There were only a couple of landmark hotels

out on the highway. Now that highway is the main focus and

main tourist area in town.

Answer 7

I took a train from Boston to Virginia. It was boring and dirty. The train stopped every 30 minutes, making a 10 hour trip by car, 14 hours! I will never take a train again!

Answer 8

My mom Rosie the Riviter in an aircraft factory met my dad Jake the cook in the army. He was from Oregon, she was from Va. Every year from the time I was a pup my mom bro and I would take the train from Oregon to Virginia. The Portland Rose, The B&O and The Pocahontas. It took almost 5 days--I thought it was great fun to hold down the flusher on the toilet and watch the tracks go by. The dining cars had waiters in a tux and real silver and crystal and a giant menu. There was a club car to go and sit in posh chairs and mom could have a drink and I could have a Dr. Pepper.

the rest rooms were huge and full of mirrors and posh sitting areas, then later there was a dome car you could go to for a better view. All of the porters had a wobbly walk to stand up, it continued after they got off of the train. My last trip back was when I was a mom and took my eldest son and my mom with me. That was 42 years ago. I took one trip here in the west on an amtrac train--only food was junk from a nuke, only place to eat was full of drunk kids barfing or train employees that took up half the seating. No services and the train went about 5 miles an hour. On the way back from Oregon to Idaho they overbooked the train and we had to ride 5 in 2 seats for hours. No oops or excuse or refund. My daughter rode the same train about 12 years later and the engine came undone from the train and they coasted 30 miles from her destination until they could divert the train--she says never again. The old ones were awesome--not even Amtrac here anymore--have to go to Wa to get one. My bro and his wife rode one from the west end of Canada to the East end last year and said it was wonderful. That was Canada.

Answer 9

During my younger days as a Girl Scout, our troop boarded a train & headed to Cleveland, Ohio. We went there to see the movie "Around the World in Eighty Days." The train ride was very scenic, as it was in the winter. The train came in under the "Terminal Tower," which is a huge skyscraper in Cleveland. We left the train, then headed towards a restaurant, where we had a nice dinner, then we walked along the sidewalk, admiring the many eyecatching animated Christmas displays in the windows of the various department stores. What a sight to behold. I was so awestruck by the displays, that I barely noticed the bitter Lake Erie winds, nipping at my cheeks. We got to the movie theater which was so grand, that it felt as though I was in a grand mansion. The movie was wonderful & as we headed back to the Terminal Tower to catch the train back home, we once again, got to take another look at the window displays. We all had lots to talk about once we boarded the train, & headed home. That was my first & last train ride & I shall remember it always.

Answer 10

Last year, my partner and I travelled from London - Paris - Nice - Florence - Venice - Rome, all by super-fast trains. It was part of an organised tour . We had a wonderful time, the trains are so fast and smooth, your drinks stayed put on the tray and the seats were very comfortable. I'd highly recommend it as an alternative to a bus tour if you are thinking of a European holiday - you get where you are going at incredible speeds, and so you have much more time to spend at your destination. It was fantastic !

Answer 11

Yes. When I went back to South Africa, I took my girls on the train from Johannesburg (1974). To Durban, on the coast. It was in those days when you had your own compartment, they put fresh linen on your bed. We went through the beautiful Drakensburg mountains, down past these beautiful old stations, with bougainvilleas, all around their fences. A beautiful dining car.It was lovely

Now, it's more like going into a 'pig fight' to catch a train in South Africa, But I do want to try and get to take the train from Adelaide to Darwin. My cousins have just done the trip and they enjoyed it.

Answer 12

It was so wonderful. every summer my grandma and I would take the train from Chicago to Wisconsin for the summer. My grandma used to pack us a huge lunch and snacks, and we would just watch the countryside go by. It was an 11 hour trip. Sometimes, they would put a dining car on in Green Bay too.



I love the trains in Europe, espcially the Rapido, wonderful food, wonderful scenery and quick method of traveling through Italy



Amtrac from SC to Md, again, beautiful scenery, had a smoking car, met lots of people and we just had a blast!

Answer 13

Never been on a train trip. I would like to find the old trains that takes you on a tour.

Answer 14

I have had quite a few trips by train.



It is much quicker and smoother to travel in a train than by bus or car.



Try it with hubby or a friend and you'll see what I mean

Answer 15

Went on our Senior trip to NY by train. Obviouly, with a bunch

of teenie boopers it was a blast. Traveled by train a few

places in Germany , really beautiful country side and a great

wasy to view the panorama.

Answer 16

I gave my husband a train ride for Christmas one year..We went from Northern California to Seattle Wash..rented a car and drove into Canada for the worlds fair, came back to Seattle, caught the train to Salt Lake City, stayed overnight and came home ..it was great fun. I have never been on or for that matter even seen a subway train..

Answer 17

I go from north wollongong station to wollongong station alot we never pay for tickets because its only one stop I have been caught by guards they dnt realy care I have gone from wollongong to sydney witch is about 1 and a half howers away it was fun was only 13 at the time and went with a friend got in alot of trouble I have allso been on the cockatoo run witch went up the mountain it is a pre 1940s train and was realy cool great experience and yea trains are pretty cool and I have been on them alot :P

Answer 18

You've never been on a train.

Well, i can see that.

Been on loads of trains.

I'm not keen on them but if we didn't want to drive to ft. worth, we'd get the train and back in England i'd get the train from my city all the way to London, Scotland, Wales.

If there is somewhere you want to go and you can there by train easily, i'd recommend it.

Sometimes the scenery is worth it, depending on where you live at

Answer 19

Yes, quite a few. Commuter train, ok. Long trip from San Diego To Seattle horrible, horrible horrible the employees treated everyone like c--p. They picked on people with children and seniors. We got our money back.

Answer 20

Travel on train everyday.

2 times



In beginning it was lovely. Not i dont even notice any thrill whatsoever.



Live in Dublin and train user everyday

Answer 21

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Answer 22

Yes as a child I have travelled from one state to another and of course I use the suburban network when ever Im in the city.

I like it very much, you should try it.

Answer 23

Yes my sister and I took the Am-trak it was soo much fun. Something everyone should do atleast once. It's great! We went to Charleston S.C. from North Carolina. would love to go across country that way.

Answer 24

its a train ..... iv been bought up on trains and am always suprised when people have never been on one. Boring journeys but i dont mind cos i get it free :p

Answer 25

Yes I have but I have never been in a cab or on a public bus so I am not far off from you

Answer 26

For any middle class Indian this is a news. For us it is the cheapest, fastest and safest form ot transport.

Answer 27

well i live in pa, and i visit lancaster alot and i love it down there. well we took the strasburg train it was awesome. trains are so cool and youll have fun.

Answer 28

You are joking right?