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View Full Version : Anyone taken the train from Oregon or WA?



ComfyCody
01-17-2007, 09:33 AM
We're thinking about taking the train down to Anaheim this June, and I wondered if anyone else has done this? It's a fairly long haul - we would leave here at 3:00 in the afternoon on day one, and arrive in Anaheim at about 11:00 PM on day 2. We have flown and driven before. We have 2 boys, ages 6 and 2. Would the 2 year old need a carseat? What's the kiddie car like? I'd love to hear from anyone who's done this!!!

just beatla33
01-17-2007, 09:36 AM
I once rode the train from San Diego to an Angels game once and that station is 3 miles south of the stadium and took 2 hours even....which was long for me seeing I can make it from SD to DL in a little under an hour and a half. Thats all the info I can offer

VickiC
01-17-2007, 09:53 AM
Many, many times. I live in OC and went to Willamette and frequently took the train home for summer, Christmas, etc. It is actually more convenient to take the train into Fullerton. No car seats required on the train, but you may want one if you plan to rent a car here. The scenery is nice in some areas, but a bit monotonous in others. Sitting in coach all night can be uncomfortable. The dining car food is decent.

JookyG
01-17-2007, 09:59 AM
Don't do it unless you're a glutton for punishment or can afford a sleeper. I took the train from Seattle about a decade ago and it was miserable. The trip took 36+ hours because Amtrak is ALWAYS late due to the fact that they have the lowest priority for right-of-way on the rails. I was in coach and barely got any sleep, and we arrived completely unrested.

I love taking the trains in Europe, but I'd sooner ride in the back of a FedEx truck than ride Amtrak for that long of a haul again. Bring your own food, because the snack bar is just glorified microwaved 7-11 snacks, and the dining car is pricey. I love short trips, like Seattle to Portland, but long ones can be difficult. I was even with my sweetie and looking forward to a romantic adventure, but in retrospect I wish I'd saved some money and flown instead.

I don't know much about traveling with kids on the train, whether you'd need a car seat, etc. I only know about having to deal with other folks' kids (hence the lack of sleep on my long haul) :)

mask41
01-17-2007, 10:00 AM
We are taking the train from NM to Fullerton in April with my mother, husband and 5 year old twin boys. The family bedroom looked nice - we are getting the family suite (can't reserve online) which will have plenty of room for all of us to sit and sleep in beds - meals included, 2 bathrooms in the suite. Would have been quicker and cheaper to fly but my DH is dying to take the boys on the train. I will definitely report back after our trip!
Good luck with your planning!
-Amy

hbquikcomjamesl
01-17-2007, 10:37 AM
I've taken the Coast Starlight dozens of times. Mostly just between Los Angeles and Northern California, but I've taken it all the way 6 times (4 Northbound, 2 Southbound).

First of all, as with any train trip, I do NOT recommend an overnight trip, or even an all day trip, as one's first train trip. If you've never traveled by rail before, it's much better to start with a short trip, say, 4 hours or less, so that you know what to expect, and how to prepare. Otherwise, what is potentially one of the most pleasant and relaxing ways to travel long distances could become quite unpleasant. Likewise, while many people do take overnight trips in coach, I recommend a sleeper for overnight trips, if you can afford it.

You would not need a carseat (nor are there seatbelts); remember, trains have a great deal of mass, and so they start and stop smoothly and gradually.

The Coast Starlight is a Superliner train. All of the cars have 2 levels, with the vestibules in the center of the lower level, and most of the seats and accommodations (and the end-doors to go from one car to another) on the upper level. The coaches typically have carry-on luggage racks and 5 restrooms (including one accessible unit, one dressing room, one large "ladies' lounge", and 2 plain ones; they are all similar to airline toilets, albeit a tiny bit roomier) on the lower level; most also have a lower-level seating section, for elderly and handicapped passengers, and any others who might have difficulty climbing the stairs to the upper level.

Coach seating is 4-across (2 on each side of the aisle), and somewhat similar to airline seats, except quite a bit roomier (and no seatbelts). The windows are quite a bit larger than airliner windows, and there are curtains you can move to block glare.

The "Kiddie Car" is a children's playroom, which replaces the lower-level seating room on one of the coaches. It is an open space, with a selection of toys, and (if I remember right) a video system showing cartoons.

The main lounge car is open to all passengers. The upper level has even larger windows than the coaches, with casual seating that mostly faces the windows. The lower level has a small dining area, and a snack bar that sells various snack, light meal, and souvenir items.

There have been some changes to dining car service in the past few months, mainly the result of ill-advised micro-management by the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans, so my description of the dining car is already out of date for some trains, and may be so for the Starlight as well. As of last Spring, however, the dining car has 4-person booths filling up most of the upper level, with a full working kitchen on the lower level. It serves breakfast during breakfast hours (usually with little or no trouble getting a seat), lunch during lunch hours (first come, first serve, and once it fills up, they take names for a waiting list), and dinner (by reservation; the dining car steward walks the train sometime after lunch, taking reservations), and most of the food is cooked on board, and generally about as good as what's served in a mid-priced chain restaurant, such as Coco's or Marie Callender's.

First class on an overnight train is a sleeping car accommodation. While rail fare is priced by the person, sleeper accommodations are priced by the space. The smallest accommodation is an economy room (currently called a "Superliner Roomette", although it's somewhat different from the historical definition of a roomette), which is a small private room with 2 facing seats, which convert to a lower berth, and an upper berth that folds down from above. These are placed on both sides of a center corridor, filling up one end of the upper level, with four more on the lower level. The next larger accommodation is the "Deluxe Bedroom," which has a sofa that converts to a lower berth, a folding upper berth, a folding chair, a washbasin, and a private toilet/shower cubicle. These take up most of the width of the other end of the upper level, with a corridor down one side. Each car also has a "Family Bedroom" on the lower level, across the entire width of the car, at one end of the lower level (with windows on both sides). It sleeps up to 2 adults and 2 children (perhaps more, if the children are small enough). Finally, at the opposite end of the lower level is an "Accessible Bedroom," designed to accommodate people in wheelchairs, complete with an accessible toilet and shower. Completing the car are several restrooms (including one on the upper level) and a shower, for the economy and family room passengers. Sleeping car passengers' dining car meals are included in their accommodations; on the Starlight, there is usually also a second lounge car, the "Pacific Parlour Car," for first-class passengers only.

Between Eugene, OR, and the California State Line, the Starlight goes through Willamette Pass, with several hours of spectacular mountain scenery; South of the Bay Area, the train runs through Vandenberg Air Force Base, and much of the Southern California portion of the route runs along the Pacific Ocean.

geoffa
01-17-2007, 12:00 PM
As a Brit who used Amtrak during June/July of 2006 to cross the USA, all I can say it was fun and, for us, economical. We had roomettes all the way. The dining car was uninspired - mostly burgers or pasta.Our route was: Seattle to Emeryville (San Francisco) - Emeryville to Chicago (time out in Grand Junction) - Chicago to Washington D.C.
Scenery ranged from magnificent to the endless fields of maize in Iowa. Our total journey was over 5,000 miles.
However, that said, we were in no rush. The leg from Seattle to Klamath Falls (another time out) arrived 5 hours late. We heard that by the time it reached the L.A. area it was running 12 hours late! Our service to Grand Junction was 12 hours late!Freight is given priority because they own the rails. We waited over an hour and a half for a freight train to go by at Willamette Pass. It seemed like forever! At high altitudes the W.Cs fail to flush properly and you have to go three or four coaches to find a working one. (Not much fun at 3 in the morning!)If your time is limited at DL then I wouldn't use the trains or you may loose half a day - you can't rely on them running on time.

ComfyCody
01-17-2007, 04:06 PM
Wow - thanks so much for the info!!! I think we will pass on the train at this point. I never dreamed that I could end up with a 12 HOUR delay! :eek: :eek: I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, maybe we will take a trip up to Seattle for the weekend for our train experience.
Thanks again!!

PirateSmile
01-17-2007, 05:47 PM
I've flown, driven, and ridden the train from Seattle, Washington. It was alright, fun once but I'd never want to do it again. I rode it when I was twelve so I'm not sure about the kiddie car. They do allow drinking and things, so I'd go for the little private cars instead of sleeping in the regular seats like we did, because a few drunk people came down the aisles.

MrsSmith
01-17-2007, 06:49 PM
We rode the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Salem, Oregon with our (at that time) three year old. We didn't know any better and rode coach. As soon as we arrived in Salem, we went straight to the ticket window and booked a sleeper for the trip back. At that point, I didn't care how much the upgrade cost. We were exhausted and desperate and would have paid anything for that sleeper car ! Coach is NOT for long overnight trips with children!

hbquikcomjamesl
01-18-2007, 09:51 AM
Actually, if there's sleeping car space available on a train, you can buy upgrades directly from the conductor.

One trip (I think it was Fall 2004, taking the City of New Orleans from Chicago to New Orleans), the only sleeper accommodation left when I booked was a family room, so I had a whole rail segment with a (relatively speaking) huge room (but no private toilet or shower), with windows on both sides, all to myself.

emilousmom
01-30-2007, 08:00 PM
Just popping in to say that my stepboys took the train from Portland to LA this summer and it was 8 hours late! It was 7 hours late getting home. I talked to the lady loading and she said that train is ALWAYS LATE!!! She said that you take the train as part of the holiday, no ruch, just to enjoy! I would go NUTS!

Ang

sechs
01-31-2007, 10:08 PM
I have taken the Coast Starlight a number of times. Like any mode of transportation, sometimes it is late and sometimes it is on time -- I have been on it in both situations.

The Coast Starlight got a bad reputation not so much for being late all of the time, but for being incredibly late when it was late. This is almost completely the fault of the Union Pacific Railroad, which hosts the train south of Portland.

Since a former higher-up from Union Pacific was hired as Amtrak's new president, the on-time record of the Coast Starlight has fallen in line with other trains.

As they say in finance, past performance does not predict future returns.