I check in with Amtrak as soon as I have an idea when I am returning. Rooms are priced by “supply and demand” says Amtrak. The day I want to go they are $380 additional on one of the trains, sold out on the other. People are going south. The train another day is about $250 and I feel guilty but I crave my private 30 square, my midget toilet and the (sort of) romantic dining car.
Photos are ©Howard Dratch, 2007. From top: An industrial landscape from my roomette in Florida. Second, an ultra-wide shot from one seat to the other of my 30 square feet. Third, Harlem from the Metro North train's elevated route north into Westchester County.
Article comments
1 - RNB
Passenger rail carries less than 1 percent of the intercity travel in the U.S. That's not a transportation mode, it's somebody's hobby.
2 - Mark Saleski
wow, really great stuff howard.
reminds me of shorter (and far less scary) version of paul theroux's The Old Patagonia Express
3 - Elvira Black
Hey Howard--good stuff. My b/f and I took Amtrak twice from NYC to Wisconsin. What a schlep, and the route was not very scenic. The second time I brought a ton of sandwiches for the road because the sandwiches etc cost a fortune. We didn't travel in "style" but I noticed that the supposed "sleeper" seats were identical to the regular ones. I guess you got the real deal though.
The conductors can be rude and unhelpful. You're right about the lack of security--one time we went right after there was a big announcement that Amtrak would be checking security more closely but apparently not.
My b/f went out to Ohio recently by plane to visit his folks, and though it was a short trip it was hellish nonetheless. He is very hesitant to ever take a plane trip again after that ordeal.
But it sounds like you had a relatively "pleasant" time of it in exchange for the extra bucks.
4 - Howard Dratch
Thanks for the comments. Mark: time for me to read the Theroux. Elvira yest it did have a "relatively" pleasant time. In the morning I board the Silver Star for the return.
I posted a similar article on my own blog, 7 Color Lagoon which garnered a wonderfully informative comment by Jim L. It is really worth the read for more of the Amtrak passenger rail situation from the keyboard of a real railroad man. I hope he will also post it here.
RNB. You may be right about the percentage of travel by rail but that could mean that there is a lot of room for the country to go back to the future.