A travel Loomis “This guide covers everything from booking a [train] trip to the various routes available to on-board etiquette.” —Boston Globe LL “With all my rail experience, I still found things in Loomis’ book that I 3rd Edition didn’t know about train life.” —Hawaii Sun Press A “This comprehensive guide will assist the traveler in planning an excur- All sion and executing it with minimum effort and maximum pleasure.” —Library Journal BO “A down-to-tacks how-to book that describes in detail just about every- thing you need to know to take a train trip in the United States and Canada.” —Honolulu Advertiser A AboArd “Crammed with excellent ideas for booking, preparing for and enjoying The CompleTe NorTh American your next rail journey.” —Railfan & Railroad RD TrAiN TrAvel Guide ll Aboard—here completely revised and updated—is much more than just Aa mile-by-mile scenery guide for train travelers. Written for both veterans [Plan and book your own train triP [best routes, lowest fares and novices of rail travel, it will make any trip run smoothly and enjoyably [exPert itineraries for unforgettable journeys Tr with its insightful tips and information about how railroads operate. Author The Comple and expert rail traveler Jim Loomis offers not only well-tested itineraries based on his intricate knowledge of North American routes and the best times to ride A i them, but he also provides invaluable advice on the nitty-gritty: booking trips, N finding the lowest fares, knowing which onboard staff members to tip and how Tr much, packing for an overnight trip, and even maneuvering in those cramped T sleeping-car bathrooms. e Nor Including explorations of train equipment and safety, as well as the history— A velGuide and future—of train travel, All Aboard is the ultimate guide to this romantic and increasingly popular mode of transportation. T h Ame Jim Loomis writes frequent columns about train travel for Sunday newspaper travel sections and has ridden virtually all of Amtrak’s routes, including all its ri long-distance trains. He is an elected member of the Council of Representatives can of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a nonprofit organization that advocates more and better train service throughout the United States. 3rd Edition $18.95 (CAN $20.95) ISBN 978-1-56976-309-4 5 1 8 9 5 IPG 9 781569 763094 Jim Loomis All Aboard_cover.indd 1 11/18/10 9:55 AM ALL ABOARD All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 1 12/1/10 10:48 AM Amtrak’s California Zephyr prepares for the climb up Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range at the Truckee River Canyon. Award-winning photo by Alex Ramos, as submitted to the All Aboard for La Plata Photo Contest sponsored by Silver Rails Country All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 2 12/1/10 10:48 AM ALL ABOARD THE COMPLETE NORTH AMERICAN TRAIN TRAVEL GUIDE Third Edition JIM LOOMIS All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 3 12/1/10 10:48 AM Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Loomis, Jim. All aboard : the complete North American train travel guide / Jim Loomis. — 3rd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-56976-309-4 (pbk.) 1. United States—Guidebooks. 2. Canada—Guidebooks. 3. Railroad travel—United States—Guidebooks. 4. Railroad travel—Canada— Guidebooks. 5. Copper Canyon (Mexico)—Guidebooks. 6. Railroad travel— Mexico—Copper Canyon—Guidebooks. I. Title. E158.L59 2011 917.304—dc22 2010036923 Cover and interior design: Jonathan Hahn Cover image: The westbound Empire Builder crosses the Medicine Creek Bridge as it skirts the southern boundary of Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo courtesy of Amtrak Copyright © 1995, 1998, 2011 by Jim Loomis All rights reserved Third edition Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated 814 North Franklin Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 ISBN 978-1-56976-309-4 Printed in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1 All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 4 12/1/10 10:48 AM “You get a real feeling of this country and the people in it when you’re on a train.” —Harry Truman “These railroads . are positively the greatest blessing that the ages have wrought out for us. They give us wings; they annihilate the toil and dust of pilgrimage; they spiritualize travel!” —Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables “Once I built a railroad; now it’s done. Brother, can you spare a dime?” —Popular song, 1931 “I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.” —Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 5 12/1/10 10:48 AM All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 6 12/1/10 10:48 AM CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Foreword: Rediscovering the Train xi 1 Why Take a Train?. 1 2 How It All Began . 7 3 Amtrak to the Rescue. 23 4 Planning Your Own Train Trip. 37 5 Packing and Last-Minute Details . 65 6 Life Onboard . 75 7 Who’s in Charge Here?. 105 8 When Things Go Wrong. 127 9 Passenger Train Equipment. 137 10 How It All Works. 159 11 What About All Those Freight Trains?. 197 12 Safety Is Priority Number One . 209 13 Taking the Train in Canada. 221 All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 7 12/1/10 10:48 AM 14 Mexico’s Copper Canyon Train . 241 15 Will There Be Trains in Our Future?. .253 Appendix A: Pick a Train, Any Train 269 Appendix B: Suggested Itineraries 309 Appendix C: Railroad Terms and Slang 319 Appendix D: How to Find a Rail-Savvy Travel Agent 341 Appendix E: Passenger Rail Advocates 343 Appendix F: Excursion Trains and Railroad Museums 345 Index 349 All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 8 12/1/10 10:48 AM ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A lot of people provided much-needed help as I worked on this edition of All Aboard; my heartfelt thanks to all of them. Cliff Black is my hero. While he was still head of Amtrak’s Corporate Communications department, I buried him in a long list of questions and facts that needed checking, and he delivered. Then I went back to him multiple times with other questions and requests for clarification, and he delivered again. Then he retired—although I don’t think I had anything to do with that decision. Likewise, I got great help and cooperation from Jenny Jas- per and Elizabeth Huart of Canada’s VIA Rail. They went way beyond the call of duty. Sue Stilwell of S&S Tours has been taking people through Mexico’s Copper Canyon for years, and she repeatedly and gen- erously shared her knowledge and experience with me. Thanks also to Matthew Melzer of Silver Rails Resort, who knows far more about the complexities of passenger rail than I ever will. He answered my every question promptly and thoroughly. Much help came from Ross Capon, president and CEO of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. He knows as ix All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 9 12/1/10 10:48 AM x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS much about Washington’s bureaucratic labyrinth as anyone I can think of, particularly when it comes to getting federal support for Amtrak and for passenger rail in general. The freight railroads were a big help, too. Steve Forsberg of BNSF, Mike LoVecchio of Canadian Pacific, Mark Hallman of Canadian National, and especially Lauren Rueger of CSX—all these people chipped in with information and photographs. And there are others—a lot of others—who provided encour- agement, support, and information but whose names have been lost in the clutter of notes on my desk. You know who you are; my apologies and thanks to you, too. —Jim Loomis Ha’iku, Maui All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 10 12/1/10 10:48 AM FOREWORD REDISCOVERING THE TRAIN When I was a youngster back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, my family would take an annual train trip from our home in Connecticut to either St. Louis or Florida, where grandparents would be waiting. Those train rides were great adventures. I remember standing on the platform of the Hartford railroad station, waiting for the train to arrive. I would impatiently crane my neck for the first glimpse, being careful to keep behind the yellow warning line. According to my father (a master of hyperbole), anyone standing too close to the train as it rolled into the station ran the risk of being “sucked under the wheels.” The anticipation was almost unbearable. But finally, a rasp- ing monotone would blare out over the PA system: “Your atten- tion, please. Now arriving on track two . .” The platform came alive with that announcement; baggage carts rattled past, last-minute passengers ran up the stairs from the waiting room, and mothers anxiously corralled their kids. After the general confusion subsided, 30 or 40 people would be craning their necks. Still we saw nothing, just the tracks curving away beyond our line of sight. xi All Aboard_INTERIOR_final.indd 11 12/1/10 10:48 AM xii FOREWORD Then, suddenly, a black steam locomotive materialized, bear- ing down on us, even appearing to accelerate as it loomed larger and larger. It always seemed so much bigger than I remembered— and noisier, although the locomotive’s bell, clang-clanging slightly out of rhythm, was somehow clearly heard above the din as the train rumbled past. A train ride is still a great adventure for me. I’m always anx- ious to board, always reluctant to get off. There is obvious irony, of course, in the fact that someone who loves rail travel has spent almost 50 years living in Hawaii, a place more than 2,000 miles from the nearest long-distance train.