My grandmother, my 3 yr old son and I traveled from Union Station, Chicago to Denver CO. on the California Zephyr back in the 80’s. We traveled coach and it was fabulous! The observation car was great. You can see for miles. Would love to do it again sometime. Great video and watching brought back many memories of a fun trip. Thank you!

Made the trip in the Roomette from Needles, CA to Chicago three times and once from LA to Chicago, although I asked the attendant each time to convert the two seats into a lower bed. The designers made efficient use of all available space. Many friendly people of all ages on a long train trip. Your video brought back nice memories. Thanks.

I am happy that passenger trains still exist. I love train travel.

I can remember Laying in the bed at our house here in southeasttern KY...In the late 1940's hearing ...That lonesome.....Whistle blowing....Comeing out of Harland Kentucky loaded with Coal....Just after my Mom tucked me in the Bed....An turned out the light..Hanging down from the center of my bed room ceiling...Back then our house had just ben wired for electric lights...One for each room...Anyway....Just at 12 O'CLOCK ..Every night a 12 i could here that old steamer Whistle echoing thru the hill back in that place....When I was a child....Sad to say but all of that is gone now.....And almost me to...For I am old now...Thanks very much...!

Traveled coast to coast a few times. Roomettes are worth the money.Cost covered 3 meals. Western trains are better from Chicago on out. Highly recommend especially to young people and yes, the showers have hot water, food is decent, people you meet are generally cool. Service all round is good. Ialso was late getting from Denver to SF...Try it its fun!

I JUST took that round trip ride on the Zephyr....Chicago to Sacramento. I had a roomette. The shower on the first floor was always clean and full of plush towels, soap and shampoo. The 4 bathrooms in the car...always clean. The views were absolutely spectacular!! I'd do it all again...breathtaking ride.

Wife and I travelled from Greensboro, NC to NYC to see Jersey Boys with original cast. Stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in a 14th floor corner suite on Park Avenue. Are we rich? By no means. It was just an experience we both wanted. Had a full bedroom suite. Train arrived at 4:00 AM in Greensboro and stopped right in front of us. Two guys hopped out and asked our names and said our room was ready, Beds made and coffee on the table. At one point in the trip, I was aware we were really moving. I asked one of the crew and he said, “Oh you noticed. That was our fastest leg on this trip, about 120 MPH.” What a surprised me was how quiet and smooth it was on that train. We will do it all again some day. Met a couple in the dining car at breakfast. They remain friends to this day.’

GREAT VIDEO!!!!! MY FINE DADDY TOOK ME ON THE RIO GRANDE ZEPHYR (WHEN IT WAS JUST ABOUT TO END SERVICE (1980) I THINK. MY MOTHER HAD PASSED AWAY 3 MONTHS PREVIOUS. IT TOOK US THROUGH THE ROCKIES, HAD THE ORIGINAL STEAM HEATING, ORIGINAL RIO GRANDE WESTERN EQUIPMENT. I THINK THAT THE LOCOMOTIVES WERE F-9S. THERE WERE THREE BEAUTIFUL FULL-LENGTH DOME CARS. LATER DADDY TOOK ME ON THE SAME TRAIN THAT YOU ARE ON" THE AMTRAK ZEPHYR. WE RODE FROM CHICAGO TO CALIFORNIA AND TOOK THE AMTRAK ZEPHYR BACK TO CHICAGO AND THEN TOOK THE SILVER STAR BACK TO OUR HOME IN NORTH CAROLINA. MY DADDY WAS SO LOVING, KIND, AND GENEROUS. HE TOOK MY BROTHER AND I ON MANY SPECIAL TRIPS. i MISS DADDY SO VERY MUCH. HE PASSED AWAY IN MAY OF 1998. HE HAS BEEN GONE FOR 18 YEARS AND MY MOTHER GOT SICK WHEN i WAS A TEENAGER AND SHE HAS BEEN GONE FOR 36 AND ONE-HALF YEARS. I MISS HER SO MUCH. YOU DID SUCH A FANTASTIC JOB OF VIDEOING YOUR TRIP AS WELL AS THE INSIDE OF THE ZEPHYR. I KNOW YOU HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME. I USED TO LOVE TO GO BETWEEN THE PASSENGER CARS AND MAKE MOVIES AS THE TRAIN WENT AROUND A BIG CURVE AND GET PICTURES OF THE FRONT OF THE TRAIN ROUNDING THE CURVE. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR TRIP ON THE ZEPHYR. IT DEFINITELY BRINGS BACK THE LOVING MEMORIES OF OUR DADDY!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR JOURNEY!!!!!!!

I've traveled over 60,000 miles on Amtrak. Loved every minute of it!

Love Amtrak. Every employee I've ever met was extremely cool. In my opinion it's the only way to travel

In the 80's I went from St Paul, MN to Long Beach, CA. Three days in a couch chair. I was younger than and more flexible. I would spend whatever it costs to get a decent sleep. The adventure is in the trip not the destination. Last check From Maine to California now with sleeper is about 2000 dollars, Food and sleeping berth included. The best part of the 80's trip was the observation car late at night, conversation, chess/checkers or quiet time and reading. The really best thing was I was able to buy breakfast for a young single mother and her very young daughter as she was deciding what she could afford to get while "cutting corners" on her expenses. I told her "to buy whatever you want I've got the bill, don't worry about it".

No wonder you have upwards of a half million views. Definitely one of the better vids to get the nuances of a train ride. Thanks

Back in the 50's and early 60's took trains all the time in Texas - MKT, Santa Fe, Silver Eagle, and Katy Line. Remembered the Pullman cars (Sleepers) which we rode and slept. Dallas had a fine train station (Union Station) where we had great breakfasts.Riding from Dallas to Houston always required an overnighter which I never forgot. Hearing the clickity clack - the rails - and the signal crossovers - the ding, ding, ding until it faded away were sound effects that would put you into a deep coma in those sleeping births. Very delightful traveling, and would do it again. Thanks for video, brought back many memories.

The main reason Amtrak is usually late is because passenger and commuter trains are forced to sit backseat to freight traffic. America's rail is absolutely dominated by freight.

In 1978 I took a train with my toddler boy (who was 2) from Livingston Montana to Seattle Washington. We were in a sleeper that was bigger than the room in this video. Now I think I was lucky to have gotten that room! It had a double bed in it. Or at least it was slightly bigger than a twin. Train s are so much fun to ride. I loved it. I rode back on it also. The views between Montana and Washington are fantastic.

Went on this Amtrak last July all the way from California to Chicago. Best views to me where in the California Sierra Nevada mountains and the Rocky Mountains. 👌🏻 best train ride ever

It's weird how interesting this was. American trains got their own little charm.

I'm considering this trip for my 50th in November. I've never ridden Amtrak before and really appreciate this tour. Thanks!

Bro, this is by far the best Amtrak video on KZfaq. Cheers!

To go from Austin to Denver we have to go to Chicago which is way out of the way. My son and I have been around the US and Canada twice. We always get the family sleeper with our own bathroom. The meals are incredible. Showering while moving is an art. I love waking up to orange juice and a newspaper under our door from the last stop.

My family travelled to FL on the auto train. There were 4 of us in 2 roomettes. They had 3 bathrooms and 1 shower at the rear of the car. It's tight but we were fine. We had no issues accessing either. Towels were provided. The food was good with 3 settings for dinner. The train was completely full, but everything was fine. Staff was great. Food was good. there was also continental breakfast. It's more expensive than flying, but I prefer it. No TSA, and you get to relax. I would suggest it for an overnight for sure. I'm not certain about 3 days. I enjoyed the trip and would do it again.

You guys are so down to earth! I love your honest evaluation of 3 day train travel. I think you had a blast. You got heart and soul. Thanks!

Quite good KZfaq Amtrak Special, Benny & Dan. You covered the facts good. I've never taken a trip via Amtrak...but within the past several days, I've been thinking of doing so to add to my "bucket list" of modes of transportations on vacations. Again, this video helped. Thanks.

My sisters. My mother and I took Amtrak from Cincinnati to Grand Junction in 1994. It was truly the adventure of our lives. The Rockies were amazing! Only bad thing was my wallet disappeared and I had to use the layover in Chicago to notify my credit card and travelers check people.

TraveledmSacrament to Cleveland several times: 1986, 1993 (just to Denver) 2000 and 2005 to Little Rock. We were so late getting into Chicago, we missed our connection to Little Rock, and of course Amtrak got us a very nice room in Chicago. Since our train the next day did not leave till the PM, we wandered around Chicago for half a day. It was a plus, at no cost to us. In 86 you could smoke on the train anywhere. 93 there was a smoking car. After 2000 you had to wait for a stop to smoke. Most stops you weren't allowed to get off, but You could sneak a butt in a bathroom. I met some of the most friendly and several fascinating people on the train. One was an 80 year old casino card dealer, and he had some card tricks that amazed me. And he had some stories to tell. I think he knew where some of the bodies were buried in the desert. Most people are on vacation, so most people's spirits were high, even when the train was late. Had some great conversations. Coming back from Denver one time the train was 8 hours late, so if you are in a hurry or pressed for time, the train might not be for you. The Sierras and the Rockies of course are the most exciting and breath taking part of the ride. And "Moon River" is a hoot! Amtrak schedules the trip so you travel through these areas during daylight hours, and travel through the monotonous desert at night. After you leave Denver it mostly corn and flat land. Best time to move to the Observation Car to have a chat with someone. Companion not very talkative? Move to a different seat. The food was very good and reasonable, and refreshments are available till late in the evening. 10 PM? They play movies in the Observation Car(s) in the evenings which are child friendly. If you travel Coach, you should bring a warm blanket, and although they supply a pillow, it's quite small, so bringing a comfy pillow is a plus. The seats are quite comfortable, but you can always wander around if your butt goes numb. They don't assign seats in coach and I recommend travelers try to get a seat in the middle of the cars, because people wander the train at all hours, and the doors at the end of each car make a lot of noise. If you are a light sleeper and need more quiet, you can sit in the lower decks, where there are no automatic doors just toilets, but the scenery will be less impressive. The toilets,offer a place to change clothes, shave and freshen up. Sometimes they have may have a room available, which you can rent for the night and gives you bed and access to the showers. When leaving Sacramento and Salt Lake City, you'll want to head to the observation car(s) early to get a good seat for the best views of the scenery. It may be more expensive then flying and a lot slower, but everyone should try this trip at least once in their life! I always enjoyed myself.

Dan--I agree with several comments--you produced the best Amtrak vid on YT--a record you have held for going on 5 years. I kept waiting for the rest of that Roomette to somehow appear, but it's a compact space. Hey...get exercise on those steps to the top bunk. After all the Amtrak cuts, hours late arrivals and tough reviews, I always like seeing good ol' train travel still happen.

I’ve traveled in a roomette many times, and your porter gets your beds ready, so you never have to do it yourself!!

Great video. You did an excellent job of describing the trip. Taking a train trip with you family is a great way to spend quality time together.

When passing from car to car it isn't necessary to use your hands to touch the door opener. There is also an opener at floor level which operates by touching it with your foot. My hands stayed cleaner this way on my 2 night trip from Chi to LA. Great video and thanks for posting.

I've taken every train leaving Chicago to the west coast. My favorite is the northern route, the empire builder. I try to always get a room. The train is my vacation!

Excellent. Now I can make a better decision about which kind of ticket to get - thanks! My favorite part is the slideshow at the end with ambient station sounds. Beautiful still shots.

Thank yu for sharing. I road Amtrak to N Cali. But not across country. Awesome. I work union station n now you've given me a better understanding of my own job, customer service n compassion

I have traveled from Portland Oregon to Fort Myers Florida several times. It is a 4 day trip. I love this trip the seats are roomy abd lots of leg room. I don' go any other way if I can hep it. That route run pretty much on time.

Great Video! I just did my first Amtrak today. 4 hour day trip from San Jose to San Luis Obispo then back. Just wanted a taste before I go for the long haul. Just booked Chicago to San Jose. It'll be quite the adventure.

What a wonderful video. Thank you. I have been on the Zephyr and Empire Builder many times and wished I had a videos of my trip. So glad I saw yours.

EXCELLENT JOB ON THIS VIDEO!...THANKS FOR TAKING TIME TO PRODUCE IT.

Nice little vid there, especially the part where the sightseeing ended with the mad dash back to the train car!!! LMAO!

I have converted my own roomette so many times I should be a porter for them. If you want a better / bigger shower sneak into transition sleeper. On some routes they sell space in these cars. Of all the AMTRAK routes this is the best for scenery due to its scheduling. As for being a train nut I have stayed in the Twin Finns hotel in the camera view across from the Emeryville station. All rooms have kitchenettes.

Dan ... thanks a million for recording and posting this marvelous video for everyone to watch ... I would love to do that trip ... For those who enjoy riding trains ... try The Canadian from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia or The Ocean from Montreal, Quebec, to Halifax, Nova Scotia ... both are awesome trains to travel on but you still run into the same problems with freight having priority over passenger trains ... I've ridden both of these passenger trains and I've also taken the City of New Orleans from Chicago south and back which I thoroughly enjoyed. On The Canadian, the bathroom was in a separate room (albeit small) in your bedroom and in the dining car, the cutlery and plates and glasses were a little higher class so to speak along with linen table cloths. Thanks again Dan for a super video ... looking forward to many more!

On the train it's like you're a human being. Much better than plane travel.

i just rode the same route and we were on time all the way to Chicago! It was a nice experience. Also, on the lower level of the sleeper cars there is a handicap accessible room that is the entire width of the train. We had one. I had a stroke and get around slow. It was tough walking around the train.

This is an excellent video. I've gone coach 6 times 3 round trips, from San Francisco to Fort Morgan CO (one stop past Denver). I never did the roomette because it was an extra $400 each way! which only seems reasonable if you are 2 people (but that would include 5 meals also so it isn't that insane). I'm going to have to try the Roomette (I know if I do, I'll never be satisfied with coach again). Daytime in coach is nice. Sleeping in coach is miserable. At least I had 2 seats overnight every time but that is not guaranteed. I'm 6'2" 215# So airline seats are horribly cramped for me. I've paid an extra $100 just for 5 more inches of knee space and it was worth it. I love the really wide, almost recliner sized seats on Amtrak (larger that airline 1st class). I also love being able to get up and walk around anytime. I really don't like the TSA security theater on airlines either. Thanks for the roomette overview.

Benny is so cool he rocks, he would be a great sidekick on a late night show. Thx guys for a great video.

Thank you for sharing. Its intresting to see how trains have changed since the 1950s , loved the vintage car of the 40s .It's too bad that Union Pacific doesn't have passenger trains anymore, at least in my state they don't, wish UP would start passenger trains here again. Alot of people, wish they would. We use to have a lovely old depot here, but they tore it down ,for a parking lot , now all we get through our city are freight trains. I enjoy trains, it takes longer, but the views are so beautiful. Enjoyed your photos at the end .

Very nice video! I was curious to see what that kind of trip would look like. Thanks so much for sharing! I hope your enjoyed your trip.

I should also mention that on the top half of the superliner car as the ones that are not roomette's, terms of a sleeping areas, they are regular bedrooms. Family room span the with of the entire car on the lower level.

Back in the 60s when I was a child, we rode from California to Chicago and then to Dayton on a train. We got to see so much beautiful scenes. It was really fun. I love trains.

This is so worth doing at least once. You see country that you’ll never see on the road, meet wonderful people, eat terrible food. I love it.

Hi! Great video! My husband, 5 year old daughter and I took the Zephyr from Sacramento to Chicago in 1978! We were moving to England, via the military, and wanted our daughter to "see America" before we left. The train ride was quite an experience! We had coach seats, but asked the conductor if we could buy a small room to sleep in for the first night. It was very cramped but had its own bathroom facilities. I loved our coach seats though! They were big and roomy and you had a spectacular view from both sides of the train. The rocking motion made me fall asleep all times of the day! Most memorable was when we were going through "the plains". Saw buffalo grazing and off in the distance there was a very active lighting storm. Absolutely beautiful. They didn't have showers back then, only a large ladies lounge with half a dozen sinks you could wash in. Be careful not to fill those sinks too full, the train movement sloshed the water all around! Yes, our train was three hours late. Didn't mind though. Here I am going on about our trip. I wanted to ask you if I could use your video on my blog. Your video is quite informative for travelers both here and abroad and I feel it would help them out. Until I hear from you... Thanks Ellyn

Great video Dan Thanks for showing inside the train, it was good because never seen inside the American train as I ive in Australia Hoping to come to America for vacation and ooking into doing train journey!

We rode this train about 20 years ago from Ottumwa Iowa to Reno. Two nights in coach was not fun, but loved the scenery in the Rockies. I live just a few blocks from the Depot. My grandma used to take it from Ottumwa Iowa, to Grand Junction Colorado every year in the 50's and 60's.

Thanks so much for posting this. I just booked a roomette on this train and now I know just what to expect.

I’ve traveled many many time in these small rooms. I think it’s totally worth it for the privacy alone. I love the all you can drink coffee and juice and the local newspaper under my door in the morning. Also the room service if you don’t feel like going to the dining car. I love the showers. Once on board you can ask if ther is a larger room available and we have done this many times with NO ADDED CHARGE

Amtrak doesn't own the tracks, they are owned by the rail companies so Amtrak doesn't have priority. They get put on sidings to let priority freight pass. So it's almost impossible for Amtrak to be on time. Nice video.

I’ve been on this train!!! I enjoyed it, I do remember that someone said that Amtrak does not have right of way on the tracks!!! I enjoyed my time on the California Zephyr!!

Thanks for the awesome video! It was very helpful! The guy who sits in the corner and stays on his computer all day sounds like me...

Thank you for actually giving me a good idea of what I'm signing up for this summer! I feel much more prepared to take my two kids on the train with me now. I'm actually going to be on the same train and stopping in Chicago as well. =)

I rode from LR to San Antonio, loved it! Way more leg room than a plane, no, not as fast, but A nice fairly economical way to travel!

I've watched a few of these videos in preparation for a trip in 2015 from MEM to NOL to LAX to CHI & back to MEM. This video is the best I have seen, and it answered a multitude of questions. Also, the video had a professional look to it. Thank you Mr. Quinlivan.

I've taken this trip three times....It was awesome! Thanks for sharing. Well done.

This was a pretty well made video. If you do another, I would mention that the bedrooms on the lower level of the Sleeper are: The Family bedroom at one end and the opposite end is the Handicapped Accessible Bedroom. On your video here, I could see that the Family Bedroom was UNoccupied and you should have taken the opportunity to film it. The upper level big bedrooms are called Deluxe Bedrooms and worth filming. There's almost always one vacant. To me, a major part of any train trip is the 1st Class waiting room at the station for people with bedrooms and roomettes. Any time I'm in Chicago, i get to Union Station WAY early just to hang out in the Station---the Metropolitan Lounge, the food court where they have live music. You guys do such good videos that i think you could handle this part of an overall train experience.

Thanks for the video. Found it quite interesting. I only have taken trains on short trips. Would love to take one for a few day ride.

Thank you for sharing that trip. Makes me want to take a train across the country, maybe Chicago to Pacific Northwest.

I did three Cross country train trips in the 1960s. The cars were very similar in confirmation too the ones you rode. My brother and I were in a sleeper car with my mother. It was also called a roomette. We had a sink and toilet in the room, if you can believe it!They all originated in Seattle, destinations were WA DC, South Bend, IN, and Cincinnati OH, one way. Back in the day passenger rail ran on the same trains as the freights. That eliminated the priority issues, and made on time service the rule rather than the exception. It also kept the freight operators honest on speed and recklessness.

Great train ride. I rode that train from Denver to Chicago

Great to see you Benny. Love traveling Amtrak. This is great info, so helpful.

Nice video, captures the train very well. My wife and I just completed a round trip California Zephyr from Denver Colorado to Roseville Ca and back again. We traveled with our son, his wife and our granddaughter. We had the same room you did and our son had the Superliner Bedroom for his little family. We felt the food was really good and was almost too much to eat. It was all included in the cost of our rooms. I have to admit that my wife and I are very tiny people, 5'5 and 5'2 and we definitely felt confined in those tiny bunks at night. I am very impressed that you and your friend were able to use them. It was not bad, just very confining. All in all, we really had a great time. The train overall was very clean and the attendants were great as well. Thanks for sharing this video.

This is a clear and well example of where the government can when the market cannot. Without the government, the market never would've been able to come up with an alternative to Amtrak.

If Amtrak owned more of the tracks it was on, it would be on-time more. Freight companies own those tracks, so they typically get priority over passenger service.

In my opinion it's the experience getting to your destination and not the speed of getting there. If I went on a vacation I would use Amtrak so I can relax and enjoy the scenery go by and my vacation because relaxing is the whole point of having a vacation. In my opinion so what Amtrak is late it's really relaxing to just sit back and enjoy the scenery go by and without worrying about the security checks at airports and highway traffic between Downtown and the airport. Sure I can see the benefits of planes like if you have kids and one of them have cancer and you needed to get to St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee even I would use a plane to get there as soon as possible. But if it's just for a vacation I would use Amtrak over a airline anyday.

Best train video so far. Your graphics were wonderful. Thanks

MY 1st train ride with Daniel and his friends! Thanks for taking me with you...an unanticipated distraction.....during a headcold...cruising KZfaq and found YOU of all things! My LAST train ride took my Mom and me from WPG. to BC......we had to share a TOP berth.....not much fun in the dark, jostling back to back and belly to belly with your moM!! But..beautifully amniotic....I would give ANYTHING to do it again, in far better conditions than anything the very antiquated CNR provided in 1969. And next to someone I absolutely adored....total darkness encapsulated enveloped in rail circles and screeches ...train travel SHOULD be fashionably distinctive, the way it used to be! It could be so romantic. Hypnotized Happy Carefree and unfettered by LIFE. You have a pleasant voice and manner........it was a PLEASURE being in your company. Thank you!

Verry Cool. Thanks for sharing

I have taken several different Amtrak routes including the California Zephyr. Always coach. Your video is excellent. What you didn't show here is the lower level of the coach cars where there are restrooms and a separate room with 2 sinks to clean up on one half and the other half is lower level coach seating. There is plenty of room to clean up and change clothes in there so those that get "ripe" during the trip are possibly just too lazy to defunk themselves on the longer trips. Coach riders can eat in the dining car, rather expensive to do so tho. I spend most of my time in the lounge car talking with others till the early hours and had you gone down the stairs you passed in the lounge car you would have found a snack bar where they sell drinks, pizza, chips and so on. Again, expensive. Coach riders can bring a cooler on board, and there are water spigots in the cars to refill your water bottles. I love riding the train. Note, Amtrak trains are notoriously late, mainly due to the fact that other than the East Coast they are running on Freight Company owned tracks so they get stopped a lot as the freight trains take priority. I was on a train once from the West Coast to Chicago with a vintage car hooked up on the rear, Executives from Burlington Northern I believe. We had NO delays on that trip! Arrived a bit ahead of schedule......

I’m not going to talk through it, including not saying excuse me ☝🏼lol😂 this vid is epic.. the seat not folding down is classic footage.

This was nice. When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's I rode the Zephyr several times mostly between IL and Denver. Once to California. I remember the smell of cigarettes and the fabulous French Toast in the dining car. Benny seems like a great guy.

I'm going on an Amtrak train tomorrow

I took the Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville and it was a great experience. I had a roomette to myself, all meals included, a great attendant, good food, great views, and I arrived at my destination just 10 minutes behind schedule. I will try the Coast Starlight or the Empire Builder next.

A great presentation of a Zephyr ride.

I really loved my trip on the Zephyr, next time i want to get a roomette sleeper.

If only our leaders had the guts to take Amtrak more seriously. Our rail infrastructure is a half-century behind the rest of the industrialized world.

get a 15 day railpass and travel coach. you can see the whole country for 1500 bucks including rental cars and gas. i did cle to chi to glacier and grand tetons to sea to sf/sequoia and back home in 2012. it was great. slept in the car and showered in the parks. bring a blanket, pillow and get food at grocery stores! :).

That was beautiful and iformative, thank you Dan!

I took this train around 10 years ago out of Denver to SF. It's slow moving through the Rockies but the observation cars make that a pretty fun experience. We're even taught a few things. They told us when we passed the location of the Donner Party tragedy. They also pointed out a location where President Roosevelt was known to visit

Epic trip and video

Those other rooms on the top level are for two people. However, they have more leg room and have a sink, toilet, and shower. And it is a neat thing that Amtrak will tow people's private railcars for them (at a cost of course).

Very good video, Dan. I have viewed many other videos on the same subject. Yours stands out. You were methodical in the way you presented the information. You took your time in recording the scenes and did a good job of editing. My wife and I have taken the California Zephyr several times. It is a good trip.

I did this trip the 3rd week of Feb,2019 for my birthday. It was spectacular...thriling and so much fun. Stefan, the dining car Maitre D was great, and Tony our sleeping car Attendant was wonderful. I tell everyone to support these long distance lines while we have them because nothing is promised for their future.

19:57 best part running for their lives 😂😂😂

Awesome video, American trains are amazing. Nothing like that here in the UK... not that we would need a sleeper train given it only takes about 12 hours to get the full length of the country on a train :)

Thanks to your great video...I recently took this trip (Sept. 11) and had my own roomette. I was traveling alone so my cabin was cozy. I was on the bottom floor...twenty feet away from three bathrooms and one shower. My large luggage bag was 10 feet away on the "luggage storage racks" available to all the passengers on this particular car. I can "no way...share that small compartment with another human being...male or female." I had a fun time...having my own room!

TERRIFIC representation of a long distance First Class Sleeper Roomette AMTRAK train 🚂adventure. THANKS 🙏 GUYS!!! The Zephyr is a great cross country lateral trip travels the center of the USA, similarly towards the north there is the Empire Builder and south Sunset Limited. FYI (we take the Coast Starlight each year along the Pacific Coast) more enjoyable with a solo traveler per roomette. Dinning car offers great 3/course meals and companionship.

The reason the chairs are hard to convert is YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSE TO DO IT YOURSELF! It is suppose to be done by the attendant

The bottom bunk is much more comfortable than the upper bunk because the bed is made up on the chair cushions where the top bunk is a thin mattress on a hard support. One thing I'm not sure you mentioned is that if you book a Roomette or any other sleeper accommodation, your meals are included in the fare, where is you travel in coach you have to pay for meals out of pocket.

Thanks for sharing, very informative video ,now I know what to expect on my journey, yet I am sure everyone has their version of what to call it: The Peace, Love , Midnight, Soul , Night, or Crazy Train, lol

This is a very good tour of Amtrak train. Very thorough. Thanks!!

I love Amtrak. I hope passenger trains will have Renaissance in USA. Here in Europe passenger trains dominate. Well, they are mostly 200 miles per hour high speed trains or some nice night trains too. But this huge car long distance trains are awesome. Almost fait price still too much for roumlette I think. Family coupes are by far overpriced like 1000$ from Seattle to Los Angeles. Well, we think subsidizing trains is fine so trains tend to be cheaper than flights in EU (thanks subsidies).

I slept so hard while on the Empire builder

Excellent video. I"ve been toying with the idea of traveling coast to coast by rail for years. This really helps flesh out the picture. Thanks.

I took the CZ from Chicago to Oakland and then bus to SF. It was a hell of a trip....no sleeper though.....Just uncomfortable seats.....met a lot of cool people though and the scenery was out of this world. Thanks for posting....great memories.