Hearing what you are saying about the Roomet, top bunk space reminds me of my days in the Navy on the ships. At least on the ship we kind of had wider bunks & those are normal 3 high.

Hey guys thank you for all the videos they are very helpful. I was wondering do you or would you guys be willing to talk more one on one. My wife and I are taking a trip hear shortly and planning on returning on amtrak from Chi town to San Diego and I would love to ask you some questions?

The idea that you just have to assume it will be late is a reason they aren't really competitive for travel dollars.

Have you taken train from Boston to nyc? Is Acela worth it?

It’s nothing like New York subways. Amtrak is clean, nothing is tore up, no graffiti everywhere, it’s very nice and comfortable. If you are disabled, tell them when we are boarding or before at the station, and they’ll show you to a roomier seat close to the restrooms. If this had not been the case, I could not have taken the train. However, I did encounter one lady who looked at me and said show me your disability card. I told her the US govt does not issue you a disability card, no such card exists, but I showed her my Medicare card, which, in my early 50’s could only mean I qualified for Medicare DUE to a medical disability. Remember folks, many people are disabled in ways that may not be apparent to your eyes, don’t judge what you don’t know. Anyway, now I take my vehicular handicapped placard that can hang from a car mirror, with me and just whip it out with a photo of my handicap license plates, which match the portable placard. Voila, proof I am disabled. Now don’t they feel silly. Plus stupid and judgmental. Other than that one experience, I was not troubled again on any trip and the porters helped my with my one bag, very kindly helped me embark and disembark. Just speak up. For some reason, there’s always that one person who thinks ALL disabled people are confined to wheelchairs, we’re not. Thanks, and enjoy your trip 😍 Traveling near Washington.D.C., your car will be walked through with sniffer dogs, usually German Shepherds, Security people, throughout each car. This may occur more than once. This made me feel safer too.

Thank you for your video. Very helpful.

What I plan to bing on the train which will be my first solo trip by myself. And first trip on a train is my purse my crochet bag and my clothes bag obviously And maybe my water cup, although I'm not sure.

What about a pair of trains that leaves for Chicago a bit earlier than the (planned) departure of the Empire Builder, and then returns as soon as reasonably possible for a single train set? Might really add options.

It would be nice if they connected Sioux Falls to Bismarck via Aberdeen SD. Not sure if that is possible logistically but there is no other way to get from one city to the other without driving a car. Aberdeen had 4 different train lines going through there a while back and I believe all of those depots are still standing.

I'm 80 and traveled by train often before Amtrak but have never rode an Amtrak train. Now that I live alone since my wife of 56 years passed away in 2021, I don't feel much like traveling anywhere without her. I'd planned for us to take a bedroom roundtrip on the Empire Builder from St Paul to Seattle but we never got around to it. In the early 1960s my future wife and I would each pay 35 cents one way between St Paul & Minneapolis. Back then there were many railroads and we liked to experience each one. The Chicago & Great Western had the oldest coaches, maybe built in the 1940s. They had wood paneling with maroon upholstery to match the maroon exterior. When I was stationed at Minot AFB, I would take the Great Northern Empire Builder or the all day local trains #3 & #4 which made frequent stops between Minot and St Paul. Trains #3 & #4 would stop at Grand Forks & Devils Lake and I recall Amish people often riding that train as they boarded in the small towns of northeastern North Dakota. While living in Minot I once took the Empire Builder roundtrip to Whitefish MT. This was during April and I recall a heavy snowstorm as the westbound train entered higher elevations of the Rockies. The GN Empire Builder had several dome cars which provided views from all sides. My family moved to the Upper Midwest from Silver Spring MD when I was 12 and I would often return by train to the DC area and visit relatives. I would take the Twin Cities Zephyr to Chicago and The General (PRR) from Chicago to DC. Another train trip we took was between St Paul & Kansas City MO which was the Twin Star Rocket (Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR). In December 1962 I rode the all night train #11 from St Paul to International Falls and returned on the afternoon train #12 which was the first time I'd ever been in that part of MN. I recall Native Americans from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe riding the train between Bemidji and International Falls. After celebrating New Years Eve 1966 in Glendive MT, my wife and I rode the Northern Pacific Mainstreeter to Bismarck and then took a Frontier Airlines flight back to Minot. The only other trains I recall riding were between St Paul & Duluth MN. My first trip to Duluth was in the late 1950s during winter when my mother, little brother and I rode Soo Line trains #62 & #63 roundtrip. A few years later my future wife and I rode the Northern Pacific night trains #65 & #66 to Duluth and back.

Y’all have so much class and very nice.

Where do you all live?

I’m definitely gonna use this route. I’ll be using it to come back from Oktoberfest in lacrosse this year.

Stupidity, ignorance, or a combination of both. To me, those are the reasons why people do things like this.

The grits are awesome.

Gluten free is a scam. Unless you actually have celiac disease, you do not need gluten free.

Would be nice if they continued this through Aberdeen SD and then up to Bismarck. Not sure if that is possible logistically but....

I want a national park passport. You get stamps when you go to a national park! They have a special stam for riding the Empire Builder!

Bravo! Well done.

They speak truth about the Redline in LA. People getting completely naked to change clothes is one of the more “tame” things you’ll see on the Redline.

Did you give the pricing choices?

I think I would just pay for a flight on a good airline(not a cheap airline), then have to be on a train with these types of people.

Just booked a round trip from MSP to Winona for the first day of the Borealis!

I haven’t been on an Amtrak trip but it is on my bucket list. Thank you for all the tips.

LOL! In Whitefish now waiting for the Empire Builder. Yep; it’s late! The waiting room is packed! I thought this was a small stop

2 years!? For what would take a normal person maybe 5 minutes? And still no direct routes to the Midwest from Florida!? I live in Florida and we've been kind of stuck in the same mode as Atlanta, and it's good to see them finally putting the service back between Jacksonville and New Orleans, but it's still terrible service. If you want to see more people riding, then you need to make it convenient for people to use. I don't see why it's so hard to run a train from Tampa to Atlanta, just lay new tracks right down the median of I75, all the over-passes are already built. High speed service between Atlanta and Tampa would be full every day. The biggest boost to train use in the US would be a new line linking Miami all the way to Milwaukee. New tracks linking the big cities and then using the old tracks to pick people up in smaller cities, while allowing people to buy passes for multiple rides. No reason you shouldn't be able to jump on a train in a place like Waycross, Ga., ride it to Atlanta and then jump on a high speed train to Nashville or Chicago. It is way past time for a national transit system, that includes trains and buses, that allows people to buy a monthly or yearly pass to ride both. The interstate system and airports are so overcrowded, its dangerous to use either one. I4 here in Florida is just a death trap.

Most of these north-south routes are pipe dreams and stupid ideas to start with. Sioux Falls, Amarillo and Tulsa don't need train lines running through them. There just aren't enough people there to make it economically sufficient. That is why we have Greyhound bus routes - in part to feed into train stations. However, there is one former route and one new route which need to be (re)instituted - a route from Chicago to Savannah through Louisville, Nashville and Atlanta, is essential for Southeast U.S. service, and the former route between Jacksonville and New Orleans needs to be restored. Get it worked out with the freight lines, Amtrak!

Thank you very much!!!! Very informative!!!! My Philippine wife and I will definitely enjoy our trip across America...she has never been here before and I like roomette idea...we will definitely enjoy that !!! Thank you for the tip!!!! Love you guys

5:48 To make Business Class worth the premium, you’d need to drink something like 20 cans of Soda or more to “get your money’s worth”. Pass

Sooo glad I found your channel!!👏👏. I have loved trains since I was a kid but was never on a long trip on an Amtrak passenger train till about 15 years ago! Better late than never😂. Am planning a trip next year from Jacksonville to Boston….can hardly wait. This will be the first time I will have a roomette.😁👍👏👏👏. Love your vids, love your insights. Be safe, Be blessed.🙏🙌

I weigh 105 and a tiny shower is no problem

Roomettes are fine if you are traveling alone.

I boarded the California zephyr and didn't know there were assigned seats. Nobody told me they just let me board. I took a seat and I was in someone's seat, they sat somewhere else . The conductor came to scan tickets and told me I was in the wrong car. So I'm guilty of taking someone's seat but I honestly didn't know . I didn't think anything of it becuase the previous train I was on didn't have assigned seats in coach

right now, with the AMtrak sale, the one-way coach seat fare (basic, not flex) from Chicago to Minneapolis is only $30!!!

How exciting!

So if we have multiple rooms, is there any reason we can't hang out in each others rooms or swap rooms? Mainly asking because if husband snores too much I want to go to the other room.

I think it is good to give a reminder that the train stops in St. Paul, not in Minneapolis. So, making a 7:00 pm Twins game would not really be possible even when taking the Borealis train. With that said, I plan to use the heck out of this new route because I always hate having to be at the station so early, and then the train is often late. I very much like having the option to leave around noon instead - it will get me to MKE or CHI still with enough time for a nice dinner somewhere before I do whatever evening activity I have.

Last week we booked coach round trip from Roanoke, VA to NYC for $100 each for flex tickets. Today a Facebook Ad promised 30% off so I clicked on the link to see how much I overpaid. The same dates were offered at $300! After verifying I was on the actual Amtrak site I closed the window, then after repeating the test by clicking the sale banner on their own site and getting the same results I closed the window again and entered the same dates as before at their home page and the price of flex tickets went back down to $100. I've got screen shots of both.

I'm from Florida and am looking forward to seeing more connections though our state. It's exciting to see many of the planned routes. Europe has such good train travel, I'm glad to see us moving forward!!!!

Just a reminder, you are not getting into Minneapolis; the station is in St Paul (says a St Paulite).

We were disappointed to learn that we cannot travel on this train with our bikes

Thank you for this amazing list of accessible travel spots. 💞 As a person with a spinal cord injury of fifteen years, my husband and I are always looking for handicap accessible travel where I can enjoy the area from my power chair. We especially enjoy vacationing in nature. Some of these spots will definitely be added to our bucket list; with Joshua Tree going to the top for the upcoming summer season. Thanks again and God bless. 💞🙏

Cool! Is this annual? If so, I will make plans for next year.

What VIA calls a cabin for one is, in fact, a roomette. Roomettes were introduced to American railroads by the Pullman Company in 1937. They were designed for ONE person, or an adult and a small child. (my dad and I took one when I was six years old.) Amtrak called its smaller rooms on Superliners "economy bedrooms". Then they started calling them roomettes. You would have to put me under torture to get me to call anything Amtrak runs a roomette. Because they are NOT roomettes. If Amtrak were to call them cantaloupes, that wouldn't MAKE them cantaloupes, right? A roomette is a room for ONE person. That's one, un, une or uno. Or, as my sixth-grade teacher might have said to a dense student: the number that's between zero and two.

I have seen lots of different tips and tricks videos but this is a new one.

I’ve only booked a bedroom once. I had no issues with the bathroom, but it was just an overnight trip (Autotrain), so I waited until I reached my destination to shower. I have never had any problem with the Superliner upper bunk - but (1) I’m not claustrophobic and (2) I’m 4’10” 😀.

Where is the station (Amtrak) in San Francisco?

Amtrak is like traveling on a covered wagon. Horrible compared to others.

Hi guys. I posted 8 days ago. This is to update that LA to Newton KS and back again. The fun part was seeing my son and his wife and going to the Nascar race. My driver won and set a nascar record. Besides that, the Southwest chief was so slow going and we hit the outside of the bad thunderstorms. 3 hours late to KS arrived 5 am. Return trip was a nightmare. 1 hr 33 mins late arriving. Middle of New Mexico our sleeper car had a breaker trip. Engineer tried to fix it, it arcs and we have no electricity in our sleeper car. And the cars on this #3 train were so old its ridiculous. Arrive in Gallup NM announcement was our car will be taken off this train and we will be displaced in Flaggstaff. Hilton accommodation at 1 am. Before we arrived I get a email that I have been rebooked to a coach seat to LA. Now i have to tell u, I booked disabled and elderly into a roomette. I was the only one of 14 displaced in Flagstaff that was booked into coach. Medically it took its toll. I wasnt prepared for a coach ride. Old train car and bathrooms were tiny and filthy. Had to share seat with another passenger which was unbearable. I did get refund in cash for the ride not in a roomette. But if i want to claim the inconvenience i would receive a voucher.[At that point on the phone i was in tears and would call them back.] Service was terrible and we were 2 hours late into LA. Then had to wait 45 mins for red cap service, which made me late for bus transfer to Bakersfield, they didnt wait. Finally got into Bakersfield and boarded the San Joaquin with all brand new cars. Clean, spacious, and you could put 3 wheelchairs in the bathroom. Ended up being 1 day and 2 hours late into Stockton. And i still had to drive home to the bay area. Oh and yes when we were pulling out of Gallup, NM we hit a truck Thats the 2nd time i was on Amtrak and my train hit a truck. Last time was worse, we derailed. So like above color me very dissatisfied. Hate planes so dont know if I'll take those vouchers. Still luv ur videos.

Did y’all have wine?