Ah, train travel! The romantic swaying of two souls experiencing the American countryside via rails. How did dedicated plane travelers make the switch? Did it take? Will we embrace hobo culture? Well…that all remains to be seen.
We had originally taken Amtrak‘s Hiawatha service from Chicago to Milwaukee the previous week and were well pleased with the price and overall experience. There was little fuss deciding what to do with our luggage, and yes, the Union Station terminal was a madhouse, but it was easy enough to find our platform. Most of our initial issues with travel, frankly, stemmed from years of airlines conditioning us to think in terms of poundage and security. Trains are exceedingly chill in comparison.
There aren’t any security checks, for one. No one is screening your luggage. And unless you’re picky about where to sit, finding a seat is a matter of plopping your butt in the first available option. Our tickets were scanned after we had already boarded and settled so we didn’t have to bother with stuffing tickets into a pocket while pulling shoes on and off, etc. Airlines could learn a little about making travel enjoyable — it’s been sadly missing these past ten years or more.
Anyway, with one positive experience under our belts, we decided to try a longer run from Milwaukee to Seattle. This would settle a short term issue of where to sleep for a few days and would give a fuller idea of what riding the rails would be like. The timing was such, however, that only coach seats were available. While coach is half the price of a dedicated sleeping berth, it does mean you have to sleep in your admittedly fully-reclining, foot-rested spot. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the seats were as ergonomically comfortable sitting as they were reclining.
Rotten sleep coupled with a lack of pillows and a blanket were one thing, but the intermittent stops in the middle of the night were distracting, too. We also had one train decoupling (where half the train made way for Portland), that further disrupted sleep by cutting off the buzz of AC and jolted the car with the jackhammers needed to severe one half from the other.
In short, bring the comforts of home if you want to actually sleep & splurge a bit on the sleeping car. Ear plugs, if you’re so inclined.
Just to round out the other issues — there’s no wifi on the long haul. That makes sense as you’re going through the heartland of America where no one needs Facebook or Twitter, ie, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and eastern Washington state. We had each downloaded plenty of books in anticipating of spotty service, so no real hardship was endured on that score. We also packed our cooler full of drinks and snacks as I suspected Amtrak was stocked by a food service company that hates Coke products and fair prices. I was correct.
Having said all that, there were parts we actually liked. There’s an observation lounge that offers floor to ceiling views of the passing scenery on both sides of the train. Granted, you’re looking at North Dakota most of the time, but it’s nice to get out of your seat and mingle. Many people bought snacks on the train and ate while enjoying the view, or started card games, or had loud phone conversations. Others were less concerned about where those took place. Ahem. For the most part, train travelers are a well-behaved group of people.
We also tried the dining car, but only for breakfast. Splurging on breakfast felt less indulgent for some reason. Since trains are compact, you don’t get to sit by yourself while enjoying your scrambled eggs. Forced company first thing in the morning was the rule, but I’m long practiced in making chit-chat over coffee so it was actually enjoyable to learn about people’s experiences and to meet a few who’ve actually done the Empire Builder route more than once.
If you’re not in a hurry and know the limits of the bathroom situation (slightly smaller and slightly larger than airplanes,) it is a great way to see fly-over country.
The best part was crossing the continental divide and seeing the country abruptly spike from endless plains to tree-lined mountains. We passed through the second-longest rail tunnel on this continent (15 minutes of pitch black), and spotted several potential fly fishing spots (hello, Index, WA!)
Would we do it again? Maybe. If we had enough time and a little more to spend on the lux version of train travel, and certainly if we packed a few more creature comforts. It’s not a bad way to go and I’m glad we went. In the meantime, expect us to jet back from the West Coast.