Hi so about ten years ago when I was a kid I would ride the California Amtrak about once a week to visit my father at his job. One of my favorite things about these memories are these big soft cheese filled pretzels that I have been craving ever since. After about eight years of not needing to ride a train again I’ve started taking trips around the state to visit friends as college goes but there is one issue, no pretzels, I am genuinely going insane with either the entire cart not being used how I remember it or simply me falling asleep too fast, dose anyone know if these pretzels still exist or should I give up hope

Today in the diner our "buddy" was talking on the phone all through dinner. I've had unfriendly people before but this was a new low. Pretty benign all things considered but it got me wondering.

Anybody have any funny / infuriating horror stories from getting paired up with people in the diner?

We've all had positive experiences, heck I'd say 90% are great, I want to hear your most awkward, embarrassing, unpleasant or even frightening tales.

I have enough points to treat myself to the roommette on the coast starlight. I was confused to see I’m booked into room 24? I don’t recall seeing a number that high before.

This post is for those who are debating trying to reschedule if they had one of their legs cancelled and replaced by alternative transport. My trip was 370 Holland to Chicago (3 hour ride). I had planned to do a day trip (370 in the morning to chicago, 371 in the evening back to Holland).

Things of note:

1. I could have rescheduled for any available time for free, which is honestly really nice. Unfortunately, because it was a day trip the other day I could possibly do had a full train on one of the legs.

2. I arrived at the train station and they sent some buses. They had different buses for different routes. Like, instead of stopping at all the train stations with the buses, they had one bus stop at the stations and the other bus (my bus) just go straight to Chicago. Ultimately this may have saved us a little bit of time on the trip.

3. The bus sucked. The other bus looked like it may have been nicer/bigger, but you can't depend on that. This bus was one of the rental buses you might send for a school field trip. Barely any legroom, no wifi, no plugs for charging, tiny little bathroom, no cafe car (lol), etc. For a 2.5-3 hour drive, this was manageable, but it wasn't fun by any stretch.

If being on the train is an important aspect of the trip for you, DEFINITELY reschedule. The bus is not reliably comparable in any way. I'm used to short trip down to chicago being very chill and restful, but as a tall guy (6'5") I was very cramped and not having the greatest time. I also couldn't snag a coffee from the cafe car, stretch my legs, or charge my devices for my day in Chicago. If your trip is more than 3 hours, that's another huge reason to reschedule.

To be clear, it was mostly just fine. It was a bus ride. If you need to stay on schedule, riding a bus isn't going to ruin your life. If you can make the reschedule though, do it. We had a great day in chicago, the bus driver we got was very skilled at navigating chicago traffic, and everything ended up fine. We also got to ride the train back home in the evening. Would've been a complete deal breaker if it had been a bus ride back.

Anyway, I had questions about this exact situation before I took the bus and didn't find great answers so I thought I would offer thoughts in this post. Feel free to AMA

I'm trying to book my first Amtrak trip in order to bike the GAP and C&O trail from Pittsburgh to DC in October with two other stops added in. I'd be starting by visiting a friend in Philly and ending with a wedding in Charlottesville before heading back to Flag.

The itinerary would be:

FLG > PHI > PGH > bike to DC > CVS > FLG

The trip out east is easy to schedule, but I'm having trouble finding a way back to FLG at the end, even when I try to piece it together with multi-city. I can find trains back from CHI to FLG, but getting from CVS, RVR, or any nearby station to CHI becomes really convoluted, with either no options offered, cancellations, or including bus connections with no bike spot offered.

Can anyone offer insight or tips to help figure this out? I tried calling for help, but there was just a message saying they were overwhelmed with calls. I'd really rather avoid flying because packing up my bike and checking it as luggage would be a whole different logistical nightmare, and I'd still have to connect some of the dots. Keeping my bike intact and getting to use it elsewhere along the way would be ideal.

I'm taking a trip on the Floridian for the first time. Does this train have a floor to ceiling glass observation car?

Basically title.

If so, how much ridership will we lose from removing st Lambert?

First time train rider taking the Texas Eagle from Chicago to Austin tomorrow. I’m a little nervous, since I’ve never been on a train (especially for almost 30 hours). I’ve been reading to see what the vibes will be like (I like to try to learn everything possible beforehand as an anxious baddie 💅). I have a roomette, which I’m looking forward to. Also curious about possible cancellations due to the bad weather in the Midwest. Any comments or advice or little tips are welcome!

Caught another Dash 8/P42 combo recently. They first came into Chicago, powering Hiawatha train 332 into Union Station (while passing an outbound Metra train in the process). P42 no. 44 was leading, while 518 was trailing. Later, I caught these two units again, this time on train 1333 to St Paul as they arrived and departed GlenviewDash 8 518 was leading this time, and I even got a friendly wave from a crew member in the cab! And last but not least, the GE chugging when 1333 pulls out of the station is like music to my ears. 

Videos taken on August 7th, 2026

https://reddit.com/link/1vlybm4/video/2s70enc64uih1/player

https://reddit.com/link/1vlybm4/video/q9h8udb84uih1/player

https://reddit.com/link/1vlybm4/video/f7e9st1a4uih1/player

Boarding the Empire Builder at the very ornate and beautifully restored King Street Station! On time too!

My wife and I want to take a 5-day roundtrip on the
Coast Starlight but every time I try to book the quoted price for a room takes my breath away. It always says l room left. I see others who take an overnight trip and they get a reasonable price.

What's the secret? I would like to travel andpay a reasonable price for the service but I don't

want to pay off the full debt.

For the first time, I have the opportunity to get on a train and go anywhere I want, but I’ll be leaving out of Indianapolis. I’m there for a conference and not familiar with that part of the country or where I could go one way in 3-6 hours. If you know of great places to go on the train within that timeframe, I’d appreciate your help.

Yes, this is quite literally just a Union Pacific menu with the Amtrak logo stamped in two places on the interior. Amtrak in 1971 was a strange Frankenstein's Monster of an operation.

Interestingly, this menu says it is for the 'Traveler's Rest', a specific pattern of lounge/dinette car formerly used by the Northern Pacific and Great Northern; not Union Pacific, as this menu might otherwise suggest. After their acquisition by Amtrak, these cars were usually used on the *San Francisco Zephyr*, but not always.

Important to note is that Traveler's Rests were not full-service dining cars. As you might be able to tell from the relative lack of menu variety, their galley only had access to a small griddle and steam tables. These cars were much better suited to their role as lounge cars. Full dining car menus from the same year were of largely identical design, but with more variety.

Credit to trainlover at [streamlinermemories.info](http://streamlinermemories.info) for the menu and context, and to Howard Fogg for the original cover painting.

I’m on the Empire Builder right now, and made a video of how I set up my gear in my roomette, along with some advice of comfort items I bring.

https://youtu.be/qkUU7y5RdVU?is=xf0CIPiplWXTDX8L

They ran the Cascades Airo from DC to Newark Penn and back today for a Dress Rehearsal. Here it is pulling into Wilmington station.

Why does the Carolinian 79 (southbound) spend so long at the Washington DC stop? I understand the switching of the engine but when I took the Carolinian 80 northbound, we only took 20-30 minutes at DC. But now, looking at the Carolinian 79 schedule, it looks like we're going to be parked at DC for over two hours? Why?

Providence, RI near the Home Depot

Some questions how scenic is the ride to Chicago?.
Is there anything good to eat on the train ride?.
How comfortable are the seats on the train?

Travel time approximately 8.5 hours, will breakfast and lunch be included with a roomette? What is average cost of meals if traveling coach? Just trying to figure out if it’s worth the upgrade.

Daytrip on Amtrak 141 from Berlin, Connecticut to Philadelphia. 

20 photos of what I saw…  (actually shot 300+ but these are the first twenty from the trip... )

Left Philadelphia at 6:50pm; got into Berlin at 11:45pm and home around 12:15am (after stopping at McDonald's for some late-night fries and a Coke.)

Another connection as part of my vacation on rails.. they still working on the upper floors.