Train Travel Across the United States

From Trains #1 and #2 by KarenandBrad

It’s been said that in the Victorian era, train travel etiquette recommended that passengers with weak lungs not speak, lest they tire themselves out by talking too loudly. It was also considered bad taste to wear fancy jewelry while traveling. Luckily, there’s a different meaning to good manners today! And yet, train travel continues to hold just as much allure as it has throughout the ages. Gazing out the window as you pass through the landscape, napping in the sleeper car, or reading a book with the lulling rhythm of the train across the tracks below; these are just a few reasons for our love affair with trains.

Today’s photo of the day conjures the magic of train travel. KarenandBrad just returned from a cross-country train trip, leaving from Baltimore and ending up in Glacier National Park, Montana before flying back to California.

An excerpt from their blog:

“We board our next train at about 4. This one is the Capitol Ltd, which is a double-decker train. It will take us all the way to Chicago, stopping along the way at Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Toledo, and a few other places. The seats are very comfortable, somewhat larger than airplane seats. The motion of the train is smooth and relaxing. After a pretty intense week of work, it’s nice to just sit and look out the window and not have to do anything else. I like hearing the soft train whistle as we come through various towns.

The scenery in West Virginia is very pretty. It is so green, and there are many picturesque streams and rivers. We see 10+ deer as evening approached. We visited the observation car before dinner, which has glass all the way up and over half the ceiling.” (more…)

Later in their trip, they passed through the Great Plains:

“This leg of the train trip is on the Empire Builder. It’s a very nice train with a friendly crew. In the sightseer car, they have a team of national park people doing commentary on the areas we’re passing through. We enjoyed this on our southwestern train trip and were happy to have it on this one too.” (more…)

To create a similar trip on the rails, visit:

United States Travel Guide
United States Travel Map
Traveling with Amtrak