The videos are just absolutely awesome. I am visually impaired and I really enjoy you describing the trains, where are you are going and everything along the way. It makes me feel as though IM aboard the train. Please keep up the good work, thank you.
I think you are probably correct. I myself am NOT a 'railfan' per se, but I do find the view of the train ahead making a curve to be scenically attractive, so I include decent shots of this in my videos.
@@youtuuba if you werent a railfan you foooled me my friend. love the material though. i was in socal in 2016, flew to santa ana then to capistrano. had seen alot of this area.
My wife and I have traveled many times on the CZ and Chief. We enjoy rail travel for relaxation and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. For those who are not members of the National Association of Rail Passengers, (NARP), please consider joining. It's an organization that lobbies Washington to promote Amtrak funding.
Outstanding video. It brought back memories of our trip on the Southwest Chief. My husband and I have also taken the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight. We love AMTRAK.
I am watching A Train Odessey 2 for the third time. It get better with age. I have be considering this same trip for some time now,however I will be starting off in KC. Ten thousand thumbs up Sir.
I just love your videos. I have watched everyone of you Amtrak videos at least twice and being retired Air Force at 75 years old, I love your aviation videos. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for posting your videos. You very informative and helpful. I’m going to do one of these long distant train trip soon. I love beautiful scenery.
I love these train trips with you and the narration with your wonderful radio/TV type voice. Thank you so much! I live west of Chicago in Aurora, an old train town.
While I may be in the minority, I actually love looking at the rich huge partially green farmlands in western Illinois. It may not be mountains but this area is so vital to us all. It makes me appreciate this fertile and productive part of our country to see acre after acre of our lovely land.
I just want to thank you for posting these informative videos. I grew up riding trains back and forth from Atlanta to New York and back and once as an adult from Atlanta to Washington DC and back with mother and my kids to a wedding. At that time I read some of AMTRAK’s books and realized all the train routes it had that crossed the country. But it wasn’t until I watched your UA-cam videos I became enlightened about the scenery and how accommodating the trains are for long distant travel on land. This is an excellent way to see the country without driving. You’ve shown all the do’s and don’ts, the meals, the sleeping accommodations, practically everything. I’d like to call this kind of traveling “Land Cruising”. I’m planning my own train odyssey soon. I can’t wait!
Nice video! I've been on the Chief a bunch of times over the years, dating back to the F40s, Superliner I's and ex-ATSF Hi-Levels. Your video brings back some great memories! Around 2:21:30, you mentioned the Transition Sleeper. I got to ride in one on a trip in October 2007, from Chicago to Topeka. You're right... the rooms on the upper level are all roomettes. The rooms in the rear half are spill-over, and the rooms in front are for the crew. A double swinging door separates the crew rooms from the rest of the car. The setup is similar to the way they had the ex-ATSF Hi-Level Coach Dorms set up back in the 1980s. Rear half was coach seating, and the front half was crew rooms. On the Transition Sleeper I was on, the "room" at the right rear of the upper level was a shower room. IIRC, that particular one didn't work! (I think that crew had a bunch of junk stored in there.) Lower level is a crew lounge, located where the roomettes on a standard Superliner Sleeping Car would be, and forward of the vestibule. I think there was a lounge chair or two in there, and a printer. (I took pictures, but I don't know where they are right now.) Rear half of the lower level was restrooms. I saw a car diagram once, and it looks like there might be one large bedroom at the very rear of the lower level, but I'm not entirely sure. The ride was smooth and quiet. I think the attendant from the 31 sleeper handled us passengers in the Transition Sleeper on that trip, but that was close to 11 years ago now, so I don't know how it's staffed these days.
I really enjoy your train videos. They are very informative and interesting, and watching them has given me the bug to try travel by rail, which I have never done.
It, just, occurred to me: You went from Union Station (Chicago) to Union Station (L. A.) to Union Station (Portland) to Union Station (Chicago). You traveled thousands of miles and kept ending up at Union Station.
EXCELLENT . Your camera shots are beyond superlatives as if I am right there with you. You capture sights and surroundings . . . the "feel" of the Road ; the aesthetics of the viewing.
Great video, as usual, Youtuuba! At 53:30, that is the Camerion Connnector, where the w/b 5 and 3 shared routes diverge; the CZ staying straight ahead to the Burlington IA Mississippi River crossing and Emeryville, CA while the SWC switches off to the south, to Fort Madison, IA and then LA. Can't wait to see n/b CS and e/b EB! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_connector
I took the Southwest Chief back in March of 2017. From Chicago to Kingman AZ. During our trip, it was cold but when at the west end of Kansas into Colorado, there were no clouds in sight. We were actually able to see the Mountains in the far distance. Since it was the end of winter, the mountain tops had snow still. Was an amazing trip. We had 2 superliner bedrooms, which the crew can actually connect together. I would like to do the California Zephyr next time, but the Southwest has always been a great experience since it was my first time on a long distance train. I remember during the night while in Kansas, we were joking about how the train felt like it was traveling 80 mph, I guess we were right!
I will have to watch later. I am in San Francisco right now after having taken the California Zephyr. Your previous video sold me on the idea. Despite the A/C problems the first night that even had the Amish complaining and the over 4 hour late arrival I am hoping to take more of these trips in the future.
love watching your videos,,,its now my dream to see the USA this way...if i ever win the lotto ,then thats what i will do,..thankyou for your informative and very entertaining videos,always watch them in the morning after work ..
Another great video set and journey thanks. Wonderful scenery. Good idea showing us the route on paper atlas too. I used to spend whole weeks on UK Rover Passes. Even when I was a Railway Signalman haha. But it's nice to watch the World go by, both off and on the train. Meeting interesting people etc.
Love your vids bud.. very relaxing .. on my bucket list riding a train cross country.. getting to see diffrent scenery than from a car.. have been falling asleep to them for the past few weeks dreaming I'm on a train journey. . Keep it up.. would be awesome if you could do all the amtrack routes in the end...
I love your videos and this one doesn’t disappoint. Your odyssey is on my bucket list, doing the circle but from LA to Chicago and back. It was a shame about the noisy observation car with the National Park speakers. Too many people with a sense of entitlement and disregard for others.
If you’re not going to listen to the speaker don’t go to the lounge car. There is plenty of time to go when the speaker is done. It would’ve been nice to show a little respect to the people that did want to listen. SMH
So, you do interesting programming too! Cool! These train trips allow you to shop in different places for cool programming essentials like books on how to program in different languages , I bet! The joy of finding a treasure in terms of programming books is shared by all!
I love your train videos. I hope you do more. I was I think ten when I took the Zephyr from Chicago to Denver. That would have made it '61. The roomettes were essentially the same.
From Newton, KS to Trinidad, CO is Rattletrap Alley, the old Santa Fe main line, which is not well maintained because not much freight uses it. Unfortunately, you cross it at night in both directions on this route.
What a treat! A new train vid from Youtubba! It hit me as I was eating dinner watching this vid, I subscribe to you and Stobe the Hobo to get my train fix. He is the raw train jumper, and you're the refined first class experience.
Ludlow Massacre site at 1:39 (north west of Trinidad, CO) There are a lot of ghost towns in Colorado, but this one was the site of a little-known 1914 massacre where an estimated two dozen people (including children) were killed when the Colorado National Guard and the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company attacked the settlement of striking miners. A memorial now stands at the location of the tent colony where the attack happened, and many of the town’s original structures still stand.
Really enjoy your videos. As far back as the 1985 I planned or should say dreamed of taking Amtrak tours similar to yours. At that time Amtrak offered Rail America passes where you could do 30 day unlimited travel for a set fee. Unfortunately I never did that but now I’m going to as soon as this COVID thing is over. Thanks again for your great videos.
It’s fun to watch the vid on my tablet and also follow along on google maps on my smartphone as you call out the various towns, rivers, and such that you pass. It’s a nice way to experience almost being there. I can zoom in and see the buildings and various features to look closer to understand what those places might look like. Very cool! LOL, I’m currently looking at the train station in Mendota IL and also trying to see if the town has any traffic lights which I can detect.
Great vlog. Just a small correction. The railroad was built first and roads such as I 25 follow the railroad rather than vice-versa. The engineers who built the railroad were careful to choose the most favourable routing and the highway engineers chose their routing for the same geographical reasons!
The trip you are doing sounds like the one America by Rail has called Totally Trains. SW Chief to LA then get on the Coast Starlight get off in Portland. Next train Empire Builder out of Portland to Chicago. If I did that trip I’d have an extra train to take, the Illinois Zephyr 383 to Galesburg IL. It goes all the way to Quincy, IL.
Thank you for posting a great video. Both the California Zephyr and Southwest chief goes through Galesburg. At Cameron, the south west chief goes over the tracks of the California Zephyr. Galesburg is where the split takes place. I live about thirty miles from Galesburg and have taken both trains out of there. Keep up the good work!
Took the Chief to Lax in April and than on to San Deigo on the Surfliner and back to Galesburg. Great trip, 90 mph at many times across the plains. What to you get to the rough sections of old track. Best to be in your seat. Enjoy
Thanks so much for letting me tag along on the Southwest Chief portion of your rail odyssey around the West. I've been on the trip west from Albuquerque to Los Angeles a few times, but never in a roomette and with the map and GPS to add depth, weight and context to the trip. I was especially interested in your comment on the Cholla power plant near Holbrook AZ "all lit up like a Christmas tree." You mentioned that you were part of the design team. I wonder if you knew and worked with my good friend Tom Parker, who helped build the plant and recently passed away. It has always been one of my favorite landmarks on the trip, either by train or by car.
Bruce Daniels, while I was lead design engineer for one of the subsystems at Cholla, I only actually made a handful of trips to the plant; most of my involvement involved meetings with other involved engineering companies at their offices, and with the plant DCS vendor in Cleveland. So I did not get to know the plant personnel very well, and those who I did deal with on my visits, well, I have forgotten their names with the passage of time. Still, I always look out for the Cholla plant whenever I am on the SWC train. I always made a point of visiting the Meteor Crater on my return trip from the plant to Phoenix. Too bad it can't be seen from the train!
@@youtuuba Thanks! I really loved your video and plan to catch up with the other legs of your odyssey. It was definitely a vicarious pleasure, since I probably won't be making the ABQ to LA trip again. Have you ever stayed at the renovated La Posada in Winslow? Now that's something that still may be in the cards for me -- train or no train.
Youtuuba Thank you . I took the Pioneer from Cago to Pendelton , Oregon about 1989 . I rode coach both ways and had face glued to the windows . I look forward to watching the rest of the Video later .
The people protesting at Galesburg station appear to be showing support for the long-distance trains. "National Network" refers to Amtrak trains outside of the Northeast Corridor (meaning both the overnight trains and the state-supported routes).
After watching other's Amtrak videos for a couple of months, it's always good to come back to one if youtuuba's.. kind if like running into an old friend.
I've always wanted to make this trip! LA Union station is quiet beautiful. Also, I had the same problem with a new Fuji camera that had the default resolution set to something really extreme and it ate my whole memory card! Thanks for the video and info!
Thanks for bringing me along. I have taken most routes in the past since the late 60's but I just can not ride any long trips because of a bad back. The last video of yours I saw was the Texas Eagle and I enjoyed that one too. We watch on the big TV (smart) and It is so enjoyable. Back in the 70's I was a purchasing agent for Honeywell avionics and purchased the testequipment included in our 5 bay test equipment used on aircraft carriers. The business went to Sperry and they were bought by some other company. I have watch some of your Tech reviews for similar products. Looking forwards to your next legs when you get them ready for UA-cam. Minneapolis.
You mentioned that you weren't sure if the Southwest Chief went through Santa Fe. How ironic is it that the Santa Fe Railroad didn't, and doesn't, go through the town it was named for. There's a stub spur from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, though. You should go to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It's a pretty cool place to visit.
I love your videos. Perfect blend of scenery and commentary. You tell it like it is. This trip though? I would not pay money for this particular journey:))
Yes, in Colorado the train runs close to the Arkansas River I think into LaJunta. Between Tulsa and the Missippi River and on thru Fort Smith, Arkansas there are locks and dams for river traffic. I am a Michigander, but was raised in Fort Smith.
I took similar routing in April 2016. Starting and ending from Princeton, IL. PCT-LAX-SEA-CHI-PCT. With overnight stays in Seattle with guided tour of the Boeing Plant. And two nights at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, MT
I was joy riding on metra bnsf the day you departed Chicago, I was on the 1:40 pm metra to Aurora, so I just missed you. Plus this trip is a couple days shy of the California Zephyr Trip I took with my mom from Chicago to Oakland, starting our journey on May 16, just wanted to point out how close I was to meeting you and how cool it is our great rail journeys across the country were so close to each other. By the way, you make my favorite railway trip videos, keep up the awesome work. EDIT: I watched your train pass, just south across the street from the roundhouse depot in aurora. Right next to the tracks you were on, the video cut off just before you could see me.
"Highball" is an expression which was used to indicate whether the station-master had "orders" for the train. If the ball was high, no orders were required. If the ball was low, it was an indication to expect to be handed those orders. The station master would meet the train with "hoops". The hoops were used to recieve orders without stopping the train. The station master had two varieties, tall and short. Hoops were wooden; think of the letter "p" with a long tail or a short tail. They had a small metal clip used to hold the folded up order(s) during the handoff. The tall hoops were used for the engineer, who would catch the hoop on his arm, remove the orders attached to the hoop and then discard the hoop for the station master to retrieve. The short hoop was for the tail end/conductor, who would catch the hoop on his arm and then retrieve the orders and toss the hoop down onto the ground for the station master to gather for the next time orders were to be passed along.
If I remember correctly, the Zephyr and the Chief run on the same line to Galesburg-where the routes split. The Chief stops at Mendota, the Zephyr does not.
Back in '94 I got to ride the Santa Fe Southern peddler freight as they worked the line from Santa Fe to Lamy. The crew picked up an empty beer car from a distribution center and tacked it onto our passenger coach. Alas, the line no longer runs.
Similar to my trip upcoming, but starting and ending in New York in about 4 months. I'll arrive in Chicago on the Lakeshore Limited... then onward to Seattle.
Clay Harwood I’ll kinda be doing the same thing. I’m from the U.K. and will fly into New York, then take the train to Niagara Falls, then onto Chicago, across to San Fransisco and then up to Seattle and back to Chicago before I fly back home to the U.K. November 2019 can’t come quick enough!
You should do a train Odessey on one of AMTRAK’s Silver series trains, the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star from NYC to Miami. Both train start and end north or southbound but the Silver Star takes a backwards detour to Tampa Fla. beautiful coastal scenery.
I should look at Amtrak schedules, to see if Lincoln Service northbound + Southwest Chief would take more or less total time than Lincoln Service southbound + Missouri River Runner to Kansas City + Southwest Chief. Coordinating the timing & the length of the layovers would be a factor, as well as moving oneself to more or fewer different trains. Plus perhaps having the sleeping car the entire route of the Southwest Chief might make up for the on-paper less direct route. (There would be less of a difference if one intended to travel in coach the whole way, of course.)
I'm watching these in reverse order. I've done a similar, but different solo adventure. Greyhound from Louisville, KY to Chicago Union Station to board Cal Zephyr ( from Chicago to Sacramento) to Coast Starlight from Sac to Seattle then Empire Builder back to Chicago, then back home via Greyhound to Louisville. It was a great trip. Lovely people and the bus was so relaxing I actually fell asleep. The Amtrak service was excellent, but they really need increased funding. The railbeds are awful in certain areas forcing "slow orders" and then there are the freights that can be 2 to 3 miles long.
01:18:46 John Martin Reservoir Dam, From Google image the single track railway Amtrak is using through here looks like a class 1 15mph passenger line. The cross ties look at least 40 years old and worn out. The rail bed doesn't look like its ever had its sub ballast swapped out and probably was just medium good compact-able when new. Now its probably a mush bed that changes greatly when wet. It is surprising the train can move anything close to the speed it is going in the video. I'd think pushing the train through those mushy rails would sop up energy like trying to walk on a sponge. Looks like a little used agricultural railroad line that is just barely above abandonment.
Loved this video!!! I took #3 last November 11th from CHI to Kingman AZ/Las Vegas, with the leg from Kingman to Las Vegas a 100 mile "Thruway" bus trip.. Could not afford a sleeper, being it was $500 vs the $153 for coach.. Loved the trip none the less, and am glad I took it when I did, as this new Amtrak CEO seems to want to kill the long distance trains...
Thank you for putting these rail videos online. I had always wanted to take a cross-country rail trip, and your video on the roomette helped me when I took my first one 3 years ago. In fact, I rode the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Fullerton, although I went in coach. Last year I took the Texas Eagle from Dallas in the through sleeper to Los Angeles. At 6'5" I had been concerned how I would fit in the lower bunk, but I had enough clearance all round to get comfortable. Can you share any information about the business class on the Chief? I see it in the fares, but I can't find out what it is really like. Thanks again.
Sorry, I have only take Business Class on some east coast trains, not on the long distance western trains....I don't even recall ever seeing any business class cars on the western trains I have been on.
For the track change at Cameron, just outside of Galesburg, both the SW Chief and the California Zephyr use the ex-CBQ trackage as far as Galesburg. At Cameron, the SW Chief switches over to the old Santa Fe main for the remainder of the trip, since both railroads ran through Galesburg, and, for a time, Amtrak operated two separate stations in town, until they re-routed the Southwest Chief over the old CBQ line, much to the dismay of the towns of Pontiac, Streator, and Joliet. As for the City of New Orleans, it runs straight south to Champaign, and does not pass through Galesburg. Neither do the Texas Eagle or the Lincoln Service, which run to Joliet, Springfield, and St. Louis
When BN merges with ATSF they added a connecting rail at Cameron. Pretty much gave Amtrak a no freight rail direct line to Chicago in the process. That was over 20 years ago.
I absolutely love your videos. At some point in time would you consider doing a UA-cam video featuring a review of the food service options? Meanwhile, thanks for posting. Love from Starved Rock Country in Illinois.
Doug Abbott, I have already pretty much covered the differerent food options in my train videos. As for 'reviewing' the food options, in other words expressing an opinion on those options, I try to avoid doing reviews in my videos. I try to be objective rather than subjective. There are lots of other videos where people give their opinions on AMTRAK food.
My first time riding the Southwest Chief eastbound LA to Chicago I had purchased a ticket for LA to Chicago and thought I had to go to Union Station to start the trip even though I live in Yorba Linda which is close to the Fullerton station. So I went to the Fullerton station and took Amtrak to LA Union Station and boarded the Chief there only to discover that Fullerton was the first stop and I could've just boarded the Chief there when it was already eastbound. So it cost me more and I had that extra round trip from Fullerton to LA and back. Had it down on my next two Southwest Chief excursions.
Good point. I usually take long distance AMTRAK trains from terminus to terminus, so I don't often encounter your situation. HOWEVER (and I am not entirely certain about this), there might be some issues with reserving an LA to Chicago trip and then NOT boarding in LA; they might think you are a no-show and give your seat, or room, to another passenger wishing to upgrade. If you know you plan to get on in Fullerton, for example, it would be better to make your reservations that way to avoid problems.
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The videos are just absolutely awesome. I am visually impaired and I really enjoy you describing the trains, where are you are going and everything along the way. It makes me feel as though IM aboard the train. Please keep up the good work, thank you.
You know you're a rail fan when the train goes around a bend and you get excited to watch front or rear end of the train.
I think you are probably correct. I myself am NOT a 'railfan' per se, but I do find the view of the train ahead making a curve to be scenically attractive, so I include decent shots of this in my videos.
Amen to that ... sometimes i just want to lean out and hand the locomotive engineer a cup of coffee!
@@youtuuba if you werent a railfan you foooled me my friend. love the material though. i was in socal in 2016, flew to santa ana then to capistrano. had seen alot of this area.
@@billtimmons7071 I'd go along with that anytime.
Anything having to do with travel, overland, or by air, fascinates me. Always have.
My wife and I have traveled many times on the CZ and Chief. We enjoy rail travel for relaxation and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. For those who are not members of the National Association of Rail Passengers, (NARP), please consider joining. It's an organization that lobbies Washington to promote Amtrak funding.
I love these train videos that you do. Just the right amount of narration, and the views make it almost seem as though we're right there with you!!!
Outstanding video. It brought back memories of our trip on the Southwest Chief. My husband and I have also taken the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight. We love AMTRAK.
I am watching A Train Odessey 2 for the third time. It get better with age. I have be considering this same trip for some time now,however I will be starting off in KC. Ten thousand thumbs up Sir.
Of all the Amtrak videos you have presented, this has been the best and most enjoyable one you have produced thus far.
I agree Russell !
I just love your videos. I have watched everyone of you Amtrak videos at least twice and being retired Air Force at 75 years old, I love your aviation videos. Keep up the good work!
I love the crickets at La Junta! Sets such a peaceful western vibe. Thanks for all of your awesome videos!
Im a 27 year old dude, cool vids. I play them when im winding down
Thank you so much for posting your videos. You very informative and helpful. I’m going to do one of these long distant train trip soon. I love beautiful scenery.
Oh that Los Angeles River is so famous a landmark because it’s been in sooo many movies.
Another great video. Your videos inspired me to take my first trip coast to coast starting this weekend.
I love these train trips with you and the narration with your wonderful radio/TV type voice. Thank you so much! I live west of Chicago in Aurora, an old train town.
While I may be in the minority, I actually love looking at the rich huge partially green farmlands in western Illinois. It may not be mountains but this area is so vital to us all. It makes me appreciate this fertile and productive part of our country to see acre after acre of our lovely land.
Your voice is very relaxing.
Youtuuba, I Vote for you take over for Art Bell... Get your Broadcast License, move to the High Desert, and begin your C2C reign.
You sound like Rev. Lovejoy from the Simpsons.
I find it relaxing just listening to the train sounds and watching the scenery. Thank you
watch all of your train videos as they come out. Love that you have a running commentary to tell what your filming. Two Thumbs up!
I just want to thank you for posting these informative videos. I grew up riding trains back and forth from Atlanta to New York and back and once as an adult from Atlanta to Washington DC and back with mother and my kids to a wedding. At that time I read some of AMTRAK’s books and realized all the train routes it had that crossed the country. But it wasn’t until I watched your UA-cam videos I became enlightened about the scenery and how accommodating the trains are for long distant travel on land. This is an excellent way to see the country without driving. You’ve shown all the do’s and don’ts, the meals, the sleeping accommodations, practically everything. I’d like to call this kind of traveling “Land Cruising”. I’m planning my own train odyssey soon. I can’t wait!
By far the best video I’ve seen for this trip! I’m looking forward to Parts 2 & 3.
Nice video! I've been on the Chief a bunch of times over the years, dating back to the F40s, Superliner I's and ex-ATSF Hi-Levels. Your video brings back some great memories! Around 2:21:30, you mentioned the Transition Sleeper. I got to ride in one on a trip in October 2007, from Chicago to Topeka. You're right... the rooms on the upper level are all roomettes. The rooms in the rear half are spill-over, and the rooms in front are for the crew. A double swinging door separates the crew rooms from the rest of the car. The setup is similar to the way they had the ex-ATSF Hi-Level Coach Dorms set up back in the 1980s. Rear half was coach seating, and the front half was crew rooms. On the Transition Sleeper I was on, the "room" at the right rear of the upper level was a shower room. IIRC, that particular one didn't work! (I think that crew had a bunch of junk stored in there.) Lower level is a crew lounge, located where the roomettes on a standard Superliner Sleeping Car would be, and forward of the vestibule. I think there was a lounge chair or two in there, and a printer. (I took pictures, but I don't know where they are right now.) Rear half of the lower level was restrooms. I saw a car diagram once, and it looks like there might be one large bedroom at the very rear of the lower level, but I'm not entirely sure. The ride was smooth and quiet. I think the attendant from the 31 sleeper handled us passengers in the Transition Sleeper on that trip, but that was close to 11 years ago now, so I don't know how it's staffed these days.
I really enjoy your train videos. They are very informative and interesting, and watching them has given me the bug to try travel by rail, which I have never done.
It, just, occurred to me: You went from Union Station (Chicago) to Union Station (L. A.) to Union Station (Portland) to Union Station (Chicago). You traveled thousands of miles and kept ending up at Union Station.
It's like a Twilight Zone episode.
@@chiapet27 😂😂
@@chiapet27 My thought was "Groundhog Day", but Twilight Zone works, too.
OK. Sounds fine to me.
Kinda similar: almost all main Stations in Austria are on "Südtiroler Platz" (South-Tyrolian Square) for some reason
EXCELLENT .
Your camera shots are beyond superlatives as if I am right there with you. You capture sights and surroundings . . . the "feel" of the Road ; the aesthetics of the viewing.
Great video, as usual, Youtuuba! At 53:30, that is the Camerion Connnector, where the w/b 5 and 3 shared routes diverge; the CZ staying straight ahead to the Burlington IA Mississippi River crossing and Emeryville, CA while the SWC switches off to the south, to Fort Madison, IA and then LA.
Can't wait to see n/b CS and e/b EB!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_connector
I took the Southwest Chief back in March of 2017. From Chicago to Kingman AZ. During our trip, it was cold but when at the west end of Kansas into Colorado, there were no clouds in sight. We were actually able to see the Mountains in the far distance. Since it was the end of winter, the mountain tops had snow still. Was an amazing trip. We had 2 superliner bedrooms, which the crew can actually connect together. I would like to do the California Zephyr next time, but the Southwest has always been a great experience since it was my first time on a long distance train. I remember during the night while in Kansas, we were joking about how the train felt like it was traveling 80 mph, I guess we were right!
Nicely done! Brings back memories of driving through this country every year in the 60s and 70s.
Thanks so much for this new video. I like your other videos, but as a railfan I always look forward to your train videos.
Me to I went to Los Angeles from Fayetteville NC on August first and really enjoyed it
I will have to watch later. I am in San Francisco right now after having taken the California Zephyr. Your previous video sold me on the idea. Despite the A/C problems the first night that even had the Amish complaining and the over 4 hour late arrival I am hoping to take more of these trips in the future.
I guess you really are a glutton for punishment. Be my guest.
I'm fasinated with your videos sir... and find it hard to go to sleep until i see more of them.
Me too
Thanks for posting and sharing. You sound like Harry Nile the radio detective.
love watching your videos,,,its now my dream to see the USA this way...if i ever win the lotto ,then thats what i will do,..thankyou for your informative and very entertaining videos,always watch them in the morning after work ..
Just now enjoying my first video, your comments even make it more fun.My dad was a railroad man,I am 81 so you see that’s a while back.
Your train videos are excellent! Very relaxing and informative.
Another great video set and journey thanks. Wonderful scenery. Good idea showing us the route on paper atlas too. I used to spend whole weeks on UK Rover Passes. Even when I was a Railway Signalman haha.
But it's nice to watch the World go by, both off and on the train. Meeting interesting people etc.
I like it when us coach passengers are on the rear of the train. That way I can get videos from the rear door window, which I've done a lot of.
Another excellent video, love the footage and your commentary explaining the journey! Looking forward to train odyssey parts two and three.
Watching your southwest chief trip from Newcastle Australia
Doing the same from Newcastle England
Watching from Milwaukee Wisconsin.
Watching from Hamilton Ontario Canada
Port Crane, New York USA
Love your vids bud.. very relaxing .. on my bucket list riding a train cross country.. getting to see diffrent scenery than from a car.. have been falling asleep to them for the past few weeks dreaming I'm on a train journey. . Keep it up.. would be awesome if you could do all the amtrack routes in the end...
I had to watch this series again to remember what it’s like to hit the rails. I hope you have plans for some more train travels in the near future.
When I last rode that route in the mid 60's it was the Santa Fe Super Chief and took 39 3/4 hours LA to Chicago. Good video.
I just went from LA to Utica, New York 3 weeks ago on Amtrak....took 93 hours! Lol.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip!
GREAT VID! i can't travel by train so am VERY GLAD that You are willing to record Your trips!
I love your videos and this one doesn’t disappoint. Your odyssey is on my bucket list, doing the circle but from LA to Chicago and back. It was a shame about the noisy observation car with the National Park speakers. Too many people with a sense of entitlement and disregard for others.
If you want quiet, don’t go to the observation car.
If you’re not going to listen to the speaker don’t go to the lounge car. There is plenty of time to go when the speaker is done. It would’ve been nice to show a little respect to the people that did want to listen. SMH
Enjoyed your video as if I was on the train myself. Thank you.
Thank you for making and sharing your trips
Great vid. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the mapping the entire trip. Thanks foe posting
So, you do interesting programming too! Cool! These train trips allow you to shop in different places for cool programming essentials like books on how to program in different languages , I bet! The joy of finding a treasure in terms of programming books is shared by all!
Great video youtuuba ! I love the scenery and your interesting comments during the trip. Makes me wanna do the same. Maybe next year...
Another wonderful video!! Thanks for letting me tag along on another adventure!!!!
I was watching your videos during pandemic and it was great to escape on an odyssey. Thanks for making those videos.
Love to watch your video because you tell us all the cities that you pass by.
You post really good vids. They always make me feel like I'm on the train with you..
I love your train videos. I hope you do more. I was I think ten when I took the Zephyr from Chicago to Denver. That would have made it '61. The roomettes were essentially the same.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful video. Greetings from Brazil.
From Newton, KS to Trinidad, CO is Rattletrap Alley, the old Santa Fe main line, which is not well maintained because not much freight uses it. Unfortunately, you cross it at night in both directions on this route.
What a treat! A new train vid from Youtubba! It hit me as I was eating dinner watching this vid, I subscribe to you and Stobe the Hobo to get my train fix. He is the raw train jumper, and you're the refined first class experience.
Ludlow Massacre site at 1:39 (north west of Trinidad, CO)
There are a lot of ghost towns in Colorado, but this one was the site of a little-known 1914 massacre where an estimated two dozen people (including children) were killed when the Colorado National Guard and the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company attacked the settlement of striking miners. A memorial now stands at the location of the tent colony where the attack happened, and many of the town’s original structures still stand.
Really enjoy your videos. As far back as the 1985 I planned or should say dreamed of taking Amtrak tours similar to yours. At that time Amtrak offered Rail America passes where you could do 30 day unlimited travel for a set fee. Unfortunately I never did that but now I’m going to as soon as this COVID thing is over. Thanks again for your great videos.
It’s fun to watch the vid on my tablet and also follow along on google maps on my smartphone as you call out the various towns, rivers, and such that you pass. It’s a nice way to experience almost being there. I can zoom in and see the buildings and various features to look closer to understand what those places might look like. Very cool! LOL, I’m currently looking at the train station in Mendota IL and also trying to see if the town has any traffic lights which I can detect.
Great vlog. Just a small correction. The railroad was built first and roads such as I 25 follow the railroad rather than vice-versa. The engineers who built the railroad were careful to choose the most favourable routing and the highway engineers chose their routing for the same geographical reasons!
The trip you are doing sounds like the one America by Rail has called Totally Trains. SW Chief to LA then get on the Coast Starlight get off in Portland. Next train Empire Builder out of Portland to Chicago. If I did that trip I’d have an extra train to take, the Illinois Zephyr 383 to Galesburg IL. It goes all the way to Quincy, IL.
Thank you for all your videos.
Thank you for posting a great video. Both the California Zephyr and Southwest chief goes through Galesburg. At Cameron, the south west chief goes over the tracks of the California Zephyr. Galesburg is where the split takes place. I live about thirty miles from Galesburg and have taken both trains out of there. Keep up the good work!
thank you for these videos, I'm planning a trip in June and this one for the Southwest Chief is so helpful.
Took the Chief to Lax in April and than on to San Deigo on the Surfliner and back to Galesburg. Great trip, 90 mph at many times across the plains. What to you get to the rough sections of old track. Best to be in your seat. Enjoy
Thanks so much for letting me tag along on the Southwest Chief portion of your rail odyssey around the West. I've been on the trip west from Albuquerque to Los Angeles a few times, but never in a roomette and with the map and GPS to add depth, weight and context to the trip. I was especially interested in your comment on the Cholla power plant near Holbrook AZ "all lit up like a Christmas tree." You mentioned that you were part of the design team. I wonder if you knew and worked with my good friend Tom Parker, who helped build the plant and recently passed away. It has always been one of my favorite landmarks on the trip, either by train or by car.
Bruce Daniels, while I was lead design engineer for one of the subsystems at Cholla, I only actually made a handful of trips to the plant; most of my involvement involved meetings with other involved engineering companies at their offices, and with the plant DCS vendor in Cleveland. So I did not get to know the plant personnel very well, and those who I did deal with on my visits, well, I have forgotten their names with the passage of time. Still, I always look out for the Cholla plant whenever I am on the SWC train.
I always made a point of visiting the Meteor Crater on my return trip from the plant to Phoenix. Too bad it can't be seen from the train!
@@youtuuba Thanks! I really loved your video and plan to catch up with the other legs of your odyssey. It was definitely a vicarious pleasure, since I probably won't be making the ABQ to LA trip again. Have you ever stayed at the renovated La Posada in Winslow? Now that's something that still may be in the cards for me -- train or no train.
Youtuuba Thank you . I took the Pioneer from Cago to Pendelton , Oregon about 1989 . I rode coach both ways and had face glued to the windows . I look forward to watching the rest of the Video later .
Quite the trips! Thanks for sharing. 😲
The people protesting at Galesburg station appear to be showing support for the long-distance trains. "National Network" refers to Amtrak trains outside of the Northeast Corridor (meaning both the overnight trains and the state-supported routes).
After watching other's Amtrak videos for a couple of months, it's always good to come back to one if youtuuba's.. kind if like running into an old friend.
I've always wanted to make this trip! LA Union station is quiet beautiful. Also, I had the same problem with a new Fuji camera that had the default resolution set to something really extreme and it ate my whole memory card! Thanks for the video and info!
Thanks for bringing me along. I have taken most routes in the past since the late 60's but I just can not ride any long trips because of a bad back. The last video of yours I saw was the Texas Eagle and I enjoyed that one too. We watch on the big TV (smart) and It is so enjoyable. Back in the 70's I was a purchasing agent for Honeywell avionics and purchased the testequipment included in our 5 bay test equipment used on aircraft carriers. The business went to Sperry and they were bought by some other company. I have watch some of your Tech reviews for similar products. Looking forwards to your next legs when you get them ready for UA-cam. Minneapolis.
R
I am enjoying your Amtrak videos.
You mentioned that you weren't sure if the Southwest Chief went through Santa Fe. How ironic is it that the Santa Fe Railroad didn't, and doesn't, go through the town it was named for. There's a stub spur from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, though.
You should go to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It's a pretty cool place to visit.
The Santa Fe refers to the actual trail which the tracks run right next to for most of the route from Chicago to Lamy.
I love your videos. Perfect blend of scenery and commentary.
You tell it like it is.
This trip though?
I would not pay money for this particular journey:))
I wasn’t paying attention to the Metra stops, but then I saw Libertyville. You live way out there .
Yes, in Colorado the train runs close to the Arkansas River I think into LaJunta. Between Tulsa and the Missippi River and on thru Fort Smith, Arkansas there are locks and dams for river traffic. I am a Michigander, but was raised in Fort Smith.
I took similar routing in April 2016. Starting and ending from Princeton, IL. PCT-LAX-SEA-CHI-PCT. With overnight stays in Seattle with guided tour of the Boeing Plant. And two nights at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, MT
At 1:45:05. It looks like a Lincoln Log house. Lot's of variety here. That's a good thing.
I was joy riding on metra bnsf the day you departed Chicago, I was on the 1:40 pm metra to Aurora, so I just missed you. Plus this trip is a couple days shy of the California Zephyr Trip I took with my mom from Chicago to Oakland, starting our journey on May 16, just wanted to point out how close I was to meeting you and how cool it is our great rail journeys across the country were so close to each other. By the way, you make my favorite railway trip videos, keep up the awesome work.
EDIT: I watched your train pass, just south across the street from the roundhouse depot in aurora. Right next to the tracks you were on, the video cut off just before you could see me.
Very enjoyable, once I stayed awake......train travel does that to me. I love it........however these days.....I guess not so much......
"Highball" is an expression which was used to indicate whether the station-master had "orders" for the train. If the ball was high, no orders were required. If the ball was low, it was an indication to expect to be handed those orders. The station master would meet the train with "hoops". The hoops were used to recieve orders without stopping the train. The station master had two varieties, tall and short. Hoops were wooden; think of the letter "p" with a long tail or a short tail. They had a small metal clip used to hold the folded up order(s) during the handoff. The tall hoops were used for the engineer, who would catch the hoop on his arm, remove the orders attached to the hoop and then discard the hoop for the station master to retrieve. The short hoop was for the tail end/conductor, who would catch the hoop on his arm and then retrieve the orders and toss the hoop down onto the ground for the station master to gather for the next time orders were to be passed along.
If I remember correctly, the Zephyr and the Chief run on the same line to Galesburg-where the routes split. The Chief stops at Mendota, the Zephyr does not.
Back in '94 I got to ride the Santa Fe Southern peddler freight as they worked the line from Santa Fe to Lamy. The crew picked up an empty beer car from a distribution center and tacked it onto our passenger coach. Alas, the line no longer runs.
Similar to my trip upcoming, but starting and ending in New York in about 4 months. I'll arrive in Chicago on the Lakeshore Limited... then onward to Seattle.
Clay Harwood I’ll kinda be doing the same thing. I’m from the U.K. and will fly into New York, then take the train to Niagara Falls, then onto Chicago, across to San Fransisco and then up to Seattle and back to Chicago before I fly back home to the U.K. November 2019 can’t come quick enough!
Have a great time...
Galesburg gets the California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg. The last two are short and end up in Quincy IL.
You should do a train Odessey on one of AMTRAK’s Silver series trains, the Silver Meteor or the Silver Star from NYC to Miami. Both train start and end north or southbound but the Silver Star takes a backwards detour to Tampa Fla. beautiful coastal scenery.
I should look at Amtrak schedules, to see if Lincoln Service northbound + Southwest Chief would take more or less total time than Lincoln Service southbound + Missouri River Runner to Kansas City + Southwest Chief. Coordinating the timing & the length of the layovers would be a factor, as well as moving oneself to more or fewer different trains. Plus perhaps having the sleeping car the entire route of the Southwest Chief might make up for the on-paper less direct route. (There would be less of a difference if one intended to travel in coach the whole way, of course.)
Super job. Can't wait for part 2 to appear!
I'm watching these in reverse order. I've done a similar, but different solo adventure. Greyhound from Louisville, KY to Chicago Union Station to board Cal Zephyr ( from Chicago to Sacramento) to Coast Starlight from Sac to Seattle then Empire Builder back to Chicago, then back home via Greyhound to Louisville.
It was a great trip. Lovely people and the bus was so relaxing I actually fell asleep. The Amtrak service was excellent, but they really need increased funding. The railbeds are awful in certain areas forcing "slow orders" and then there are the freights that can be 2 to 3 miles long.
Not a round barn, an oblong corn crib with perforations in the walls to help the corn dry. Used to be the standard. No longer used.
01:18:46 John Martin Reservoir Dam, From Google image the single track railway Amtrak is using through here looks like a class 1 15mph passenger line. The cross ties look at least 40 years old and worn out. The rail bed doesn't look like its ever had its sub ballast swapped out and probably was just medium good compact-able when new. Now its probably a mush bed that changes greatly when wet. It is surprising the train can move anything close to the speed it is going in the video. I'd think pushing the train through those mushy rails would sop up energy like trying to walk on a sponge. Looks like a little used agricultural railroad line that is just barely above abandonment.
BNSF would appreciate it if was totally abandoned it only gets 2 trains a day.
Steven Juris that’s actually fairly regular train traffic. I think it would warrant a rebuild if Amtrak was to pay a lot of the bill.
Douglas Engle 2 trains a day is just about nothing. It’s not cost effective to maintain it.
Loved this video!!! I took #3 last November 11th from CHI to Kingman AZ/Las Vegas, with the leg from Kingman to Las Vegas a 100 mile "Thruway" bus trip.. Could not afford a sleeper, being it was $500 vs the $153 for coach.. Loved the trip none the less, and am glad I took it when I did, as this new Amtrak CEO seems to want to kill the long distance trains...
New Amtrak Cheif wanted to make a point. The railroad doesn’t want to maintain a line for 2 trains a day.
Thank you for putting these rail videos online. I had always wanted to take a cross-country rail trip, and your video on the roomette helped me when I took my first one 3 years ago. In fact, I rode the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Fullerton, although I went in coach. Last year I took the Texas Eagle from Dallas in the through sleeper to Los Angeles. At 6'5" I had been concerned how I would fit in the lower bunk, but I had enough clearance all round to get comfortable. Can you share any information about the business class on the Chief? I see it in the fares, but I can't find out what it is really like. Thanks again.
Sorry, I have only take Business Class on some east coast trains, not on the long distance western trains....I don't even recall ever seeing any business class cars on the western trains I have been on.
Thanks.
i love to do trips like these!!
For the track change at Cameron, just outside of Galesburg, both the SW Chief and the California Zephyr use the ex-CBQ trackage as far as Galesburg. At Cameron, the SW Chief switches over to the old Santa Fe main for the remainder of the trip, since both railroads ran through Galesburg, and, for a time, Amtrak operated two separate stations in town, until they re-routed the Southwest Chief over the old CBQ line, much to the dismay of the towns of Pontiac, Streator, and Joliet. As for the City of New Orleans, it runs straight south to Champaign, and does not pass through Galesburg. Neither do the Texas Eagle or the Lincoln Service, which run to Joliet, Springfield, and St. Louis
When BN merges with ATSF they added a connecting rail at Cameron. Pretty much gave Amtrak a no freight rail direct line to Chicago in the process. That was over 20 years ago.
I absolutely love your videos. At some point in time would you consider doing a UA-cam video featuring a review of the food service options?
Meanwhile, thanks for posting. Love from Starved Rock Country in Illinois.
Doug Abbott, I have already pretty much covered the differerent food options in my train videos. As for 'reviewing' the food options, in other words expressing an opinion on those options, I try to avoid doing reviews in my videos. I try to be objective rather than subjective. There are lots of other videos where people give their opinions on AMTRAK food.
My first time riding the Southwest Chief eastbound LA to Chicago I had purchased a ticket for LA to Chicago and thought I had to go to Union Station to start the trip even though I live in Yorba Linda which is close to the Fullerton station. So I went to the Fullerton station and took Amtrak to LA Union Station and boarded the Chief there only to discover that Fullerton was the first stop and I could've just boarded the Chief there when it was already eastbound. So it cost me more and I had that extra round trip from Fullerton to LA and back. Had it down on my next two Southwest Chief excursions.
Good point. I usually take long distance AMTRAK trains from terminus to terminus, so I don't often encounter your situation. HOWEVER (and I am not entirely certain about this), there might be some issues with reserving an LA to Chicago trip and then NOT boarding in LA; they might think you are a no-show and give your seat, or room, to another passenger wishing to upgrade. If you know you plan to get on in Fullerton, for example, it would be better to make your reservations that way to avoid problems.
Been to Sandwich, Il. Don't ever remember Sandwich being that big. But that was decades ago.