Every Amtrak Route I've Taken, Ranked
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- I've ridden seventeen of Amtrak's routes, and to celebrate its 51st anniversary, here's my opinionated ranking of all of them!
Classy Whale - at-least-weekly adventures, featuring trains and more!
I think I weigh utility higher (which is why of the Amtrak trains I've been on, I'd actually put the Keystone at #1), so I must protest the Downeaster's placement! Sure, the scenery is meh for most of it, but the schedule allows for day trips to most parts of the line - and the marshes from Old Orchard Beach to Portland offer some prime New England coastal views!
Also, as someone who's writing this from the Cardinal - you gotta ride the Cardinal! The schedule is horrible but the views of the New River Gorge are among Amtrak's best east of the Mississippi.
Enjoy the Cardinal Miles!
with regards to utility, capitol corridor has gotta be pretty high on the list.
And San Joquines, Honestly Amtrak California just doing shit right, it's almost like the fact that it's properly state subsidized and not expected to make money is good.
For the most part I agree with you. I actually agree that the Keystone is underrated. It's both a workhorse and has beautiful scenery. When I first started riding Amtrak, the Three Rivers provided an alterative to the Pennsylvanian to Pittsburgh, with continuing service on to Chicago, and that was a great train as well.
My personal favorite for scenery is the Cardinal, which features spectacular views across Virginia and West Virginia. It also suffers from infrequent service, though. I grew up on the Midwestern part of the California Zephyr (and I still take the parallel Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandberg more commonly than any other trains), so to me half of that route seems a lot like what you describe on the Empire Builder. West of Denver it is beautiful, though.
I do wish Amtrak would provide a day route between Chicago and the East, though it would amaze me if the freight carriers allow that. Every single eastern route crosses Ohio and Indiana overnight in both directions.
From what I've heard, Amtrak typically holds the Pennsylvanian if the Capitol Limited is delayed due to the vast swaths of people transferring onto it. I've heard that 1/3rd of passengers or more come from it. It does not make financial sense for them to send the Pennsylvanian before the Capitol Limited leaves because all of a sudden they are putting 100+ passengers on busses.
Personally I think the Coast Starlight should be lower (closer to 1) on the list than 7-the section of track between Goleta and San Luis Obispo is incredible
So I've heard! Never ridden that bit
Seconded! Beautiful stretch of coast that you'll never see from the highway, and a neat peek into Vandenberg AFB and the launch complex there. (A couple Surfliners a day also serve this section, with SLO being the farthest northern terminus, though most trains only do SD-LA with a few continuing to SB/Goleta).
I've always thought SLO-Paso Robles is underrated too, with not one but *two* horseshoe curves as you climb Cuesta Grade and then get great views of the valley from much higher than you could driving on highway 101. On to San Jose it's mostly farmland, and we've already seen lots of that e.g. in the Santa Maria valley, though north of Salinas the Elkhorn Slough wetlands are quite nice. If it's light out you get some views of the SF Bay north of Oakland, but I do wish the Starlight took the same route as the Capitols out of San Jose - more marshland that way through the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge, passing right by the ghost town of Drawbridge!
Yeah but SLO-San Jose is quite dull
being a californian and never having ridden coast starlight or pacific surfliner is somewhat of a note of personal shame
I think you mean't to say it should he higher.
Did you cover the Cardinal... I may have missed it! The most scenic train in the East... never get tired of it! The Coast Starlight is another personal favorite as it has such a variety of eye popping scenery... right along the coast in the south... to the mountains of Oregon soon after leaving Klamath Falls... wow... if you ever go in the winter it's a ride through a winter wonderland. Thank you for a great presentation... well done! I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to following your reports.
I'm only ranking trains I've ridden here, so I'll add the Cardinal to the ranking once I ride it!
While the California Zephyr is almost everyone's favorite, I'm one of the few who has routes that surpass it. The Southwest Chief is by far my favorite Amtrak route. Yes, the mountains views on the California Zephyr, Empire Builder and the ocean views on the Coast Starlight are great, but none are as cool to me as the views of Raton and Gloria Pass and the desert views on the Chief. When riding the Southwest Chief, I'd recommend riding westbound because if you're more likely to see Raton Pass which is said to be the prettiest part of the route. Heading eastbound, you could miss Raton Pass if your train is late as train 4 heads through in the evening. Train 3 is scheduled to head through the pass in the morning as if there's a delay, you can still get daylight shots.
You’re totally right about the Capitol Limited. It’s almost impressive how bad it is. I heard a conductor joke that crews call it “the capitol punishment.”
Adirondack and new Ethan Allen extension have beautiful scenery
I recommend trying the Empire Builder during the winter months, like November-March. I took it from Chicago to Seattle in November, and it was snowy between Minnesota and Spokane. There was something serene I found about just laying down in my warm bed and watching the winterscape pass by. A perk of it being November was Chicago and Seattle still being warm enough to comfortably walk around and see things. I'll even shamelessly plug the video I posted of the journey on my channel.
I’ve also ridden the Capital Limited and we were behind, but no nest as rushed to the Pennsylvanian as you made it sound. It was an hour behind getting to Sandusky, home of Cedar Point. Sure most of it is cars but a day run and a night run would make sense
I don't think you should have ranked the Empire Builder so low - it also has incredible scenery through the Rockies like the California Zephyr, and you took off points because of the boring scenery east of the Rockies, even though every Western LD route shares that attribute lol. It's also Amtrak's most popular LD route and a vital connection between the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
Edit: Actually, I should have added that once you get past St. Paul, you get pretty good views of the Mississippi River so that's a plus! I live in Minneapolis and took the EB down to La Crosse, Wisconsin for my spring break trip and saw some pretty cool scenery of the river and river bluffs on the opposite bank - as well as a few bald eagles!
It's a bit different - CZ has a solid half day more scenery than EB, and the CZ goes through Midwestern farm country, which, as someone who grew up in East Coast farm country, is pleasant and familiar (as opposed to the hours of flat nothing in MT and ND)
@@ClassyWhale Yeah, that's true
@@ClassyWhale I do not live in America so I do not know
As a fan of Amtrak and someone who tries to ride the train at least once a year, I largely agree with your honest assessment, although I've never considered factors like the lack of more frequent corridor service among the large Texas cities.
I rode Acela first-class for the first time at the end of March. It had nice amenities, but you're right that the price makes it rather impractical for the average person to ride.
I actually appreciate the flat scenery of the Empire Builder in North Dakota and Eastern Montana, which is also part of the historic Hi-Line and hearkens back to James Hill. The scenery along the Mississippi River in Minnesota, across from Wisconsin, is also pretty stunning.
More excellence. Your video presentations really are superb and this was no exception. I agree with you that train travel really is a good way to go, it is so relaxing. It was appreciated that you gave the people these snapshots of the journeys of these trains and one really hopes that many will take your advice in sampling these flange wheeled delights! Thanks again.
The Pennsylvanian surprised me but I can understand your reasoning. Glad you did this video as I do not know of any others that have done a comprehensive list like this. Thanks.
Acela has one HUGE advantage over flying and the other trains that serve the Northeast Corridor: wheelchair access is much better on Acela than on the Amfleet coach cars.
Thanks for your ranking and comments on the trains you took. I have ridden on many of the trains you rode but that was before Amtrak downgraded services including the dinner on the long distance trains. As you noted all the long distance trains should have a nice lounge car with big windows to see the scenery along the line. Also since coach passengers can’t use the dinner they are important to provide good food service and a place where passengers can socialize and meet other passengers. Even when I would be riding in a sleeping car I always would spend some time in the lounge car and meet many other people where we would usually talk about our various train trips. By the way I agree the Keystone Service is one of their better routes, frequent service and at prices somewhat lower than their trains on the Northeast route between Boston and Washington D.C. I would recommend you try the Cardinal train sometime. It has very nice scenery especially in the New river gorge area. However it also suffers by not being a daily train and serving Cincinnati at non convent times. When I first road this route it was called the James Whitcomb Riley and provided a good overnight service to Cincinnati and still would get you into Chicago early enough to make west coast long distance trains. This train also suffers from not having a full service dinner so if you go first class in the sleeper you don’t get a nice dinner. The only advantage for me is it does provide a one seat ride from Philadelphia to Chicago.
Never riden Amtrak. But have taken many named trains around the country. My favorites were the CB&Q Zephyr, GM&O Anne Rutledge (over the City of New Orleans) and the SP daylights up and down the coast.
re 8:07, sure it's slightly cheaper than the starlight or the capitol corridor but it could be delayed for a few hours, it could be delayed for who knows how long
The Electrification and double-track should be extended from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. If the line also would get some upgrades, it could be faster and probably gain more ridership.
Very well done. I'm on the west coast, and I love the Coast Starlight.
I offer one tiny correction. Regarding The Cascade ... which I look forward to taking ... the proper pronunciation is: the "will AM ette," valley --- not the "will am ETTE," valley.
There is a "will METT," Illinois. But, in Oregon, it's "will AM ette."
Amazing
Although Northeast Regional does differ with on time performances oftentimes if it has to change between diesel and electric engines or if it only does electric runs.
You waaayyy underrate the Coast Starlight-but its because you did not experience the first stretch of Pacific Coastline from Ventura to San Luis Obispo-followed by horseshoe curve and Cuesta Pass north of SLO! That stretch right there should put the Coast Starlight at #2 or three right under the Zephyr and Pacific Surfliner. Here would be my list based on what I have taken: 1. California Zephyr 2. Coast Starlight 3. Pacific Surfliner 4.Crescent 5. Southwest Chief 6. Empire Builder 7. Lake Shore Limited 8. Capital Corridor Route (San Jose to Sacramento with some extending to Colfax/Gold Country) 9. Sunset Limited 10. The San Joaquin Route between Bakersfield and Emeryville or Sacramento-yes, not the most scenic but a model of efficiency for corridor routes--the stretch though between Stockton and Richmond is nice though-where the Sacramento Delta dumps into San Francisco Bay! You get the same scenery on the Capitol Route, CAlifornia Zephyr, and Coast Starlight (although Northbound on the Starlight, its passing through there late at night). Yes, I am aware of my west coast bias!
The only line I rode was the Silverstar which is basically a longer Palmetto going from New York City to Miami.
1:54 The "am" in "Willamette" is "am" as in "Amtrak", not "Am" as in "America". It's the stressed syllable too - will-AMM-it. Just remember - "It's the Willamette, dammit!"
Also appreciating your choices in chill trance, Autumn Tactics is an absolute classic. Caught some Ferry in another video too.
Any music suggestions for future productions?
@@ClassyWhale I was going to suggest the Midnight but as I catch up I see you've got them too!
Basic downside about Acela is definitely the expensiveness of it.
great video
Why's the Silver Star and Silver Meteor not represented here?!
I've only ranked routes I've ridden! Since I filmed this, I've taken the Empire Service, the Lincoln Service, and the San Joaquins
I just want a way to be able to travel from Southeast Louisiana to East Tennessee, or even Nashville. It would be really great taking a train to see my older children instead of having to drive all that way.
Great video.
My Favorite Is The Amtrak Acela Express Trains ❤️🚆❤️
I don't think you should have ranked the Sunset Limited over the Southwest Chief as it has better scenery and is more reliable in frequency seeing as the Chief runs daily while the Sunset Limited only runs 3 days a week.
US should have taken after my homecountry of Sweden, with many electrified services, fast trains mostly having top speeds of 200 km/h, and good schedules. The service with the least frequency is the night train from Stockholm to Luleå and Narvik and on all of the line, it has other trains completing it. Sweden clearly has invested more in trains than US.
No Empire Service? Especially when it runs along the Hudson and decent frequency?
I rode it about 3 weeks after this video went up. I was only ranking ones I'd taken when I made it.
They should do keystones from Washington, would increase service and trains, and wouldn't need cab cars!
How did you balance scenery/experience with service/efficiency?
It's hard to argue against the CZ being number 1, for sure! The rest of my top 10 might be the Starlight, Southwest Chief, Adirondack, Cardinal, Pioneer, Sunset, Empire Builder, Capitol, City of New Orleans. (Yeah, I'm sadly old enough to have ridden the Pioneer.) I've never been too excited about the corridor trains. For the long-distance trains, so much depends on the segment ridden, and the memories of the specific trip ...
PS: Great list, by the way!
Cascades should absolutely be higher
Pennsylvanian terminates in NYC
Talks very fast
I think I weigh utility higher (which is why of the Amtrak trains I've been on, I'd actually put the Keystone at #1), so I must protest the Downeaster's placement! Sure, the scenery is meh for most of it, but the schedule allows for day trips to most parts of the line - and the marshes from Old Orchard Beach to Portland offer some prime New England coastal views!
Also, as someone who's writing this from the Cardinal - you gotta ride the Cardinal! The schedule is horrible but the views of the New River Gorge are among Amtrak's best east of the Mississippi.