Across the United States by train

Understand

Prior to the advent of the automobile and commercial air travel after World War II, trains were the dominant mode of long-distance travel in the United States, with many rail companies competing on price, luxury and speed. One of the most significant events in the history of rail travel is the driving of the final spike at Promontory, Utah in 1869, marking the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, and making coast-to-coast travel by rail across the North American continent possible for the first time. Railways played a key role in the industrialization of the United States and in the colonization of the Old West. The classic coast-to-coast journey from San Francisco to New York City was perhaps most notably featured in French writer Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days. As private car ownership and commercial air travel became more popular in the Postwar era, passenger rail in the United States went into a steep decline from which it never fully recovered, driving the rail companies to the brink of financial ruin, and forcing them to severely curtail passenger services. This prompted the nationalization of passenger rail service in the United States, and the formation of Amtrak in 1971 as a quasi-government body to take over the operation of passenger rail services, while the private rail companies retained the highly-profitable freight rail services. Even though the passenger rail network in the United States is far less extensive than what it used to be a century ago, coast-to-coast travel in the United States remains possible using Amtrak's network, with its trains passing through some of the most scenic regions in the United States. This itinerary describes the most common route taken by rail passengers between the two cities, and describes some alternative routes you can take, including alternative starting points on each coast.

Prepare

Find time There are no high-speed rail lines in the United States, and Amtrak's long-distance services are primarily designed for tourists who wish to take their time to enjoy America's stunning landscapes at a leisurely pace. The upside of this is that Amtrak generally times their trains to pass through the most scenic stretches in the daytime, provided there are no delays of course.

Plan for Delays If you are planning any onward trips after your train journey, be sure to give ample time to make any transfers, preferably at least overnight. If you are from Europe or East Asia and used to having your trains running more or less on time, you might be in for a rude shock in the United States as delays of up to several hours are common on Amtrak's longer routes. This is due in large part to the fact that most trackage used by Amtrak is owned by private rail companies, who generally accord priority on the tracks to their freight trains. As such, delays of a few hours are quite common on Amtrak's longer routes.

When to go Most of Amtrak's services run throughout the year, but travelers typically opt for the spring to see the flowers in bloom, or autumn to see the beautiful autumn colors on the trees.

How to book There is no single train that travels the entire route from the East Coast to the West Coast. Thus, getting from coast to coast will usually require you to change trains at Chicago, the main railway hub of the United States. Fortunately, Amtrak's web-site is designed in a very user-friendly way; just input your origin and destination, and the system will present you with a series of options, including different connecting trains. Keep in mind that Amtrak's trains are not hop on hop off, so you will need to plan in advance for all intermediate stops you wish to make, and book each leg separately.

Coach class All Amtrak trains feature coach class, which is the most economical way to travel, but might be somewhat uncomfortable if you are spending a few nights on the train. In particular, you do not have access to showers while travelling in coach class. First and business class seats are only available on Amtrak's shorter routes, and not on any of

Main Route

For this itinerary, we will take the Lake Shore Limited from New York City to Chicago, before changing to the California Zephyr from Chicago to Emeryville in the San Francisco Bay Area. This itinerary will take you at least 4 days and 3 nights; 1 night aboard the Lake Shore Limited, and 2 nights aboard the California Zephyr.

Lake Shore Limited

1 New York City — The Lake Shore Limited departs Penn Station in the Big Apple at 3:40PM, and emerges from the tunnels in Manhattanville just west of Harlem, crossing the historic Spuyten Duyvil Swing Bridge into The Bronx, and making its way up to Albany along the east bank of the Hudson River. The stretch along the Hudson River between New York City and Albany is regarded as the most scenic stretch of the Lake Shore Limited; for the best views, sit on the left side of the train headed out of New York City, or on the right side in the opposite direction. Should your sleeper cabin be on the "wrong side", you can always grab a seat in the cafe car to enjoy the views. 2 Croton-on-Hudson 3 Poughkeepsie — Where commuter trains on the Hudson Line of New York City's Metro North Railroad terminate. Only Amtrak trains continue beyond this station. Poughkeepsie retains its grand train station from the Golden Age of Rail Travel, but the stop is probably too short for you to explore it. 4 Rhinecliff 5 Albany — The state capital of New York. The train pulls into Albany–Rensselaer station, which is in Rensselaer across the Hudson River, at around 7:05PM, where the train cars coming from Boston are joined with the train cars coming from New York City to continue onward to Chicago as a single train. This is the longest stop on the journey, and you'll be able to step off the train to explore the station provided it is not delayed. In the opposite direction, this is where the New York City-bound and Boston-bound train cars are separated. From Albany onwards, most of the best views are on the right side heading towards Chicago as the train traverses the Appalachian Mountains, then travels along the shores of the Great Lakes. However, as this portion of the trip happens overnight, this limits what you can see; going on this trip in the s

Alternative routes

From the East Coast, you may also opt to begin your journey from Boston or Washington, D.C.. Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited also has an alternative starting point in Boston, and passengers from Boston will join their counterparts who boarded in New York City at Albany. There is another longer and less frequent Amtrak route from New York City to Chicago called the Cardinal, which follows a more southerly route through Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis instead. The Capitol Limited travels between Washington, D.C. and Chicago, stopping at Pittsburgh along the way before following the same route as the Lake Shore Limited from Cleveland onwards. On the West Coast, you can also opt to end your journey in Los Angeles, Portland or Seattle instead. Amtrak's Southwest Chief makes the journey from Chicago to Los Angeles via Kansas City and Albuquerque, while the Texas Eagle takes a longer circuitous route via Saint Louis, Dallas, San Antonio and Albuquerque. The Empire Builder travels from Chicago to Seattle or Portland via Milwaukee and Saint Paul, with the Seattle-bound and Portland-bound cars being split at Spokane. If you do not wish to go through Chicago, your only option is Amtrak's Crescent, which travels from New York City to New Orleans, where you can transfer to the Sunset Limited onward to Los Angeles.