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The seats are comfortable but the train does shake a lot, which is annoying and was hard for me to get used to. It's like side-to-side turbulence all the way. It doesn't make me sick (I am prone to motion sickness in cars and airplanes), but a good jolt can interrupt your sleep. You may want to position pillows strategically to keep your head from rocking back and forth too much while trying to sleep! There is a general din of train noise but I found that relaxing.
The meals are like OtherHand says, but I really enjoyed them, especially a nice hot breakfast. There are several choices of food on the menu too, not like on a plane. Since there are four of you you'll get a table to yourselves. Traveling alone you share a table with other people which can be interesting too.
I have not parked downtown to take Amtrak. Once I just parked on a residential street near Carlisle and Central in Nob Hill and took the RapidRide bus downtown to the Alvarado Transportation Center. Train station is just a block away.
We were 1st time (ABQ to LAX Union Station Amtrak'ers) this past August.
It was cheaper than driving for us... (granted... longer... but it was wonderful not to have to drive and sit back and relax!)
A few tips for you:
1) Don't expect longterm parking for your car at/near ABQ station.. we learned the hard way! WE DROVE TO LONGTERM PARKING AT SUNPORT Airport and was able to jump a FREE shuttle bus from SUNPORT to Trainstation... It's BUS # 250 (It's really for Transport between Airport and Rail Runner, so it does have limited run times.).. but it drops you just steps from ABQ rail station! (I'm attaching an 8/2011 schedule for Bus# 250 )
2) If you are getting dropped off at ABQ station... give yourself enough time to navigate the Central Ave turn to the rail station... If heading West on Central, there is no dedicated left turn light, and with lot's of people trying to get to the station for the '1' amtrak train and also rail runner, it took a long time to make that left turn... (esp for us... since we were cutting it close to train departure time)..
3) Bring food with you! The food on the train is ok... but this way, you have control and eats that you/kids like!
4) If you are taking larger luggage with you, they will check it for you, but you need to make sure to drop off at the station at least 45 minutes before train leaves.. (your luggage will await for you at LAX Union station).. It makes traveling with the kids even more hassle free
5) ABQ SW Chief does not offer any wifi services, but each seat bay has a dedicated plug for charging... Might be worth bringing a multiple charge extender, in case all of your/kids batteries need to be charged!
6) When the train arrives at ABQ station, there will be lot's of people on the platform... position yourself on the platform close to the back end of the train, because they will allow ABQ - LAX passengers to start boarding AT THE BACK of the Train... (other parts of the train are for people getting off at other drop locations)...
7) Bring your own pillows and headphones (ear bugs/plugs)... the seats recline nicely, and lots of room between rows (unlike the airlines!)-- however, be comfortable and if folks around you are nosey or talkey, at least you can try to drown them out with ear plugs etc... I like the silicone version used for swimmers! They really work the BEST!- if you don't have headphones etc... (I sleep on my side, but could only sleep on my back in the seats)
8) It is a 2 level train, ie.. some seats are on 2nd floor and others on first floor. (I think all bathrooms are on the bottom floor).. and there are slim stairwells up to 2nd floor)-- so anyone with a physical handicap would be best to grab a 1st floor spot- just my 2 cents). We enjoyed the 2nd floor and were positioned at the very back of the train... I loved this spot, because it was QUIET! No huge crowds always passing by ! Soooo... try to get to the platform as early as you can and position yourself close to the back of the train when the train finally arrives... they will give you a 'number' which is your seat numbers and you will enter the train accordingly.
If you are doing it to 'see the sights' .. as earlier poster mentioned, forgetaboutit !... But there is a really neat car just for sitting and looking outside.. called the 'observation car'... check it out ... esp... early the morning arrival... between 6am and 8am in california... not for the sites, cuz you will be seeing the industrial parts of california.. but just for a change of seat scenery!...
We ended up reserving a morning dining car breakfast time and got sat with other people in a booth... it was a nice way to meet folks. breakfast was inclusive.. and it was pleasant... but with kids... heck... not sure what to tell you.
PS.. Our train arrived into ABQ about 1.5 hours late and thus arrived into LAX Union about 9:30-9:45am.. But we did not experience too many onboard delays on our trip.
I took the train the other way - to Chicago. Once the train got going, the restrooms started
to freeze up one-by-one. The last restroom was kept from freezing because of the heat from
all the use ( use your imagination if this doesn't make sense ).
There were lots of breakdowns and delays. When I took the train, the smoke from cigarettes
gradually filled up all of the cars, but the lounge car was like a smoke-filled bar. In order to
save money on fuel, they did NOT use outside air since they would have had to heat it if they
brought in the fresh stuff. Passengers were left to breath the air emitted by the others.
I've also made the mistake of taking Amtrak from San Dieo go Los Angeles. It was a miserable
miserable ride with a really really nasty conductor who truly resented me wanting to use a
seat that was not assigned to me even though the train was only about 1/3rd full.
This is what we get as Americans. We don't want to fund this train and
expect it to try to earn a profit. There is no way it is ever going to do that.
In Japan and Europe, they expect a certain level of service and then try to run it a little
more efficiently. Gasoline in Japan is close to $10/gallon and in Europe it has dropped to
just below $9. That's how they pay for their trains. The head of the train doesn't have
too go begging to Congress every so often so s/he can get berated for being so costly.
Did Chicago to ABQ & back. Nearly 12 hour delay from Chc to ABQ. This was due to the train hitting a piece of debris that crippled the locomotive. Happened about an hour outside of Chc and the train was hauled back to Chc. Other than this major inconvenience. I would diffentely do train again. Anything over night I would get a sleeper. All meal included with a sleeper car. Including access to hot showers, beverages and peace and quietness. Coach is only good for a day trip. Good luck and enjoy the ride.
We took the train from Newton, KS to LA. 30 hour trip and I was about to kill myself before we got there. I think 12 hours on a train at any one time is plenty. Next time I would get off at AB to rest up then take it on in to LA. We had a sleeper car but there is not much rest when I had to climb to the upper bunk and the ceiling was only 12 inches away from my face. No hand rails to get me up there. Maybe you kids could do it but do you want more than one kid up in the bunk?
The meals are enjoyable since they seat you with other people, you can't chose, but we had interesting ones to talk to. Maybe with your kids you would need to sit alone---only 4 to a booth.
You can see out better in the scenic car but it is usually crowded when you go up there and nothing else to do but look at the scenery----trains do not go through much nice scenery from AB to LA, why do you think they put the train through there? Plus they stop a lot to load and unload. You can see some of the country but also poor people's back yards and industrial parks---kind of depressing, but if you want to show your kids how poor people live it would be an education. They don't assign seats, first come first served but people do not stay there for a long time, not much to do and the seats are like in a lounge, hard and not that comfortable.
Take games, magazines, any and everything you can think of for entertainment, you can use your computer, they have plug ins in sleeper cars, not sure about coach. Get use to the train tracks, if you are on the bottom they really rumble and get use to the shaking. When you walk to the dinner car you need to pass through cars. Watch your step and hold on. It can be done and we had old people on but you can get hurt if you are not careful.
They supply water all the way but be sure to take snacks with you. Their snacks are very pricy. Don't take water with you. Some people packed some water or ice and when I went to get my suitcases it had broken and was leaking all over ours and others. What a mess. &&^%^&**
When I took the train, the smoke from cigarettes
gradually filled up all of the cars, but the lounge car was like a smoke-filled bar. In order to
save money on fuel, they did NOT use outside air since they would have had to heat it if they
brought in the fresh stuff. Passengers were left to breath the air emitted by the others.
There is no more smoking on the train. Passengers can smoke on platforms only. (I thought we went through this before in another thread.)
There is no more smoking on the train. (I thought we went through this before in another thread.)
Yeah, you are right, now that I think of it. I'm on the wrong side of 50 now, so I need a pass on this one.
However, I assume that the air is still stale due to NOT replacing the cabin air with outside air. It is still
more fuel efficient to NOT cool warm outside air in the summer and NOT heat outside air in the winter. ...
reminds me of another thread you wrote regarding bodily 'emissions.' What are you breathing on that train?
I did it for work recently, we had a meeting at 10:00am in LA.
I thought it was awesome, but I was spending company $$$ and was able to do it on the company dime... however, even with the tiny private room, it wasn't much more expensive and was way cooler than flying for a couple of reasons:
1) No checked bag fees. As many checked bags as you could reasonably want.
2) No TSA groping. Brought wine, which I was allowed to drink in my private room and able to bring some for the evenings in LA.
3) Food (damn good food, fyi) free with a checked room. Kills time, lets you meet interesting people, and it was far-and-away better food than I had anticipated.
4) Equivalent flight to get me there on time for the meeting would have left at 5:00am. Means at the airport at 4:15am, which means up at 3:00am. Train left about 6pm the night before. I got a couple good meals, a great night's sleep, and a SHOWER the morning of my meeting and showed up without travel funk, alert, and happy.
5) Service was great. My room attendant woke me at the requested time with coffee. Turndown service was provided, the room was tiny but adequate. Power outlet, reading lights, bottled water... sure it was a long trip, but it was a comfortable long trip.
Only downside was that I'm one of those leper/pariah/moron/scourge-on-society smokers... and the only smoke break was Flagstaff at 2:00am.
I'm sure there are more downsides to the non-private room arrangement, but it was, by far, the best travel I've done in a long time. Planning (hopefully) a train trip to LA with my 5 year-old daughter this spring for Disney. One of the great things about the private rooms is that you only pay for them once (not per-passenger) so I think it'd be an awesome way for the 2 of us to travel.
I don't know what they do in Europe, but I suspect it is civilized and OK for all.
Not for me, at least not when I was in a "non-smoking" car and someone decided to light up anyway. Nobody complained. But it varies from place to place. Remember Europeans are way behind Americans when it comes to "nonsmokers' rights." But we digress.
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