Grounded Life Travel: Amtrak's 10 Best Train Routes And The 2 Worst

 

[VIDEO] A few surprises especially among the two worst.

The Cardinal is a train I was on briefly but only as a last minute means to get home. I've never traveled on it to get to either Washington, DC or New York where it finishes it's journey. Watch the video to see why they consider it the worst.

And then of course the best among the 10 best is the Floridian - which essentially replaced the Capitol Limited and is intended to be temporary. The Floridian is Chicago's Florida connection and before it entered service late last year when you leave Chicago you have to change trains in Washington, D.C. to take a train into Florida. As the couple above may say this is the perfect way to get down to a cruise that departs Florida.

And then they mention my favorite standby, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles.

For me, I like trains because I like the journey. And it's not often I get to ride through the southwestern United States and see the deserts, buttes, mountains, etc.

Resurrected Garage: 1972 GMC TDH3302 New Look Bus - The Cold Hard Truth

 

[VIDEO] For some reason I have been looking at videos of people who work on their own buses. Perhaps they own a former Greyhound bus or they own an old transit bus.

However, I like this idea of this GMC New Look short bus. These buses are the ones I grew up with in Chicago and then suddenly they were no longer in service. Of course the bus you see here is a shorter length from what I recall in service on CTA.

Perhaps a short bus like this is an easier drive that a regular length bus. Also I wouldn't mind owning a piece of nostalgia and wouldn't mind taking it on the road. Of course I'd have to do a conversion and treat it as a home away from home.

If I could afford this particular bus when it goes on sale, I'd go for it. Of course if I did, perhaps it's important to think about a budget for customization and maintenance.

Great rails of fire

 

[VIDEO] So far Chicago has experienced one major cold snap this year. And I learned over the last few years that to keep Chicago's rail lines in operation that fire is used to keep the switches from freezing up in the winter time. You read this almost three year old article about this process from The Atlantic.

We see a track worker in Chicago starting this process in the wee hours of the morning. This was captured today on the Railstream YouTube channel. I think this scene took place on the tracks going through Chicago's west side.

Virtual Railfan: Tucson, Arizona

 There's a new webcam from Virtual Railfan which you can enjoy on YouTube from Tucson, Arizona. Here you will see Amtrak's Sunset Limited stop on there east-west runs. Here's an introduction [VIDEO]

And here's the webcam itself a PTZ (point, tilt, & zoom - heh I learned through the above video what that meant for the first time). It's cool to see what goes on in this part of the state of Arizona since Tucson is further south. [VIDEO]

This is a one-month demo so if nothing else if you go to Virtual Railfan's website you will be able to view the live action there. Though even if Tucson doesn't stay on YouTube on a permanent basis it might be up as cam of the week every now and then.

Here's the Amtrak Sunset Limited schedule and another interesting note that also attached to this train is a section of the Texas Eagle. Texas Eagle has a section that would continue from Chicago through San Antonio, Texas and west into Los Angeles, California. That section would be attached to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and send those passengers on their way west.

I believe I shared that example on here once of such a trip.

Virtual Railfan: Ft. Madison, Iowa

 

[VIDEO] If you haven't checked out the webcam from Ft. Madison just across the state line from Illinois via Virtual Railfan you should check them out. 

I've only passed through this town a handful of times going to Los Angeles via Amtrak which passes through daily with service on the Southwest Chief. You will see this train regularly as it heads towards it's Amtrak depot past what looks like an old Army fort, a decommissioned Santa Fe steam locomotive, and an old railroad depot trains would pass by.

Also you can't beat the scene of the Mississippi River streaming by. You might occasionally see the bridge part to accommodate river traffic from time to time.

BTW, I do have to note that due to this coronavirus pandemic the schedule for the Southwest Chief will change from daily to three days weekly. It's expected to happen on October 12, 2020 and some trains are already affected starting this month. As far as the Chief train #3 will depart from Chicago Monday, Thursday, and Saturday & train #4 will depart from Los Angeles Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

I typically watch the railcams for Amtrak trains especially cams where you will see the Southwest Chief. I've commemorated my two trips on that train via my Railcam page on my main blog. However, you can continue to watch any rail traffic through Ft. Madison, IA as I shared this stream on this blog over the summer when it was first available on YouTube

Ft. Madison, IA railroad webcam from Virtual Railfan

[VIDEO] I'm glad to see this Virtual Railfan webcam in Fort Madison, Iowa is up. Ft. Madison is yet another stop on Amtrak's Southwest Chief train and although its not located at the local Amtrak depot you will see the train roll by according to its schedule (though also when its delayed as that happens with Amtrak trains relatively often). I hope you enjoy the views of the Mississippi River as the Chief crosses the Mississippi into Iowa. 👍

I forgot to add this in the previous post about a train webcam in Galesburg, Illinois which you can always use Amtrak train tracker to check when trains are come. The tracker is often very accurate.

EDITED Oct. 6, 2020 

EDITED July 26, 2024 - to change the link and embed to the webcam for Ft. Madison via Virtual Railfan.

Galesburg, IL webcam Virtual Railfan

[VIDEO] I shared this on another one of my blogs Shedd School. A live webcam of railroad traffic going through the western Illinois city of Galesburg. It's one of the stops of Amtrak's Southwest Chief on it's way to and from Los Angeles, California.

The Chief is a trip I rarely take as I've only taken the train twice so far. However, I do have many memories of my trips back and forth from out west to the point that many of my latest YouTube uploads had been of my train trips to California or out west in general.

This webcam is only a demo so it's only on YouTube via Virtual Railfan for a limited time only. Perhaps someone out there would like to sponsor this webcam at some point in the future.

No more Boosted Boards...

[VIDEO] I've never had an opportunity to own a Boosted Board, they're just a bit expensive for me. If only my blogging career could afford me one of these powered skateboards or even an electric scooter.

Well I'm mostly familiar with Boosted Boards from Casey Neistat's YouTube channel and it's his primary way of moving around NYC. Then we see one of his associates above Sam Sheffer talking about Boosted's demise. If you look on their website you aren't able to purchase any of their products.

Like I said I've never owned one, however, it would've been quite nifty to use one to get around Chicago especially to work or just after I get off the CTA. It's too bad that they seem to be shutting down operations. Although I do hope they get back into business soon.

Virtual Railfan Santa Fe junction

[VIDEO] This new "railcam" began streaming on September 18, 2019 so basically just yesterday. Thankfully this is sponsored and thus for the forseeable future this site will continue to be streamed onto YouTube hopefully.

What's exciting for me about this site is that you will see Amtrak trains here. Of course on most railcams operated by Virtual Railfan you will see a number of trains passing along which will include commuter, passenger, and freight trains.

So going through the Santa Fe Junction located in an area of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) known as West Bottom. If you click the link in the brackets to view the video you will see the number of rail lines that pass through at any given time. Kansas City Union Station which is a stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief (with a decent layover according to the schedule) is said to be directly east of this junction. It's expected to see the Chief coming to and from Chicago and the Missouri River Runner between KCMO & St. Louis, Missouri passing through.

If this railcam has staying power it's probably very likely to be included on my Railcam page although what's shown in the vid itself isn't a regular station stop. We're just seeing all trains pass through.

EDITED Sept 4, 2019 March 21, 2025 changed embed and link to livestream.

Passing through Ashland, Virginia #olloclip

[VIDEO] On July 17, 2019 I rode Amtrak's Silver Star through Ashland, Virginia which surprisingly is one of the sites of many Virtual Railfan webcams around the country. I expect this won't be the last time this happens. It was cook to see some of the landmarks especially the storefronts that I've only seen only if I tune into one of these cams.

I tried to see if I can find my train on the site, but I had failed to find the time frame where the train passed through. Bummer, but as I stated this probably won't be the last time. Who knows I might be going to the west coast again in the future. You can check out the three cams that I do show on this blog of three stops on the way...

Here's the live webcam from Ashland, VA. On VR's YouTube channel they do show some interesting things such as bears or even cars running onto the tracks for example. Of course you will see special trains or what not also.

Ashland, VA Virtual Railfan cam [VIDEO]

Snowday on the south side and no snowday for Metra

[VIDEO] On Friday I shot this video on my iPhone along 95th Street from between Michigan to State. 95th & State is actually the location of the 95th CTA terminal. All the same just scenes during this past weekend's snow storm. I had actually posted this to my more visual blog at My Mind's Eye (you might actually remember that name though in a different iteration).

Via Railstream on YouTube, a video of a Metra train during this past weekends snow storms leaving Union Station. The title appropriately enough was "No snowday for Metra". Alas no embed for this one so just click this >>> [VIDEO]

The Railstream YouTube channel will on occasion have webcams featuring railroad action. Unlike Virtual Railfan - visit their two live webcams feeds here on this blog - they seem to have a free preview of the week that seems to go from location-to-location. This week they have a cam in Fostoria, Ohio. Once they also had a free preview live video from Chicago where you will see trains leaving Union Station. Like Virtual Railfan they also have a paid subscription website where you can view other live video of trains around the world.

How did you fare in this recent heavy snowfall?

Birthday special

As I reflect on another birthday for me, I reflect on the train rides. I like riding the trains especially on a vacation. To reflect on the number of places I've arrived on trains allow me to offer some destinations.

By Amtrak, I've been to Washington, Memphis, Detroit, Dallas, & Los Angeles. With the exception of Detroit all of those have been multiple trips and often to visit family in all of those places. Without a doubt Los Angeles have been the most interesting of these trips as I don't go out west often enough. And sometimes I wonder why with the issues they seem to have out there with immigration and wildfires.

All the same it's exciting to see the parts of America that I don't always see. It's cool to go out east and see those sites that I normally won't see. Which reminds me, I would like to go back to DC in the future. It's such a great place to see historical sites of great political importance. I'm not done with that town yet!

Also it's cool to head out west and see the landscape of this country go from midwestern farmlands, to grazing lands, to mountains, and deserts. To look at dry riverbeds, buttes, sands, bushes, etc. Doesn't matter where my train passes through it's a treat to see some of these small towns and stop in them to see how much simpler it can be outside of our major metropolitan areas.

As you probably can tell of all the years I've taken the train the highlights of them have been going out west to Los Angeles. I've only done so twice in the first two decades of this century and had been waiting to do so for years. And at that one time doing so with a sleeper car berth which is recommended by me if you do at least two overnights on a train.

This comes to mind because I've been watching a lot of train videos lately. Especially those that involve the Southwest Chief. Look forward to a few more train rides as long as I remain in good health and finding places to go in the meanwhile.

As an extra treat, here's one my favorite pics from my trip in 2016 taken in Mendota, IL from the train. Had a nice rainstorm as we were leaving the state on the way to the Mississippi River to cross into Iowa.

Mendota, Illinois

Also, this is the shortest and best video I could find about taking the Southwest Chief. It's under 10 mins although find any video you want about any train. These are only for if you want to educate yourself. [VIDEO]

Will I ever take Greyhound again?

Nashville, TN Greyhound station

During my time at Morehouse I exclusively took Greyhound to Atlanta. I knew how the ride is supposed to go since it was done so many times. Before finally graduating though the nature of bus travel began to change one of those was for that historic company to shed its seedy image.

I miss the schedule that saw my bus bypass cities such as Nashville,TN on the way down to Atlanta and now it's often a regular stop on the way down to Atlanta. Another change was that at certain points the bus made local stops either outside of Atlanta or outside of Chicago. For example, after leaving Nashville the bus would make stops in Chattanooga, TN; Marrietta, GA; and finally Atlanta.

Once upon a time on Greyhound whether or not you specifically bought a ticket for a particular schedule or departure you could still get a seat on a bus. Or probably more accurately Greyhound officials - drivers or terminal personnel - didn't make a big deal about it if you didn't purchase a ticket for a particular schedule. These days they know how many seats are available on the bus enough to determine whether you can switch your departure at the last minute.

Of course, I see with the 'hound is that now they board people according to their boarding number. Now depending upon who's on duty they may catch that you don't belong on that schedule and decide that you need to change your ticket (and possibly incur a fee). In my recent Greyhound trip, I did this pre-emptively although this was at the last minute and incurred the fee because originally I bought a non-refundable ticket.

While I think it's unfortunate that even though you bought a ticket, you must travel on the the schedule for which you purchased that ticket. At the same time the boarding policy is a nice touch perhaps less possibility of chaos as there had been in the past with boardings.

The only issues I have with Greyhound is that wifi doesn't work in all terminals and on all buses. Most buses at this point have signs indicating they have wifi and the two buses I rode on the way down had either no wifi or it just didn't work for me. Also on one bus the outlets to charge my cell phone didn't work.

What I learned on my way back is that the driver can flick a switch if you let them know for the outlets. Also you'd have to work with the wifi and therefore you can still get on the internet on the bus. The only thing is if you don't stay on the net you'd have to reconnect through the browser from time to time. It works, but a user has to work with it and that goes for at the terminals as well.

One thing I can say for sure is that, it's definitely a good thing that I no longer have to rely on Greyhound. That is at least I don't have to travel back and forth between Atlanta frequently where the bus is the only choice. If bus travel is the future my experience this year will allow me to be much smarter. All the same the 16 hour ride is not something I miss anymore.

Reason.tv: The Glorious Rebirth of Bus Travel & Why the Gov't May Ruin it Again

[VIDEO] Reason takes a look at the bus industry and how government interference helped hasten its decline after the 2nd World War. Today the industry is making a comeback as it appears curbside bus service - especially for intercity travel - is allowing more people to take the bus.

When I attended school in Atlanta, my mode of transit was mainly Greyhound. I can see how curbside service could be attractive as it costs money to maintain stations and terminals. In the meanwhile with such services such as Megabus all you need is a bus, possibly a garage, and then a place for the bus to pick-up or drop-off passengers. Also I forgot about labor, the buses can't drive themselves.

Another thing reason correctly notes, in the years I've taken the bus even before the Morehouse College years Greyhound has changed. They repainted their buses, made changes to their terminals, they've even added amenities to their buses with places to charge mobile devices and free wi-fi. Also it helps that you don't have to go to the terminal to pick up a ticket you can even print it off at home. For the context of this video, Greyhound owns some of the bus services popular in NYC's Chinatown.

I have to think, this video portrays starting a bus transit service as being particularly easy back in the past. Just buy a vehicle and start picking up people and yes I realize it's not entirely that simple as well you have to let people know you're in business to start. All the same this could go for a number of industries.

How did it happen that government comes in and sets all these rules for what they expect businesses to do? How is it for anyone who wants to operate intercity bus services that companies must have a permit? Even then how is it government decides that cracks in the frame of a bus is a huge issue while an organization represented bus companies have acknowledged that these cracks aren't a serious safety issue?

There are a lot of questions to be asked for sure. It makes me want to support the strictest definition of laissez-faire.