"notbob" > wrote in message
...
> On 2014-12-27, Dave Smith > wrote:
>
>> That was 30 years ago and there is a chance that they may have improved
>> the dining on the train in that time. However, the scenery is amazing.
>
> Trains are a hoot. Trains are quite cheap. Amtrak's California
> Zephyr is an old friend and now, even cheaper. Now that I qualify for
> senior discount, I can go from Denver to SFBA for as little as $115US,
> round trip.

This one wasn't cheap when I last looked into it. Wanted to go from Oakland
to Edmonds. Was far cheaper to fly.
>
> Sure, the trains are unreliable, time-wise, making huge stops in the
> middle of nowhere to let much better paying freight trains have their
> way. Crews can be particularly annoying. I've only experienced one
> bad crew. All the rest were very accommodating. The coach food is
> pretty bad, but the dining car is open to anyone. I always went for
> breakfast and supper. If you have a room(ette), 3 meals per day are
> included. The meals keep getting cheaper (disposable plates, etc),
> but still taste pretty good. Usually a salmon meal and the wine is
> decent.

Yes. Would have taken us several days. I did take the train to BC as a
kid. Bought no food though. We brought our own.
>
> But, yes! The scenery is great and you get to watch it without
> distraction. The last time I traveled by train, there were only about
> a dozen ppl in my car. Talk about room to spare. Where knee-cap room
> is meaured in inches on the last plane I flew, the leg room on my
> coach train car was measured in feet!
>
> Trains rock!
>
> nb
>
>