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Comment by afarrell | Hacker News Reader

Note that the author took a sleeper car. In terms of price, this is a bit of a luxury.

As someone who has taken the Lateshore Limited service all the way from Chicago to Boston in just a regular seat, I would strongly advise you NOT to do that. It is just miserable.

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Yeah that's a big difference. The regular seats are a much different story.

I've never done it but I read about how it's basically 3 days of sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone and there's no showers. Can't imagine what that would be like in a car filled with 50+ people.

I did take the Amtrak from CT To Boston once and it wasn't too bad, but that was a few hour trip. Much different than a few days.

I took an Amtrak train from LA to Chicago in coach many years ago. I spent practically all of my time in the observation car, so it didn't really matter to me what my nominal seat looked like. I probably did stink by the end of the trip, but I was 17 at the time so it didn't bother me (at least I don't remember one way or the other).

I think there are two kinds of people in the world. One kind needs a sleeper for the trip to be enjoyable, the other couldn't care less. I used to be the second kind, but I don't think I am anymore.

I think I fall into the category of needing a sleeper to sleep. I wouldn't plan to stay in there during the day but there's no way I'd be able to fall asleep next to someone in the open like that.

I can't even sleep in a hotel unless there's a dead lock.

My understanding is that most people are not actually traveling coast to coast, but on shorter segments of the overall route. I don't think you're likely to be next to the someone for 3 days.

Yea the Lakeshore Limited Albany->Boston is fine.

This is very correct.

When I did it the coach cars were mostly empty overnight. The seats are super wide and recline a lot. It's not like an economy airplane ticket.

The train wasn’t that full. The problem was trying to sleep. I tried multiple configurations to no avail.

I disagree.

I often take Amtrak from NYC to Chicago (and back) and just love it. The trip is about 24 hours each way. Train riders are generally friendly. Someone always has a couple of guitars, so it's fun to play and sing along. The bar car is typically friendly and the food car is generally pretty good eats.

Also, some of the stopovers in small midwest towns are a few hours long so you can get out, stretch your legs, and find a nice quaint diner or something to change things up. I've had nothing by great times on the train. Of course YMMV.

Being in a confined space forced to listen to some amateurs play their guitars sounds like one of my rings of hell.

Anyway, here's Wonderwall

Amtrak trains are very long. I've never seen anyone play a guitar or make any noise outside of the bar car. The passenger cars are quite comfortable. More room than a domestic first class flight. Also, usually the last car is the 'family' car, so babies and running kids are usually just hanging back there.

Then leave the observation car and go back to your assigned seats in the passenger cars where excess noise is discouraged.

> some of the stopovers in small midwest towns are a few hours long

What line did you ride? From my brief search, it doesn't seem like this is usually the case.

What do you do for sleep?

> find a nice quiet diner

Oh, are you getting out snd having dinner and sleeping and then catching the train again the next day? That sounds fine.

I'm sure the experience of coach varies by train and how busy it is. I took the California Zephyr from Utah to Chicago once for Christmas break. I never had someone sitting next to me, the seats are wide, the leg room was plentiful, and I felt like I could recline plenty without the guilt that you feel on an airplane. The hard parts of the journey would have been the loneliness of a college student who is too shy to make the most out of interactions like being sat with strangers for dinner and who can't really communicate with his friends(much of the trip I couldn't even get cell service, and no Wifi on that train).

I have done the sleeper car from Chicago to Los Angeles with my parents. Lucky we had one with a private bathroom, as my dad has stomach flu most of the ride. I think the possibility of a shower, and maybe even a private bathroom are the only reasons I'd shell out more money for a sleeper over coach.

As someone has taken coach class from LA to NY, I'll add that one night aboard the Lakeshore Limited was worse than two nights aboard the Southwest Chief. Smellier, smaller bathrooms, no lounge car, and uninteresting views.

In a lot of cases it is not as much of a luxury as you would expect considering the meals and how long it is. You can get a pair of tickets from SF(Emeryville) to Chicago with a sleeper room for about $675 total. A pair of coach train tickets is about $275 . A pair of one way plane tickets is $300 on the low end, and about $800 for a pair of first class plane tickets.

Agreed. Did Portland, OR to St. Paul, MN. Beautiful views. Fun to walk around. Wished there a was a smoking lounge.

But by 24 hours in it started to stink and I hadn't slept well. By the end of the trip I was cranky and exhausted. And it really smelled in the train (and this was with it just 25% full)!

I've taken the empire builder from Seattle to Chicago a couple times in coach, which I was pretty happy with. I can sleep okay in coach on airplanes though, so sleeping in coach on a train is positively luxurious by comparison.

When I was a smaller human being I could find an empty row on a train and stretch out fully diagonally under the seats. no way could I do that now but it was nice while it lasted. took the south west chief a few times, the empire builder, the capitol limited and lakeshore limited. trains are great

As someone who has taken a 4.5 day trip from vancouver to toronto in coach, I would advise the same . I love trains, but that was too much.

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