Boraxo

So like a few FTers I am planning to zero out my AGR account prior to the great devaluation. I have enough points for a two-zone family bedroom (one way).

As I see it we have the following options originating or terminating here in Northern California:

(1) California Zephyr <-> Chicago
(2) Coast Starlight <-> Portland/Seattle <-> Empire Builder <-> Chicago
(3) Coast Starlight <-> LA <-> Southwest Chief <-> Chicago

Option (1) would be the easiest for a family trip (no connections) but leaning towards option (2) because I have never visited most of the Northern states. However not enthused about the roomettes on the Starlight, and Amtrak.com only displays the family bedroom option to/from Seattle not Portland.

So I ask the experts:

(1) Which route is the most scenic? (hoping to travel in April)
(2) Should we fly East or West?
(3) Is the Starlight connection problematic for a family, given the frequent delays on the Zephyr?

Armani

The CA Zephyr is a very scenic trip from CA to Denver, so you would have about 1 1/2 days of great scenery. I've taken it both directions and don't really have a preference, other than if I visit Napa or Sonoma I can bring wine back with me by taking the train on my return trip to Ohio.

I've taken the Empire Builder a few times and it always seems to go through Glacier Park when it is dark. Therefore, I prefer the Zephyr for overall scenery. The Coast Starlight is my favorite train because of the parlour car combined with scenery. If you choose this option, I would recommend the Eastbound train because the Empire Builder can have long delays, unless things have changed significantly in the past year. I'm not sure what connections are allowed on the East bound itinerary, but Westbound we stayed a night in Portland to avoid missing the CS train. (This was allowed when we took our trip, but don't think it now can be done on award travel.) This worked out well because the EB was delayed and we would have missed our connection.

The Portland section typically only has one sleeper car, but there should be one family bedroom available per train if it isn't sold out. Keep in mind the Portland section doesn't have a dining car.

Both option 1 and 2 are much more scenic than option 3.

jimhudson

First choice for scenery is the Zephyr between the Bay Area and Chicago. Either way is good but I prefer taking #5 Eastbound since the Cornfields of Iowa and the Nebraska Plains are in the dark with Daylight in the Rockies and Sierras.

The Starlight #14 to Portland and the Empire Builder #28 to Chicago ( guaranteed connection) has the advantage of going past Glacier Park and through Minnesota and Wisconsin in Daylight with most of the plains in Montana and North Dakota in the dark! It does get dark going up the Columbia on the way to the connection in Spokane with #8 out of Seattle.

If you want to do this route on #27 Westbound, you'll go thru most of Wisconsin, Minnesota Glacier Park and the South of Klammath Falls on the Starlight #11 in the dark, but have the Columbia River in daylight. Not recommended!

The Coast Starlight #11 to SW Chief #4 out of LAX requires an Overnight/Layover in LAX on your dime, and two AGR Awards, since there is no same day connection.
Eastbound on from CHI on #3 to #14 is guaranteed, but the Scenery isn't as good as the Zephyr, Starlight, Empire Builder routes except for the LAX to San Jose part of #14's route.

Orwaid

If you are seeking maximum length on the train with interesting views, I would go for Coast Starlight North to Portland and then Empire Builder east. With daylight savings time, Glacier Park should be in daylight. The only potential downside is being taken off the train and put on a bus so you make the connection, possibly in Spokane.

I agree that the scenery between Denver and Oakland is W#1; I would recommend possible doing that 1-zone trip separately. The scenery on the CS along the California coast and the southern cascades in Oregon, along with Glacier Park is a decent #2 choice. Also, your kids will see more of the country this way.

serpens

Amtrak.com offers the connection from 11 to 4 (at least from Sacramento, Emeryville, and Oakland), so wouldn't it be one AGR award? There would be an overnight at the traveler's expense and it would be two zones if going east of Trinidad, but what am I missing that would require two awards?

nerd

But the Rockies and Sierras are also in daylight on the westbound #6, as it departs Denver/Reno at 8:00am/8:30am, respectively.

Since the eastbound Zephyr arrives in Denver at 7:15pm, you risk missing the last few hours of daylight in the Rockies if the train is running late. You don't have to worry about this westbound (the train is out of the Sierras by 1pm).

dhammer53

This begs the question, how/where does a passenger eat? I'll be in a sleeper Sacramento/PDX.

jadecocoa

Did this a couple of years ago. Sleeper passengers are given a "bento box" with a cold meal. There were 3-4 choices. I had Roast beef with brownie, salad, fruit. It was actually way better than some of the hot meals served.

Edited: this was coming out of Portland. There should be a meal car on the Sac-Portland leg.

Armani

I was actually referring to the Portland portion of the Empire Builder. The Coast Starlight to Portland will have two dining options : diner and Parlour car.

doctor15

Hope you don't mind me tagging on to this thread...

I'm coming from the east coast and looking to do a scenic 1 or 2 zone roomette before the devaluation.

I'm strongly considering DEN to SAC on the CA Zephyr connecting to SAC to PDX on the Coast Starlight like the OP, then flying the other legs. (I wanted to visit Denver and Portland anyways) Is the scenery worth the trek, or are there better options? DEN - NYP would be much more convenient but the route didn't look as exciting.

Thank for the advice!

wallaby

DEN to SAC is about the best scenery going. Definitely do this.
SAC to PDX is quite good also.
DEN to NYP doesn't have much dramatic scenery, but is an
interesting look into America's backyard.

Armani

I definitely agree. These routes will definitely give you the most scenery per hour spent on train on my two favorite trains in the US. My brother was reluctant to take a train a few years ago so I convinced him and his two kids to fly to Denver and take the train to Salt Lake (all daylight). They all loved it and also enjoyed the overnight stay in Denver (including baseball game). Hopefully, you can book this prior to the program change so you can take advantage of a one zone roomette or bedroom award prior to the substantial increase.

Denver and Portland are vibrant in the downtown areas near the train station and both have relatively good public transportation. If you have time in Sacramento, try to visit the railroad museum which is close to the train station.

launcher

Denver to Portland is indeed my favorite one zone redemption. At $1200+, you really can't beat the value, and the scenery on a few of Amtrak's best routes makes this trip very enjoyable.

However, the original poster asked about TWO ZONE routes. So, unless the OP wants to do a single zone and carry the balance of pts forward with a residual value of 2.9 cents each for later rides, the destination would have to be something east of Denver to really maximize the reward (in terms of $, or hours spent on the rails).

I see some additional options that haven't really been discussed yet:
- Emeryville CA to New Orleans, via Chicago on the Zephyr and the City of New Orleans.

-Emeryville CA to Atlanta, via the Zephyr to Chicago, then EITHER the Capitol Limited/Washington DC or Cardinal/Charlottesville VA (departs Chicago on Tues, Thurs and Sat only... must use departure from CA on Sun, Tues or Thurs for this transfer to be effective). Although these two options would go across three zones, the origin and destination are only two zones apart, meaning this joy ride counts as only two zones. If you're looking for more "train time" this loophole is very much a value adder!

nerd

This loophole was closed several years ago.

savingwizard

Just search what to do for the year end holiday and seems one zone SFO to DEN Amtrak should be quite interesting. I've never been on the Amtrak before. Although there is a few stations between them, I can not stop at one of the stations and pay the same points?
If not, basically all the scenic views have to be on the train. Then at DEN, I can rent a car for a few days then ride train back?
Maybe another option is SFO to Wolf Point, MT (WPT), then there will be legitimate stop Portland. Would that route be more scenic?