Thanks. Nice pictures. I drive that route a couple of times a year and I always think it would be nice to stare at the scenery instead of the asphalt in front of me.

1) I have done London-Tehran all in sleeper first a few years back and I enjoyed the trip thoroughly.

London- Brussels-Cologne-Vienna- Budapest-Bucharest- Istanbul-Ankara-Erzerum - Tehran (erzerum- tehran was by bus, but there is a direct istanbul-tehran twice a week).

I stopped in cologne, budapest, bucharest, istanbul and Ankara.

2) 45-hour Beijing-Lhasa....beautiful scenery. A bit cowded and Absolutely horrendous restrooms though, but the trip is magical.

Anything in the Swiss or French Alps.
I took the Lyon > Chamonix train about 3yrs ago and I'm still drooling when I think about the views.

Honourable mention goes out to Machu Picchu express that starts in Aguascalientes, but I don't recall where it ends. I'm sure it's nice during the day though, but we left at 4pm so saw very little and then had to endure the "fashion show"...

I don't recommend though the HK > Beijing train. little in the way of scenery and with only 2 channels, unless you speak Chinese you'll get bored...

I have always wanted to take a Swiss train. Ever since watching the Swiss Rail Journeys they used to show on PBS.

I spend most of my train time on commuter service and there aint a heck of a lot to see from Mineola to Jamaica

I really loved taking the train from La to San Diego. It was quite scenic. ^^
Also a couple of trips on the Alaskan RR were memorable, priced right and very beautiful but not exceptionally comfortable.

Interested in Swiss train journeys --recommendations?

Don't forget Bergen to Oslo (or Oslo to Bergen). The train itself is nothing special, but the scenery more than compensates - and you're not on board long enough for things like beds and showers to matter.

It is indeed, definitely one of Amtrak's better short runs. Oh and I sympathize, I started off taking the train from Rye to Grand Central. I'm sure it's similar to your LIRR Commute.

Glacier express-St. Moritz to andermatt(iirc)
Forgot the train name but not the scenery-Tirano-chur
Panoramic express-Montreux to interlaced(reserved seating for drivers eye view)
Gotthard pass-zurich to Milan
Simplon pass-Geneva to Milan
(forgot name of pass but not the scenery) Bern to Brig
The ride up to the matter horn

All of these are jaw dropping a awesome.

the Glacier Express between St Moritz and Zermatt is awesome. Zermatt itself is great, my wife and I spent four wonderful days there, and we're not even skiers.

If one really is looking into luxury, Eastern & Oriental Express is pretty much the only choice

We did the Orient Express from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok a decade ago. Beautiful service, food, scenery, and very interesting people on the train. Stops at penang Malaysia and bridge over the river Kwai and museum A great experience

My top three:

Christchurch to Greymouth, New Zealand

Kandy to Colombo, Sri Lanka in the last car with the big window at the back.

Moscow to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2 1/2 days)

I wouldn't know how to narrow it down!

Close to home, I enjoy the Hope Valley line (Sheffield to Manchester) and the Great Western line through Dawlish and Teignmouth.

In India, some of the mountain railways are amazing: Shimla - Kalka was amazing (and one of the most famous) but the Kangra Valley railway was rather good too.

In Sri Lanka, we didn't get the observation car, but that didn't make us enjoy Ella - Kandy any less.

The Ghan across the Australian desert was amazing, just for the sheer scale of the thing. Some other long journeys like Moscow - Kislovodsk (in 3rd class - ouch) and Tashkent - Bukhara had a similar effect.

The most luxurious I've done was undoubtedly Cusco - Puno in Peru. Incredibly scenery and height - although I'm not sure I enjoyed it that much more than sitting on the steps of the bog standard class on the Cusco - Aguas Calientes line.

Travelling through Switzerland is always a pleasure, but you do have the danger of being plunged into tunnels just when you expect it to be scenic! But there are little bits of wonderful scenery away from the mountains too - like crossing the Great Belt in Denmark, or the Oresund.

I do hope to travel on the West Highland Line, Settle & Carlisle, Rhaetian Railway, Rocky Mountaineer, and many, many others!

Not much scenery, but for a pleasant travel experience, I like the Acela first class (it is easy to upgrade) NY-DC.