This trip would be nicer to take in Spring/Summertime but January seems to be the only time that I can take this length of trip. My biggest concern is packing for winter in cold places like Chicago and warm like Los Angeles on the same trip.
I wanted to take the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, but it didn’t work out. It was around 48 hours travel time. So I wanted to break it up and visit a town in between, but it’s going to be very snowy/small towns, with maybe 1 small hotel, possibly no uber/taxi/public transit. The small towns did not have a lot to offer during January, the hotels were not necessarily nearby the limited number of restaurants in town. Two days entirely in coach just seemed like too much. Overall the Empire Builder seems much more enjoyable in a private room or during the summertime when tourist season is open.
Instead of taking the Empire Builder, I chose Southwest Chief which ends in Los Angeles, and I’ve heard the Coast Starlight is more beautiful from Los Angeles to Emeryville compared to Seattle to Emeryville.
I hope someone understands what I’m saying and I’m not sounding too meta.
I think you’ll go right past my house!
I’ll be sure to wave
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Chicago is the big Amtrak hub. I want to take the Zephyr, and the Cardinal, which both end in Chicago. There are very few options to get from coast to coast without going through Chicago.
That looks like a cool trip! I’m very tempted to map it just cuz
I am in favor of this idea
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?mid=1hKJczRmONcdhwvdk2kx-Oq2gAXia290&usp=sharing
took some doing. You can embed directions in My Maps… everything but transit. I took this tool https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/map_input?form=googleearth and converted standard Google Maps links to .kml files and then imported those into Google’s My Maps.
Google suggested a few different routes from Philly to Chicago, other than Cardinal. Might be worth switching the stops to NOLA > Philly > NYC > Chi, taking Lake Shore from NYC to Chi. A bit less “back tracking” on the east coast with that route. Included it on the map as a separate layer just in case.
DM if you want the klm files. Happy to share.
Wow! This is amazing! Thank you so much! It’s so pleasing to see how many states I’ll travel through! I love the title that you gave it!
I am keen on taking the Cardinal because I want to travel through West Virginia and Kentucky - even though it’s 9 hours longer, and it’s a small train. Maybe I should do more research to see if the Cardinal is actually worth it. Lake Shore Limited is my B plan.
Per the rules of the USA Rail Pass, I believe I can only start booking my trip in October, so if I change my mind on the Cardinal or am unable to take it, I’ll definitely take your advice about the Lake Shore Limited, and switch to philly first then NYC.
No worries! Glad to help.
Iirc the train through Ohio is in the middle of the night. But that’s off memory, haven’t looked into it in forever.
Have a great trip
