Today, I get to start a train trip I've always wanted to do: Going from New York to San Francisco!!
This map shows that first section of the trip. I'm taking the "Lake Shore Limited", an overnight train. Will arrive in Chicago in around 20 hours, and amazingly, that's the only time I'll have to change trains!
We're first going north, following the Hudson river.
The seats are big and comfy! But the train seems to be booked out.
Surprise: We're stopping in Albany for a full hour! Maybe to connect with a train from Boston?
So now I can show you my train from the outside:
The connecting train was delayed, so now we also are! 🙃
Making our way out of Albany, now heading westwards!
I just realized that the entire trip from coast to coast will be 5000 kilometers long.
That's a lot of kilometers.
You could also say: Five megameters!
(3150 miles, for you folks with non-SI units :P)
It'll take three nights overall. I'm sooo hyped! 😆
When I told @piko about this trip, they reminded me of the time I got that book about hypersonic trains from the library, a hypothetical train system designed for 7200 km/h:
Attached: 4 images I went to the library today – and, well, I simply *had* to get this book! This is the utopia I'm here for! ("Hypersonic trains – requirements for a European network at 7200 km/h".)
Good morning!
Oof, didn't sleep much... the AC in the train is set ridiculously cold, the ride is very shaky, and there's nothing to lean your head against...
But we made it through a brief section of Pennsylvania and through Ohio, and are about to cross over to Indiana!
Most important thing to do during the stopover: Get more vegetables for the second stretch of the train trip!
But not these. One is not a vegetable, and I'm not sure if I can prepare the other one?
Visited Chicago's Climate Action Museum, and one of its central messages is: "Stay home!"
As someone who loves to travel, who takes so much joy from immersing myself in places, cultures, landscapes I'm not used to, this leaves me confused and conflicted... :/
I've gone though a similar process when I started eating a vegan diet.
The last question it came down to was "Is my personal enjoyment of the taste of animal products more important than the suffering of those animals?" – and my personal answer was "no". Especially when it's as easy as it is these days to replace those products.
Maybe I could substitute travel experiences, as well? 🤔
Anyhow. Here's the route for the second part of my trip!
Seat61 calls the California Zephyr "one of the great train rides of the world".
It'll take 51 hours, over the course of two nights, and, eventually, bring me to @bangbangcon!
I'm treating myself to a "roomette" with an actual fold-down bed on this train.
Here's my little home for the next 2.5 days!
Here's a tour of all the features of my li'l roomette!
There's two seats like this, opposite of each other. Using the handlebar below it, you can recline the back a bit, like in an overnight bus.
Control panels next to the head rests allow you to set the air temperature, and the volume of the announcements.
Sadly, the other "music channels" are silent. You can also set the ceiling lights to bright, dim, and off. Very handy.
I also have been granted the power to summon a train attendant! Haven't used it yet.
I didn't notice this at first, but under the ceiling, there's a ready-made fold-down bed, with straps to make sure you don't fall out!
And the lower seats also can be collapsed flat, and there's an extra mattress to put on top; so this room can be used by two people!
~ End of the room tour ~
I feel a bit like in a space ship! The room is compact and functional, but I really like it.
What I don't have here is a toilet – there are shared toilets and showers in the hallway. I'll report! And I also have the rest of the train to explore!
And decided to go on a little walk. You can already see the Rocky Mountains from here!!
Let's hope that I don't miss my train! 😅
And here's more of the interior! Coach section, panorama lounge, and diner!
The diner car is where passengers with sleeper tickets get three free meals per day! And they do have vegan options! \o/
It's interesting to meet different kinds of people on the train:
Yesterday, I had dinner with a polite nurse and her mum yesterday, and we were joined by a French guy, who kept drinking wine and talking about his many great trips and friends... :/ Not the kind of conversation I'm into...
For lunch today, I had better luck: I was seated with a retired genetic researcher, whom I inmediately liked! He has a refreshingly positive perspective on scientific progress.
The landscape has changed yet again, and is now much more cliff-y and sandy.
That's Mt. Garfield on the last picture!
By the way, I lied to you! I'm not going to San Francisco directly. This train ends in Emeryville, close to Oakland.
I'll then make my way South, to Santa Cruz, where @bangbangcon takes place! (You can still get pay-what-you-want online tickets!)
It's only after !!Con that I'll explore San Francisco for a few days. It's my first time there! Any recommendations for what to see/eat/do there?
Also, does anyone of you live in San Francisco? I'll be around from Monday to Friday – if someone would enjoy (and have time) to meet up and do a little city exploration together, that could be really fun!
Feel free to drop me a DM! 📬
@blinry What are you into?
SF is interesting and beautiful... to some. ;-)
- Walk up to Coit Tower (it's all uphill, but kinda worth it)
- Check our Dolores Park, especially on a sunny Saturday (local folk hangout)
- Go eat a burrito at pretty much any place in the Mission, but La Taqueria is consistently voted the best: https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-taqueria-san-francisco-2
- Try a Sushirrito at any Sushirrito location (if raw fish is your jam).
- Check out Golden Gate Park - lots of walking and museums.
There are redwoods immediately North at the Muir Woods National Monument, very close to SF. Out of this world.
The Exploratorium museum is also worth your time, as is the tram museum.
And the DNA Lounge: music, shows, ambience.
@blinry @bangbangcon When I lived in San Jose, after they extended BART trains through my area I'd bring my bicycle on the train to SF for a ride.
My farthest ride starting from SF was to Vallejo, returning via the SF Bay Ferry at sunset. But that's too far for a rental bike like you'd probably be using. It also crossed gaps in the SF Bay Trail.
These pics were from various rides in SF along the waterfront and at the Golden Gate Bridge, which has a bike path, part of the SF Bay Trail.
@blinry Can you explain and/or show the layout and geometry of that train?
Because I'm rather confused. It looks very tall, at least as tall as German bilevel trains, but it seems there is just one row of windows on your train, on the upper level? And your sleeping compartment has windows, so is it also on the upper level? What's below all this? Is there a subtrain like on Snowpiercer?
In USA railroads, the money is made by cargo trains. So the pessenger trains need to squeeze in between them. If the cargo train on the same track has a problem with punctuality, the passenger train will have to wait. In Germany, it tends to be the other way round.
@dj3ei @blinry Even worse, we technically have a legal mandate that freight rail must prioritize amtrak trains when dispatching, but many don't bother and it isn't enforced.
I once sat in Philadelphia for three hours because amtrak was held while they waited for a freight train they wanted to move first.
@root42 @wmd I'm paying $845 for the entire trip – which will include my own little room west of Chicago! :) But yeah, it's 10 times the price of a plane ticket... If you plan further ahead, and stay in the coach seats, it seems you can get away with less: https://www.seat61.com/UnitedStates.htm
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