Railcruising

I am surprised that this isnt more popular. Travel by train at night, taking in America's greatest cities by day. Seems like this would work. New York/Pittsburgh/Chicago/Denver/Salt Lake/ Reno Tahoe/San Francisco.

yes but some of like the city at night even more

The model noted by Mr. Susie is that opposite of Rocky Mountain Railtours where the train is a daylight sightseeing vehicle and at night the tour party is overnighted at local hotels. The railtours operated by Canadian Pacific are that model except the passengers slept aboard a parked train.

Both these tour operations are over the CP lines through the Rockies, which is a far superior scenic route than the CN that is used by VIA Rail;from what i understand one had best have smelling salts available when reviewing their rates.

The model you have proposed is that of a cruise ship; they of course want their passengers back on board by sundown account potential liability issues (anyone knows trouble is more likely to come a callin' when the sun goes down) and they want to sell the high margin drinks rather let someone else do so.

However, Amtrak as a tax supported government agency that had best not consider any operation like that; must say I'm surprised to have this proposal come from a fellow who is active over at the mass transit forums, such as NJTransit.

kitn1mcc wrote:yes but some of like the city at night even more

if it takes 8-10 hours in between cities you can depart one city at 12:00AM and arrive by 10:00AM for example, allowing people to take in city nightlife. Scheduleing could be worked out....

Gilbert B Norman wrote: The model you have proposed is that of a cruise ship; they of course want their passengers back on board by sundown account potential liability issues (anyone knows trouble is more likely to come a callin' when the sun goes down) and they want to sell the high margin drinks rather let someone else do so.

However, Amtrak as a tax supported government agency that had best not consider any operation like that; must say I'm surprised to have this proposal come from a fellow who is active over at the mass transit forums, such as NJTransit.

Having been aboard a few cruise ships, its nice to visit a few ports in a few different countries in a realatively short amount of time. (1-2 weeks). You get a wide variety of destination and activities all while your hotel moves with you. Cruise ship are extremely popular, so i would think the model would/could work if it was run properly. Amtrak runs this "Amtrak Vacations"
http://www.amtrakvacations.com, but i think there is a lot more potential.

Lastly, why surprised?

Iowa Pacific will be rolling out "Pullman" service on the Lakeshore and City of New Orleans later this year:

http://www.travelpullman.com/

1)

Travel from spot A to spot B on your first overnight, get out and store your bags at the handy dandy location in the station. Enjoy the city at your leisure for 12 hours, get on the next train leaving that station.
Travel from spot B to spot C on your next overnight, get out and store your bags at the handy dandy location in the station. Enjoy the city at your leisure for 12 hours, get on the next train leaving that station.
Rinse, repeat.

Meanwhile, that second train that you pickup at night has the nightcrawler version of you getting off in the evening, enjoying the city overnight, and getting onboard the next AM to sleep until the next stop.

2)??

3) Profit!

Rbts Stn wrote:1)

Travel from spot A to spot B on your first overnight, get out and store your bags at the handy dandy location in the station. Enjoy the city at your leisure for 12 hours, get on the next train leaving that station.
Travel from spot B to spot C on your next overnight, get out and store your bags at the handy dandy location in the station. Enjoy the city at your leisure for 12 hours, get on the next train leaving that station.
Rinse, repeat.

Meanwhile, that second train that you pickup at night has the nightcrawler version of you getting off in the evening, enjoying the city overnight, and getting onboard the next AM to sleep until the next stop.

2)??

3) Profit!

It would be interesting to see how many people use the rail pass(essentially what you propose above.)

I would think most people using the Railpass are doing something along those lines. There is only a finite supply of mileage collectors in the world.

I have been 'rail cruising' each year for over 20 years when I visit Europe. Buy a DB railpass or the old EuroPass for multi countries, here, and travel there 'on the cheap' (for example a five day in two month 2nd class pass is about $275US)
Nice thing also is most night trains leave major cities around 10-midnight and arrive 7-9am. AND if you travel after 10pm the railpass is good for the following day. So....I have used up only one day of my pass to travel Hamburg-Munich-Hamburg using the night trains each way and having plenty of time to 'see the sights'. Upgrade to a 4 bed couchette for only EU$30 or if you insist on 'being alone' an economy bedroom for about EU$60. Beats hell out of hotel room and you travel during the dark, sight see during a long day. I have used this method to travel all over Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czeck Rep., Denmark. Always been a great way to go at relatively economy prices for excellent transportation and facilities.

isaksenj wrote:Iowa Pacific will be rolling out "Pullman" service on the Lakeshore and City of New Orleans later this year:

http://www.travelpullman.com/

When do they plan on telling amtrak about this? I would love to see who what and where will these cars be serviced at and by. Its not like Sunnyside has a spare track you can just go plop 4 or 5 pullman cars on to give them 1920s style service.

ApproachMedium wrote:When do they plan on telling amtrak about this? I would love to see who what and where will these cars be serviced at and by. Its not like Sunnyside has a spare track you can just go plop 4 or 5 pullman cars on to give them 1920s style service.

I suspect the business agreement between Iowa Pacific and Amtrak has already been negotiated at a higher corporate level, but the details have not yet trickled down to the working level (the people who will actually execute the plans) at Amtrak.

One of the old timers at New York (Penn Station & Sunnyside) always reminds us private car owners that track capacity is always a significant concern at Sunnyside Yard.

I agree that servicing (potable water fill and sewage pump-out) and inspecting 4 or 5 additonal private cars prior to train 49's departure from Sunnyside Yard will take some additional time and effort, but Iowa Pacific will be paying Amtrak for those services. However, I'm not sure any of the contract revenue will trickle down to the working level at Sunnyside Yard; it will just be some additional work for some people during their work-shift.