Ride This Not That Avoiding The Worst Amtrak Train Routes

If you time it right the Cardinals going from Chicago to New York as it goes along the new river in West Virginia that’s spectacular scenery

My husband and I have ridden both trains. No way are the views on the Lake Shore Limited better. The Cardinal goes thru the New River Gorge, which is w-a-y more gorgeous!

I know it is early but I enjoy the Cardinal 6:30am train. You spend an entire day and a few hours sightseeing. I only take it going home so there is no hurry. You get breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and maybe breakfast again. I'm referring to roomette and bedroom though. I would not take it in Coach.

We are taking the Texas Eagle from CHI to LA and return on Southwest Chief the next day. The reasoning was that it was best to take the longer trip first, and after recovering in a hotel, to take the shorter one back. We are lucky to live in Chicago, the Vatican of the Amtrak, he he.

Of course, thee function of these wandering trains (I live in Cincinnati) is to serve additional markets. The need is better connections at more intermediate points.

Just rode the Southwest Chief last Thursday from LA to Chicago. There was a freight train derailment near Gallup, NM. Our train made it through before it happened, but the Southwest Chief LA-bound didn't. Eventually that train terminated in Albuquerque, NM. Our train stopped for almost 2 hours in a place called Lamy, NM, in order to wait for the westbound one.
Passengers were given the choice to change into our train there (or wait in ABQ for at least one whole day/night) , and in the end a handful of passengers chose that option.
I talked to some of them in the diner car later. Most of them returned to Chicago and were offered a space on the next available train, which was two days later when the tracks were open again.
Always be open for some adventure on the long distance Amtrak trains. (To be clear: none of this was Amtrak's fault).

That Texas Eagle (which has been attached onto the Sunset Limited from New Orleans by the time they arrive together in LA) that you say is the ONLY Amtrak train you as a passenger wish it does come in late to its final destination (because scheduled arrival time is so hellishly early at 5:30 am)???? Guess what, that's the only Amtrak train I've been on that's been consistently EARLY!!! I'm talking not falling asleep until 2am because of a stranger next to me keeping falling asleep ONTO me, and then being woken up by staff at 3:30 A.M an hour ahead of arrival, and arriving over an HOUR early into LA sometime before 4:30am! It came so early that the Metropolitan Lounge wasn't even open yet (which I had a pass for) so nowhere good to relax in the station and no way was I ready to hit the streets of LA in the pitch dark at 4:30 am after an hour of bad sleep. Then the same thing happened again the next time I took that train into LA! Arrived 45 min early. And staff equally eager to wake you up an hour beforehand, WHY?!. It's the end of the line, why not let passengers sleep another hour, esp since the train is coming in early? Ouch! There's something different about that combined Texas Eagle/ Sunset Limited westbound line, why does only that line come in early when nobody wants it to???

Another thing to remember about the Texas Eagle is that while it's a daily train between Chicago and San Antonio, it only runs three days a week between San Antonio and Los Angeles. So if you plan to take the Texas Eagle to/from anywhere between Los Angeles and San Antonio, you have to know what day it's scheduled to pass through your stations.

Agree with you about the Acela versus NE Regional. It is not worth the extra charge because really what you are paying for is an upgraded train car - which some may like - but it rides on the same rails which won’t let them operate at speeds like in Japan, Taiwan, or China.

I rode the Westbound Texas Eagle from Chicago-L.A. last October. I expected to arrive in L.A. 3-4 or more hours late but arrived approx. 1.5 hours early. I usually wake up at 3:00 AM & didn't see an early arrival to be a problem. I sensed a panic in the air after the conductor announced on the PA system at 3:00 AM of an early arrival. Leaving L.A. on the Eastbound Sunset Ltd./Texas Eagle is a problem for me since I retire early & it leaves at 10:00 PM. It used to leave at 11:00 PM, so I shouldn't complain. I've learned to expect anything when riding Amtrak.

Hi guys. Currently sitting on the Southwest Chief as im watching this. Talking about early arrival, I get to Newton, KS at 2:15am. I plan to not sleep that evening. Lol. Just wanted to ty for all the tips, having a blast.

Very interesting, especially about the Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited price differential. ILLOGICAL like so much of Amtrak's pricing!

A few other pointers:
There are also two trains between DC and Chicago, the aforementioned Cardinal but also the Capitol Limited, which used Superliners. I’d recommend the Cardinal since the Capitol Limited doesn’t have a proper sightseer lounge or dining car anyways and the views are better on the Cardinal. For sleeping car passengers you also have more room on the top bunk of Viewliners than the Superliner, but I’m a coach traveler and the Superliners have slightly more legroom than long-distance Amfleets. I’d even put the Cardinal over the NY section of the Lake Shore because once you’re out of the Hudson Line, which can be easily day-tripped on the Empire Service/Maple Leaf/Adirondack, there’s nothing to see. The Cardinal passes through more rural areas and the New River Gorge. The LSL/CL also pass through the industrial part of Indiana whereas the Cardinal passes more open fields in Indiana.

The Empire Builder and Lake Shore Limited show up as two trains between Chicago and Spokane and Chicago and Albany, respectively, like the Sunset Ltd/Texas Eagle. 27/28 is the same train as 7/8 for that stretch and but goes to Portland instead of Seattle on the last/first day. Similarly 448/449 heads via the Berkshires to Boston whereas 48/49 heads down the Hudson Line to NYC.

There are also two trains between NYC/Philly/DC and Greensboro/Charlotte, NC. The Crescent is about two hours faster than the Carolinian but serves Charlotte at 2am southbound and 5:30am northbound. So with Charlotte it’s just a pick your poison situation with a slow train at better hours or a faster train at terrible hours. The Crescent also has long-distance coach seats which are substantially nicer than the intercity coach seats found on the Carolinian, a longer journey in worse seats. Greensboro is served at better hours by the Crescent do definitely go with that one. Between Greensboro and DC the Crescent goes through western VA and Charlottesville whereas the Carolinian takes a detour through Raleigh and Richmond.

Similarly, there’s also two trains between Chicago and Kansas City, the Southwest Chief and Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner combined train. The Southwest Chief is 4 hours faster than the LSMRR and as vastly better seats. The Venture coach (and business class seats for that matter) are some of the worst in the industry while the Superliners have some of the best seats. The LSMRR detours through St Louis and Springfield while the SWC takes a straight shot to Chicago.

Oh yeah, and don’t take the Acela unless it’s the rare occasion when it’s cheaper than the Regional. It’s almost always just marginally faster but for more than double the price.

Another thing to consider with The Cardinal and the Texas-Eagle-Sunset Limited [total consist to LA] IS that they only run 3 times a week. SW Chief and Lake Shore Limited are everyday trains. Back when the Sunset Lmtd started in central Florida to LA [still only a thrice- weekly train] - that was my train of choice. Hurricane Katrina shut the New Orleans to Florida part.

There's a third option between D.C. & Chicago: the Capitol Limited: Washington, DC - Pittsburgh - Cleveland - Chicago. For unknown reasons, Amtrak does not offer timetables, but a third-party site does have timetables at railpassengers. (YouTube auto-deletes if the full web link is posted in the comments section). The two Amtrak routes that are currently only 3x weekly are supposedly planned to "soon" increase frequency to daily service: Sunset Ltd. & Cardinal.

I’ve taken that Texas eagle sunset limited between az and lax. 9/10 times they pull in a hour early into union station based off the tracking website and me getting on myself. Texas eagle on back sunset limited up front

On the Texas Eagle vs Sunset Limited: if there is a big difference in the room price and your start or end point is only a little bit east of San Antonio, you might consider booking a coach seat for that first/last segment and the sleeper space of your choice for the rest to take advantage of the cheaper room rate. The downside is that you'll have to move to a different part of the train at that point, but at least you won't have to worry about missing your connection!

Wonderful video, as usual. I just started riding Amtrak a year ago and already I've traveled so much around the country. I just got back from a 2 week trip to visit family in Los Angeles. Since I took the TE last year, I decided that I wanted to take a different route. So this time I took the Texas Eagle from Fort Worth to St. Louis. Then in St. Louis I took the Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner to Kansas City, and in Kansas City I caught the Southwest Chief to Los Angeles. It was an amazing trip with beautiful views and I met some very interesting people. Then when I had to come home I took the Texas Eagle all the way back. That trip was pretty awful, but that wasn't really Amtrak's fault. I just got back yesterday and I am already looking forward to my next trip!

The Acela is nice for the experience... once. Took my grandson on a round trip to experience all the different options. Coach, Acela 1st, roomette and bedroom.

If I'm trying to get from Chicago to Los Angeles, I'd easily choose the Southwest Chief both ways. The Southwest Chief is my favorite route while the Texas Eagle is my least favorite. The Southwest Chief has better scenery, my favorite sights on the network. With the Texas Eagle, you get that one full day of great scenery, but the rest of the trip, the scenery is just nothing but farmland.