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Author Topic: Greyhound buses. John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-12-2008 08:34 AM                     With Amtrak, a lot (esp. scheduling and timeliness) depends on the route. Between Chicago and what other city? [or, perhaps, you will be taking the new MEGACHUNNELL under the pond? ] http://www.amtrakdelays.com/ shows you per-route on-time histories of amtrak trains, which can be handy. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-12-2008 10:16 AM                     Train 6 the one that runs through SLC is actually doing pretty good overall according to that link. There are some early arrivals and some late arrivals so it kinda evens out over the month. I drive right past Amshack on my way to work every morning and I know its late when its sitting there at 8:00 in the monring... it should be here at 4:30 am. Salt Lake City is also home in the summer months to the American Orient Experss which is a luxury excursion train that costs about $5,000.00 dollars a person for the two week excursions. It runs on trackage that no other passenger trains typically operate on. The problem Amtrack has is that they have to give the right of way to all Union Pacific freight service or any freight service for that matter anywhere in the country. Now if there is a back up of freight trains at some point, a break down, or some other trackage difficulties then its a wait for the train sort of thing. I've been on Amtrack probably a dozen times in my life so far.... two times between Chicago and Washington D.C. and this is probably the suckiest ride Amtraack offers. Probably a half dozen times between Chicago and Toledo which is a long enough time to have a nice dinner in the dinning car and meet some nice folks. Once between Chicago and Oakland which also includes the famous Denver to Salt Lake City run and I've done the SLC to Denver and return run twice from SLC. Also one time to Toronto to do some work with Gord(without a work permit... imagine that!). I'll never do that run again! Amtrack turns the train over to the Canadians at the Michigan border. The Canadians don't have a clue about how to run a decent passenger train service... there was absolutely no food and the conductors were grouchy assholes... all they had was just snacks and they ran out of that stuff in a hurry. Mark  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 04-12-2008 01:33 PM                     quote: John Hawkinson Between Chicago and what other city? Chicago from either New York or Newark, NJ. Seems to be a minimum of about 17 hours by Greyhound, up to a maximum of about 22. I don't know how long it takes by Amtrak.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-12-2008 02:46 PM                        I've taken the Amtrak Coast Starlight from Santa Barbara to Seattle at the end of of a work trip to San Jose and Los Angeles. I tacked a vacation onto the end of it, visiting a friend in SB and then taking the train to Seattle, from whence I flew home via Memphis and Amsterdam. I'd sum up my experience of Amtrak like this: if you're a tourist who'd like to see a lot of American scenery in a low-stress way and aren't trying to meet a deadline, it's great, and I'd thoroughly recommend it. But if you're travelling for work and have to get to your destination or face a serious problem, Amtrak is not for you. My friend in Los Angeles (a rail buff) had forewarned me that this train is nicknamed the Coast Starlate, and advised me to build in an extra day at the end for contingencies, which if all went well I could spend sightseeing in Seattle. True to form, the train was 11 hours late at the end of the run. It should have arrived early on the Friday evening, but didn't in fact do so until the first shades of dawn were starting to appear the following morning. That having been said, it was a great trip along the California coast, inland round the bay, then up through the forests of Oregon, into Washington and the Willamette Valley. I think I paid around $300 for a one-berth cabin, and meals were included. The trip was scheduled to take around 30 hours, but actually took 40ish. Most of the delay was accounted for by having to wait for southbound freight trains running late to clear single-track sections before we could enter them. The cabin was very comfortable and the food was perfectly OK. If I ever get the opportunity I'd love to take a train from the East Coast to Chicago and then a drive all the way along Route 66 (or the other way round). As always, it's a question of finding the time and the money...  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-12-2008 02:47 PM                     Well, if you are going to fly into Newark, you'll at least have an easy time getting to the Amtrak station. The inter-terminal monorail goes right out there. It's about a ten minute ride from Terminal B.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 04-12-2008 03:28 PM                     quote: Mark Ogden Well, if you are going to fly into Newark, you'll at least have an easy time getting to the Amtrak station. The inter-terminal monorail goes right out there. It's about a ten minute ride from Terminal B. Greyhound also leaves from just outside Penn Station in Newark, nut I don't know if I could get to Chicago from there; I suspect that I might have it go into New York. Either way it wouldn't be a problem; I wouldn't be going straight to Chicago, I'd be spending a few days in Jersey City first. As airports go, I don't think Newark is bad, certainly better than JFK, and Continental fly there direct from Gatwick, which is the most convenient airport at this end. It's a pity that PATH didn't get extended to the EWR airport station, avoiding the need to change onto NJ Transit for just one stop, between the Airtrain and PATH. However, having had a long flight from London I really don't want to have to endure another one just a few days later. I'd rather travel by land, and see some of the Country on the way.  |  IP: Logged Chad Souder Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 962 From: Waterloo, IA, USA Registered: Feb 2000 posted 04-12-2008 03:44 PM                     I called for the time of a Greyhound trip one-way from Waterloo to Kansas City, a 4.5 hour drive. They told me 11 hours. I did not take the bus.  |  IP: Logged Kat Baggett Film Handler Posts: 23 From: Citrus Heights, CA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-12-2008 03:57 PM                     Year before last I took my 2 oldest grandkids 8 and 10 at the time cross country on Amtrak, I figured we needed the time together...what a amazing trip we all had fun, the kids could get up and wander a bit and the observation car was a life saver for the oldest she would just sit and stare out of the window...she had never been out of California at the time, the younger one was in the lounge car playing cards and Yu-gi something with some other little boys on the train.... I would always recommend the train to people, usually quicker than the bus and cheaper than flying these days kat  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-12-2008 04:58 PM                        quote: Stephen Furley However, having had a long flight from London I really don't want to have to endure another one just a few days later. Having a few days to recover is certainly a luxury! My normal outward journey to the US consists of MME-AMS, then AMS to either MSP or MEM, then from there to final destination, all in one (very long) day. The last flight is usually only an hour or two, which makes it bearable. But en route to the AMIA conference in November '06, I hadn't been paying much attention to the timetable. When the final flight had just taken off from Minneapolis, I began to think nice thoughts about a hot shower and a good night's sleep starting in about a couple of hours' time. At that moment a very cheerful and chipper sounding captain came on the PA, welcoming us on board and telling us that the flight time to Anchorage would be just under seven hours. At that moment I wanted to reach out and strangle him.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-12-2008 05:13 PM                        According to their web site, Amtrak leaves from Penn Station in NYC. Travel time is just under 19 hours. A standard coach seat is $80, and private rooms are available (expensively). The train has a dining car and lounge car. Greyhound fares range from $68-129, depending upon how far in advance you buy the ticket. For me, this would be a no-brainer. For an extra $12, you can get a more comfortable and civilized experience. I'd recommend checking with Amtrak about their policy on checked bags. The shorter train routes (Boston->NYC, Boston->Portland, ME., etc.) don't offer checked bags, though the longer routes do.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-12-2008 10:25 PM                     Ah. That is The Lake Shore Limited (PDF)! Trains 49 (NYP->CHI) and 48 (CHI->NYP). I'm struggling to remember the info on this particular route. I think it's a lot better than some in terms of freight issues. There is certainly checked baggage on it. The Wikipedia page is quite detailed and well-worth reading. I'd agree with Scott, the LSL is a much better choice than Greyhound. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 04-13-2008 08:32 AM                     I think you could be right, for a journey of that length Amtrak may be better though, surprisingly, it's not much quicker.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-13-2008 01:20 PM                     The main thing is that you'll have a bathroom that you can actually fit into and decent food. In some areas plenty of scenery that you'd otherwise not see whilst rolling down the pavement of the interstates. Mark  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-13-2008 01:22 PM                     AC power for your laptop... --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 04-14-2008 01:01 AM                     I've ridden Greyhound as far back as the "Scenic Cruiser" of the 60s and really enjoyed the trips. The drivers were curteous and one even took beer away from two guys who boarded the bus with it after a stop. It's a good way to see the countryside.  |  IP: Logged

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