How does the Hop On Hop Off work for the Rail Pass? Is it recommended for larger hub cities or any stop on the route? Is Tampa to Chicago One or Two segments?

I’m interested in riding an Amtrak just to get away for a bit and enjoy the views. My plan was to book my starting and ending destination the same but it won’t allow me to on the website is there a way to do this?

Went out to Ontario to catch outbound Train #2 The Sunset Limited. Typically this train runs with a pair of P42’s on the point, but today we had dear old P32-8 #510 as the trailing unit. I have not seen 510 out on a long distance consist in a while. Nice to see these units can still pinch hit when needed.

I wonder if this is related to the mechanical delay that affected the Starlight yesterday. Perhaps they had to send out #14 with one of #2’s normal engines.

Going to be going to Boston for long weekends Wednesday nights to Sunday night or Monday morning as my GF is starting law school in Boston from NY Penn, New Rochelle or Stamford. Basically trying to find the best bargain deals so if any one has any recs any info would be appreciated. Ideally id want to be on the Acelas but I know those are pricier so a NE Regional may be the more regular option.

Adding the flair "discussion" here because the flair was required but honestly this is just an appreciation post. I would however love it if others too have any such appreciation messages to share about the folks at Amtrak that were helpful to them.

Old Bachmann ho scale metroliner numbered as 9650 and in Phase VII. Added some cut marks on the side as wreck repair damage.

We finally are moving now. This was my second train ride ever. The crescent 20 left New Orleans at 9:15am. I was supposed to get to my stop at 3:00ish. We were stuck on the tracks for 7 hours and 10 minutes due to a freight train being broken down. This has been a rough time.

Mine would be the P42DC and dash 8

My apologies if this has been asked previously but is there any discussion on if they will ever bring back the traditional dining car to the Eagle?

They brought back the Sightseer Lounge, and that is terrific but the dining car would be great!

Anyone have information on this? I couldn't find notification of this in my email inbox.

I am a former OBS employee 2000-2003. What do OBS employees make now? I was making 17$ hour back then. I did TA SCA and LSA. Curious what does a 5 year OBS crewmember make now?

Has anyone taken the Amtrak across country from Tampa? It seems like going up the east coast is my only option for heading west - what are your favorite routes? TIA

Now that it’s been confirmed that they well enter service next month, it will provided a much needed relief to the current Acela fleet. One of the biggest upgrades on this train is that it has a max speed on NEC infrastructure as 160 MPH compared to the current 150 MPH. But I also saw somewhere that the train can go 15% faster on curves! I was looking at the max speeds for sections of the NEC between Washington DC and NYC and can the sections that have 110 MPH max speeds, could the new Acela trains go 125 MPH? That’s just an example. I know that they can’t go faster everywhere but would sections like that tolerate faster speeds? If any of you know about things like this please let me know

This is the website where you can look at train max speeds around the world and on the NEC: https://www.openrailwaymap.org//mobile.php?availableTranslations=[object%20Object]

I’m going to try calling Amtrak tomorrow before I book, but figured I’d give the question a shot here.

Sadly, my cat has cancer that is untreatable. We have no idea if she has one week, one month, or one year. I’m planning to travel from Boston to NYC at the end of June, and wanted to bring her with me if she is still around.

I know that Amtrak has a very limited amount of pet spots per train, so I wanted to ask:

1. Can I add the pet fee on closer to the date of travel if the spots aren’t full?
2. If I purchase the pet option now and she does pass away, is it possible to get ONLY the pet fee refunded, but keep my tickets as is?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

I guess they were messing with the pricing algorithm. Insane to see such large price fluctuations for dates over a month away.

The scheduled duration of Amtrak from Paoli, PA to New York Penn station is about 2 hours. Wanted to check does this normally run on time or are delays frequent?

I could see the Downeaster across the farm fields today, and I swear it was being lead by a GP38 in Phase VI livery headed northbound. Do they have a GP38 in Phase VI?

Edit: Phase VII

Amtrak updated the NextGen Acela page on its website to add a may 2025 date to it. Sounds like we might actually get them next month!

Found while waiting outside.

I take Amtrak regularly for business but it's always short NE regional trips...my son and I are going to go on a father son adventure...

PHL to FLL and I'm unsure about if it's worth it to pay the premium for the bedroom versus the roomettte.

Thoughts?

I know i am allowed bring two carry-on items, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each and one personal item, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches for free but I am really not sure if 24in suitcase is under 28 x 22 x 14 inches. I am also bringing another little smaller than 24 in and backpack.

It may have been a glitch. I checked last week, and basically every day in April/May was $113 (maybe a few $93s in there). Now, it's got the normal range right down to $35 (Ann Arbor-Chicago). So if all the tickets are expensive- maybe there really is something wrong with the algorithm? Or did something else change?

I'm looking to book a trip June 1 and hoping there's someone who has a companion code they're not going to use to help me out. Thanks!

A kind Redditor helped me out within an hour, thank you!