When it came time to plan a summer vacation with my family, Mary and I decided we would just do a local Colorado trip rather than fly somewhere.
I researched places that would be within driving distance and came upon Glenwood Springs, a popular tourist destination smack dab in the middle of the Rockies.
They are famous for having the world's largest Hot Springs pool and it is a beautiful location.
Instead of driving, I thought it might be fun to drive to Denver and take a train to Glenwood Springs.
So I booked Amtrak tickets for the four of us. The price was just $34 per person.
This morning, we awoke at 5 am so we could get downtown in time to catch the 8 am westbound train.
Upon arriving at the station at 7 am, we were told that the train was delayed till at least 10:15 am.
The gentleman who checked in our bags told me that the train is always late.
My mistake was not calling ahead to see if the departure time had changed.
It was actually 11 am when the train finally left the station.
The coach seats were moderately comfortable, but I wondered how I would feel after a 5 1/2 hour ride.
Fortunately, the scenery was wonderful. Of course, that has nothing to do with Amtrak and it would have been just as spectacular had we taken I-70 to our destination.
The train goes VERY slow. Sometimes it felt like we were riding a snail.
We made a couple stops along the way, but it wasn't until we were 30 minutes out from our destination that things became totally agonizing.
We stopped 30 minutes to allow two other trains to pass by. We just sat there... snooze.
Trains don't have the same luxury of changing routes like planes do. If you are stuck on the track, you are stuck on the track. And that's that.
We left at 11 am and arrived 6 hours and 15 minutes later.
That is TWICE as long as it would have taken us had we driven our own car directly from Loveland.
I really thought it would be fun to take the train, but none of us enjoyed it all that much.
We do have a return trip on the train later this week, but I won't be taking Amtrak again.
Next time I fly or drive.
Now it's on with our family vacation!
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
August 5, 2008 10:22 PM
I feel for you Joel. I had a similar story while travelling across the Nullabor(one of the worlds longest trainline from Adelaide to Perth in Australia) via the Indian Pacific train. We left on a Friday afternoon and was looking forward to arriving in Adelaide on Sunday.
The train was held up 6 times for cattle on the tracks, held up 3 times to drop people off and held up 14 times because of reasons I could never find out about. Just toldwe will be underway shortly.
So Joel I feel for you. From now on if I have business in perth and I have to be there on time, I will fly. If I am on holidays and time means nada I will go by train.
Cheers
August 5, 2008 11:39 PM
Hey Joel,
I took my first Amtrak trip earlier this summer and had a similar experience as you. I still found it to be enjoyable, however I was traveling by myself and not with my family. This enabled me to get up and roam the train and meet a lot of new people from all over the country. I'm sure I would have enjoyed the scenery even more out your way.
The train in PA is also always behind schedule. The reason being is that Amtrak pays to use tracks owned and maintained by the freight company's. So, if a train gets a little behind and a freight train is scheduled, then Amtrak is 2nd in priority.
America's rail system was once the best in the world, now it's the laughing stock. It's a shame too, I'm a "railfan" and it's sad to see it in such a horrible state. One great thing about the train is not having to deal with the TSA, but I guess if the train is behind a couple hours, the lines at the airport aren't so bad.
August 6, 2008 01:17 AM
Hi Joel
Thanks for the information about the American railway services. It will be useful when we do come to the United States - perhaps 2011 or 2012.
We sometimes forget how happy we should be about our own services which are less than ten minutes late, when late. But more often than not actually ON time. We take things for granted, and reading your article made me realize we should appreciate what we have even more.
Have a nice vacation, Joel, Mary and kids... :-)
August 6, 2008 02:31 AM
I have ridden Amtrak recently and have had a much different experience, but I guess it's all a matter of perception. The train I was on traveled from Baltimore to Boston. There wasn't any delay and I really enjoyed being able to plug in my laptop and work on the ride.
I have also been on a train that experienced MAJOR delays and while I could have been annoyed, I let that go. The delays were due to the train letting other trains pass and weather.
I recently attended an event in Las Vegas where many of the participants who were to fly out of New York missed the first day of the event because planes weren't flying due to horrible weather. There were many stories of being stuck in the airport, not knowing when their flights were going to take off, and so forth.
I guess when you are going to travel there will be things that will come up that will be out of your control (even if you drive). Remember though, that you have control over how you experience any event that arises.
August 6, 2008 03:03 AM
Hi Joel,
It certainly shows how cheap your rail system is. In the UK, it would cost that each person just to travel to London for the day, and that's only 70 odd miles away - I would happily travel for 5 and a half hours on a train if it only cost me that much.
Cheers, Lee.
August 6, 2008 05:13 AM
What a whiner you are! All that extra time to enjoy Byers, Gore and Glenwood Canyons, and you couldn't make the most of it? You are not the ideal traveling companion, are you?
August 6, 2008 05:55 AM
Hey Joel, after all the great information you've provided us all (and I forgot to mention "FREE"), you deserve some time off with the fam. Put your work behind you and create some wonderful memories... will ya?. I hope the four of you have a great family vacation.
Take off the "Joel Comm-Blogger-Author-Speaker-Entrepreneur-Nice-Guy Hat" and put on the "Joel Comm-Husband-Dad-Tourist-Hat". Oh, you might as well leave the "nice guy" part in there as well. Have a grrrrrrrreat time!
August 6, 2008 08:26 AM
Joel,
I am sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the travel. I am on the east coast and really enjoy the opportunity to travel up and down the east coast instead of driving. Sadly, Amtrak is very expensive so it is typically considerably cheaper if more than one person is traveling to drive your car (that's saying a lot with the gas prices!) say from Baltimore to NY. I love train travel. You can get up and walk around and even have an adult beverage, or just relax with your family.
Hope the next trip is better!
August 6, 2008 09:10 AM
Joe, I didn't sit on the train and stew. I did make the most of it. Unfortunately, the place we stopped was not the best for scenery. I'm merely sharing my experience. We woke up at 5 am, hit the road at 6 am and didn't arrive at our destination until 5 pm. I'll enjoy the scenery more next time from my driver's seat. :-)
August 6, 2008 09:47 AM
ALASKA RAILROAD Trains are on time (in the summer)but expensive and tickets are Non Changable.(can't change to a later date) A few weeks ago we went on a vacation to Anchorage Alaska. We made all the proper reservations, prepaid. Our plane was delayed because of weather, 24 hours. I called the travel agent and hotel to let them know that the plane was delayed because of storms and asked to change our train trip to later in the week. (It cost $164.00 round trip for the 3 hour ride, or $334.00 for a seat in the dome section, less than 100 miles by car).
The travel agent and railroad refused to change the date of our train ride but said we could buy new tickets for another day,( $328.00 for 2 of us). The hotel also charged us for the night when we were delayed.
My suggestion is that if you are going on a trip to Alaska, do not prepay for anything, except the first night hotel. When you get there you can check everything out before you pay. I hear from a number of other people that there is less than 20% chance that you will see what you went to Alaska to see, such as; a lot of wild life, Mt. McKinley, whales, sea life and other.
Try to Know Before You Go or Pay.
If I had it to do over again, I would not book anything with a travel agent but directly with the activity and I would take the little siteseeing flights (also expensive, $300-$800 per person) don't pay until you get there know that there is something to see. FYI, some hotels don't turn on the heat in the rooms until the temp gets below 40.
August 6, 2008 10:18 AM
Joel,
It could have been worse.. you could have taken a wagon train. I wondered how many 19th century wives and kids used the phrase "are we there yet."
August 6, 2008 10:21 AM
You are blaming Amtrak for a problem that is a result of the freight railroads' refusal to accord to passenger trains the rights granted them under the 1971 law in which Amtrak was created. If we had a Surface Transportation Board and a Federal DOT that took their jobs seriously, fines and penalties would stop this behavior. As it is, the politicians are in the pockets of the freights and people (And Amtrak) suffer as a result. The Union Pacific was, for a long time, McCain's largest corporate donor - look it up, it's true - so no surprised when McCain bashes Amtrak.
August 9, 2008 06:55 PM
My family of six once took Amtrak from the San Francisco Bay to a vacation in Gunnison Colorado. Yep, we too said never again. The train was WAY late. The benefits were, we could walk around, and we didn't have to drive.
I'm betting the rest of your vacation is wonderful. Enjoy!