On the Train to Reno 🚂

Man I’m digging this train ride!! iPhone 11 Flomax.

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One more. This is the Truckee River in the high Sierra. It’s gorgeous up here. Pixel 4 …

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@Leo you need to book the Via from Toronto to Vancouver (or indeed the reverse) if you’re liking train travel. Peak season is anything but cheap, but I’ve been told it’s a once in a lifetime experience.

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We’re already planning it. I just had to get spousal approval. Lisa is loving this, too. And it’s the most environmentally friendly way to travel. Well except for bicycle.

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I love train travel. Took a train from Boston to/from North Carolina last year. For sanity purposes, I overnighted in Philly on each leg. Gotta admit, the highlight of the trip was going through the Reading Terminal Market before getting back on the train.

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Via has a reward program. I used to travel so regularly that I could get a free round-trip room (with built in toilet and shower) to the East Coast every year for holiday travel. The train is not the same experience sitting overnight in coach as it is sleeping in a room with a proper bed and then having included meals in the train fine dining room and being able to watch the world stream by from the glass dome car.

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A few years ago I made a coast to coast trip from San Francisco to New York by train. There’s no finer way to see the country.

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Thanks for posting the pics. We get to travel vicariously thru you :smiley:

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Great Photos: It looks as you are having a blast.
Once I took the train from Oakland to Chicago to New Orleans to Atlanta, all in one big trip. I wish I had had a good camera (phone) then.

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Traveling by train is a great way to see the country. In Oct of 2018 I took the California Zephyr out to San Francisco and made sure to make some time to see a TWiT in person.


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The Superliner cars are nice. I prefer being on the top deck for a better view and you have to go upstairs anyway to get from car to car. The Zephyr from SF to Chicago is a great trip. So is the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago.

I grew up in a railroading family and have been on every route since I was an infant. I’m 63 now.

Thanks for the photos and try to experience as many trains as possible before they’re total shit. They’re already headed that way with increasing numbers of long distance routes switching from custom prepared meals to boxed meals.

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We’ve taken the Via from Vancouver to Jasper. Amazing scenery! Train is lovely with white linen tablecloths in the dining car and great food. Service was top notch. Train crew was great. We booked a sleeping compartment and, while roomy enough, was a snug fit. USE THE EARPLUGS for sleeping as it is quite noisy.

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You may prefer the Rocky Mountaineer which travels along a different route but very scenic from Vancouver east through the Canadian Rockies. It stops at beautiful hotels each night so you don’t have to deal with sleeping in the somewhat tight and noisy quarters on Via Rail. Also has more dome cars for viewing the scenery.

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That is very nice. I see a passenger train go past my apartment in Arequipa, which goes over to to Lake Titicaca and on to Cusco. The cars are old fashioned ones, and really nicely decked out. I can’t afford to take one this year, but Next Year I really want to go, when I have a bigger budget.

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@Leo, if you’re ever thinking of doing any European trips, I’d recommend the Venice-Simplon Orient Express from London to Venice. I did the trip once a number of years ago, and it was an absolutely stunning experience, both in terms of the period luxury of the train, and the beautiful scenery it passes through. The first link below is more descriptive of the experience than the official site beneath it.

https://www.seat61.com/Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express.htm

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We rode a beautiful train from Machu Picchu to Cusco. Also run by Belmond it was called the Hiram Bingham. A restored classic car with an amazing meal. Pricey but highly recommended!

image image image

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I’ve always wanted to ride the Orient Express - I’m glad to know it still exists! Adding that to the bucket list. Now that Lisa has given thumbs up to overnight train travel a whole world is opening up!

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I was working up my budget for next year. I do it with a spread sheet that takes my income and breaks it down by percentages I have determined using past spending habits. When I put in my expected income for 2021, and looked at the line for tourist stuff, there was a number that just about matched what the train will cost if I go alone, if my best friend comes it will be less with us sharing a compartment. Looking at your photos, I am really going to make it happen. I was standing waiting to cross the tracks the first time I saw the train, not more than 30 feet from me. I was smitten.

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I do hope you get to take that trip. The train looks really something special in those photos. When I took the Orient Express it seemed a silly amount of money to spend, but I’ve never regretted it since. And the memories have lasted decades.

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I should mention this TV series, if you want to learn some about various trains. I think it’s a made in Canada series.

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