Passenger Trains > Bsst daytime Amtrak tran rides?

What are the best one-day daylight train rides via  Amtrak that would also provide a daytime viewing experience on the return trip on Day Two? I'd like to take some two-day round-trips but I want the trips to be during daylight hours. Any good ideas about two-day turn-around trips with a night-night hotel stay in the middle of the two-day train journeys?  

In the East there was the Adirondack. You could go from NYP to Plattsburgh. Then the Ethan Allen Express and the Vermonter. But all those are presently suspended trains. 

You may want to help narrow this down and give us a region you are looking at........There's still some corridors in California and Pacific Northwest that may be worthwhile. 

Pennsylvanian from Philly to Pittsburgh is a nice trip. Maybe even Albany to Niagara Falls and back. Some may even be able to suggest hotels, but perhaps best to narrow down the region you are looking at due to those trains that are and are not operaing. 

You can even take some of the LD Trains during the day - Coast Starlight from Bay Area to San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara and back.........

Take the California Zephyr from Denver west.  Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction both have hotels and food near the train stations.  Green River is also good, with a lttle more downscale atmosphere.  I'm not sure about Helper for amenities.  The former D&RGW mainline remains the best ride on Amtrak, in the opinion of many.
The Coast Starlight from LA north is also a good possibility.  The scenery is excellent, and any point from San Luis Obispo north to Oakland would be a good turnaround point.  I am not as familiar with the facilities at SLO, Salinas, or San Jose, but they could all work depending on how you want to balance time on the train vs. time to eat a meal and relax at the turn point, also allowing for a late train.
With the gutting of the dining car, you will probably want to allow some time for a decent meal wherever you spend the night, since your food in either coach or sleeper will be packaged and microwaved.  BSB    

California Zephyr between Oakland or Sacramento and Reno makes for a very nice two day round trip with a hotel stay at either end of the trip.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/20 17:16 by RuleG.

California Zephyr between Reno and Sacramento would be perfect.  Hotels, restaurants, and airports on either end, fantastic 6-ish hour trip through the Sierra Nevada, daylight both ways.  I've done it a half dozen times and it never gets old.  Pro tip: get a roomette.

My fave true ONE DAY ONLY round trip:
Santa Barbara- Surf- Santa Barbara.
(It would even be better to start/end further south, but I live in SBA).
All daylight (hey! pun possibilities) running on the Coast and a few hours to explore the beach at Surf. You’ll see #14 pass and, with a bit of luck, the Lompoc Local too.
Bring a lunch (there are no services at Surf) and choose a day with decent weather (only an open Am-Shed if conditions deteriorate).
SR

BLW: COVID-19 had annulled the needed SurfLiner connections- check first!

LAUPT-jan Jose or Oakland and back.  or if u can --next morning go to BFL via the San Joaquins and then the amt buss to LAUPT

Any combination of end points on the east end of the Northeast Corridor that cover the Section between New Haven and Providence.  You can do this in one or two days, using either Acela or regular corridor trains.  Or for more variety, take train 449 west from Boston to Albany, stay overnight, then ride along the Hudson to New York and back to Boston on the Shore Line.  All three legs have lots of scenery.

Dave



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/20 06:15 by DavidP.

Denver - Glenwood Springs - Denver. Lot of hotels and restaurants near the station in Glenwood, stunning scenery.

During the day the second day, you can raft the Colorado with a group, or bike the old Rio Grande right-of-way on their Aspen Branch -- bike rental place drives you up valley, so you're only biking downhill. Or just hang out in the hot spring pool, visit galleries, stuff like that. Still plenty of time to catch #6 back to Denver.

WoodrowStool Wrote:
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> California Zephyr between Reno and Sacramento
> would be perfect.  Hotels, restaurants, and
> airports on either end, fantastic 6-ish hour trip
> through the Sierra Nevada, daylight both ways. 
> I've done it a half dozen times and it never gets
> old.  Pro tip: get a roomette.

Why waste money on a roomette when you should be in the lounge the whole time?

Posted from Android

My vote would be to take the Southwest Chief From KCY to NPV (Naperville ILL) and back the same day.  Though return trip will be in darkness, but you get 818 miles and get to sleep in your own bed.

All of these suggestions are great. I'd add the Cardinal from Cincinnati to Washington DC. Best is from Charleston to Charlottesville.

Posted from Android

When Amtrak has rail sales I use to do this a lot.  

I've done Cincinnati to Thurmond on train 50.  Make sure you have the days right.   It was fun in the gorge when they ran trains.  Maybe not so much now.  

Capital Limited from WTI to Harpers Ferry ( Had to bail off in Cumberland due to late train).  

No longer possible but I did the Three Rivers from Fostoria to Lewistown, PA.  

SWC over Raton could be done with a change in Las Vegas. 

When  is this happening? Note that LDT's are suppose to be going 3x week Oct. 1. So a one day turn might not be possible in some cases.

The Cardinal eastbound only i the east and the California Zephyr in the west are the two best train rides in the USA,

Chris

Amtrak/Metro North to Poughkeepsie along the Hudson

LA to San Diego and back or LA to Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo and back are both great one day trips.

millerdc Wrote:
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> Amtrak/Metro North to Poughkeepsie along the
> Hudson

I'll second that.   I've been all over the US, and in terms of scenery - particularly around sunset, this is pretty hard to beat running along the Hudson at 110 for easy-to-access daytime runs. And there's enough train service that you won't get stranded due to the inconsistencies of Amtrak.    Whether you turn at Albany or Penn Station, there's enough there so you're not in the wilderness, either.

It used to be the smart play was to make sure you got a leg on the Lake Shore so you had a diner, but that's no longer a real option.    And you can extend it west toward Buffalo and still have multiple trains, or east to Boston if you want to risk the 448/449 'you bet your connection' over CSX track maintenance issues.

Only place that beat it was when the Pioneer ran along the south shore of the Columbia coming into Portland.  The old Pioneer route was the most underrated scenic run from Ogden to Portland that I've been on.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/20 12:03 by randgust.

The trip is Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo and back for a one day trip.  If you have two days go to San Jose one day and back the next day.  The coastline has scenes that only be seen from the train, Gaviota to Casmalia.  This line has the beautiful Pacific Ocean without all homes and businesses that line the tracks to San Diego.  Lastly if your are lucky you will see the Channel Islands.  You should see these beautiful islands if you travel during late summer or early fall when it is windy and the Pacific's fog is gone. 

cabsignaldrop Wrote:
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> All of these suggestions are great. I'd add the
> Cardinal from Cincinnati to Washington DC. Best is
> from Charleston to Charlottesville.
>
> Posted from Android

I'd have to second that, expecially in the fall when the leaves are changing.  Just be aware that the Cardinal only runs 3 days a week so you have to coordinate your days so that you arrive on one evening and can leave the next morning.  The ride along the New River is really nice.  Lots of rafting going down that river.  

John