Product Description

The Only Comprehensive Guide to Riding the Rails Throughout North America Just Got Better!
There's nothing quite like the thrill of a train trip, traveling in comfort as you pass towns and meadows, venture through canyons, and cross over mountains. But in a territory as vast as North America, many of the best routes are easily overlooked — even by the most avid train travelers. Whether you're traveling from Los Mochis to Chihuahua, from Los Angeles to New York City, or from Vancouver to Halifax, this indispensable guide will teach you new ways to make your train experience even more enjoyable.
Everything you've ever wanted to know about trains and rail travel is here — from history to logistics. Longtime rail enthusiast Jim Loomis will help you plan a unique, memorable train excursion. Inside you'll find detailed and useful information such as:
·Booking procedures
·Schedules
·Onboard etiquette
·Rail Itineraries
·Descriptions of scenic rail excursions
·Route maps for passenger trains in the United States, Canada, and Mexico
·Floor plans for typical coach and sleeping cars
·And much more!
Along the way, you'll learn the fascinating folklore and history of railroading in North America; fundamentals of railroading operations, safety, and equipment; and professional railroading terms as explained in a full glossary.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #352687 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-04
• Released on: 1998-03-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.com Review
Having traveled almost every North American rail route at least once, Jim Loomis has the track record to write this information-packed guide to rail travel. This book "is written for the person who is naturally inquisitive, who notices and finds delight in little things, who knows that those who hurry miss a lot." After helping you decide whether train travel is right for you (and why car and plane travel might not be), Loomis gets into the finer points of traveling by train. His detailed research reveals how to plan your trip; packing suggestions; booking procedures; schedules; onboard etiquette; good places to stay for overnight stopovers; descriptions of scenic rail excursions; route maps of passenger trains in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; floor plans for typical coach and sleeping cars; folklore and history of railroading; safety information; and a professional railroading glossary. His creative, tried-and-true itineraries include fall-color routes, big city tours, grand and semi-grand tours, the Santa Fe trail, and "southern comfort." Loomis even explains how many modern phrases have their roots in train travel. He'll help you get "over the hump," while avoiding "hell on wheels," know when you're on a "doubleheader," and see the "light at the end of the tunnel." --Kathryn True

From Library Journal
Anyone contemplating a train trip would be wise to read this guide by Loomis, the travel writer for the Honolulu Advertiser. After outlining the history of the railway system in the United States and Canada, Loomis describes in detail train equipment, jobs, routes, and schedules. A veteran train aficionado who has logged 60,000 miles by rail over the past ten years, Loomis portrays life on board a train, offering advice on dining protocol, sleeping arrangements, and tipping, as well as hints on "passing the time" (computing the train's speed, listening in on "train talk," and diverting the children). This comprehensive guide will assist the traveler in planning an excursion and executing it with minimum effort and maximum pleasure. Recommended for public libraries and large transportation collections.
Pamela Bellows, Northwestern Connecticut Community Technical Coll. Lib., Winsted, Ct.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The Only Comprehensive Guide to Riding the Rails Throughout North America Just Got Better!

Customer Reviews

excellent training for you for your train trip
I hadn't taken an Amtrak crosscountry trip although I've ridden trains in NY area, in Europe, etc. So when we planned a crosscountry train trip, I got this book (there's a second edition published in 1998 too) and it was marvelous. We knew what to expect, this book explained it all. The book is honest and detailed in what it says, and it's easy to read. Plus it's self-contained, meaning you can read only one part and know all you need to about that part without having to go through the whole book. Well worth it for anyone taking an Amtrak trip of 2 hours or 2 days (done both now). Only point to add is that in the sleepers, he recommends against room A since it's a bit smaller, but the other rooms (B, C, D, E) have a door for connecting rooms together for parties of 4 instead of 2, and the door isn't as soundproof as the rest of the wall. So A is a bit smaller but quieter. Also, there is space in the ABCDE sleepers to stow two suitcases under the bed, as long as they aren't too big (9 or 10" x 19" x 23" fit OK) and thus they are out of the way, and I'm not sure he makes that clear--or maybe I was overzealous in figuring out how to get the suitcases out of the way. BTW, on 6 Amtrak trips in the midwest and west, we've never subsequently made up any time, so any delays that happen have stayed with us for the rest of the trip. A good book for a novice train traveller or for one who wonders how some of the stuff happens in the train world. And he's right, the coach seats compare favorably with business class/first class on planes.

Chicago is a big hub. From there, we've taken trains to Seattle, New Orleans, San Antonio, Washington DC. A very useful book to explain what you'll encounter. A train trip is a lot more restful than a plane trip nowadays (yes, I fly a lot too).

informative but not as useful as it could be
The information is good -- plenty of background material on North American trains, etc. I'd recommend reading it if you're planning a vacation and are interested going by rail (or could be talked into it).

But having read it, I can't help feeling that it would be more useful if it were organized and presented differently. Rather than a thick paperback with about 10 typically-sized chapters, maybe it would be more useful if the chapters were broken down into smaller, better delineated sections, with stronger cross-indexing. Maybe spiral bound. More maps?

If you're planning a vacation in North America, it would be good to get this book and read it during the planning stage. But it wouldn't be very useful to throw into your backpack and take it with you, which is too bad because with a different organization I think it could be.

A must read before you board
I was planning to take a train across the country on a sleeper.It is certainly nice to know what to expect before you embark unless you are a real adventurer. Author provides very detailed information about the life on board of the train, living quarters, conditions. This takes about half of the book. Than he describes each route. I found this part very short, for my purpose was to know what kind of cities or sceneries I would expecte to see or where to get off the train for a day or two. So for that reason I was a littel dissapointed.But the TV shows gives you some information anyway. So this book was more valuable for life in train.