All aboard the American express

[John Ashworth]

All aboard the American express

Ruth Fowler travels coast to coast by rail and discovers that, if you really want to get under the skin of the States, Amtrak is the way to go

* Ruth Fowler
* The Observer,
* Sunday June 29, 2008

I'd been seduced by the mythology of the American Road Trip. Hunter S Thompson's Fear & Loathing, Thelma & Louise ... even Ferris Bueller's Day Off had me drooling for the open highway. After living in New York for three years and seeing nothing of the rest of North America, it felt like a rite of passage. The only problem was I hadn't driven in 10 years, and the last time I did I'd managed to cruise into a petrol pump. Then there was the problem of petrol prices reaching $4 a gallon: a cross-country road trip would have cost me around $2,500 in fuel alone. Greyhound, of course, was an option, but I'd done that before. If you ever want to experience pure unmitigated terror, head for a US bus station at midnight. That's all I'll say on the matter.

I decided to go by rail. Every American I spoke to was astounded. 'You're taking the train across America? Isn't that, like, old-fashioned?' They besieged me with horror stories: 'Once I took the train to LA. This lady stalled her car on the tracks. She just sat right on in the car and kept trying to start the engine. Then we came along, ploughed right on over her and the car. She died. We were delayed a whole day.'

My plans may have met with bemusement, but it turns out I was not alone in turning to the train. Passenger numbers on Amtrak, the government-run intercity rail service, have increased by 17 per cent this year alone due to fuel costs pricing out Middle America from driving or flying across the country. Its increased popularity has even led to talk of reinstating routes that fell out of use last century.

I took the plunge and booked a trip from New York to LA, with stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, Whitefish Montana, Portland Oregon and San Francisco.

I rocked up to Penn Station one baking hot day a month back, ready to get on my first train for an 18-hour journey to Chicago. Initial impressions? This ain't British Rail. OK, you're not getting high-speed deluxe journeys à la Eurostar, but huge, spacious coach seats - and for the more discerning, wealthier passenger, cute little first-class private sleeper compartments with fold-out bunks - ensured that this was not like the cramped, uncomfortable journeys I remembered from my youth in England.

Dining cars offered flower- and linen-adorned tables at which to sit and enjoy meals at reasonable prices, and in the lounge/viewing car, a bar serving snacks, soft drinks and alcohol was open until midnight. First-class travellers sat side by side with those seeking a more economical cross-country route. I took the budget option and chose 'coach class', which meant I would sleep in my spacious reclining seat.

I boarded my train and we slipped into the countryside, following the river through the Hudson Valley. I stared at the lush scenery of upstate New York for a while and, after a couple of hours, wandered over to the dining car, where I sat down with the conductor and ordered a meal and some Merlot. The conductor, Eric, told me we had already lost one passenger during a short stop in Syracuse. A young lady had taken the opportunity to leave the train and smoke some weed, and had afterwards boarded the wrong train because she was high as a kite. The conductor chuckled good-humouredly at this tale. We were joined by an Iraq war veteran, an ex-porn star, a young mother from Arkansas, a rich Upper East Side grandmother who hated flying, and two art students. The drinking commenced, and eventually halted at 2am when we all crawled into our seats or bunks to sleep until we arrived in Chicago at 10am.

This was to be fairly typical of the coming month's travel experiences. Gradually, my trip across America seemed to become more about Amtrak and my fellow passengers than the destinations I stopped at along the way. I met retirees biking across the States, kids visiting divorced parents, students, tourists, businessmen.

Sitting in the lounge of a train crossing Wisconsin, talking to a young woman who was training to translate the Bible for remote tribes in Papua New Guinea and an older woman who was going to say goodbye to her dying sister in Minneapolis, I didn't care that the train was three hours late. The gentle drone of the Amtrak guide with a microphone in his hand, recounting the history of the landscape we were seeing, provided a superb counterpoint to the light patter of summer rain, the stories of my companions, a vivid, startling sunset lighting up the sky.

Amtrak bombards you with far more stories and experiences and sights than you could ever witness alone in a car, eyes fixed to the road, or on a five-hour flight to LA. Each state is as distinct and peculiar as a different country, from the plains of Dakota to the mountains of Montana. I was being sucked into the seductiveness of interstate travel: the desire to explore this fascinating and multi-faceted country, a task that seemed as limitless as the flat, endless North Dakota horizon.

Amtrak employees themselves assume key roles in this peculiarly theatrical mode of travel. En route to Montana I was woken in the morning by a lady trilling over the intercom: 'I'm singing in the rain. Just siiinging in the rain! I'm brewing COFFEE! Mmmm, coffee! Rich, robust, strong, masculine, earthy coffee! Can you smell it? It wants you. This coffee wants you. I'm in the lounge car. Ask for Miss Olivia. I'm waiting for you with my enormous coffee pot. MM-mmm!'

After a month I was sleep-deprived, giddy, exhausted and overwhelmed. I needed a vacation to get over my vacation. If you want speed, comfort, sleep and have any trace of misanthropy in your character, Amtrak is not for you. However, travelling by train gives you a glimpse into the soul of the US. If you want to see tourist America, hire a Cadillac, get on Route 66 and stop off at a few cutesy diners and motels. If you want to see the real America in all its spectacular, kooky, crazy, contradictory glory, get on Amtrak.

Essentials

Ruth Fowler travelled on the 30-day National US rail pass, costing $599 peak season (23 May to 1 September, and 12 December to 4 January), $469 off-peak, giving unlimited travel in coach class.

A 15-day pass costs $499 peak/$389 off peak. There are also regional passes for Eastern and Western USA, costing $369/$329 for 15 days, and for North Eastern USA, taking in Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York state, Boston and Portland Maine, for $299 for 15 days (no seasonal variation).

A 30-day North America Rail pass, covering Canada as well as the US, costs $999 peak, $709 off peak. See amtrak.com for more details and route maps. Read Ruth's blog about her trip at miminewyork.blogspot.com.

Make tracks across the states

The California Zephyr

Taking 48 hours to reach San Francisco from Chicago and covering 2,348 miles, this is a classic US rail trip, including the Rockies and Salt Lake City. On board you'll find a diner, sleeping cars and reclining seats.

· From $227 one way with Amtrak

The Downeaster

A particularly enjoyable journey is the one from Boston to Portland, Maine, which takes just under three hours. Portland boasts a busy harbour, admirable seafood restaurants and a well-regarded art museum. There are five round-trips a day, giving travellers the chance to stop off en route.

· From $24 one way with Amtrak, as before

Anchorage And Glaciers

Alaska probably needs a tour to make the most of its sights. Bon Voyage has a 15-night trip that mixes the occasional cruise with serious amounts of rail travel. It starts in Anchorage before heading off to Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks.

· From £2,299 with Bon Voyage (0800 316 3012; bon-voyage.co.uk), including flights and all meals on the cruise - but room-only elsewhere

The Texas Eagle

36-hour trip from Chicago to San Antonio travels along the Mississippi before reaching Little Rock, Arkansas. From there, the train heads to Dallas, Austin (which is famous for its live music scene) and San Antonio, home of the Alamo.

·From $117 one way with Amtrak, as before

California Rails

tarting on 12 October, this eight-day trip takes a circular route from Los Angeles in a celebration of the great American freight train. Highlights include the Cajon Pass near San Bernardino, a ride on the Tehachapi pass and the Mojave Desert.

· From £995 with Rail Tours Holidays (01902 324343; railtoursholidays.co.uk) including flights, hotel accommodation and transport

Music Of The Deep South

Great Rail Journeys has a new music-oriented escorted rail trip. The 14-day Tracks of the Deep South starts in Atlanta and takes in Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis and Graceland before heading to New Orleans and a return to Atlanta.

· From £1,950 with Great Rail Journeys (01904 521936; greatrail.com), including flights plus room-only accommodation and some tours..

[John Ashworth]

I travelled on Amtrak quite a bit myself in the 1990s and she's right - it's a great experience!