All Aboard The Complete North American Train Travel Guide

by Loomis, Jim

• ISBN13: 9781641608657
• ISBN10: 164160865X
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-05-16
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

It’s about the journey, not the destination.
 
All Aboard—first published in 1995, and here revised and updated—is much more than a mile-by-mile scenery guide for train travelers. Written for both veteran train travelers and those considering their first rail journey, it will keep any trip on track with its insightful travel trips and information about how North American railroads operate.
 
All Aboard presents how and why the first railroads came about, describes the building of America’s transcontinental railroad, and explains how individual trains are operated. Railway expert Jim Loomis also offers advice that can only come from a veteran traveler on essential topics such as booking trips, finding the lowest fares, avoiding pitfalls, packing for an overnight trip, what to do on board, and whom to tip and how much.
 
This latest, fifth edition includes up-to-date information on modern high-speed rail projects in California, Texas, and Florida, new trains on the Copper Canyon route in Mexico, current reports on the legal disputes between freight railroads and Amtrak, and much, much more.
 
All Aboard is the ultimate guide to American train travel and its unique history and culture.

Author Biography

Jim Loomis has written frequent columns about train travel for Sunday newspaper travel sections and has ridden every one of Amtrak’s routes, including taking all their long-distance trains multiple times, logging more than 200,000 miles on trains in the United States alone. He has also traveled across Canada on VIA Rail a dozen times. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Rail Passengers Association. He lives on Maui in Hawaii.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword: Rediscovering the Train
1 Why Take a Train?
2 How It All Began
3 Amtrak to the Rescue
4 Planning Your Own Train Trip
5 Packing and Last-Minute Details
6 Life Onboard
7 Who's in Charge Here?
8 When Things Go Wrong
9 Coaches, Sleepers, Dining Cars, and More
10 How It All Works
11 What About All Those Freight Trains?
12 Safety Is Priority Number One
13 Taking the Train in Canada
14 Mexico's Copper Canyon Train
15 Ten Great Railway Stations
16 Will There Be Trains in Our Future?
Appendix A: Pick a Train, Any Train
Appendix B: Some Suggested Itineraries
Appendix C: Railroad Terms and Slang
Appendix D: How to Find a Rail-Savvy Travel Agent
Appendix E: Passenger Rail Advocates
Appendix F: Excursion Trains and Railroad Museums
Index