What is the longest train trip you have experienced?

Ted51 said:
I have done that one a few times. The first time we had to change trains about halfway, in Albury. The railway gauge in Victoria, wherein is Melbourne, was wider than in New South Wales (Sydney). Different now thankfully. A few more times in a train called the Spirit of Progress. A misnomer if ever there was one. Cold, old and uncomfortable.

There was another train, at least back then, which I think was more luxurious. The Southern Aurora. Sleepers I recall, though I never did get to experience it. I suspect my employers were too tight to pay. :unsure:
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Personally I have not done the Melbourne to Sydney trip.
 

I bought my Corvette in Florida and brought it home on the auto train, which stops in Lorton, Virginia and then we had to drive the rest of the way home. That was my first time in a train overnight. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner with another couple just after leaving the station, then snacks in the bar car and then to bed. I had the upper birth.

In the morning, I decided I had to shower. Have you ever showered on a train? What a riot that is (or was). I bet the people outside the shower car heard me laughing and thought there must be some nut in there. I couldn't help it. I was swayed left to right, and then we hit a stretch of what felt like mini speed bumps on the rails. But it was fun.

Breakfast was also good and the porters and out "Maitre D" was also very polite and on the job for anything we asked for. We gave her a nice tip for her service. The whole trip was a blast and my wife wants to do it again, only without the car.
 

W
oldman said:
I bought my Corvette in Florida and brought it home on the auto train, which stops in Lorton, Virginia and then we had to drive the rest of the way home. That was my first time in a train overnight. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner with another couple just after leaving the station, then snacks in the bar car and then to bed. I had the upper birth.

In the morning, I decided I had to shower. Have you ever showered on a train? What a riot that is (or was). I bet the people outside the shower car heard me laughing and thought there must be some nut in there. I couldn't help it. I was swayed left to right, and then we hit a stretch of what felt like mini speed bumps on the rails. But it was fun.

Breakfast was also good and the porters and out "Maitre D" was also very polite and on the job for anything we asked for. We gave her a nice tip for her service. The whole trip was a blast and my wife wants to do it again, only without the car.
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What a fun experience for you and your wife. No doubt another trip is around the corner. Maybe several nightsnext trip?
 
My only train trip was from Charleston WV to D.C. only about 4 hours. It was fun because they had smoking cars in those days, very social, and some guy who was a dancer with the Chippendales flirted with me the whole time.

Not too many years ago I took a Greyhound bus from Charleston to Georgia. It took about twenty hours longer than it should have due to over ticketing and this sort of thing:
 
Bretrick said:
W

What a fun experience for you and your wife. No doubt another trip is around the corner. Maybe several nightsnext trip?
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My wife’s sister in California likes to come here and spend time with us. She is scared to death to fly, so she takes the train from LA to Harrisburg and we pick her up there. Sometimes she will take a berth and other times, she will sleep in her seat. Her husband is a retired defense attorney LA and he flies back a few days after her train leaves. Once in awhile, he will ride back with her.

I have tried everything I know to get her to fly, but it’s all for naught. When I flew the private jet for customers, I offered her a chance to travel with us and the big shots from Harley Davidson that I would fly when they would go to shows or to another company to give a lecture on motivation. Still, she wouldn’t go.

She always told me her life was like Richie Valens, who died in a plane crash and always dreamed he would die in a plane clash. Patsy Cline was the same way. I never met those people, but read a book on celebrities who wouldn’t fly because of the fear factor.
 
oldman said:
I bought my Corvette in Florida and brought it home on the auto train, which stops in Lorton, Virginia and then we had to drive the rest of the way home. That was my first time in a train overnight. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner with another couple just after leaving the station, then snacks in the bar car and then to bed. I had the upper birth.

In the morning, I decided I had to shower. Have you ever showered on a train? What a riot that is (or was). I bet the people outside the shower car heard me laughing and thought there must be some nut in there. I couldn't help it. I was swayed left to right, and then we hit a stretch of what felt like mini speed bumps on the rails. But it was fun.

Breakfast was also good and the porters and out "Maitre D" was also very polite and on the job for anything we asked for. We gave her a nice tip for her service. The whole trip was a blast and my wife wants to do it again, only without the car.
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@oldman
I showered on the train returning to Adelaide from Melbourne. It was quite the balancing act! At least we can say we had the experience 🤣
 
AnneTeak said:
I want to travel from Boston, MA to Tucson, AZ. It takes three days. I don't want to travel alone though.
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Is there any possibility that might occur?
You could advertise for a female travelling companion.
As long as you are open as to when you can go, stipulate your preferred travel times.
 
I wish I could take extended train trips across the US and Canada but I have two dogs that travel with me so I have to fly or drive.

But in my younger years, in the late 90s, I took the Coast Starlight from Portland to Sacramento. That was a very cool trip.
 
Llynn said:
Olympia,WA to Oakland, CA and return. Actually I was going to San Francisco but had to finish the final few miles by bus. It was an overnight trip.
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You might have taken the same train as me. Was it the Coast Starlight? I took that in the 90s from Portland to Sacramento.
 
I used regularly take trains all over Germany but once did a murder mystery train trip from Detroit to Chicago one new years. Everyone dressed the part and had a role. It was great fun.
 
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When I enlisted in the Air Force I was supposed to fly to Texas from PA, but due to a snow storm grounding planes, we took a train instead by way of St. Louis. Rather enjoyed it.
 
As a child, about 12, went from Boise, Idaho to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, it was so wonderful and beautiful scenery. I loved how it went fast and around curves so smoothly.
 
I took Amtrak from Birmingham, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana on "The Crescent." Then to Chicago on "The City of New Orleans." Switched to "The California Zephyr" to Oakland, California. After Oakland, I switched to the last train "The Coast Starlight" to Redding, California. Then they put me on an Amtrak bus to Eureka. I don't know exactly how many rail miles that is, but if you take highways on approximately the same route it is 3,762 miles according to Google Maps.

I've been on every east-west train except for "The Empire Builder."
 
I was on the Bart train in California and I think it was 60 miles we went across the ocean.
 

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