I’ll tell you what train trip not to do: A trip from anywhere in the Northeast to Florida.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of trains & mass transit in general. This country has done itself a huge disservice with its devotion to the car, imho, and with its starvation of Amtrak and refusal to maintain, let alone upgrade, rail infrastructure.
This became apparent on my trip - solo with two toddlers. No sleeper. Just trying to save as much $ as possible with a crazy-cheap flash sale, as I recall. hahahah
A trip that was advertised as taking 18 hours instead took 27 hours.
Why? Was there a derailment, a flood, a fire, a car on the tracks?
Nope, none of those things.
The reason was because there is one set of tracks, and even though it’s against the law, Amtrak plays second fiddle behind freight. Every time a freight train needed priority, we got shunted onto a siding.
I cannot tell you how brutal 27 hours on a train with toddlers is.
Ah well, lesson learned. And I am here to tell you not to do it, so there is some benefit after all to my trauma.