If you’re ever looking for another type of job, consider strongly narrating sleep or calming tapes!! No, you aren’t boring and putting us to sleep!! Seriously, you have the most soothing relaxing tonal quality it could help a lot of people and or children who have trouble unwinding to go to sleep to hear you read a story or even a narrative of your experiences making these videos!! 😊
As a 62 year old Aussie I did 9 days and 6000 miles by Amtrak coach class over 6 weeks solo travelling these routes and on to Washington DC and New York.... loved every minute of of it... highly recommended.. particularly Denver to Salt Lake City... I would stop of in Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Denver, Reno, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, etc spend a week, rent a car and then get on the train again..... coming back to do the southern states :).. you yanks have a very special tourist asset... high speed trains are not scenic... they are too fast
Thinking back on the maybe 20 trips I've taken on Amtrak I don't think I've ever been on one that didn't have at least one Auzzi on it. All of e'm great fun. G'day to you sir.
Hi from Johannesburg in South Africa, I thank you warmly for taking me across America to places I have no hope in hell of ever seeing. Your commentary and presentation are excellent and I truly felt I was with you on your cross-country odysseys which, truth be told, I wish I WAS able to experience. I think Amtrak is wonderful and I hope budgets stretch to smoothing the rail lines in places, especially when one is trying to sleep. Thank you for your hard work, passion and appreciation of the one of the world's great services. I must say, having travelled China's high-speed trains on a few occasions, I wish you'd do the same in America. Imagine doing the routes you have just done at 300km/h. I'm looking forward to more of your journeys...goodbye and good luck.
America may see some high speed rail trains in a few densely populated states, but we will never see any over the overnight routes. Simply put America is too large. High speed rail competes with the airlines for 3 hours at 200 MPH, and 4 hours at 150 MPH. Beyond that time distance flying beats trains. It is the reason why the US Government itself, with the US Postal Service, chose to terminate their railroad mail contracts and invest more into air mail. US Mail chose a few hours to fly across the nation, not a few days?
About half way through, absolutely stunning footage. Another brilliant video! Great shots of the Mississippi River crossing and following that river was another excellent passage of your fantastic train travel video. Thank you so much for bringing this fantastic journey to some folk who will probably never get the opportunity to travel your country's fantastic railway system. It should be nurtured not starved of cash. I look forward to your next train Odyssey.
I love the story from when you were a kid and I don't think that it is silly at all. Fantastic video series this time, I have enjoyed every second of all three. Thanks!!!!
Just finished "A Train Odyssey 2" and want to say THANK YOU for the enjoyable trip ! Reminiscent of my own trips out toward Seattle in the early 60's via the Great Northern Empire Builder with my mom and dad.
To Youtuuba, I watched the other two parts of your series and I am just starting part three and I must say that your work is fantastic. I like the details you provide and using the map to track the journey is a nice touch. The scenery is wonderful and I never knew how large Amtrak is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Bravo! So well done, informative, and entertaining! Along with your many other fans I have been waiting for this installment for weeks. You did not let me down. After the first Empire Builder video I was not so certain that I would enjoy that LONG journey. You changed my mind; now I think it would be most enjoyable. You visual aids, (maps, GPS, scanner chatter) made the trip much more interesting for me and now I eagerly await an opportunity to make solid plans for the my own odyssey.
Phenomenal travel adventure series, Mate. Should I ever travel long-distance by rail in the US, booking a roomette or larger compartment will definitely be the way I would go. I was amazed at how certain areas of your trip was reminiscent of Scotland, England, and Germany. Slàinte
YouTuuba, You inspired me to book the Amtrak vacation package called the Northern Experience. I go out to the west coast on the Empire Builder....down to Emeryville on the Coast Starlight, and back to Chicago on the Zephyr.....going all roomette on all the trains. Can't wait.
You'll love it. This oddesy Chief to LA . Starlight to Seattle with a layover in Sacramento. And back on the Builder 4 times. and the reverse direction twice.
did the Zepher twice. once in the fall, other in the winter. loved them both. had roomeete had my cds sanford&son the jeffersons all in the family adam12. up most of the nite really enjoyed myself!
Love your videos. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Multnomah Falls not too far outside of Portland, but that area was apparently blocked by trees next to the tracks. And yes, I did enjoy your trip and hope to make the same trip very soon.
My home town is St. Cloud Mn. Haven't lived there for 40 years but still have relatives there and visit quite often. I actually grew up three blocks east of the train station. As young kids we used to walk these very tracks picking up coal that the Northern Pacific steam locomotives left behind. I too remember driving on Hwy 10 watching the trains pass. My great aunt owned a restaurant in the small town of Rice which is also mentioned. Many memories brought back with this video. Thanks for doing this.
I truly enjoy your videos, the amount of detail that you present are far superior to most other train videos on youtube. Amtrack needs to worry about their paying customer's satisfaction and less to the amount of executive compensation, the higher-up's probability fly to their endless meetings. Too many bureaucrats and not enough workers as with most government entities. Again thank you for the ride along and see our great country, Thank you...
b bock Amtrak is mostly career government with few high paying jobs. But the Oil Industry would much rather we Drive Our Cars, so have cut back the funding for Amtrak. And before you say your car isn't subsidized, all those roads you drive on are funded with tax dollars, and the gas tax covers only a portion of it.
7:04 Portland 19:24 Vancouver 45:50 Bingen-White Salmon 57:17 Wishram 1:16:38 Pasco 1:20:41 Day 2 1:36:18 Whitefish 1:50:17 East Glacier Park 1:54:20 Cut Bank 1:58:37 Shelby 2:16:55 Havre 2:27;21 Glasgow 2:29:41 Wolf Point 2:37:40 Williston 2:42:59 Stanley 2:43:57 Day 3 2:50:30 St Cloud 3:01:45 Minneapolis St Paul 3:05:15 Red Wing 3:11:53 Winona 3:24:14 La Crosse 3:29:38 Wisconsin Dells 3:31:57 Portage 3:34:52 Columbus 3:42:09 Milwaukee 3:51:03 Chicago
I don't know why, but I watched one video, and havnt stopped watching these for about 3 days now. relaxing and made me want to build some cool train maps on city skylines. even enjoyed the calculator video. havnt seem them all yet but sure I will get there 😉
The second batch of Superliners were built by Bombardier for Amtrak beginning in the early 90's. They have smoother riding wheels and updated sleeper rooms similar to the one you rode on.
Can't thank you enough for your videos, I've just booked this exact trip for this May. Some of the tips from your other videos will make my journey so much more pleasant.
I really enjoyed this video. Have always wanted to take a long train trip. Can't beat this in an armchair with a laptop! Your audio information throughout your video was just right. I feel like I spent this evening traveling with you. I just discovered your videos so I am looking forward to watching others.
Back in 1977 I rode the first PIONEER from Salt Lake City to Portland, along the South side of the Columbia River, with the tracks used by the EMPIRE BUILDER, using the tracks on the North side of the river. Your videos are always enjoyable, by the way.
3:52:35 is a great place to spot trains coming and going from Union Station and OTC if you can be on one of the taller building looking down at the tracks
Gorgeous. I'll have to watch it in pieces. But I do want to thank you for training on using the Scanner Radio. In early July we were traveling from Denver to Emeryville on the California Zephyr. And the Millage marker with a female voice decided to report the Track Temperature was 103. At which point a crew member exclaimed "103? Shit Lady, that's hot." I guess even crew people forget she's automated. Yeah, reduced speed most of the afternoon, but the tracks took it without complaint.
We are scheduled on the Coast Starlight 12/23 after watching Youtuuba's video a few months ago. LAX-PDX and back. Very excited! Next we want to take the Zephyr.
This series of Train Odyssey has been very relaxing to watch in this era of Covid-19. I don't feel I can safely travel right now, and this is my way of traveling right now. I like this man's comments and narration. Very interesting...I almost feel I am on the train, also!
Great Video, thank-you for sharing your travels with us, your commentary is fantastic. I watched your entire series and have enjoyed seeing the USA from the rail perspective, for the most part it's a beautiful country with interesting towns and cities. Many parts of California and Oregon look similar to parts of my country- South Africa. I'm hoping to do a similar Amtrak trip in the not too distant future.
At 2:10:30 When you are referencing the mountains to your south just in the area of Gilford, those are the Bears Paw mountains, not part of the Missouri Breaks. The Breaks drop down from prairie level to the river, and as such cannot be seen from a great distance like that. Great video series, I've enjoyed all of it
You give the best info of all the train videographers, was glad to see you had one of the Empire Builder coming out of Portland. You have a new subscriber, you have helped give me great ideas of where to shoot on previous videos. Thanks for the info.
Awesome scenery. I especially enjoyed the Columbia River Gorge. Another thing Amtrak did away with is the Quarterly Published System Timetable in a printed version Your video's make me want to take the trip. I noticed on this segment the train was not as bumpy. Thank you for all you do.
This trip of yours was extremely well done. My husband and I have taken the Fort Worth to San Antonio to Los Angeles to Chicago and back home to Fort Worth trip twice. We felt like we were on this trip with you, so now we don't have to go. Thank you!
HI, regarding your comment about how the high tension poles were erected, perhaps they were done with helicopter assist? Btw, thank you so much for these extra long videos. It's so relaxing and soothing watching them, and I also get to experience the thrill of travel through your eyes.
Amazing, I finished it, it was outstanding, this, and the other two are well worth watching again. I love how you show us the roads and other things on the map.
Very interesting and very well-crafted video. I took you to be a musician and a cyclist for some reason, but with your interest in rivers I figured you’d be a canoeist as well! With your voice I anticipated you would be a singer! Thanks for a great vid.🇨🇦
I used to be a voiceover 'artist', and mostly did spoken word stuff for commercial jingles. I am a trained classical singer, and sang professionally on stage during the late 70s, and through the 80s and into the 90s. Sang in the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and on a TV church show, and in small chamber singing groups.
I just returned last week from a round trip from St. Paul to Austin on the Empire Builder and Texas Eagle. Stayed overnight in Chicago both ways because of the connections. Loved the trip. I’ve ridden the Empire Builder to Seattle many times over the years. I loved your video. Next time I ride a train I’ll take my Garmin.
You do a great job.You are very precise in your descriptions .Thank you very much.My only concern if I were to make a trip like that,would be about leaving any equipment such as GPS 's and phones in the roomette while I was gone.Keep up the great work.Thanks again.
I would not leave cameras, phones, or other easily grabbed 'valuables' in a roomette while absent for a significant amount of time (e.g. wile in the Dining Car or Lounge Car). Although theft on the trains, especially in the Sleeper car section, is virtually nonexistent, it is still wise to take reasonable precautions. I keep most stuff in my backpack or suitcase, with a small lock holding the zippers closed, to discourage the 'quick grab'. Things like maps, GPS, battery chargers and the like are safe to leave out, I think. These are low value items, and in the case of a GPS these are now low-priced commodities which any decent thief would not consider to be worth the risk of stealing. I, as well as most other Sleeper car passengers, will pull the curtains to the aisle and close the room's door while we are going to be away from the room for a while. Any potential thief would not know if anyone is in the room, and unlikely to barge in blindly to find out. The greatest risk is leaving your door open, curtains open, and valuables laying loose on the seats in full view from the aisle, and easily snatched with only a break in the thief's stride. And even then, risk is low, because these cars are not open to the public, or even to the majority of train passengers, who cannot leave the Coach cars. The number of fellow passengers in a given Sleeper car is few, and there are not any likely thieves among them.
The Empire Builder is Amtrak's only long distance train I have not ridden. Interestingly however, I have ridden Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha and Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited. I miss The Pullman Company terribly.
I watch these Over and over, just wish u included the dining experience a little more. That was my favorite thing riding the trains plus the scenery. Great job!
Martha Skeel.....please think about that for a bit. How could I possible include "the dining EXPERIENCE"? The food is nothing special, and no video can portray the quality of the food anyway. The EXPERIENCE is in large part about the conversations with strangers once has when eating in the diner, and that is basically impossible to capture and portray from the vantage point of a single handheld camera being aimed by one of the people in the conversation. Not to mention, everyone at the table would have to agree to being in the video, and everyone would be self conscious about it and not able to enjoy THEIR meal. That is why I don't include very much in the dining car in my videos.
I would be shocked if the dirt on the windows on the inside was actually diesel soot. Every Amtrak train I’ve ridden has had perfectly filtered air. You’d smell the diesel fumes way before you start to get spot buildup. Also those Genesis locos tend to run pretty clean
I absolutely loved this video it took me back home to place as I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. The towns of Bingen and The Dallas are my favorite Because we lived in Bingen and my grandmother always took me to visit her friend in The Dallas. which binging is pronounced Bin-Jen and “The Dalls” hehe. Just a bit of info. East of The Cascade Mountain Ranges gets more snow, west gets more rain. My cousin lives in Hood River which is at the base of Mt Hood gets a mixture of both. Keep up with these videos please
Greetings from Australia. Looks like we arrived in Chicago the same day (May 23), but I arrived on the California Zephyr from Emeryville , CA. Despite all the often heard criticism, Amtrak is a great way to travel. I enjoyed my cross country sojourn enormously. Also looks like your window had the same tint as on my Superliner sleeping car which lends a somewhat yellow tint to everything, particularly noticeable through the spectacular but very brown Glenwood Canyon.
By the way, your video really helps me relive the feel of being on the California Zephyr. Thank you. I hope I can get back to the States some day to experience another long distance Amtrak journey. They really are some of America’s best kept secrets. I’m surprised more people don’t use them.
Watched this every night for 4 nights during dinner time, enjoyed with a Sam Adams '76 IPA. Nice! At the end I was sad it was over. I think I'm going to have to do the full Empire Builder. I enjoyed the Tomah to Chicago section as I've done that trip 4 times, both in summer and winter. I met some really nice Amish in economy class. I think I'll do Seattle to Chicago some winter soon as I have friends to visit with in the Chicago area.
I very much enjoy your Amtrak videos including this one. At the 2:57:45 mark, you said your train was stopped for a while to retrieve an Amtrak engine. That's interesting because the location where you sat was, in fact, the old Amtrak Station. On the other side of the tank cars, you can see the covered platform. The yellow and dark brown building in the background is the old station. After 43 years of non-rail use, St. Paul Union Station was renovated and reopened for passenger train service in May of 2014. At that time, Amtrak moved its Twin Cities arrivals/departures from this station in Minneapolis to Union Station in St. Paul.
Just listening to you speak I thought you were a VERY intelligent person, but when you told us what you do for a living, now I KNOW it. Your narration is deep, and very detailed. Thanks for your videos. I love trains but my family prefers to fly because of the time involved. My last train was the silver meteor to Disney world in 1978 where they let you hang out the windows between cars and take pictures. I had a BLAST. Dont think they allow you to do that anymore.......
Just wanted to tell you that I've watched other amtrack videos on here and very few have the marration you've provided. I'm totally blind and you do an extremely job narrating your trip. I feel like I'm right there with you. Thank you very much for the turn by turn narration, it's fascinating.
Contrary to most train riders I do not find the flatlands/plains boring because I see the tall sentinels of the plains ( silos) and grain elevators etc rivers and small lakes , acres of green as how this part of the country makes such an important contribution to the rest of us. When you look out and see lots of green it is reassuring that there has been enough rain or Irrigation. And then it isn't boring to me.
I heard on another channel's video on the Empire Builder that the portion originating/ending in Portland is sometimes nicknamed the "baby Builder," because its consist is much shorter than that of the Seattle-originating/ending main section of the Empire Builder.
My wife and I travel by Amtrak 14 to 16 times a year and we always get the largest bedroom available. Both of us are born & raised here in NW Montana. In our beautiful little town of Eureka. We live west of the town, right about 16 miles. 9 miles of that is up a long very wide gravel road. When we travel it’s strictly for fun we have no particular Place to go to. Sometimes we will fly to Chicago and catch you are flying to New Orleans. And we take Amtrak all the way around the United States. Circle America.
At 32:23 that is the new Powerhouse of the Famous Bonneville Dam. The old powerhouse was made in the 1930’s on the Oregon side of the river. The town of Bonneville was flooded and a new town called North Bonneville was built for the people.
Enjoy your videos as always. I am taking the California Zephyr next February east all the way from San Francisco to Chicago. It has been a long time coming and I am very excited about it. Please keep posting your videos. I truly enjoy how yo put them together and the information you include.
Jeff Steffen I did that trip back in May 2018. You’ll love it. I broke the journey twice (Grand Junction and Denver) and hired a car to take in some extra sights. It was well worth it.
That was the Columbia Slough, not the S fork of the Columbia. Lived there and rode that train to Seattle and back, once to Memphis TN, dozens of times. Love the Amtrak Cascades train too.
How times have changed. Back when Amtrak still operated full service (9 man crew: 4 cooks, 4 waiters and a steward (car manager responsible for the cash)) the cold plate meal served to the sleeping car passengers was supplied by the food catering service at the airport and was the same on served on first class international flights. At that time specifically Lufthansa. It was actually the best meal I had on that trip.
This was a great trip. I had a ball. The only thing I would suggest is waiting to show the maps after the camera has refocused. Moving it around with the bumps actually made me feel car sick.
My old man got me hooked on train travel as a kid by taking me from LA to NY with a stopover in Chicago. I wonder if the lines would enter Chicago on the same tracks, or would they be different coming from the south as opposed to the north like you were. After spending a good portion of my life in the NW, Portland specifically, I always wanted to go east from there and I've wondered what that trip would be like, so thanks for the video. If I could make a living making train videos focusing on travel and destinations, I would. Great job. Did you have a career in radio?
Besides my main career as an electrical & software engineer, I also worked as a college professor, and as a recording engineer, and I have always worked as a professional musician. In addition to those, I had a parallel career as a vocalist, both as a solo singer, backup singer on radio, recordings, and live shows (I recall backing up Ann Jillian once for her performance for a party done for members of the Chicago Bears). I never did live radio, but I was on a TV show (as a solo singer and member of the chorus) that was filmed at Chicago's Navy Pier and broadcast locally later on. I have a lot of experience in the past doing spoken word things, such as commercial jingles, and performances such as Copland's "Lincoln Portrait", and as an announcer for live performances of various kinds. I nearly lost my voice to a severe bacterial infection while working in China, and I had to re-learn how to talk, but it ruined my singing and professional vocal career. My voice is still useful these days, and I still get called on to do announcements for public events, and from time to time for commercials, etc.
+John Clark>Are you really local? I've driven through there several times on I-84 and on the radio (Portland probably) I've heard them say it like the Dials. Like punching numbers on a phone. An example used in a sentence: The "dials" on my cell phone are not lit very brightly so it is hard for to make calls.
I've been on the Empire Builder a few times. Seattle to Spokane stayed in Washington for several weeks during the peach harvest. Great vacation. I never thought of bringing a 2-way radio on board, great idea i might add. What type/brand do you use. Love the videos, love the trains. Thanks!
I got tired of watching Netflix etc and thought I'd check out KZclip and there you were and I watched every one of your videos! I was able to see the great, good and not so good about train travel. Well 1st I love your voice, so relaxing and informative. I fly to Calif from South Jersey to see my don in Orange Co. Well my next trip will be on an Amtrak into Fullerton then down to Irvine when we can travel safely again. Question...Is there any health services on board if someone becomes ill? Again thanks for the thorough and candid information.
The running straggler at Williston, ND was interesting. KZclip is replete with videos of late "runners" needing to get back to departing cruise ships. Hundreds of passengers holler and whistle at them, urging that they run, run!! Some don't make it. It can get troublesome and pricey to get to a nearby airport and try to catch up at the ship's next port. Its especially difficult if they left their passports in their staterooms.
Love your videos....As I commented on your 1st Empire Builder, I wish someone would do video from Philadelphia to West Palm Beach Florida....There is one that someone made but I believe its only about 10 to 15 minutes long. I don't call that a complete trip.
I have been "affixed" to my laptop watching your vids, I live not too far from you in Racine County WI and I had the pleasure of DRIVING to Eugene OR as a passenger last year. We decided to drive down 101 through the Redwoods down all the way to LA but I think next year I may take this Amtrack trip because I never made it as far north as Seattle . Our country is beautiful and these vids that you put out can show the less fortunate just this beauty....great job!
If you’re ever looking for another type of job, consider strongly narrating sleep or calming tapes!! No, you aren’t boring and putting us to sleep!! Seriously, you have the most soothing relaxing tonal quality it could help a lot of people and or children who have trouble unwinding to go to sleep to hear you read a story or even a narrative of your experiences making these videos!! 😊
As a 62 year old Aussie I did 9 days and 6000 miles by Amtrak coach class over 6 weeks solo travelling these routes and on to Washington DC and New York.... loved every minute of of it... highly recommended.. particularly Denver to Salt Lake City... I would stop of in Flagstaff, Santa Fe, Denver, Reno, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, etc spend a week, rent a car and then get on the train again..... coming back to do the southern states :).. you yanks have a very special tourist asset... high speed trains are not scenic... they are too fast
Yanks? OMH that's dated! But we do love our Amtrak! We know now blessed we are over here.
@Myron Bennett Will as soon as Australia opens our prison doors :)
@Gary Speed glad you liked it feel free to come back any time😊🦘
@Myron Bennett thx mate, gotta say Amtrak was the best way to see your beautiful country
Thinking back on the maybe 20 trips I've taken on Amtrak I don't think I've ever been on one that didn't have at least one Auzzi on it. All of e'm great fun. G'day to you sir.
Excellent 3 part video! Love your detailed descriptions. A shame Amtrak cars are not better maintained though.
Hi from Johannesburg in South Africa, I thank you warmly for taking me across America to places I have no hope in hell of ever seeing. Your commentary and presentation are excellent and I truly felt I was with you on your cross-country odysseys which, truth be told, I wish I WAS able to experience. I think Amtrak is wonderful and I hope budgets stretch to smoothing the rail lines in places, especially when one is trying to sleep. Thank you for your hard work, passion and appreciation of the one of the world's great services. I must say, having travelled China's high-speed trains on a few occasions, I wish you'd do the same in America. Imagine doing the routes you have just done at 300km/h. I'm looking forward to more of your journeys...goodbye and good luck.
America may see some high speed rail trains in a few densely populated states, but we will never see any over the overnight routes. Simply put America is too large. High speed rail competes with the airlines for 3 hours at 200 MPH, and 4 hours at 150 MPH. Beyond that time distance flying beats trains. It is the reason why the US Government itself, with the US Postal Service, chose to terminate their railroad mail contracts and invest more into air mail. US Mail chose a few hours to fly across the nation, not a few days?
About half way through, absolutely stunning footage. Another brilliant video! Great shots of the Mississippi River crossing and following that river was another excellent passage of your fantastic train travel video. Thank you so much for bringing this fantastic journey to some folk who will probably never get the opportunity to travel your country's fantastic railway system. It should be nurtured not starved of cash. I look forward to your next train Odyssey.
I love the story from when you were a kid and I don't think that it is silly at all. Fantastic video series this time, I have enjoyed every second of all three. Thanks!!!!
Just finished "A Train Odyssey 2" and want to say THANK YOU for the enjoyable trip ! Reminiscent of my own trips out toward Seattle in the early 60's via the Great Northern Empire Builder with my mom and dad.
To Youtuuba,
I watched the other two parts of your series and I am just starting part three and I must say that your work is fantastic. I like the details you provide and using the map to track the journey is a nice touch. The scenery is wonderful and I never knew how large Amtrak is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
"Big Sky" says it all! Thanks for taking the time to capture and share such beautiful scenes of America.
I feel like I am riding in the seat right next to you, what a nice and enjoyable video.
Bravo! So well done, informative, and entertaining! Along with your many other fans I have been waiting for this installment for weeks. You did not let me down. After the first Empire Builder video I was not so certain that I would enjoy that LONG journey. You changed my mind; now I think it would be most enjoyable. You visual aids, (maps, GPS, scanner chatter) made the trip much more interesting for me and now I eagerly await an opportunity to make solid plans for the my own odyssey.
So many miles of beautiful scenery this leg of the trip!
The Portland, OR station is gorgeous inside & out! The interior reminds me a bit of the main hall inside Union Station in Chicago.
yeah, for sure.
Phenomenal travel adventure series, Mate. Should I ever travel long-distance by rail in the US, booking a roomette or larger compartment will definitely be the way I would go. I was amazed at how certain areas of your trip was reminiscent of Scotland, England, and Germany. Slàinte
YouTuuba, You inspired me to book the Amtrak vacation package called the Northern Experience. I go out to the west coast on the Empire Builder....down to Emeryville on the Coast Starlight, and back to Chicago on the Zephyr.....going all roomette on all the trains. Can't wait.
You'll love it. This oddesy Chief to LA . Starlight to Seattle with a layover in Sacramento. And back on the Builder 4 times. and the reverse direction twice.
did the Zepher twice. once in the fall, other in the winter. loved them both. had roomeete had my cds sanford&son the jeffersons all in the family adam12. up most of the nite really enjoyed myself!
Hey I’m looking to do the same trip! What did it cost you total to do this trip?
Love your videos. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Multnomah Falls not too far outside of Portland, but that area was apparently blocked by trees next to the tracks. And yes, I did enjoy your trip and hope to make the same trip very soon.
My home town is St. Cloud Mn. Haven't lived there for 40 years but still have relatives there and visit quite often. I actually grew up three blocks east of the train station. As young kids we used to walk these very tracks picking up coal that the Northern Pacific steam locomotives left behind. I too remember driving on Hwy 10 watching the trains pass. My great aunt owned a restaurant in the small town of Rice which is also mentioned. Many memories brought back with this video. Thanks for doing this.
I truly enjoy your videos, the amount of detail that you present are far superior to most other train videos on youtube. Amtrack needs to worry about their paying customer's satisfaction and less to the amount of executive compensation, the higher-up's probability fly to their endless meetings. Too many bureaucrats and not enough workers as with most government entities. Again thank you for the ride along and see our great country, Thank you...
b bock Amtrak is mostly career government with few high paying jobs. But the Oil Industry would much rather we Drive Our Cars, so have cut back the funding for Amtrak.
And before you say your car isn't subsidized, all those roads you drive on are funded with tax dollars, and the gas tax covers only a portion of it.
7:04 Portland
19:24 Vancouver
45:50 Bingen-White Salmon
57:17 Wishram
1:16:38 Pasco
1:20:41 Day 2
1:36:18 Whitefish
1:50:17 East Glacier Park
1:54:20 Cut Bank
1:58:37 Shelby
2:16:55 Havre
2:27;21 Glasgow
2:29:41 Wolf Point
2:37:40 Williston
2:42:59 Stanley
2:43:57 Day 3
2:50:30 St Cloud
3:01:45 Minneapolis St Paul
3:05:15 Red Wing
3:11:53 Winona
3:24:14 La Crosse
3:29:38 Wisconsin Dells
3:31:57 Portage
3:34:52 Columbus
3:42:09 Milwaukee
3:51:03 Chicago
Thank you so much for this video! As a former frequent flyer of the North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin parts it brought back a lot of Memories.
I don't know why, but I watched one video, and havnt stopped watching these for about 3 days now. relaxing and made me want to build some cool train maps on city skylines. even enjoyed the calculator video. havnt seem them all yet but sure I will get there 😉
The second batch of Superliners were built by Bombardier for Amtrak beginning in the early 90's. They have smoother riding wheels and updated sleeper rooms similar to the one you rode on.
Can't thank you enough for your videos, I've just booked this exact trip for this May. Some of the tips from your other videos will make my journey so much more pleasant.
I really enjoyed this video. Have always wanted to take a long train trip. Can't beat this in an armchair with a laptop! Your audio information throughout your video was just right. I feel like I spent this evening traveling with you. I just discovered your videos so I am looking forward to watching others.
This makes me wanna operate on Marias Pass on Train Simulator!!
Back in 1977 I rode the first PIONEER from Salt Lake City to Portland, along the South side of the Columbia River, with the tracks used by the EMPIRE BUILDER, using the tracks on the North side of the river. Your videos are always enjoyable, by the way.
Just finished watching this 3rd in series, really enjoying "traveling" with you. Love the trip, scenery, various people from my home.
I like your train videos, in particular, your commentary, which many people who upload similar videos don't bother to provide.
These videos are awesome. Thanks for making them.
some absolute beautiful scenery on that trip!
3:52:35 is a great place to spot trains coming and going from Union Station and OTC if you can be on one of the taller building looking down at the tracks
Gorgeous. I'll have to watch it in pieces.
But I do want to thank you for training on using the Scanner Radio. In early July we were traveling from Denver to Emeryville on the California Zephyr. And the Millage marker with a female voice decided to report the Track Temperature was 103. At which point a crew member exclaimed "103? Shit Lady, that's hot." I guess even crew people forget she's automated. Yeah, reduced speed most of the afternoon, but the tracks took it without complaint.
153:20 "The Flying Train!". Definitely one of my all-time favorite youtuuba commentaries. Thanks for everything!
We are scheduled on the Coast Starlight 12/23 after watching Youtuuba's video a few months ago. LAX-PDX
and back. Very excited! Next we want to take the Zephyr.
You might enjoy a trip on the Arkansas and Missouri Rail Road. A trip taken in the fall would be a beautiful time to take it.
This series of Train Odyssey has been very relaxing to watch in this era of Covid-19. I don't feel I can safely
travel right now, and this is my way of traveling right now. I like this man's comments and narration. Very
interesting...I almost feel I am on the train, also!
Great Video, thank-you for sharing your travels with us, your commentary is fantastic. I watched your entire series and have enjoyed seeing the USA from the rail perspective, for the most part it's a beautiful country with interesting towns and cities. Many parts of California and Oregon look similar to parts of my country- South Africa. I'm hoping to do a similar Amtrak trip in the not too distant future.
At 2:10:30 When you are referencing the mountains to your south just in the area of Gilford, those are the Bears Paw mountains, not part of the Missouri Breaks. The Breaks drop down from prairie level to the river, and as such cannot be seen from a great distance like that. Great video series, I've enjoyed all of it
You give the best info of all the train videographers, was glad to see you had one of the Empire Builder coming out of Portland. You have a new subscriber, you have helped give me great ideas of where to shoot on previous videos. Thanks for the info.
Awesome video!!! I really enjoyed your commentary and the road atlas references. Especially the coverage of MN and WI. Thank you.
Awesome scenery. I especially enjoyed the Columbia River Gorge. Another thing Amtrak did away with is the Quarterly Published System Timetable in a printed version Your video's make me want to take the trip. I noticed on this segment the train was not as bumpy. Thank you for all you do.
This trip of yours was extremely well done. My husband and I have taken the Fort Worth to San Antonio to Los Angeles to Chicago and back home to Fort Worth trip twice. We felt like we were on this trip with you, so now we don't have to go. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your wonderful train journey videos. I always feel like I'm along on the trip.
Great videos on your Train Odyssey 2 ! I love all your videos ! Well done my friend.
HI, regarding your comment about how the high tension poles were erected, perhaps they were done with helicopter assist? Btw, thank you so much for these extra long videos. It's so relaxing and soothing watching them, and I also get to experience the thrill of travel through your eyes.
It was nice to see my hometown of Havre, Montana from your perspective. Thank you.
Look forward to seeing more trips on AMTRAK that you take.
Amazing scenery, thank you so much for sharing this, and it's contributed to my desire to go on this Amtrak route - just to see more of America.
Amazing, I finished it, it was outstanding, this, and the other two are well worth watching again. I love how you show us the roads and other things on the map.
Worth watching several times.
Very interesting and very well-crafted video. I took you to be a musician and a cyclist for some reason, but with your interest in rivers I figured you’d be a canoeist as well! With your voice I anticipated you would be a singer! Thanks for a great vid.🇨🇦
I used to be a voiceover 'artist', and mostly did spoken word stuff for commercial jingles. I am a trained classical singer, and sang professionally on stage during the late 70s, and through the 80s and into the 90s. Sang in the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and on a TV church show, and in small chamber singing groups.
I am watching now, it is awesome as are your other two, I feel like I am there. Thank you so much for sharing these.
Love your videos sir! Look forward to many more.
I just returned last week from a round trip from St. Paul to Austin on the Empire Builder and Texas Eagle. Stayed overnight in Chicago both ways because of the connections. Loved the trip. I’ve ridden the Empire Builder to Seattle many times over the years. I loved your video. Next time I ride a train I’ll take my Garmin.
You do a great job.You are very precise in your descriptions .Thank you very much.My only concern if I were to make a trip like that,would be about leaving any equipment such as GPS 's and phones in the roomette while I was gone.Keep up the great work.Thanks again.
I would not leave cameras, phones, or other easily grabbed 'valuables' in a roomette while absent for a significant amount of time (e.g. wile in the Dining Car or Lounge Car). Although theft on the trains, especially in the Sleeper car section, is virtually nonexistent, it is still wise to take reasonable precautions. I keep most stuff in my backpack or suitcase, with a small lock holding the zippers closed, to discourage the 'quick grab'. Things like maps, GPS, battery chargers and the like are safe to leave out, I think. These are low value items, and in the case of a GPS these are now low-priced commodities which any decent thief would not consider to be worth the risk of stealing. I, as well as most other Sleeper car passengers, will pull the curtains to the aisle and close the room's door while we are going to be away from the room for a while. Any potential thief would not know if anyone is in the room, and unlikely to barge in blindly to find out. The greatest risk is leaving your door open, curtains open, and valuables laying loose on the seats in full view from the aisle, and easily snatched with only a break in the thief's stride. And even then, risk is low, because these cars are not open to the public, or even to the majority of train passengers, who cannot leave the Coach cars. The number of fellow passengers in a given Sleeper car is few, and there are not any likely thieves among them.
The Empire Builder is Amtrak's only long distance train I have not ridden. Interestingly however, I have ridden Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha and Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited. I miss The Pullman Company terribly.
I really enjoy your videos. Looking forward to the next trip!
I watch these Over and over, just wish u included the dining experience a little more. That was my favorite thing riding the trains plus the scenery. Great job!
Martha Skeel.....please think about that for a bit. How could I possible include "the dining EXPERIENCE"? The food is nothing special, and no video can portray the quality of the food anyway. The EXPERIENCE is in large part about the conversations with strangers once has when eating in the diner, and that is basically impossible to capture and portray from the vantage point of a single handheld camera being aimed by one of the people in the conversation. Not to mention, everyone at the table would have to agree to being in the video, and everyone would be self conscious about it and not able to enjoy THEIR meal. That is why I don't include very much in the dining car in my videos.
Great idea to use map devices to know where you are and what you are seeing.
Great series!! The Coast Starlight is supposed to be the best train on Amtrak. I hope the incessant announcementdidn't ruin it for you.
@Crosshead1 I've taken the CZ as far West as Glenwood Springs. Still need the mileage out to Emeryville and the whole route eastbound on #6 ;-)
JAMES MARK the California Zephyr is pretty impressive too. The scenery is spectacular.
You Tube is a new experiencia for me and great to can travelling this way. Thank you from Chile.
I would be shocked if the dirt on the windows on the inside was actually diesel soot. Every Amtrak train I’ve ridden has had perfectly filtered air. You’d smell the diesel fumes way before you start to get spot buildup. Also those Genesis locos tend to run pretty clean
I like the ability with Garmin to drive the train.
I absolutely loved this video it took me back home to place as I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. The towns of Bingen and The Dallas are my favorite Because we lived in Bingen and my grandmother always took me to visit her friend in The Dallas. which binging is pronounced Bin-Jen and “The Dalls” hehe. Just a bit of info. East of The Cascade Mountain Ranges gets more snow, west gets more rain. My cousin lives in Hood River which is at the base of Mt Hood gets a mixture of both. Keep up with these videos please
Greetings from Australia. Looks like we arrived in Chicago the same day (May 23), but I arrived on the California Zephyr from Emeryville , CA. Despite all the often heard criticism, Amtrak is a great way to travel. I enjoyed my cross country sojourn enormously. Also looks like your window had the same tint as on my Superliner sleeping car which lends a somewhat yellow tint to everything, particularly noticeable through the spectacular but very brown Glenwood Canyon.
By the way, your video really helps me relive the feel of being on the California Zephyr. Thank you. I hope I can get back to the States some day to experience another long distance Amtrak journey. They really are some of America’s best kept secrets. I’m surprised more people don’t use them.
Watched this every night for 4 nights during dinner time, enjoyed with a Sam Adams '76 IPA. Nice! At the end I was sad it was over. I think I'm going to have to do the full Empire Builder. I enjoyed the Tomah to Chicago section as I've done that trip 4 times, both in summer and winter. I met some really nice Amish in economy class. I think I'll do Seattle to Chicago some winter soon as I have friends to visit with in the Chicago area.
Great trip as usual. Took me 3 days to make the trip on U Tube. Thanks so much!!!
Great video! May you have many more good trips.
I very much enjoy your Amtrak videos including this one. At the 2:57:45 mark, you said your train was stopped for a while to retrieve an Amtrak engine. That's interesting because the location where you sat was, in fact, the old Amtrak Station. On the other side of the tank cars, you can see the covered platform. The yellow and dark brown building in the background is the old station. After 43 years of non-rail use, St. Paul Union Station was renovated and reopened for passenger train service in May of 2014. At that time, Amtrak moved its Twin Cities arrivals/departures from this station in Minneapolis to Union Station in St. Paul.
The amshack was actually st paul but closer to dt mpls than dt st paul
Pullman-Standard built the first batch of Superliners and Bombardier Transportation built the second batch.
I watched the entire trip. It was wonderfully enjoyable. Thank you for doing this.
I appreciate you sharing your Amtrak experience. :)
Just listening to you speak I thought you were a VERY intelligent person, but when you told us what you do for a living, now I KNOW it. Your narration is deep, and very detailed. Thanks for your videos. I love trains but my family prefers to fly because of the time involved. My last train was the silver meteor to Disney world in 1978 where they let you hang out the windows between cars and take pictures. I had a BLAST. Dont think they allow you to do that anymore.......
Just wanted to tell you that I've watched other amtrack videos on here and very few have the marration you've provided. I'm totally blind and you do an extremely job narrating your trip. I feel like I'm right there with you. Thank you very much for the turn by turn narration, it's fascinating.
the first superliners where built by pullman the newer ones where built by bombardier
Contrary to most train riders I do not find the flatlands/plains boring because I see the tall sentinels of the plains ( silos) and grain elevators etc rivers and small lakes , acres of green as how this part of the country makes such an important contribution to the rest of us. When you look out and see lots of green it is reassuring that there has been enough rain or Irrigation. And then it isn't boring to me.
I heard on another channel's video on the Empire Builder that the portion originating/ending in Portland is sometimes nicknamed the "baby Builder," because its consist is much shorter than that of the Seattle-originating/ending main section of the Empire Builder.
My wife and I travel by Amtrak 14 to 16 times a year and we always get the largest bedroom available. Both of us are born & raised here in NW Montana. In our beautiful little town of Eureka. We live west of the town, right about 16 miles. 9 miles of that is up a long very wide gravel road. When we travel it’s strictly for fun we have no particular Place to go to. Sometimes we will fly to Chicago and catch you are flying to New Orleans. And we take Amtrak all the way around the United States. Circle America.
I've never seen that AmTrak Line before. Matter of fact, I've never seen that part of Montana and I've lived here most of my life. Thanks.
I guess he thought Mt. Hood looming behind his gorge footage for about ten minutes was a cloud.
Love your voice. Can't wait for more of your adventures. Happy Holidays. Stella
The widest point of the Mississippi River is in the Lower Mississippi portion where it exceeds 1 mile (1.6 km) in width in several places.
At 32:23 that is the new Powerhouse of the Famous Bonneville Dam.
The old powerhouse was made in the 1930’s on the Oregon side of the river.
The town of Bonneville was flooded and a new town called North Bonneville was built for the people.
You can take the Zephyr from Chicago then used the Coast Starlight to get to any city along the west coast:))
Wow … the Mississippi is so BIG!
Enjoy your videos as always. I am taking the California Zephyr next February east all the way from San Francisco to Chicago. It has been a long time coming and I am very excited about it. Please keep posting your videos. I truly enjoy how yo put them together and the information you include.
Jeff Steffen I did that trip back in May 2018. You’ll love it. I broke the journey twice (Grand Junction and Denver) and hired a car to take in some extra sights. It was well worth it.
That was the Columbia Slough, not the S fork of the Columbia. Lived there and rode that train to Seattle and back, once to Memphis TN, dozens of times. Love the Amtrak Cascades train too.
Tried a long distance Amtrak journey of two nights in a sleeping car.. ..couldn't WAIT to get off.
How times have changed. Back when Amtrak still operated full service (9 man crew: 4 cooks, 4 waiters and a steward (car manager responsible for the cash)) the cold plate meal served to the sleeping car passengers was supplied by the food catering service at the airport and was the same on served on first class international flights. At that time specifically Lufthansa. It was actually the best meal I had on that trip.
This was a great trip. I had a ball. The only thing I would suggest is waiting to show the maps after the camera has refocused. Moving it around with the bumps actually made me feel car sick.
The railroad bridge near Wishram is the Oregon Trunk. BNSF owned it goes through Bend to Chemult and on the Union Pacific to Klamath Falls.
My old man got me hooked on train travel as a kid by taking me from LA to NY with a stopover in Chicago. I wonder if the lines would enter Chicago on the same tracks, or would they be different coming from the south as opposed to the north like you were. After spending a good portion of my life in the NW, Portland specifically, I always wanted to go east from there and I've wondered what that trip would be like, so thanks for the video. If I could make a living making train videos focusing on travel and destinations, I would. Great job. Did you have a career in radio?
Besides my main career as an electrical & software engineer, I also worked as a college professor, and as a recording engineer, and I have always worked as a professional musician. In addition to those, I had a parallel career as a vocalist, both as a solo singer, backup singer on radio, recordings, and live shows (I recall backing up Ann Jillian once for her performance for a party done for members of the Chicago Bears). I never did live radio, but I was on a TV show (as a solo singer and member of the chorus) that was filmed at Chicago's Navy Pier and broadcast locally later on. I have a lot of experience in the past doing spoken word things, such as commercial jingles, and performances such as Copland's "Lincoln Portrait", and as an announcer for live performances of various kinds. I nearly lost my voice to a severe bacterial infection while working in China, and I had to re-learn how to talk, but it ruined my singing and professional vocal career. My voice is still useful these days, and I still get called on to do announcements for public events, and from time to time for commercials, etc.
Hi:
Yes, I enjoyed the whole third part of your trip. i have been to some of the places that you rode the train through. Thank you for sharing.
What a great YT video, so scenic throughout, I’m from the UK and would love to come and do a trip like this. Great Watch 👍Thumbs Up👍
I love your name. My name is also Jamie. My maiden name is Smith.
For a bit of local knowledge, The Dalles rhymes with gals. Great videos of Odyssey #2 - really enjoyed these!
+John Clark>Are you really local? I've driven through there several times on I-84 and on the radio (Portland probably) I've heard them say it like the Dials. Like punching numbers on a phone. An example used in a sentence: The "dials" on my cell phone are not lit very brightly so it is hard for to make calls.
I've been on the Empire Builder a few times. Seattle to Spokane stayed in Washington for several weeks during the peach harvest. Great vacation. I never thought of bringing a 2-way radio on board, great idea i might add. What type/brand do you use.
Love the videos, love the trains.
Thanks!
I got tired of watching Netflix etc and thought I'd check out KZclip and there you were and I watched every one of your videos! I was able to see the great, good and not so good about train travel. Well 1st I love your voice, so relaxing and informative. I fly to Calif from South Jersey to see my don in Orange Co. Well my next trip will be on an Amtrak into Fullerton then down to Irvine when we can travel safely again. Question...Is there any health services on board if someone becomes ill? Again thanks for the thorough and candid information.
The running straggler at Williston, ND was interesting. KZclip is replete with videos of late "runners" needing to get back to departing cruise ships. Hundreds of passengers holler and whistle at them, urging that they run, run!! Some don't make it. It can get troublesome and pricey to get to a nearby airport and try to catch up at the ship's next port. Its especially difficult if they left their passports in their staterooms.
Love your videos....As I commented on your 1st Empire Builder, I wish someone would do video from Philadelphia to West Palm Beach Florida....There is one that someone made but I believe its only about 10 to 15 minutes long. I don't call that a complete trip.
I have been "affixed" to my laptop watching your vids, I live not too far from you in Racine County WI and I had the pleasure of DRIVING to Eugene OR as a passenger last year. We decided to drive down 101 through the Redwoods down all the way to LA but I think next year I may take this Amtrack trip because I never made it as far north as Seattle . Our country is beautiful and these vids that you put out can show the less fortunate just this beauty....great job!