Anybody ever take the train across the English Channel before? I've always just flown back and forth, but tomorrow I'm taking the train.
It seems harder than going to the moon. The tunnel actually goes under the earth that's deep beneath the sea:
How is it possible that deep down there, with the weight of the entire sea above? If I think too much about it, I notice I have trouble breathing.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:01 pm
by azgreg
No, but I traveled by train a lot while I was in Germany.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:20 pm
by Longhorned
azgreg wrote:No, but I traveled by train a lot while I was in Germany.
That's like me saying I'm going to jump naked into a deep barrel of knives, and you saying you once had a hangnail.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:32 pm
by azgreg
Handrails are no joke man.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:11 pm
by ASUCatFan
I once took one from Tucson to Albany. My parents decided we would eat nothing but dried fruit and beef jerky. It wasn't much fun. I also rode on one going from Ferrara to Venice. I almost shit my pants every time we passed another train traveling in the opposite direction.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 10:22 pm
by Merkin
Chaperoned a bunch of kindergartners on the Amtrak train from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara, about 100 miles.
About the most brutal trip you can image.
The rest of the parents and I ended up in the club car.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:24 am
by Chicat
Looks like you picked a terrible day to cross the channel LH...
I'm good. I was momentarily confused, it's actually tomorrow I cross. I have a reservation. Plus I'm starting at S. Pancras in London, so no worries about getting to the station late even if I did leave today.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:55 am
by Puerco
Cross-Channel travellers faced a further round of disruption after Eurotunnel reported "intensive migrant activity" at its French terminal.
The Channel Tunnel operator told passengers to expect delays of around two hours following the intrusion and due to a "very high level of traffic" leaving the UK.
Hope you're ready for the cavity search...
Re: Trains!
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:58 am
by UAdevil
I've led about a dozen tours to Barranca del Cobre. One of my favorite train experiences.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:14 am
by Longhorned
It took like 10 minutes. Nothing happens. What a subversion of history.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:27 pm
by Merkin
Boehner?
Is Farage going to cry too?
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 1:51 pm
by dovecanyoncat
Passenger rail in the US compared to places that aren't so stoopid:
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 2:46 pm
by Merkin
My wife and I were in Japan in April to visit our daughter, her Navy husband, and kids.
We took the trains everywhere, even to Tokyo which took about an hour. There is a train station about 1/2 a block or less from her apartment. If she needs to run to the grocery store, or 7-11, she hops on the train. She says she can go and come back in 20 minutes sometimes if she times it right. Being parking is so bad in Japan, along with roads being narrow and no shoulders.
She also has a 3 and 5 year old, and as all parents know, getting kids into and out of car seats is a real pain the ass.
Odd thing for us Americans though, on the train you have to be very quiet. You have to silence your cell phone, and no talking on it. Even talking quietly to my wife, my daughter kept going "shhhhhh".
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:16 pm
by azgreg
Love traveling by train.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 12:37 am
by RichardCranium
I've done a few cross country train trips:
Tucson to L.A.
Melbourne to Adelaide
Adelaide to Alice Springs ("The Ghan")
San Fransico to Chicago
Chicago to Wash D.C.
Sydney to Perth ("The Indian Pacific")
Sydney to Newcastle
San Diego to L.A
Sydney to Katoomba (in the Blue Mountains) (almost counts as a commuter trip)
and of course, lots of Melbourne local commuter trains.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 3:29 am
by wyo-cat
I’ve been fortunate enough to make many train trips in Europe. I’ve never done it in the U.S.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 8:29 am
by dovecanyoncat
IMO the best thing about trains in Europe is that they get you out of the majors cities into smaller more manageable cites/regions where you can rent a car and drive around. Driving in London, Edinburgh, Rome, Capetown, is a nightmare. Book a major city hotel near the central train station and use the rail system to GTFO of town, say, up to Inverness and then rent a car to drive the Highlands and tour whisky distilleries. Good plan for old farts anyway.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 10:26 am
by ASUHATER!
Took the commuter rail in Boston last week. Was great
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 2:32 pm
by UAdevil
We're doing the Coastal Starlight by Amtrak this summer. LA to Seattle in a private room w/ toilet and shower and ALL meals included. 35 hour transit with one night on the train. Round trip was like $1400 for 2.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 2:40 pm
by azcat49
We did Chicago to Denver some years back. Lots of fun until bedtime then the horn going off every time we ran through a city made sleeping a bit tough. Still it was fun
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 3:59 pm
by arizonawildcats
Re: Trains!
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 5:32 pm
by dovecanyoncat
I'll believe it after I see it.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 4:23 pm
by VegasCatFan
Still waiting to take my first train trip. We were supposed to go from NYC to Niagara Falls on Amtrak in October but there was a mudslide on the track the day before we were supposed to leave and wasn't cleared until the day after we got to Niagara Falls. Great timing! Had to rent a car instead.
We'll be in Italy in April and planning on using trains to get around. We've been to Rome, Florence, and Venice so we're going to some other places. We'll have to rent a private vehicle to get us to and from Naples to Positano. But once we get back to Naples, it's all trains. Anyone have suggestions on websites so we can book our train trips? Is Eurorail the place to go to? And how far in advance should we book it? Going from Naples to Siena, in the middle of wine country because we're winos, and then eventually to Varenna at Lake Como since there's actually a train station there. And then finally down to Milan.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 9:12 am
by gronk4heisman
I used Trenitalia, and I would recommend upgrading to the premium carts. It was the difference in $30 vs $20 for us last year and much worth it. Bring a bottle of their amazing wine for under $5 and some cheese and you will have a blast.
Re: Trains!
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:39 pm
by Merkin
Re: Trains!
Posted: Wed May 01, 2024 12:45 pm
by VegasCatFan
gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Tue Jan 09, 2024 9:12 am
I used Trenitalia, and I would recommend upgrading to the premium carts. It was the difference in $30 vs $20 for us last year and much worth it. Bring a bottle of their amazing wine for under $5 and some cheese and you will have a blast.
Thanks for the recommendation of Trenitalia! We used them all over. Loved the high speed trains. We did upgrade our seats, definitely worth it. Missed out on the wine and cheese but we did have bottles of limoncello and caramel limoncello. Never had the caramel before but it was amazing. The only place we found it was on a day trip to Ravello.