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As the long-distance train rumbles in the night through
the plains, a little girl is comfortably settled in, blanket tucked around
her, head resting on her dad's arm. Illuminated in a bright pool of light,
her dad reads a story out loud, his words mingling with the rocking rhythm
of the train. Also riding from Seattle to Chicago, a three year-old boy
is excited about his first train trip with his parents, a white-haired grandmother
and dark-haired granddaughter have hours to chat, and a group of teenagers
are heading home to Fargo, North Dakota. On another route, the Coast Starlight,
fifty boy scouts are going to a campout in Oregon, a mother and her ten
year-old daughter from Missouri are traveling to Portland for a family reunion,
and a Washington family are returning home from a vacation in California.
Kids and train travel are a wonderful combination. |
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Taking the train is a marvelous way for kids to see America.
In the 19th century, train routes sprung up from coast to coast, carrying
people and freight. Today, a family train trip is a different way to experience
the United States. It's not only awesome scenery, but it's sights, such
as an old-fashioned swing railroad bridge, dew rising off the plains at
sunrise, lines of freight cars carrying coal, fishermen standing in the
rivers, a big letter C carved in a brown mountain, signals flashing, cars
and people waiting at the railroad crossing for the train to pass by. |
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A train trip is about taking time to get from here to there,
and all the things you'll see in between. The long-distance Amtrak trains
are roomy, coach seats have lots of leg room and wide aisles, sightseeing
lounges have large windows, sleeper accommodations provide a good night's
rest. There's time to talk, play card or board games, and read stories out
loud. On a car trip, parents have to drive and navigate; on a train, parents
can sit back and watch the landscape go by. Unlike an airplane, traveling
by train is not about the quickest way to arrive at your destination –
the train is a destination in itself. |
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Train journeys |
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A train trip can be a short jaunt on a scenic steam railroad,
or a long-distance train ride that lasts a day or more. |
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Excursion trains – A ride on a steam train has
great appeal for little kids. It's all those puffy white steam clouds coming
out the locomotive, the whistle blowing, and sounds of wheels rolling down
the track. And, it's truly a trip back to another time, when steam powered
the locomotives. Check out these excursion steam trains: |
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 Roaring
Camp Railroad (California) |
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Heber
Valley Railroad (Utah) |
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Durango
& Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (Colorado) |
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Cumbres
& Toltec Scenic Railroad (New Mexico) |
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Blue
Ridge Scenic Railway (Georgia) |
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Western
Maryland Scenic Railroad (Maryland) |
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Long-distance trains – Amtrak runs the long-distance
trains that crisscross the United States. Routes have nifty names, such
as the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Sunset Limited,
Southwest Chief. Our favorite train routes, California Zephyr and Empire
Builder, are in the western United States. These routes traverse wide open
country, and are more scenic that the more urbanized train routes of the
northeast United States. The long-distance trains have double-decker cars
(Superliners), sightseeing lounges, and a real dining car. On shorter trains,
such as New York to Washington, DC, the cars are single level and a snack
bar only. |
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Planning your itinerary |
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For a long-distance train trip, you'll need to purchase tickets
in advance, with a defined itinerary (departure and destination points),
even if you're traveling coach class. |
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A long route, such as the Empire Builder from Seattle (or
Portland) to Chicago, takes nearly two full days. Traveling with kids, rather
than going straight through, break up the trip, stopping off to see the
sights. For example, start in Portland, get off at Glacier
National Park, spend time exploring the magnificent scenery in Glacier,
then pick up the train again, and ride to Minot, North Dakota ("Why
not, Minot?"). Minot is not far from Fort
Mandan, the winter home of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. After Minot,
get on the train again and ride to Chicago. |
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Coach class is not expensive, the seats are roomy, there's
plenty of leg room (much, much better than economy class on an airplane),
and on the double-decker Superliner trains, coach has great views out the
windows. However, you won't have specific reserved seats, although Amtrak
does often set aside groups of coach seats for families on the long-distance
trains. |
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On your itinerary, if the train is traveling overnight, you
might want sleeping accommodations. Sleeper cars have comfortable berths
(which turn into seats during the day). A Family Bedroom sleeps two adults
and two children, and other options are available. Your sleeper car ticket
is a reserved compartment and also includes meals in the dining car. |
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Reserve your sleeping accommodations months in advance (four
to six months in advance is preferable). There just aren't that many sleeper
cars on the train, so reservations go quickly – don't think you can
call up the week before to get a reservation. Especially in summer, trains
are quite full, so book sleeping accommodations early. |
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Tip: Amtrak trains may not keep to the schedule.
When you plan your overall trip itinerary, don't make closely-timed connections
with Amtrak trains. |
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Here's where you can plan your trip on Amtrak. Amtrak often has combination train tickets and rental cars, and
look for special deals, e.g. in August, AAA might offer a promotion that
kids ride free on Amtrak. |
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On the train |
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There are one-level and two-level long-distance Amtrak trains.
The two-level trains, Superliners, are the most fun. The Superliner trains
have coach cars, sleepers, a sightseeing lounge car and dining car. |
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The sightseeing lounge car is lined with windows on the second
level, on the lower level is a snack bar and tables. In the evening, videos
are shown in the lounge car, entertaining movies or documentaries, such
as Lewis and Clark, as the train passes through Lewis and Clark territory. |
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In the dining car, breakfast and lunch are served on a first-come,
first- serve basis. Dinner is served by reservation for a timed seating,
e.g. 5:15, 6:00, 7:30, 8:15pm. Passengers in the sleeper accommodations
get first crack at the dinner reservations, and if the train is very crowded,
coach passengers may not always get a seating. If you have little kids,
take an early seating, so they don't get hungry waiting for dinner. |
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The food in the dining car is kid-friendly and reasonably
priced if you're traveling coach (meals are included in sleeper tickets).
You'll find choices of pancakes or French toast for breakfast, hamburgers
or garden burgers for lunch. At dinner, there's a kid's menu with chicken
strips or macaroni and cheese, and you can also order from the regular menu,
such as cheese ravioli. For dessert, there's always ice cream with chocolate
sauce and other sweets. Kosher and vegan meals can be reserved in advance. |
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The snack bar has a limited selection of hot dogs, sandwiches
bagels, chips, sodas, bottled water, but it isn't always open. If you're
looking for snacks on the train, you're much better off bringing your own
food. |
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Bathrooms in the cars have changing facilities and places
to dispose of used diapers in the trash. In sleeper cars, there are also
showers, towels and soap are provided. |
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There are accessible areas to store your bags on the train,
but if your destination allows it, check your larger luggage at the train
station, and only carry what you need on the train. You really don't want
to heave around heavy luggage, or crowd your sleeper compartment with baggage.
Ask Amtrak about checked baggage when you make your ticket reservations,
or look on the train schedule. |
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In our experience, the staff is very kid friendly on Amtrak.
The car attendants, in both sleeper and coach class, will help you out with
whatever you might need. Conductors wear the traditional dark blue uniform,
and are happy to pose with your kids for a photo. |
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Tip: Because there may be delays on Amtrak trains, sign up for text alerts. |
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What to bring |
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Traveling on the train all day (or night), you'll want to
be comfortable. |
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Lightweight blankets and pillows – If you're traveling
in coach, bring your own blankets and pillows. (Although, if you forget
blankets, they can be purchased on the train.) If you have a sleeper, blankets
and pillows are provided, but the kids may want their favorite snuggly blanket
or stuffed animal. |
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Food, food, food – Bring food with you on the
train, even if you have a sleeper car that includes meals. Traveling coach
class, you will definitely want to have food along, and not just snacks.
You may not be able to get a reservation in the dining car for dinner, and
the snack bar can be closed for an hour or more, just when you have a famished
child. With a sleeper ticket, meals are included, but if the train is delayed
three or four hours, and there's no dinner service, kids are going to be
hungry and grumpy. Bring a cooler filled with your favorite foods and drinks
– you can have a picnic on the train. |
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Pastimes – One of the great things about a train
trip is plenty of time to read books and listen to music (with headphones).
Reading books out loud on the train is one of the most enjoyable pastimes.
Bigger kids can stretch out and read a long chapter book for themselves.
Activity packs and coloring books are fun for little kids. Board games and
card games are fun for everyone in the family. Bring a detailed map so kids
can trace your train route through the United States as you go along. Teenagers
will enjoy listening to music for hours on end. |
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Tip: In our most recent Amtrak trip, the coach cars had outlets to plug in cell phones, laptops, iPods, iPads, etc., but you might want to bring along back-up batteries for your electronics, just to be safe. Wi-Fi is available on some trains. |
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Our favorite train route |
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The California Zephyr travels through some of the most spectacular
scenery in the United States, places without cars or roads, and is our favorite
route for a family train trip. Going west, the train climbs up the Rocky
Mountains, chugging through tunnel after tunnel in inky darkness, past high
mountains with snowy peaks, then gradually descends along the Little Colorado
River, where you can wave at river rafters floating by. Continuing westward,
the train rolls on through boundless western landscapes, golden sandstone
cliffs and sagebrush valleys filled with hopping jackrabbits. From Reno
to Truckee, the California Zephyr slowly winds up a steep horseshoe grade,
following the emerald green Truckee River into the mountains of the Sierra
Nevada. After Donner Pass, it's the home stretch, finishing on a high note,
as the train skims along the edges of San Francisco Bay, sunlight sparkling
on the water, whistles blowing, as the train arrives in the Emeryville station. |
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"Out
in back, railroad track, clickety-click, clickety-clack."
Long trains, strong trains, all across the United
States, from New York Central, straight
through to L.A. Lyrical rhymes, paired with stunning paintings,
this is a long-time family favorite. (Picture book)
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Ride the rails in 1869, after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Wait in the station for the mighty steam locomotive, clanging, hissing, huffing, smell the smoke and hot metal, full steam ahead day and night, "westward, westward, rolls the train." Gorgeous illustrations capture the excitement and adventure of train travel in an earlier era. (Picture book)
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A commuter train pulls out of the station, at the next stop, a passenger train whizes by, going to the big city, where a freight train loads up railcars and rolls through the plains, and is passed by an overnight train that climbs over the high mountains, and is overtaken a high speed train zooming to the coast. Beautifully illustrated. (Picture book)
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A perfect travel-size
board book for toddlers, filled with bright-colored trains, "Here
is a train with people inside. … There goes a freight train
loaded with freight. … Here is a steam engine puffing smoke.
…There goes the train speeding away." (Board book)
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Lift the flap to look inside locomotives and train cars, push and pull tabs to race trains over bridges and through tunnels, open a 3-D model train station, plus fun facts about first passenger train, longest rail journey, fastest train, and more details. (Pop-up book)
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This is an essential
guide to 37 long-distance train routes in the United States, plus
fascinating history and information about towns and places of interest
you'll pass along the way. A great reference for all the stops on
your train trip. (Guidebook)
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