All Aboard

The Complete North American Train Travel Guide

Jim Loomis, Jim Loomis

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781569761762
• eBook ISBN:
  9781641608671
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Rail Transportation
• Index: Technology & Engineering

" This comprehensive guide will assist the traveler in planning an excursion and executing it with minimum effort and maximum pleasure." — Library Journal All Aboard— first published in 1995, and here completely revised and updated— is much more than just a mile-by-mile scenery guide for train travelers. It will make any trip smoother and more enjoyable with its insightful travel trips and information about how railroads operate. With trains attracting new riders in record numbers, the time is perfect for a new edition of All Aboard. All Aboard is more than an ordinary travel guide. The author tells us how and why the first railroads came about, describes the building of America' s trans-continental railroad, and explains how individual trains are operated. He also offers advice that can only come from a veteran traveler: booking trips, finding the lowest fares, avoiding pitfalls, packing for an overnight trip, what to do on board, whom to tip and how much. This new, fourth edition includes a new chapter about eight major railway stations, and is updated throughout with new information and photographs. It discusses Amtrak' s new locomotives and Viewliner sleeping cars, changes in rules regarding pets and bicycles on American trains, and much more. Jim Loomis writes frequently about train travel for Sunday newspaper travel sections and has ridden every one of Amtrak' s long-distance trains multiple times, logging nearly 200,000 miles. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About This Book
• Acknowledgments
• Preface: Rediscovering the Train
• 1 Why Take a Train?
• 2 How It All Began
• 3 Amtrak to the Rescue
• 4 Planning Your Own Train Trip
• 5 Packing and Last-Minute Details
• 6 Life Onboard
• 7 Who’s in Charge Here?
• 8 When Things Go Wrong
• 9 Passenger Train Equipment
• 10 How It All Works
• 11 What About All Those Freight Trains?
• 12 Safety Is Priority Number One
• 13 Taking the Train in Canada
• 14 Taking the Train in Mexico
• 15 Significant Railroad Stations
• 16 Will There Be Trains in Our Future?
• 17 Pick a Train, Any Train
• 18 Suggested Itineraries
• Appendix A: Railroad Terms and Slang
• Appendix B: How to Find a Rail-Savvy Travel Agent
• Appendix C: Private Rail Excursions
• Appendix D: Passenger Rail Advocates
• Appendix E: Excursion Trains and Railroad Museums
• Index