America by Rail: The Beginning of a Solo 8,500 Mile Train Journey Across the USA

Hello Hiveians!

It's been a while! I hope you're well and glad you've come back to see my latest post! I'm excited to share with you my latest adventure! (even though I still haven't finished sharing checks notes any of my previous adventures?)

The backstory starts with a sale, as most of my adventures do. I found an Amtrak Rail Pass on sale for 300$, which would allow me to take any 10 Amtrak trains, except Acela trains, within 4 months from purchase. But once you take your first train, you have only 30 days to finish all travel, which is a little restrictive.

I've travelled many places, but mostly outside of the US, and I was excited and intrigued by the idea of seeing more of the US, and the idea of long train rides to new places was also very enticing. I went back and forth for days if I should buy it or not, and then I found it was completely refundable if I decide to not go, so I bought it and began planning.

I went over maps, time tables, and many reviews of travelling on Amtrak like I planned to do. I found routes that had interesting destinations as well as friends I could visit along the way. Most destinations only have 1 train a day, and some only 1 train every other day, so my planning had to be pretty precise and also try to account for the tendency for Amtrak trains to be hours late quite frequently.

After quite some research and a few route changes, as well as planning with friends, I settled on this route that would take me 8,500 miles, and involve over 200 hours of on train travel time! (It's the green highlight line I made)

I originally wanted to go down the East coast but the timing didn't make as much sense, and turns out it's very good I didn't do that, which I'll talk about later in this series.

With a plan in place, and ticket purchased, there was still a sense of unease, as all great adventures should have. Can I do this? Should I do this? What if this or that happens? Is this even worth doing? I contemplated cancelling the trip all the way up to the night before departure. But I packed my bag, and in doing so, the decision was made.

The day came and I had my first train to catch, so I went over everything one last time, and then headed to Boston's South Station to catch my first train to Chicago. It would be an overnight train taking roughly 22 hours.

I made it to South Station about an hour before my train departure and grabbed a bite to eat. Then the board showed my train boarding and I headed out to the tracks.

Now with this ticket you get only Coach Class, with no option to pay to upgrade, which I knew and was fine with, and mainly because Coach is actually quite amazing, especially compared to air travel coach. This was my first train:

Plenty of space, more legroom than I needed, and chairs that convert pretty much into beds. I really couldn't have been more comfortable.

So I grabbed my seat and had no one next to me, and made myself at home. This was also my first trip with my new 50L travel photography backpack.

And then, just like that, we were on our way! It was exciting, but then the speed set in when after 2 hours we still hadn't left Massachusetts, hell, we hadn't even got half way through the state. Those were some of the longest hours of the trip, especially because it was very boring scenery. I was a little worried about what I had got myself into. But I just laid back, and enjoyed the ride.

Then we made our first "long stop" in Albany, NY, where we had an hour to wait while they joined the Boston and the NYC train into 1 train for the rest of the journey.

We got to get off and walk around for a bit, and then it was back on the train.

Night fell, and I had a full day in Chicago the next day, so I decided to get some sleep early. I woke up briefly around midnight when about 40 or 50 Amish people boarded the train, which surprised me as I've never really encountered the Amish. I took a photo of the empty train stop in the night, and then went back to sleep.

While I slept, and quite well I'll add, the iron beast continued to roll through the night and I awoke to new landscapes and new views.

I was a few hours from my first destination, Chicago, which I would have about the whole day to explore before taking my next train that night. 

But I'm going to save that for the next installment. So that's essentially the making of and beginning of my train journey, and I look forward to sharing a lot more from this amazing adventure, as well as talking about the things I saw and insights I gained from this unique adventure, so stay tuned for the next one!

Til next time,

-Sean

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