I’ve always been a fan of trains. As a child, my favorite book was “The Little Engine that Could,” and I’ve seen the Hitchcock classic “North by Northwest” at least a half dozen times.
So, when I saw that Amtrak offered cross-country train travel, I was immediately intrigued.
I’d taken a five-hour train ride from Detroit to Chicago before, but I’d never been on a longer journey by rail. It seemed like a unique way to kick off our annual family vacation.
We chose the Empire Builder, which travels from Chicago to Seattle over the span of 46 hours. Here’s what the experience was like.
We booked roomettes, which also came with a few special perks
I did a lot of research before booking tickets for our group of four adults and settled on two roomettes directly across the hall from each other for $2,988. It felt like the best value.
On the day of our trip, we arrived at Chicago’s Union Station about an hour before our train was scheduled to depart. Sleeper-car guests get complimentary access to a lounge, where we enjoyed comfortable seating and a buffet of snacks.
Our ticket also included priority boarding. When it was time to get on board, an employee escorted us through the terminal and to our railcar.
Before we left the station, our dedicated attendant stopped by to introduce himself, point out the restrooms and coffee station, explain the dining policies, and let us know how to reach him if we had any questions or concerns.
The roomettes felt small but comfortable
When we entered our roomettes, I was immediately thankful I’d done my research.
Some online reviews I saw had noted that the space was small — measuring 3 feet by 6 feet wide and 6 feet by 6 feet long — and didn’t offer much room to store luggage.
We each only brought a small backpack into the space with us and were able to store our larger luggage on a rack near the door.
Although the quarters felt tight, I thought they easily accommodated two people.
During the day, the roomette had two seats that faced each other. At night, they slid together to make a bed with a portable mattress cushion. I slept here and thought it was surprisingly comfortable.
The upper bunk lowered from the ceiling, and carpeted nooks served as a ladder. My sons used those beds and thought they were uncomfortable, mainly because train travel is bumpy and the mattress felt thin.
When reached for comment, an Amtrak representative said that “depending on the size of the person in the upper bunk, adding a second mattress is a possibility.”
Knowing this, I’d consider requesting another mattress if we were to book these rooms again.
Unlike Amtrak’s bedroom car option, though, which would’ve cost about $1,000 more per room, the roomettes don’t include private bathrooms.
Instead, each railcar has three shared facilities similar to airplane restrooms and one separate shower room.
However, I made an adventure out of it and decided that walking down the hall in my pajamas in the middle of the night to use the communal restroom would be like being in my freshman college dorm again.
There were a few downsides to the sleeper car
For me, the biggest downside of the roomette was that it only had one outlet, which made charging two devices inconvenient. Next time, I’d definitely bring an adaptor with me.
Plus, the walls seemed pretty thin. On the first night, we were laughing and got shushed by the man in the next cabin.
We also realized way too late into the trip that the PA system in our railcar didn’t seem to be working properly.
Since we couldn’t clearly hear station and stop announcements from our roomettes, figuring out when we could get off the train was a bit tricky.
We didn’t notice this issue until our trip was just about over — otherwise, we would’ve alerted a staff member.
Several meals were included in the cost of our trip
As sleeper-car passengers, we each had two dinners, two breakfasts, and one lunch included in the price of our tickets.
Each afternoon, the dining manager visited our room to book our dining-car dinner reservations.
Unfortunately, by the time he got to us each day, the only time slots available were the first and last. Luckily, we prefer dining late, so this wasn’t an issue.
Plus, the food in the dining car was surprisingly good. We chose omelets for breakfast, and burgers and salads for lunch.
For dinner, my daughter-in-law and I liked the pan-roasted chicken best, while my sons enjoyed the Amtrak signature flat-iron steak.
Entrées came with an appetizer or salad, side dishes like vegetables and rustic mashed potatoes, and dessert. The options were varied enough that everyone found something they liked.
However, we all agreed the best thing we ate was the chocolate cake.
One of the best parts about the trip was how many beautiful views we got to take in
On the first night, we drifted off to sleep while passing the St. Paul-Minneapolis skyline, and woke in North Dakota with open plains as far as the eye could see. Once we crossed into Montana’s “Big Sky” country later that afternoon, rolling hills cut into the landscape.
Our favorite scenery was passing through Glacier National Park during dinner on the second night. Seeing the Rocky Mountains backlit by a beautiful sunset was breathtaking.
On our final day, we awoke to a view of Washington’s thick forests and winding rivers, ending up in downtown Seattle a few hours after breakfast.
Overall, we had a nice experience, but probably wouldn’t do it again
For my family, extended train travel is probably a one-and-done experience.
Although we had a nice trip and the views along the way were nice, I’d find it hard to pay more for a longer (and slower) travel experience again.
After all, our eight-hour one-way, first-class flights back totaled $2,118, which was less than what I paid for the Amtrak roomettes.
Sure, we could’ve saved money on train fare by booking standard coach tickets, which I’ve seen listed for between $560 and $2,060 for four adults on this route. However, we wouldn’t have had access to actual beds.
That said, I’d definitely consider a solo journey on a different route, because an Amtak sleeper car is a pretty great spot to unplug, read, and write.
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