Watch our video of the Amtrak Southwest Chief
A journey through 8 states from Los Angeles to Chicago
Why take the Amtrak Southwest Chief?
A couple of years ago we flew in to Los Angeles from Rarotonga, on the way to Boston to see our American cousins.
It seemed like a wasted opportunity to cross the entire North American continent and not see anything of it besides distant views of the ground from an airplane window or no views at all if you’re sitting in an aisle seat. So we took the train.
The Amtrak Southwest Chief stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the way from Los Angeles to Chicago.
We used the Amtrak website to book a bedroom on the Southwest Chief for the slightly- less-than-two-day journey to Chicago then after a few days in the Windy City onward to Boston on the Lake Shore Limited.
I love websites like Amtrak’s. It’s a mine of information about routes, times, accommodation, meals and more. You get all the excitement of finding out what’s available long before you make reservations so it extends the fun of travelling and gives you something to look forward to.
I’m talking about holidays here. If you’re travelling on business, you probably have to get from A to B quickly. Tough luck.
For the rest of us the poem “Leisure” by William Henry Davies (the tramp’s poet) sums it up. You’ve probably know the first two lines:
“What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.”
If you take a train across America you’ll have plenty of time to sit and stare.
Mind you, Davies lost a leg when he jumped a train on the way to the Klondike so make sure you join trains in the normal way, from a station platform.
What can you expect in an Amtrak Superliner bedroom?
Enjoying an afternoon glass of wine on the Amtrak Southwest Chief
The Superliner bedroom is a small but comfortable room designed for two people.
During the day there’s a cabin-width sofa on one side of a small table with an armchair on the opposite side so both of you can have a seat looking out of the large picture window.
The room has air-conditioning, several electrical outlets and also a speaker so you can hear various announcements and there’s a small space to hang clothes plus a sink with mirror.
There’s no room to swing a cat but you spend most of the time sitting down so it’s not really a problem.
Bedrooms include shower/toilet
A cubicle in one corner of the room houses a shower and toilet. It’s a pretty compact cubicle!
The way to take a shower is to close the toilet lid and sit on it.
Remember to leave the toilet paper outside before showering and also your towel; everything inside the cubicle gets wet.
Plenty of towels are provided. Also soap but no shampoo on our train.
Personal service
A sleeper coach attendant is on hand to make sure everything is running smoothly.
He or she sets up the bedroom for sleeping, pulling down the top bunk and converting the sofa to a bed. There’s a ladder at the end of the top bunk for climbing up or down and each bunk has a reading light and a pocket for book, Kindle, torch and tissues.
We also received a newspaper in the morning. Good service.
Coffee, juice and water
At the end of the sleeper coach there’s a small area with a constant supply of coffee, bottled water and juice. The attendant would probably bring you coffee if you asked but we always walked along and got it ourselves.
Meals included in the Amtrak Southwest Chief ticket price
Phil enjoys breakfast coffee in the Amtrak Southwest Chief dining car as the train heads through New Mexico
The dining car serves three meals a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – with several choices for each, including vegetarian options.
Food is prepared on-board by trained chefs. The quality is good fast-food standard and the dining car staff are efficient and friendly.
Beer, wine and spirits are available (not included in the ticket price) but there wasn’t a great deal of wine on our train.
The Southwest Chief left Los Angeles just after 6pm but by the time we went for dinner at 8pm the restaurant had already run out of chardonnay.
We snagged the last two half-bottles of merlot on the train (to go with the Angus steak, mushroom sauce, baked potato and vegetables) and later ordered the last two half-bottles of pinot gris to be stored in the fridge for the following day.
The tables seat four so if you’re travelling as a couple you’ll join up with others at meal times. We met many interesting people this way.
Travelling across the country there are, of course, time changes. We almost got caught out by this; we went for breakfast at what we thought was eight o’clock. It was actually nine.
Fortunately the dining car was still serving.
You can download the Amtrak Southwest Chief menu here .
Food in the dining room is plentiful but just in case you crave extra munchies there’s a lounge/cafe on the lower level of the dining car.
Fabulous scenery
The Southwest Chief passes through eight states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Iowa and Illinois.
We didn’t see much of California as it started getting dark soon after the train departed and it was Arizona when we got up next morning.
During the journey our picture window framed dusty desert with low hills way in the distance; rugged bluffs and canyons, still very dry; slow climbs into pine covered hills; flat farmland with huge fields; the mighty Mississippi River; and numerous settlements from tiny townships to the vast urban sprawl of Chicago.
And all the way you can hear the lonesome whistle blow, just like in an old western movie.
If you want to know more about the places you pass, Amtrak have a route guide you can download here .
Stations in centre of town
Railway stations tend to be near the centre of big cities.
Once you reach your destination you just pick up your bags and go. Grab a taxi and head for your hotel a distance of a couple of miles, nothing like the 18 miles from O’Hare airport to downtown.
In ten minutes you could be there. The trip would be 30 to 45 minutes from the airport – and that’s after you’ve landed, disembarked and waited for your checked luggage.
You arrive relaxed and ready check out more new sights and experiences.
Crossing America by train is a great way to travel.