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In a Washington Post article dated late today, on December 15 Amtrak will begin allowing passengers to check unloaded firearms. Unfortunately it will not be quite as easy as flying with firearms but a step in the right direction. They will require a 24 hour notice.

They will be retrofitting lockers on some rail cars but those with smaller firearms like handguns will be able to transport them in hardsided cases in luggage similar to the airlines.

Check the following link to the Washington Post for more details.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gri ... e_che.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, does any member know of anyone who has taken the Amtrak to anywhere? Just askin....

I take Amtrak from Alpine to San Antonio and back quite often

Oldgringo wrote:Thanks. Just out of curiosity, does any member know of anyone who has taken the Amtrak to anywhere? Just askin....

I take it all the time between Boston, NYC, and Philly when I am up there for work. First class tickets with all you can eat, all you can drink for half the price of a plane ticket.

I would love to be able to take the train instead. Not afraid of flying -- well, I didn't used to be....

Anyone take a longer trip? We're heading to Kalifornia to see the inlaws for Christmas. Going to drive the minivan. But when I saw this post, out of curiousity, I checked Amtrak. For me, wife, two youngsters - $1,100 round trip departs Austin 6:30 on Monday 12/20 and arrives San Jose Wednesday 8:30 pm with a two-hour layover in Los Angeles. I assume the rest of the time you're simply on a moving train, right? Or do these trains stop often and have additional stopped/waiting time - like in El Paso, Phoenix etc? At $1,100, it's still cheaper for us to drive the minivan out there. But I'm just curious how Amtrak works on extended trips like this.

austinrealtor wrote:Anyone take a longer trip? We're heading to Kalifornia to see the inlaws for Christmas. Going to drive the minivan. But when I saw this post, out of curiousity, I checked Amtrak. For me, wife, two youngsters - $1,100 round trip departs Austin 6:30 on Monday 12/20 and arrives San Jose Wednesday 8:30 pm with a two-hour layover in Los Angeles. I assume the rest of the time you're simply on a moving train, right? Or do these trains stop often and have additional stopped/waiting time - like in El Paso, Phoenix etc? At $1,100, it's still cheaper for us to drive the minivan out there. But I'm just curious how Amtrak works on extended trips like this.

Pretty much...you get a sleeper car and it makes stops in Alpine, El Paso, Tuscon (IIRC), etc. The rest of the time, you enjoy the scenery.

I'm not a fan of long trips on Amtrak personally. Lots of down time. Boston through Philly is perfect. Plenty of time to get some work done without becoming bored.

pbwalker wrote:Pretty much...you get a sleeper car and it makes stops in Alpine, El Paso, Tuscon (IIRC), etc. The rest of the time, you enjoy the scenery.

I'm not a fan of long trips on Amtrak personally. Lots of down time. Boston through Philly is perfect. Plenty of time to get some work done without becoming bored.

That's not bad if you get a sleeper car for longer trips... seems like it would be more comfortable. I didn't know Amtrak served Texas at all.

The Sunset Limited rarely stays on schedule.

It is frequently at least a few hours late.

Keep this possibility in mind if any of your other plans or connections depend on the train running on time.

This is interesting. FWIW, the RFD TV channel has an hour long program called "Trains and Locomotives" that depicts various rail lines and rolling stock back in the day.

I looked into a TX to FL trip on Amtrak. It was routed through Chicago of all places and took twice as long as the drive. My truck allows me to carry, stop whenever I want, take a detours, and even choose the music.

bnc wrote:I looked into a TX to FL trip on Amtrak. It was routed through Chicago of all places and took twice as long as the drive.

Your tax dollars at work. http://subsidyscope.org/transportation/amtrak/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Couple of little things here. On the news this evening, it was reported that this requires 24 hours notification to the train service to be able to check your firearm. They also said it cost them over 2 million dollars to come up with the plan that allows firearms to be checked on the train.

Why did it cost that much? They could have given me all that money, and I would have told them to follow the airlines procedures, just put the weapons in a secure storage locker for those that are bringing their luggage on board (sleeper compartments, for example.) Would have been profitable for me.....

There is a car-train that runs from Florida nearly to Washington DC and back regularly. I was planning on taking the wife on the bike to Florida, then the car-train north from there (overnight trip), and then back here via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Will have to avoid DC, though......

I think "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FORCED TO LIFT UNCONSTITUTIONAL BAN OF FIREARMS ON AMTRAK" would be a better title. I celebrate every small victory when I see it.

bnc wrote:I looked into a TX to FL trip on Amtrak. It was routed through Chicago of all places and took twice as long as the drive. My truck allows me to carry, stop whenever I want, take a detours, and even choose the music.

Mainly because, since Katrina, Amtrak only goes as far east as New Orleans.