The joys of train travel

[APOLLO]

I have only ever had a sit down restaurant car meal in Thailand, on a Bangkok to Chiang Mai overnight train, limited choice but very good. On my many UK train trips it was a bag of butties or a well travelled Bowyers Pork Pie !!!

 

Airline food - I generally eat the packaged bits - but I find Emirates economy class food usually quite OK.

 

Brit15

[TheSignalEngineer]

3 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

In 1994, Eurostar, on the brink of launching the full public service, ran a 'Discovery Service' to give their staff experience in handling trainloads of passengers. People elsewhere in the industry were invited to travel gratis. Deb - then on crutches after a broken leg - and I were offered a trip to Brussels, and the return journey started with fillet steak and champagne.We managed to cope....

I did that trip on one of the trial runs. Steerage out with the buffet food, a couple of Belgian beers in Brussels and 1st class for the return IIRC.

I think the 1st class back was probably best way round as the evening meal was was really quite nice especially with the liquid accompaniments. 

[The Stationmaster]

13 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

I did that trip on one of the trial runs. Steerage out with the buffet food, a couple of Belgian beers in Brussels and 1st class for the return IIRC.

I think the 1st class back was probably best way round as the evening meal was was really quite nice especially with the liquid accompaniments. 

I reckon that on those trips 1st Class back was by far the besr way - even after a nice big bowl of gratinee in Montmartre.  Even better was 1st Class in both directions but it wasn't allowed for Discovery trips - however for a working trip to Paris that ruling didn't apply, even though it wasn't exactly a long meeting once you got there.

 

The big challenge once regular working was underway was to see how many of those small  bottles of wine you could manage to squeeze out of the catering folk and get through in a journey followed by the far simpler task of getting through all the port being carried on the train (on average they only took 4 small bottles of port because there wasn't much demand for it).   But irrespective of that the catering was way above the latter days of the previous through train from London to Paris which on the British side didn't offer over much in the way of meals on the outbound working, i never used it in the opposite direction.

[C126]

I can only express envy at the opportunities for enjoying decent catering thus.  It is one of my many 'Covid fears' that the last few vestiges of railway Restaurant cars are never to return after the virus has been repressed sufficiently.  Our holiday in Durham, with food on board, was stopped by Covid.  I was looking forward to the Midland Pullman excursions silver service, until I saw the price and supplement charged.  Yet this is the thing all laud about long-distance train travel; how difficult must it be to make a go of it?  My last hope is the Brighton Belle.

[Legend]

I did a Great Railways Journey  Coast to Coast USA  on Amtrak which I still look at as one of my best holidays . New York- Washington- Chicago -Denver -Flagstaff -Los Angeles - San Francisco.  The whole thing was three weeks with about three nights spent on various sleepers .. I thoroughly enjoyed just watching the scenery go by. And you had everything . The plains, Rockies , desert the lot . It was a group and we thoroughly enjoyed having dinner and companionship on the train . However the best meals were when we shared tables with Americans or “normal’’ travellers  en route . Fascinating chat . I remember one giving me a souvenir $2 note . Such a thing does exist and is legal tender . They were a lovely couple , he was of Norwegian descent but his grandfather had settled in US . It’s really fascinating hearing people’s history, which is why I like cruising the Caribbean so much . In normal circumstances the only thing to beat a rail journey is a sea one .

 

In the U.K.  because I fly on business any time I’ve gone to London for a break it’s been by train . To me the 5 hour trip from Glasgow is part of the holiday . I just love watching the scenery . I used to elect to go East Coast in the days of Inter City 225s and GNER days . Love the route through Grantshouse then along the cliffs at Burnmouth to the spectacular bridge at Berwick upon Tweed . Newcastle, Durham, York and of course a look for what stock was at Doncaster . I always thought the run into Kings Cross was at fairly high speeds in comparison to the approach to Euston . In BR days you could go out via East Coast and back via  West Coast or vice versa . Ideal for those interested in railways . 

 

Hopefully when Covid over such trips can resume . I’ve got Glasgow to Oban, Fort William and the Jacobite to Mallaig in my sights 
 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Legend

[Nick C]

I've done UK to Poland and back twice now by train, and find it much more pleasurable than flying. Of course it takes longer, but it's so much less stressful, and you get to see much more. The "Man in seat 61" website is great for finding out what options ther are, along with schedules etc (though not always for getting tickets, where he often points to towards DB even for non-German journeys, presumably he gets a commission). I used one of his tips last time I went and managed Brussels to Prague for around £25 - then splurged £50 for a first class sleeper from Prague to Krakow.

 

Polish intercity trains still have proper restaurant cars too, the food in which is very good.

 

There are (or were, pre Covid) plans to bring back the "TEE" long distance pan-European trains, which would be great - being able to get a on single train from Paris or Brussels and get off in Warsaw, Oslo, Budapest or Madrid.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Nick C

[Siberian Snooper]

The catering on Amtrak leaves a lot to be desired, on the Cardinal, there's a choice of a couple of box meals and the on train catering is the same menu on each of the trains and is very boring after a week or so on the California Zephyr, the Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder. The Via Rail catering was amazing the Ocean had a different menu to the Canadian and except for breakfast there was a local meal relevant to the area you were passing through at the time.

 

I  enjoyed pretty much all of the scenery that I passed through on all of the trains including the so called boring prairies, the only bad bit of my American trip was getting turfed off the Coast and onto a bus at around midnight at Sacramento and taken to Kalmath Falls especially as the heating on the bus wasn't working after a comfort stop somewhere near Redding and a hard frost, I was glad I keep a coat in my overnight bag, over half the passengers only had light clothing on. The reason for the bustitution was the forest fires in the Redding area.

 

I was planning to go back to the states again this year, but the plague has put paid to that.

 

 

[steve1]

On 07/02/2021 at 16:54, Legend said:

I did a Great Railways Journey  Coast to Coast USA  on Amtrak which I still look at as one of my best holidays . New York- Washington- Chicago -Denver -Flagstaff -Los Angeles - San Francisco.  The whole thing was three weeks with about three nights spent on various sleepers .. I thoroughly enjoyed just watching the scenery go by. And you had everything . The plains, Rockies , desert the lot . It was a group and we thoroughly enjoyed having dinner and companionship on the train . However the best meals were when we shared tables with Americans or “normal’’ travellers  en route . Fascinating chat . I remember one giving me a souvenir $2 note . Such a thing does exist and is legal tender . They were a lovely couple , he was of Norwegian descent but his grandfather had settled in US . It’s really fascinating hearing people’s history, which is why I like cruising the Caribbean so much . In normal circumstances the only thing to beat a rail journey is a sea one .

 

In the U.K.  because I fly on business any time I’ve gone to London for a break it’s been by train . To me the 5 hour trip from Glasgow is part of the holiday . I just love watching the scenery . I used to elect to go East Coast in the days of Inter City 225s and GNER days . Love the route through Grantshouse then along the cliffs at Burnmouth to the spectacular bridge at Berwick upon Tweed . Newcastle, Durham, York and of course a look for what stock was at Doncaster . I always thought the run into Kings Cross was at fairly high speeds in comparison to the approach to Euston . In BR days you could go out via East Coast and back via  West Coast or vice versa . Ideal for those interested in railways . 

 

Hopefully when Covid over such trips can resume . I’ve got Glasgow to Oban, Fort William and the Jacobite to Mallaig in my sights 
 

 

I entirely concur with your first paragraph in every respect, having done the same trip with Mrs Plane in 2012.

 

A couple of years before, we did Canada coast-to-coast by train on an organised trip, with The Rocky Mountaineer added in. It was equally enjoyable and showed me that Vancouver Island is one of the places I would most like to live. We did The Malahat the second time we stayed on VI.

 

steve

[SM42]

Sitting in a 304 unit batting down the WCML between Stafford and Crewe.  Bouncing along merrilly

 

The two elderly ladies sat opposite on the compartment end bench seat giggling at the lively ride.  I encouraged them to swing their arms up in time with the bouncing and we all managed to gain some air. 

 

We laughed like drains all the way to Crewe as in true Rev Awdry style we were "bounced like peas in a pan."

 

Another memorable trip was overnight Poznan- Wroclaw to Budapest. The strange groaning noises from the undercarriage was likened to "like being in the belly of a dragon" by one of my travelling companions when their dimly lit face appeared over the edge of the top bunk, cherub like, in the early hours.

 

Not the most confortable of rides and not much in the way of good sleep, especially in Slowakia (Do they have tampers there?)

 

The return trip suffered air con failure so had to have the window partly open most of the way. Again not a good night's sleep but enough.

The German fellow in the next compartment sharing his beer and food with us whilst we chatted in pigeon English, German and Polish. 

Being woken up at OMG it's early for detraining at Wroclaw just after 5am and then  scouting around for breakfast whilst we awaited our connection to Poznan  2 hours later.

 

What an experience.

 

Andy

Edited February 10, 2021 by SM42

[eastwestdivide]

If anyone fancies a quick reminder of the joys of travelling across bits of Europe by train, here's a compilation of my trips from the last few years...

 

Schynige Platte and Brienzer Rothorn:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146222-schynige-platte-and-brienzer-rothorn-2019/

 

Aachen, Duisburg, brown coal, Wuppertal and Harz mountains:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/148256-w-to-e-or-a-to-z-aachen-to-harz-viaducts-and-brown-coal/

 

Belgian canals, tram-trains, Mulhouse museum, South Tyrol, Semmering pass:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/136283-eastwestdivides-whistle-stop-tour-b-d-f-i-a/

 

Netherlands including Utrecht museum:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124332-eastwestdivide-goes-dutch/

 

Italy via Freiburg, including Centovalli, Cinque Terre, Turin:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/111836-eastwestdivides-italian-escape-via-the-black-forest/

 

and blogs at...

 

Black Forest, RhB, Liechtenstein:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/1596-this-is-the-slow-train-crossing-the-border-a-european-travelblog/

 

Gotthard etc:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/1380-swiss-travelblog-gotthard-2013/

 

[Oldddudders]

Another fave memory from my BRIS years - 1994-6 - is of catching the Monday 15.35 Euston to Glasgow, and having second-sitting dinner, which was some time after Warrington, I think. Lovely views in the early evening while eating the best of traditional on-train catering. This happened once a month for much of those two years. Overnight in Glasgow, two meetings there on Tuesday morning, then a midday train from Queen St to Edinburgh, for a 14.00 Up Aberdeen HST to York. Two more meetings there, and on to the 18.03 XC as far as New St for another overnight. Weds morning saw me at Quayside Tower for another couple of meetings, then off to Manchester for two more in the afternoon. The 16.30 Pullman then took me back to London, to finally get home to rural Kent. An early start the next morning to be at Swindon for two meetings, then a midday HST to Cheltenham, connecting with a 158 Alpha Line to New St and eventually Derby for meetings there. MML back to London and home, for the Friday meetings at Croydon and Liverpool St. And quite busy writing all the meeting notes, for which I was nominally secretary, sometimes chairman. 

[The Stationmaster]

Yes, meeting trips can be very handy.  I had a meeting in Amsterdam the day after one in Paris although unfortunately the return working was by flying machine from Schiphol but Paris to Amsterdam was quite interesting as it was wholly classic routes throughout which made a nice change from LGV Nord into/out of Paris.  Meetings in Brussels or Paris followed the next day by a meeting in the other was quite a regular event at one time as I always tried to arrange things that way if I could.

 

As far as booking on the European mainland the big trick is to shop around - my son who (Pre-Covid) would fly out to somewhere like Croatia on holiday always came back by train and it was a toss up between SNCB, DB, andOBB as to who would come up with the lowest fares for various legs of his journey so it's always worth shopping around in his experience.  In 2019 he did Marrakech outbound by air and return by rail/ship although his ticket purchases weren't quite so adventurous on that occasion.

 

Some of the narrow gauge lines are also well worth having  a trip on (and getting there by train).   I think Ian (Olddudders) has also done the Brocken and that is well worth the effort of getting there and the DB website  used to be very handy for hotel bookings - I used it for various places when I did my 'grand tour' in 2003. Ryanair to what they called 'Hamburg-Lubeck' which was actually on a Lubeck local 'bus route then the rest by rail - Lubeck - Werningerode (for Hartz n.g including the Brocken) - Dresden (2 night base for two lots of n.g. lines plus secondary line through Poland) - Jenbach (two n.g lines) - Tirano (to do the bits of the RhB I hadn't previously covered) - Wilderswil near Lucerne - Bern (in order to go to particular restaurant - alas it had gone way down hill - and for a good start the next morning) - London - Reading.  I managed 15 steam hauled trains on the narrow gauge plus saw working standard gauge steam in Germany (crankex), (badly) preserved non-working steam in italy, and standard and narrow gauge,   and a mix of working and non-working steam in Switzerland.    

[Mike Storey]

6 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Another fave memory from my BRIS years - 1994-6 - is of catching the Monday 15.35 Euston to Glasgow, and having second-sitting dinner, which was some time after Warrington, I think. Lovely views in the early evening while eating the best of traditional on-train catering. This happened once a month for much of those two years. Overnight in Glasgow, two meetings there on Tuesday morning, then a midday train from Queen St to Edinburgh, for a 14.00 Up Aberdeen HST to York. Two more meetings there, and on to the 18.03 XC as far as New St for another overnight. Weds morning saw me at Quayside Tower for another couple of meetings, then off to Manchester for two more in the afternoon. The 16.30 Pullman then took me back to London, to finally get home to rural Kent. An early start the next morning to be at Swindon for two meetings, then a midday HST to Cheltenham, connecting with a 158 Alpha Line to New St and eventually Derby for meetings there. MML back to London and home, for the Friday meetings at Croydon and Liverpool St. And quite busy writing all the meeting notes, for which I was nominally secretary, sometimes chairman. 

 

Is that really "a fave"??? I had to do much the same, when working for RT Major Stations, a few years later, and got to detest it. There was no time to soak anything in -  just on the go all the week. And I did that twice a month. It was exhausting.

 

But, what I thought would be my bestest (well, most unusual) rail trip of all time, was from New York to Washington, which I had to do several times when working over there. If you like gurt great, rusty scrap yards, then great.......

 

I also thought Delhi to Chandigarh (to catch the narrow gauge to Simla) would be thrilling. No, it wasn't, although the ride up to Simla was.

 

The best rail trips, as others have said, were when windows could open and the unexpected could be seen. Ipswich to Lowestoft, in an old 1st gen DMU, did it for me. As did a night trip through Genova, staring out the rear windows of the corridor connection as we went through all the tunnels, bridges etc. You can't do either of those experiences now.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Mike Storey

[Nearholmer]

I don't know about all this exotica. Right now, I'd settle for being able to cycle to the station, and have a ride to Bedford and back on the branch-line, without having to worry about social-distancing, masks, whether air-flows in the train are sufficient to achieve desirable dilution rates, exactly how bad a cough the chap in the seat two-along has got, and whether I had a "reasonable excuse" to be out and about having an innocent train ride at all.

 

But, in better times: Paris to The Cote D'Azur, on a classic sleeper or couchette, when you woke-up as the train stopped at a dusty wayside station, and went to stand in the corridor, with the window wound half-down, to watch the light coming up over the Med, and catch that wonderful resinous scent.

[Reorte]

40 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

But, in better times: Paris to The Cote D'Azur, on a classic sleeper or couchette, when you woke-up as the train stopped at a dusty wayside station, and went to stand in the corridor, with the window wound half-down, to watch the light coming up over the Med, and catch that wonderful resinous scent.

 

Closest I got to that was the Grasse to Cannes branch (not long reopened at the time).

[Siberian Snooper]

I think my best end to end scenic journey has to be from Toulouse to Barcelona via Le Tour De Carol (change trains) through the Pyrenees. It was a bit samey to start with, but once in the foothills  it was pretty stunning.

 

 

 

 

[steve1]

If you want spectacular scenery and don’t get short of breath, The Copper Canyon ride in Mexico is extremely impressive, even on what was, at the time, a service train. You can do it now on an organised trip.

 

https://www.coppercanyon.com/index.php/train

 

steve

[C126]

23 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Another fave memory from my BRIS years - 1994-6 - is of catching the Monday 15.35 Euston to Glasgow, and having second-sitting dinner, which was some time after Warrington, I think. Lovely views in the early evening while eating the best of traditional on-train catering. This happened once a month for much of those two years. Overnight in Glasgow, two meetings there on Tuesday morning, then a midday train from Queen St to Edinburgh, for a 14.00 Up Aberdeen HST to York. Two more meetings there, and on to the 18.03 XC as far as New St for another overnight. Weds morning saw me at Quayside Tower for another couple of meetings, then off to Manchester for two more in the afternoon. The 16.30 Pullman then took me back to London, to finally get home to rural Kent. An early start the next morning to be at Swindon for two meetings, then a midday HST to Cheltenham, connecting with a 158 Alpha Line to New St and eventually Derby for meetings there. MML back to London and home, for the Friday meetings at Croydon and Liverpool St. And quite busy writing all the meeting notes, for which I was nominally secretary, sometimes chairman. 

 

This isn't wage-slavery; are you sure you were not an 'International Man of Mystery'?! 

 

I fear I have been watching too much black-&-white 'Simon Templar' in 'Lock-down'...

[caradoc]

18 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

I don't know about all this exotica. Right now, I'd settle for being able to cycle to the station, and have a ride to Bedford and back on the branch-line, without having to worry about social-distancing, masks, whether air-flows in the train are sufficient to achieve desirable dilution rates, exactly how bad a cough the chap in the seat two-along has got, and whether I had a "reasonable excuse" to be out and about having an innocent train ride at all.

 

I agree, the half-journey into Glasgow on a 380, a look around the shops, and getting a coffee to drink on the train home without being mask-shamed (as I once was pre current lockdown) would equate to a Glacier Express trip right now. 

 

[The Stationmaster]

On 10/02/2021 at 12:52, caradoc said:

 

I agree, the half-journey into Glasgow on a 380, a look around the shops, and getting a coffee to drink on the train home without being mask-shamed (as I once was pre current lockdown) would equate to a Glacier Express trip right now. 

 

With the recent flooding even a trip up our 5 mile branch would be quite exciting with sheets of flood water spread across fields on both sides of the railway embankment.  Haven't even done the branch for a year. 

[iL Dottore]

There really are some great travel stories on this thread.

 

I’ve managed to have some pretty interesting trips by train, although I was rather disappointed by my last Amtrak excursion (many years ago) and sadly I never did manage to ride the rails in either Canada or Australia when I was there.

 

Some of the trips that I have enjoyed include the overnight sleeper to Scotland (and as this was done in 1983, you’ll have to forgive me if I forget the names of the departing station and station of arrival and the train), the sleeper between Basel and Bologna (we arrived in Bologna at 5 am, The town is definitely not awake at that time!). But perhaps the most memorable railway journey of all was the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto. An experience that has left me with an interest in Japanese railways and especially their various tourist trains and hotel trains (one day I hope to enjoy at least one of the three incredibly top-notch and luxurious hotel trains they have in Japan). I’ve also done Le Train Bleu from Paris to Nice in a couchette with five French fellow travellers , three of whom were female and who stripped down to their skimpies before turning in for the night (a rather eye-opening experience for what was at the time, a terribly naive and stiff upper lipped semi-Englishman)

 

It goes without saying that I have travelled on the ICE (all three variants), the TGV and the Thalys. Mostly work-related, and mostly because it was easier to get to my destination by train than by plane (counterintuitively, it is faster to go by train from Basel to Paris city centre than fly from Basel airport to Paris Orly and then brave [fight???] the Périphérique).

 

Finally, probably the most luxurious leg of any business train trip I’ve ever taken was when I had to go to Perugia on a regular basis in the mid 80s. I would fly into Rome, take a taxi to Roma Termini, take one of the trains heading towards Florence and then change at Spoleto. The leg between Spoleto and Perugia was invariably in a 1940s era First Class carriage, replete with plump and comfortable velour seating,, curtains, mirrors and wonderful reading lights with beautiful etched glass lampshades.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by iL Dottore

[iL Dottore]

And on another note:

 

I am absolutely fascinated by mass-transit, specifically trams and the equivalent of the Underground.

 

I think that there is nothing better than discovering the local Underground/Metro. I have spent some time exploring  the Berlin U-Bahn, The Paris Metro and (of course) the London Underground. The rapid transit in KL was and remains incredibly fascinating,  the Tokyo underground baffling and overwhelming (quite literally, millions of people!) and I found the New York City subway to be just scary. In contrast with the New York City Subway (perhaps deliberately) I found )the Washington DC Metro to be functional, bland and soulless. I loved the trams in Dresden!

 

One of the wonderful things about the Berlin U-Bahn was that many of the former East Berlin U-Bahn stations were still pretty much as they were pre-World War II. So when Mrs iD and I visited Spandau, we greatly enjoyed travelling through (and interchanging in) beautifully appointed pre-war stations.
 

Regretfully, I never was able to go on one of the incredibly fascinating “tunnel tours“ run for awhile by the Berlin U-Bahn. The tour started after the last train of the night had finished running, you donned overalls and a hardhat and sat in open wagons and you traversed all the little nooks and crannies of the system. Presumably the tours were stopped because of either fear of litigation or lack of profitability.

Edited February 14, 2021 by iL Dottore

[SM42]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

And on another note:

 

I am absolutely fascinated by mass-transit, specifically trams and the equivalent of the Underground.

 

 

 

One of the favourite activities of myself and Mrs SM42 when we are at a loose end in Poznan was to purchase a 24 hour all zones ticket and see where a tram would take us. Watching the city and suburbs go by.

 

It's a bit easier now with the advent of the Peka card.  (Basically like an Oyster card  but several people (up to 99 I think) can travel on one card.)

 

Surely one of the joys of any city break and a relatively inexpensive way to see a city, warts and all.

 

Andy

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by SM42

[C126]

Sorry to return this subject from the depths of the archive, but I have been reminded of it this last month commuting.  I have watched the crops along the line ripen slowly under variable skies, the sun now lower and the yellower light prettier on the khaki and golds in the fields.  From a shimmering green crop (barley?) that looks like the softest animal fur, to the gold-brown coarser textured crop (wheat?) like a carpet (memories of crawling around the living room as a child with my die-cast motor-cars), all now are being slowly harvested, leaving stubble and bales.  Occasionally I see the combine harvester at work on the train home, circling into the centre of the field, lit by the late after-noon sun.

 

There is also the wonderful 'three-second vignette' one glimpses on journeys that inspire one's models, beautiful cameos crying out to be reproduced.  A gated crossing, with a cottage next to a small river; the bright primary colours of a rolling field of yellow rape, bordered by a lime green hedge under a clear blue sky, and a jogger in a bright red top running along the path beside it; allotments (always a wonderful sight I think); decaying lineside huts.

 

But I ramble.  Each will have her/his own examples, but these are to me more joys of train travel 'when it works', and never experienced on the awful weekend 'rail replacement 'bus' rumbling along a motor-way.