Amtrak Texas Eagle: America's crazily long train adventure (1/2) 

Very, very nicely done video. You've really captured the feeling of riding on Amtrak. I've been on every long distance Amtrak route and love it all. I've been late many times but it's really all in the journey. When you travel by train thru the US, you get to see the way most people in small towns and towns live. I'm thinking that if we really want to unite our country once again, then we all need to travel by train, slow down, look out the windows to see the magnificence of the land, and share a meal and conversation and a personal story. Thanks for spending time putting this all together. You are a good guy.

I appreciate your positive outlook and love your reviews, but I have to be honest... I find the Texas Eagle to be the worst, mismatched/gutted train Amtrak has to date and (IMO) there is really no good reason to take this entire route unless you have a bucket list to take every train Amtrak has running. First, although much of this route does not have amazing views to write home about, given it is such a long route, why on Earth does Amtrak think this train (and its passengers) doesn't deserve an observation car? Second, the sleeper cars up front was a no-go for me. The one and only time I took part of this route, my sleep was very little as we had the horn blasting us right in front of our car. It was a miserable night. The only section I find worth taking on this train is from San Antonio to LA (Sunset Limited)... where sleeper car passengers get decent food to eat, instead of the microwaved crap that they feed you from TX to Chicago. If someone wants to go from LA to Chicago, I highly recommend the Southwest Chief. The desert views are better, follows historic Route 66, has an observation car, a diner car, is faster, and is usually hundreds of dollars cheaper.

I watch many very good journals from excellent folks, this fellow has definitely captured my attention

My hometown of Temple and I saw my buddy Paul Bettencourt, the station agent.

Would love to take this full route someday. The bathroom and shower were adequate. Always good to have a warm shower. Thank you for another wonderful vlog.

The Texas Eagle doesn’t have a sightseer lounge due to a shortage of lounges as claimed by management. But that seems hard to believe given the fact that they’re able to give one to the Winter Park Express and the fact that last week I spotted the northbound Saluki with 2 sightseer lounges running as empty axle count cars to meet CN’s minimum axle requirement of 32. There is hope that it will finally return this fiscal year as a handful of equipment, idled in 2020 is returning to service! That said, taking that car off was totally unneeded! They could have done better to prioritize returning all the rolling stock used for long distance services that they temporarily stored!!

That train actually passes thru my hometown in Deming New Mexico along with the Sunset Limited

Ive taken Amtrack from Los Angeles to Seattle. I enjoyed having the top bunk made for bed and keeping the bottom seats as is for reading and relaxing. That train was fairly new and in excellent condition. Amtrack staff and food was excellent as well. Train travel is perfect for digitally detoxing.

My favorite part of your videos is showing us your meals. You have such fun on your trips .

I've watched a number of train bloggers prepping to do some long term Amtrak trekking myself. This gentleman is tied for number 1 on my list. Not overbearing...not self focused...it's not all about the food but the scenery. Which is what I want to see when I travel. Thank you.

Loved seeing this and appreciate your commentary! I like the route, as you mentioned, not the most scenic but still enjoyable to me.

Finally booked tickets for the TE for my husband and myself, but just for the portion from Pontiac, IL to Fort Worth, TX (since my husband didn't want to go all the way to LA, and we wanted to leave the train during daylight hours). We even sprang for a bedroom on the train (at my husband's request).

Here’s a tip,if you want to save between 200-400 dollars on a trip between Chicago and Los Angeles. ride Coach between Chicago and St. Louis, get a roomette or bedroom between St Louis and Los Angeles. You will get dinner out of St. Louis.

Love your Amtrak videos, Jeremy! I ride the train frequently back and forth across Pennsylvania to visit my folks. As you document in your videos, it's always a rich experience!

My wife and I have done that route many times over the last 30+ years. It was great really enjoyed it. I like it because you’re on the train longer.

Also about the isolation, it depends a lot on the type of passengers in your car and if you eat in the dining car. I've been on trains where it was a party among a number of roomette passengers. Not rowdy, just fun. And I always had different seat mates at meals when I ate in the dining car. So many really interesting people. Sometimes though, you just want to hang and be quiet in your own space.

I live in Mineola, and I see the train frequently, but still haven't ridden it. Fun to see my town from the passenger's perspective!

Absolute great job on part one - can’t wait for part 2!!! 😊🎉

Great video! I love the Texas Eagle ! Have taken it 4 times. I hope they bring back the observation car and the traditional dining soon

This is why I so miss train travel across this country. Despite some shortcomings, I would love to take this journey (probably because of so many hours on the train, and also the scenery). I've already convinced my partner to consider this, but I have to figure out what season of the year would be the best, and also what the options would be to travel back to the East Coast by a different route. Would prefer our own bathroom after dealing with shared ones on one other Amtrak trip, but since I've already gotten her interested, I'll try to figure out a route and time and best fare choices. Also, need those smoke breaks at the longer stops; even at our age we need that respite, and I'm also not paying $7.50 for a beer when I usually have more on a regular basis. Thanks for this, and I'm waiting for part 2.

At 3:15 correction: the Sunset Ltd. still only runs 3x weekly, although efforts are underway to increase that to daily service. Union Pacific has stated that they want over a billion $$'s to allow for increasing to 7x weekly service via their tracks west of New Orleans. Before 2005's hurricane Katrina happened, a full "coast to coast" Sunset Ltd. train ride could be taken between Orlando & Los Angeles. My 2002 Sunset Ltd. coach ticket from Orlando, FL to Maricopa, AZ only cost $105: left 2:00 PM Sunday from Orlando to Maricopa 5:30 AM Wednesday. About 64 hours total travel time, including a 4 hour layover in New Orleans. A full Orlando to Los Angeles trip would have taken over 72 hours.

When I smoked these shift changes of the crew was very welcomed. I noticed the Europe trip we had, no long stops ever. I was so pleased not to have the tobacco craving. Thanks for sharing your trips!

I agree!! Why not an Observation Level?? Southwest Chief had them & it was Very Enoyable, wentvI traveled to California from Illinois..Years ago!!

I am surprised that not many people notice that in Dallas, you go right by the Texas School Book Depository and Dealey Plaza.

The Texas Eagle goes past my office window every day (in Dwight, IL, just N of Pontiac), and I would love to ride it someday (despite the bad press the "Eaglette" gets on the Amtrak Unlimited forums). My husband and I recently rode the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner all the way to its terminus in Kansas City and back, so we were on the same tracks as you as far as St. Louis. I certainly recognized the Cafe Car box part of your Flex Dining meal arrived in!

I felt your footage of Saint Louis was very beautiful. You captured particularly captivating scenery. Thanks for including it. It’s nice to see a positive spin on one of many cities that often gets a bad wrap. All I can really say about all of the video is WOW! It’s one of my favorites. Kudos!

19:30 Nice lightning footage. Bring a portable 120V power supply to eliminate those power interruptions. Sure looked like you were in bliss during that first meal with the IPA in S Illinois during harvest time!

I absolutely LOVE your videos. Wish I could travel with you sometime!

Id love to take this train some day, it stops in many towns i visit and have grown up around , and my family is orgianlly from texas, also have a love of the west.

My wife and I book two roomettes across from each other so we can see both sides from the train. Also we each get a lower bed.

I really enjoyed this video, Jeremy....lots of interesting tidbits and the interaction with other people is always welcomed. It looked like a good ride and I actually was sorry to see it end. Now Ill just have to wait and see part two. See you then. Thanks for the cool video. THR

“hotter than hell” as you dug into you chicken enchiladas. Of course it’s “hotter than hell”. You’ve come to my home town Fort Worth in the summer time. lol. So far, good travel blog. Keep it up.

I took this train from Los Angeles California to Austin Texas round trip twice. It was overall a good experience because I love the American landscape. The train did break down and I would recommend if you do take this train to just go with it and try and be in the moment. I felt like I was in a peaceful western movie for a lot of the train ride. I met some interesting folks on the train too.

Really enjoying Your Streams! VERY INFORMATIVE!!

Enjoyed this video and I’m looking forward to part two. Subscribed.

At Fort Worth station you could have gotten a Subway sandwich for a late night snack.

Before Hurricane Katrina decimated the route east of New Orleans in 2005 - the Sunset Ltd used to be the longest. - starting in central Florida to LA - also a 3 night trip. I rode that one 4 times [out and back twice]. Have not been on the Texas Eagle. I would like to ride it sometime. Still need to do SW Chief and California Zephyr.

At 28:44 you captured the infamous Dealey Plaza. I've never seen that angle before, but its wide-open and you can see the entire area. I'm rather surprised the parking lot behind the grassy knoll is still maintained. This video was fantastic, hopefully Amtrak gives you some serious comps in the future it's a wonderful promotion for them.

Thanks for a great overview of this route- on my bucket list. Done the other LD routes west of Chicago but this is still undone.

I love your music!

Great review. You have a calming voice.

I really appreciate your positivity and gratitude so far. The detail you give in your video is second to none. Thanks!

I'm hoping to ride on this train in a couple of weeks. My wife and I went on it a few years ago and had a wonderful time (Chicago to Fort Worth)

"one mistake and you're stuck in fort worth" ... 😂

In the middle of watching. I live in England and 10 years ago we went on the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver. It was March and the weather was so bad, it was the first time in 25 years that the train was half a day late getting into Vancouver. The train also handed over food supplies to the train going east as they had been stuck in the storm and their supplies were running low. Arrived in Vancouver to warm spring weather! An excellent experience.

I enjoyed your video. Keep up the good work

That old train car seen in Fort Worth is a museum restored relic from the Dallas Interurban that ran from Mineral Wells to Canton thru Fort Worth and Dallas... It also ran from Waco to Dennison as well thru Dallas... The Dallas Interurban was owned and operated by what was Dallas Power & Light... Its bridge over the Brazos River in downtown Waco still stands as a walk bridge today...

I like that train and the route - but i get off in Tucson. Always an adventure!

Longview, Texas has a nice train station.

I travelled on the Texas eagle round trip from Chicago to Fort Worth / Dallas. I enjoyed the trip very much. I later connected with the Heartland fiyer to Oklahoma City. Very nice trip . I originally took the Caardinal from Newark, New Jersey to Chicago . then I changed to the Texas Eagole.

The tower you saw in Dallas when the Tx Eagle 🦅 is Reunion Tower, there's an observation deck on top and The Trinity River Express (TRE) is a commuter train that goes between Dallas and Fort Worth along with TexRail which goes between DFW airport and Fort Worth. TexRail and TRE the next time I'm in Dallas visiting family friends. I have an aunt in FW whi due to other commitments on both our partsz i haven't been able to see when I've been in the DFW Metroplex in the past. I also want to go to the top of Reunion Tower, the views of Downtown Dallas are said to wonderful.😊 Wonderful video

Nice video. Just the right amount of information.

This will be my trip next year 🎉

I’ve done the Eagle after it meets the Sunset Ltd, so your video was a wonderful introduction to the TE from Chicago. Thanks so much

Great video I have taken this train Coach from Chicago to El Paso back when it had a full restaurant car on the whole route and everyone was welcome. It was a few hours late in El Paso due to freight traffic but was a great way to cross Texas. Issues now are even if you pay sky high sleeper prices are the flex dining for half of the route and the lack of an observation car. This year I did New York to Chicago on The Cardinal then almost straight onto the The South West Chief which in total is over 75 hours in total all in Coach though thankfully I only had to use the cafe car once thanks to pre planning and buying found from shops on route.

I would love do make this trip some day soon. Thanks for sharing your experience. Looks like you really enjoyed this trip.

Cool! Great vid!

Once again a very nice video. Ive been watching your channel since 2020. The Temple Stop, I actually live west of there a few miles.

Wow! Deally Plaza and Elm St. and you didn’t even mention it. Also the Texas School Book Depository.

Thank you sir, for your thorough content of train travel. I imagine the editing is time consuming. Much appreciated. I need to contribute. Is Palpal an option?

i did the route going Eastbound a few years ago. was fun. Sunset Limited operates 3 days a week. You'll know when its time to get on the train when the train's horn blows twice. There should be a sight searer lounge

I know Math is not a strong suit for many, but to have a temperature control with markings for cooler, normal or warmer is hilarious.

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Nice tour of the passenger car/inhabitable cabin rooms/edible meals/sizable dining quarters. Not too shabby a ride for the money 💰 😉in

I've heard of some Amtrak passengers using an app on their phone to take care of tipping. (I think we'll probably try to bring cash for tipping, though, when we ride the Texas Eagle.)

The Texas Eagle doesn't have a sightseer lounge car because Amtrak simply doesn't have enough of them. Over the years, some of them have been damaged in wrecks, some have fallen into such disrepair that they had to be removed from service. I haven't heard that Amtrak is planning to replace or refurbish them.

Nice video 👋

Tfs! 😊

Well done video. You provided a lot of information about the sleeping car roomette and the dining experience. I recognized a lot of the scenery from Dallas to San Antonio since I'm a Ft. Worth native now living in Austin, TX. Your video on the Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited to L.A. was also well done. You showed how diverse the scenery is in Texas. Did you recognize Dealey Plaza and the School Book Depository Building immediately after leaving the Dallas Union Station and crossed over the triple overpass? That old rail car on display at the Ft. Worth station is one of the original Interurban cars that ran parallel to the Texas & Pacific railroad between Ft. Worth and Dallas back in the very early 1900's. The first of commuter rail.

It's funny you should say the restroom seemed more modern here. The sleeping car you were on was an original 1970s Superliner car. the ones with the worse restrooms were the 1990s Superliner II cars. Which one you get is all up to chance as both run on all Western lines and may be swapped out at any point for maintenance purposes. I concur, the original Superliners were far superior in every way, but it's still mostly little differences -- just the restrooms are far and away superior! Also certain it will come up in part 2, but the observation lounge car likely was added when your part of the train from Chicago got connected to the other part of the train coming from (I believe) Louisiana.

I did this route back in 2022 just for the fun of it. I agree with some of the others here. Never again.

The tower in Dallas is reunion tower. trinity railway goes between Dallas and Ft. Worth.Union station also serves DART(Dallas area rapid transit) Just some FYI.

First of your videos I've seen and I found it interesting and informative. I did have to constantly adjust the volume and I wonder if it might be helpful to use a wearable, noise cancelling microphone to equalize background noise and better record your low voice.

Another great video, I’ve taken the Texas eagle and the sunset limited separately The only part of that trip I haven’t done as I haven’t traveled by train between Fort Worth and San Antonio I’ve taken the Texas Eagle from Chicago to Fort Worth. And then I have also taken the Sunset Limited from New Orleans all the way to Los Angeles. We were five hours late getting into San Antonio to pick up the other cars from the Texas Eagle. We were so late I had to pay to have my bags held at Los Angeles, Union Station. And hopped a Uber to get out to the Santa Monica pier with only minutes to spare for my all day tour of Los Angeles.

Last year I rode the Texas Eagle from Chicago to Dallas by coach. One thing I noticed that you can hear the endless whistle blowing for crossings in some parts of Texas. Not good when you’re trying to sleep.

Wonder how CPAP users do with the non continuous electric. Thx for an enjoyable video

Growing up in Fort Worth, the saying is Fort Worth is where the West begins ! Dallas wasn't western even in the 1950s when I was growing up. The only Dallas thing we liked was the Cowboys football team. Rodger the Dodger was the best !

Wow! Great train ride! I want to do this myself even though I come from Boston which would make this a cross country run. I'd also do sleeping car service, way better than coach

I love your videos and you seem to be a wonderful guy. I want you to know that God loves you and that he hasn’t forgotten about you or anyone reading this. Please let him in and pray. Please don’t forget about him❤.

I enjoy your videos because you dont talk too much!

The Trinity rail travels between Dallas and Fort Worth Texas.

I made the trip St Louis to San Antonio on the same train a few months earlier. Good experience. BUT no Wi-fi. Only telephone data when near a town. Really something Amtrak needs to upgrade.

Weird, I think the Texas Eagle used to have the observation car when I used to take it from STL to Chicago. Maybe its a more recent change. THe last time I took it was like a decade ago though.

Amtrak needs a pass like Eurorail where you can just get on and of course it would be coach, and get off anywhere you wanted without reservations. It's a shame you go through some of these towns and you can't go see the historical sites.

The presentation of the meal looks a lot like that of Cafe Car items on the Missouri River Runner/Lincoln Service. What desserts were they serving at lunch and supper with the Flex Dining?

Beautiful footage of the gorgeous trakside landscape of the American Heartland. I've always thoughr it's a shame that Arkansas is all in the dark (in both directions), for that is a particularly pretty state. FWIW: I am pretty sure the Suset Limited still only runs three days per week, in each direction, not daily. In my experience, the Amtrak "experience" is wildly dependent on the "crew" (dining and sleeping car) you "win" in the lottery. There are superb crews, and . . . . the opposite. But, 'yes' . . . when it all works, and you are in your roomette with a nice beer, wine, or cocktail, and America sweeps by . . . . . . . . it does not really ever get much better than that. Thanks for the video! ----Mike

Another great video! I like the train. I think it has everything you need inside of it, restaurant, bathroom, bed, room, etc. I also like the view of the cities and states along the way. ;)

The Journey, and one LDW Route I've not done yet(and grew up a MO Ozark boy).. Wish Flexible Dining wasn't the norm for so much of this extended route; would be great to see Arcadia Valley/MO Ozarks in daylight (there's quite the Civil War history around Arcadia Valley...)

The auto train is actually the longest passenger train, but the Texas eagle is the longest passenger route.

When was This Stream taken?? I'm going put on THIS train to Lordsburg, NM to see my Sisters! I will be traveling in a Roomette but traveling back to Galesburg, IL on Coach. I couldn't afford affor another trip back on the Roomette., sadly. I'm worried about that. Do they have Traditional Dining yet??

One mistake you made at the beginning, the thru cars from San Antonio to lax and back, numbered trains 421/422 only run to/from lax 3 days a week, because the sunset limited only runs 3 days a week from lax to nol/nol to lax

Thats a shame that on that long beautiful route there's not an observation car

What kinda camera did you use? Love the travel videos

please try a coast to coast greyhound bus?

Very informative! Question: : If you put the bottom beds together in a roomette, is that big enough for 2 people? Does flexible spending mean you have a choice of e ating in dining car or roomette?

The Texas Eagle and the Capitol Limited share train sets because of their arrival and departure times out of Chicago works well for Amtrak saving Amtrak one train set. Both have had the Sightseeing Lounge car in the past before the pandemic, however Amtrak received funding to upgrade all of their Superliner cars, including the Sightseeing Lounge. There are only a limited number of Sightseeing Lounges compared to sleepers and coaches, thus Amtrak had to pull some out to refurbish. Unfortunately the cars they chose were from these two trains sharing the train sets. Ditto with the diners as well, and thus the reason traditional dining isn't on both of these trains as well. Presently these shared train sets are using the Cross Country Cafe cars which were formerly coach cars before conversion. There is no kitchen, just a microwave oven. Amtrak chose NOT to pull these cars from the other long distance trains that serve the Rockies and Cascades, not to mention the AutoTrain that also uses Superliner cars that do have traditional dining, diners, and Sightseeing Lounges. Therefore they won't return to the Texas Eagle and the Capitol Limited until ALL of them have been refurbished... Maybe in another year or two, it is taking far too long... Amtrak got funding for new locos, new Siemens coaches to replace Amfleet I's, and Horizon cars, but not to replace Superliner and Amfleet II's... They only are getting refurbishments... Keep in mind some of these cars are over 50 years in age... Frankly, it is amazing they run as well as they do considering their age...

Which side should I be on going from Los Angeles to St. Louis? And from St. Louis to Los Angeles, which side? I appreciate your videos are very informative.. thank you😊😊

ATMS at 7 Eleven are free Nationwide if you can get to one

You mentioned that this is only of the long-distanced trains to not have an observation car...I wonder if it might be because there's a tunnel height limit...? I enjoy your travelogues...very nice!

Sweeeeeet

What? No dessert for your first meal? If you eat in the cafe you have to pay for it as far as I know. I was curious about the flexible meal too. That seems to be the best for this leg of the trip. I'm looking forward to the next leg from San Antonio to Los Angeles where you can get traditional dining. Happy travels.