AMTRAK TURNS 50

AMERICA’S NATIONAL RAILROAD NETWORK WAS FOUNDED HALF A CENTURY AGO. WE CELEBRATE AMTRAK’S ROUTES AND PIONEERING REIGN OVER US RAILWAYS. WORDS: SARAH BARRELL

Long-distance US train journeys

LOS ANGELES

65 HRS 20 MINS Texas Eagle, 2,728 miles

EMERYVILLE

51 HRS 20 MINS California Zephyr, 2,438 miles

PORTLAND

46 HRS

Empire Builder, 2,255 miles

SEATTLE

46 HRS

Empire Builder, 2,205 miles

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

THE FIRST TRAIN OPERATED BY AMTRAK IN 1971 WAS THE CLOCKER, WHICH DEPARTED NEW YORK CITY FOR PHILADELPHIA SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT

ALL CHANGE!

You can’t cross the US on one train. Routes that travel east and west terminate in Chicago or New Orleans

Built in 1955, Amtrak’s old-style double-decker Great Dome railcar showcased landscapes in California, New Mexico, Arizona and — its final tour of duty in 2019 — Albany to Montreal, a prize ticket in leaf-peeping season