Amtrak's California Zephyr returns to Denver Union Station

[longship]

5. Economy sleeper.

The only way to fly. Yup! It's expensive, but not as expensive as a full bedroom. But it includes a private compartment, three great meals a day and a porter to tend to your every needs. Bathrooms downstairs. I did it with my then wife from LA to New York a few years ago. We took the SW Limited, following the old Route 66. The scenic route is the Zephyr, through the Rockies, but we lived in LA and getting to SF pushed us out of budget.

We flew back to save money. Amtrak has packages like that. A compartment, even the economy one, is First Class, so they treat you very well. I am glad I had the experience. It was worth every penny. The food was absolutely awesome and was included in the price. Wine and liquor extra, of course. (We brought our own bar and had nightly cocktails in our compartment; invited neighbors on occasion for cards.)

It's a good two days from CA to Chicago. Switch trains there and a day and a half to NY.

Watch Hitchcock's North by Northwest and you'll get the idea.

Here's the Economy Sleeper.


A table pulls out between the seats. At night the two seats form a bed. There's another above that folds down. Both are small but very comfortable. There's a narrow closet, too. When one closes the sliding door, there's complete privacy and near silence. Coffee, juice, and Danish in your compartment in the morning, too.