Paying more for the pleasure of riding lots of trains
Last year I wrote about paying more for the pleasure of lots of layovers—how for an extra $111 I could visit airports in Missouri & Ohio on my way from Salt Lake to Portland, Oregon for the 12th Annual Tcl/Tk conference.
Well, it is time to start thinking about the 13th Annual Tcl/Tk conference... this year the conference is being held in Naperville, Illinois (near Chicago). Unlike last year where I had to pay my own way, this year my employer is paying for it (though I'd have gone anyway if they hadn't).
I looked up what it would cost to travel by train this afternoon. (Salt Lake is a major stop on the California Zephyr route between Chicago and San Francisco.)
Much to my surprise coach tickets were actually $10 less each way then what I could find for flights into Chicago's Midway airport—$120 vs $130.
Amtrak's website, just like Delta's last year, seems to be programmed to really go the extra mile and give you every last possible itinerary option. For an extra $148 ($268 total) I could return home from Naperville to Salt Lake the round about way:
- Saturday 9:38 AM leave Naperville on the Illinois Zephyr
- Arrive in Chicago, Saturday 10:30 AM
- Saturday 2:15 PM leave Chicago on the Empire Builder
- Arrive in Portland, Monday 10:25 AM
- Monday 2:25 PM leave Portland on the Coast Starlight
- Arrive in Sacramento, Tuesday 6:15 AM
- Tuesday 11:14 AM leave Sacramento on the California Zephyr
- Arrive in Salt Lake City, Wednesday 3:15 AM
Travelling this way would only take the better part of five days (longer than the conference itself) to get home!
I'm attending the conference with two co-workers who would apparently rather face the indignities of airport security & several hours cramped with no leg room than view the scenic beauty of the American midwest if it means cutting twenty-nine some odd hours off the trip.
As for me, I have only vague memories of traveling by train from Salt Lake to Los Angeles as a young child. The Zephyr has a certain romantic appeal to it. If I don't "seize the day," so to speak, will I ever get around to it otherwise?
Something worth thinking about for a few days before booking airfare I think...
—Michael A. Cleverly
Monday, August 14, 2006 at 19:45
Take the train. It is a rare event and may never happen again.
On the otherhand, with growing airplane fears and increased gas prices, trains may be the wave of the future.
Take the train anyway.
Tue, 15 Aug 2006, 08:15