Running daily between the two cities, the train traverses 381 miles in about 11 hours. It departs from Moynihan Train Hall in the heart of Manhattan each morning, it follows the Hudson River north before skirting the Adirondack Mountains and tracing the western shore of Lake Champlain en route to Montreal.
It's hard to separate the impact and the legacy of the railroad from the United States itself. According to the Association of American Railroads, there are over 140,000 miles of track in the U.S.-the most extensive rail network of any country in the world. But there's one passenger train route that outshines the rest in both scope and beauty: the California Zephyr.
Running between New York City and Pittsburgh, Amtrak's Pennsylvanian route shows travelers a side of Pennsylvania most who fly or drive miss. Passengers aboard the train weave past rivers, tree-lined hills, Amish Country, and historic rail towns that rarely get the spotlight. It's less about getting somewhere fast and more about watching the landscape change mile by mile, from urban neighborhoods to the rolling Allegheny Mountains, without ever leaving the seat.
The Sunset Limited runs in both directions between Louisiana and California three times a week. If you're traveling east to west, the train departs New Orleans in the morning and arrives in Los Angeles two days later. Those traveling west to east will board in Los Angeles in the late evening and arrive in New Orleans two days later. And since the journey clocks in between 46 and 48 hours in duration, travelers are treated to overnight accommodations, full-service dining,