Is this America's Most STUNNING Train? - Amtrak California Zephyr

[@GuideofBlocksNo1]

Brad is such a legend. We were lucky enough to have Brad as our train conductor on the Zephyr in April 2024. The best thing, besides the exciting information, was that Brad made announcements in German and spoke German with us, what a surprise 😀

[@Super_Chief]

When my two children were growing up, I would usually get the family room for myself, my wife, and our two kids because it was perfect! Not only do you have a window on each side of the train, but since you are on the lower level, you could always grab a couple of paper towels, walk outside at the next “fresh air stop”, and clean the dirty windows that Amtrak has become famous for!😉 The only other alternative for us at the time, was to get two adjoining bedrooms. That was nice because when the kids went to sleep in their room, mom and dad could close the sliding partition between the two rooms and have a little privacy! And don’t apologize for a lengthly video! - Who wants great entertainment for only 7 minutes? Keep those longer videos coming!!!

[@ryan225360]

Conductor Brad was the conductor in 2023, on my first long distance Amtrak trip ever - the Zephyr, end to end. It was awesome! He made the trip so special and I learned a ton about the scenery and history. I met some cool people, had some awesome experiences, played some great board games. It turned me into a long distance train fan.

[@66kprdwd]

The CZ is by far the best ride Amtrak offers. Not only is the scenery the best, the variety of scenery is spectacular. I’ve ridden it 5 times (3 Westbound , 2 Eastbound) and I’d be willing to ride it several more times.

[@RichardinNC1]

The California Zephyr is on my bucket list. I’ll probably start from Chicago, not just to get the beautiful overnight scenery of Nebraska but to get the full experience including Chicago Union Station.

[@mholtebeck]

The worst day on a train is still a train day. A train day on the Zephyr is never bad. I've done this both ways- and I have many on my bucket list, but my last trip will be on this trip. I'm 100% biased (my dad is a Truckee local) but the route from Reno to Roseville is the best mountain railroad I've ever been. I did after a fresh snowfall, and it's great!

[@izzieb]

Brad just continuously roasts Nebraska throughout the journey 😅.

[@LonestarTrips]

That he does, and it's hilarious. Every piece of information he gave had some roast of Nebraska in it.

[@johnsons74thsquadron74]

I had a hilarious conductor on the Southwest Chief who made a “corny joke” while passing through corn and soybean fields in rural Illinois. I wished he made these jokes over the P.A so the passengers could get a good laugh!😂

[@jonathankleinow2073]

I assume he retired to the beautiful Omaha metro area, then?

[@kevinellis8869]

Great mix of superb scenery, relevant commentary and background music - could watch forever. Looking forward to more long train trips.

[@Niteskate1]

It's always fun riding along with you, your narration adds to the experience, and with such stunning views on the California Zephyr how can you go wrong.

[@SteveGettingAroundPhilly]

Takes me back to when I rode this route as a kid on summer vacation. It's one of the reasons (alongside routes like the Empire Builder and Southwest Chief) that I say riding a long distance Amtrak train is a trip everyone should experience, not least to give people more respect for what trains can do and where they can take you.

[@awesomeman116a]

YAY ITS THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR!! I’m going on this train soon so this video was uploaded like at the perfect time

[@LonestarTrips]

It was only a matter of time before we completed the journey! And I'm glad to hear you'll be taking the journey too! It's a way cooler experience in person, and I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[@marvin6870]

Them eagles are just chilling and living life 💯🌍

[@LonestarTrips]

Heck yeah they are 😎

[@MatthewSmith-cv7op]

This is among my big list of Amtrak travel plans in the coming years. I have a big cross country trip planned in five years time.

[@ROLLMEAWAY]

I'm impressed with your writing, information, and detailed narration in your videos. You set the bar high for other KZbinrs like myself!

[@samtrak1204]

Thank you for the best CZ video I've ever seen and it thankfully only covers the most scenic part of the route between Denver and California which I thoroughly enjoyed in 1984 and 2004. I'm glad I got to see glittering downtown Reno before the trench.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Did my trip on the Zephyr thursday and yesterday. The views are incredible, especially in winter when there's snow in the "rail access only" canyons. Since I was only going to Grand Junction and back I opted for a coach seat but basically spent the entire time in the lounge car. Coach passengers can eat in the dining car but it is expensive, 20 for breakfast, 25 for lunch and 45 for dinner. Our conductor both ways was Antonio who also has quite the sense of humor. The other thing people don't typically mention about Amtrak long haul trains is the insane amount of day drinking that happens on the train haha.

[@peterdnreynolds777]

Brilliant video, amazing scenery and very interesting

[@AJFreeman-oj4rp]

The Zephyr is by far my favorite ride on Amtrak, I have ridden it between Denver and Glenwood Springs twice once one way and once round trip and between Denver and Salt Lake City twice as well one way and round trip. The scenery is awesome and I would do it again and again!!!

[@Alexriga]

I dream to take this route one day, one of the best routes in the world.

[@chathammkm]

This was a great detailed overview. I do take issue though with your title the most stunning train..... I don't think I'd ever call any Amtrak train stunning...... The view and the journey are definitely stunning!

[@stephenkeever6029]

Beautiful shot with good music selection! I was looking forward to you finishing this trip since I know you do a thorough job with good pacing. It was a delight to watch and enjoy all the way through. 42 minutes for a 33 hour trip seems right to me...

[@coolbreeze253]

When visiting my son, who owned a house on Donner Lake in Truckee, I would occasionally hike up to those tracks in the video...a great vista.

[@johnsons74thsquadron74]

Amazing footage. I certainly want to take this route someday!!

[@LonestarTrips]

Much appreciated. I too hope you can take this route someday. I can only do so much to convey the beauty through video, and experiencing it in person is way better.

[@ReginaldMcDowell]

Just took the EB Zephyr the 8th of Nov from Emeryville to Chicago. This section between Emeryville and Denver is beautiful. Glad I got to do it with some snow on the ground.

[@playwithmeinsecondlife6129]

In March 2023 I took the Southwest Chief out to LA and the California Zephyr back. As a connecting train I recommend the Sunset Limited. I took that LA to Settle this year. All wonderful trips.

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

Though I still prefer the Coast Starlight the California Zephyr is ABSOLUTELY stunning

[@mrvwbug4423]

What perfect timing, I'm taking the Zephyr in 3 weeks, just doing Denver to Grand Junction and back, but still should be great. A lot of people board the westbound train in Denver to skip the endless corn fields of the Chicago to Denver portion. And Sacramento is pretty popular for westbound passengers to disembark or eastbound to board because apparently Sacramento airport is easier to get to from the train station than getting to SFO from Emeryville.

[@joememphis1571]

When I rode the train from St. Louis to San Antonio about six or seven months ago, the butter cake was the best dessert I’ve had in years. Loved the pancakes and sausage for breakfast plus the chicken enchiladas were delicious.

[@MaureenKelly-p8d]

Thanks…..great journey….🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@Letsgobyland]

thats a nice views!

[@andrewmorin3212]

love this train! want to take it one day.

[@LonestarTrips]

It's incredible! I hope you get to experience it first hand someday.

[@PCBill0622]

Nice video and tribute to Brad. One correction though-the non-tunnel structures on Donner Pass are not to protect the tracks from rock slides. Their names are snow sheds and are located in slide areas to prevent avalanches from shutting down the railroad.

[@LonestarTrips]

Ohhhh that makes more sense. Thanks for the correction!

[@WaynoGur]

WoW! I don't know how you made the roomette look spacious. It's basically the size of a telephone booth turned sideways. For me it's: Caution! Room is smaller than it appears. ;-} The flatiron steak is always a good choice.

[@samtrak1204]

Before the trench passengers got a birdseye view of glittering downtown Reno.

[@theventuracountyrailfan]

A note from experience with the family bedroom: sleep is greatly impaired by the location next to the truck and wheels, leading to severe noise when going over switches or rail joints. Also, god have mercy if your car has a flat tire because there will be a clunk multiple times per second the whole time

[@debbest8546]

Good video.. I remember that conductor.

[@egpx]

I travelled over from the UK to sample Amtrak's long distance product last summer. I chose the Lake Shore Limited followed by the Empire Builder. Watching this video I think I should have chosen the California Zephyr! The Lake Shore Limited was underwhelming. The Empire Builder was good but the route was not nearly as spectacular as the Zephyr. We didn't have a Brad either!

[@GlobalTravelvideo]

Great video!

[@derekdestep40]

Usually in January Amtrak’s will have there special for the USA rail pass

[@TexasWorldExplorer-y5y]

You really should have played Jupiter in this video. This the most stunning Amtrak train for riding out loud. Get my joke? My favorite's actually the Southwest Chief, but route this is just stunning and it doesn't feel complete without that amazing piece.

[@LonestarTrips]

I really wanted to use Jupiter, but the timing just didn't fit how I wanted it to. Plus it was hitting 2am and I really just wanted to be done editing...

[@brendenkennedy4304]

Hi how are you doing? I was on my first Empire Builder train ride. I didn't mind the delays that we had. I hope to ride some more Amtrak trains.

[@LonestarTrips]

Glad you got to take a ride on the Empire Builder! What did you think? I hope good things seeing as you're looking to ride more trains in the future.

[@brendenkennedy4304]

@LonestarTrips The experience was a once in a lifetime change for me. I had a lot of fun. Which other Amtrak trains would I be interested in?

[@LonestarTrips]

Depends what you're after. I recommend the Coast Starlight and California Zephyr. The Coast Starlight takes you from LA to Seattle, and gives an excellent mix of ocean views and mountain passes, while the Zephyr, well, you can see in the video, it's stunning. Though you'll be happy with any of Amtrak's western long distance routes.

[@TexasWorldExplorer-y5y]

You should try out the Southwest Chief, because it offer a lot from beautiful prairies, to stunning mountains to deserts that seem like your on en entirely different planet.

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video

[@LonestarTrips]

Thank you!

[@stacydelgado3285]

Caught some air combat video on the train between an adult and juvenile bald eagle between Glenwood Springs and Winter park. It’s on my channel. Great content as always. Looking forward to your next adventure.

[@samtrak1204]

Amtrak’s Signature steak is shrinking.

[@THE_SHEFF]

I have recently done a short trip on amtrak. I would like to do a cross country trip or a longer trip at least. But not sure if I could ride coach for that duration. A roomette is to pricy unfortunately 😕

[@derekdestep40]

Please do a coach video on the California Zephyr

[@samtrak1204]

Is the Prosecco chilled?

[@allevi5158]

If you want scenery, take the trip during Summer when the rafters are in the Colorado River and show off their moon 😅

[@patriciaaturner289]

I do believe that should be “WAH-satch”.

[@Cristian-005]

Opinions on Nebraska?

[@timbacchus]

Does the amtrack cafes take a credit card or just cash?

[@coreyh233]

hello

[@LonestarTrips]

Howdy!

[@ItsKing32]

What did Nebraska do to this guy?

[@Neville60001]

Wouldn't it be better for Amtrak to have two locomotives, one at each end?

[@YukonGhibli]

Bravo sir

[@MrThecroatian]

This was an enjoyable video, but I felt that the Colorado salute thing was too much information.

[@LonestarTrips]

It’s part of the experience, and they make sure to explain it on the train lol.

[@vyacheslavpivkin7924]

Интересно, это земли Команчей?..

[@YukonGhibli]

nyet...no it is not kid.

[@bigbilly7865]

🚆🚆🚆🚆🚆

[@vette1]

conductors brad gotta be Nebraskas #1 hater

[@jamesh1641]

This is over a year old now.

[@LonestarTrips]

No it's not lol.

[@jamesh1641]

@@LonestarTrips when was it? Brad referenced the Colorado win over Nebraska that was way last year.

[@LonestarTrips]

@@jamesh1641 This video was filmed on June 27th-28th, 2024. Brad referenced the game from the year before, but I can see how it would be confusing.

[@frontier_etc]

Much prefer the term "fresh air break." "Smoke break" makes it seem like the train is stopping just for smokers

[@LonestarTrips]

Me too, which is why I've started using it more.

[@bobxxxl]

Funny part is it’s not “fresh air” if people are smoking Btw sorry about that

[@ericsimandl3998]

Mispronounces Nevada constantly. It's not Nev-AH-da. The second syllable rhymes with "bad" or "mad".

[@LonestarTrips]

Ok.