“The total for a one-way ticket was $850 for First Class and $220 for coach,” Alison explained.
She recalled a sense of accomplishment and sadness, knowing the trip was in its last act.Īn excursion like this must cost a fortune, no? Actually, considering how much of the country you get to see at once, it’s not terrible at all if you know how to budget. After arriving in Emeryville, there was a bus that took Alison into San Francisco. Other highlights towards the end of the trip included the wild mustangs running across Nevada, the trip past Truckee and over Donner Pass at the entrance to the Sierra Nevada, and finally the ride from Reno to Sacramento. There was a woman traveling to see her mother for the first time in nearly twenty years, a family with two young kids, and a student who was traveling home from college. It was amazing.”Īlison interacted with passengers of different backgrounds, from the retired Texan couple who invited her to join them for lunch, to the photographer kind enough to calibrate her camera for her. Everyone gasped, and as I looked down, we were skirting the side of a cliff with nothing but forest below.
We burst out of the tunnel to a total whitewash of snow, and a huge ski resort in Winter Park. “The energy was palpable, and as we entered the tunnel, my friends warned me to keep my eyes peeled for what was to come when we exited. “We left Denver’s Union Station and did a slow climb high into the front range of the Rocky Mountains to the Moffat Tunnel, which crosses the continental divide,” she said. At the suggestion of other passengers, she went to the observer car, which afforded an enviable 180 degree view. When she woke up, Alison was treated to a spectacular sunrise in Denver. We passed into upstate New York, then through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and finally Illinois.”Īlison enjoyed a few hours’ layover in Chicago, taking advantage of the perks of being a First Class passenger, like access to a special lounge with televisions, snacks, showers, a bar and more. We pulled out of the city, hugging the Hudson River. “I started out in New York City, on the Lakeshore Limited train. The long haul from the east to the west coast was life-changing for Alison, and she described the transition from state to state in vivid detail. Some use it as a means to get from one city to another- more as transportation than as a journey.” “I haven’t met too many Black train enthusiasts, but I think Black people do travel by train quite a bit. Most of the die-hard train fans Alison meets are white male retirees with the time and finances to put towards frequent train travel. It’s hard to describe, but it feels like an escape.”
“There’s a sort of romanticism when it comes to train travel. “Trains in the United States travel through picturesque, small towns, and when I was young, I liked to fantasize what the lives of the people living in them were like,” Alison said. The long hours allow her to connect with other passengers, reflect, rest, and take in dramatic scenery.
That passion took on new dimensions in adulthood, and though she went a different direction career wise, trains have a special place in her heart. You meet more people that way.”Įver since she was a little girl in Brooklyn, Alison loved trains, and aspired to be a conductor.
“I plan to ride all eight, from start to finish. “Amtrak has about eight long-distance trains, and three of them, the California Zephyr, the Southwest Chief and the Coast Starlight are often listed as the most scenic in the world,” Alison told Travel Noire. It’s her goal to take every long distance route Amtrak offers. Her bucket list trip happened in 2018, when she went from New York to San Francisco. Flying may be the swiftest way to travel, but Alison Mason enjoys the scenic experience of long train rides that provide more than getting to the destination quickly.