how many of you have traveled by train?

[Anonymous]

my sister is getting married next summer in calif and we live in texas. we usually travel by plane, but after looking into it, we saw its cheaper to take a train then to fly. it will take longer. but we also have 2 small children and figure it will be easier to deal with them on a train then plane anyways as there is more room for them to move and walk around.

anybody else travel by train? any advice or suggestions/tips? I see they do have dining cars and that. but can you bring snacks along too? also I see you can get just seats or a family room for sleeping. although that adds on another $800. is it worth it? or are the seats just fine? our trip will end up being a total of 28 hours but its straight thru. no changing trains anywhere. what do you think?

[mama2ameira]

I.traveled from pa to Niagara falls ny. it was horrible. i boarded 10 pm the night before and.didn't get there til 3pm the next day. its only a 5 hour drive. and.the seats are.uncomfortable to sleep in. I'd get a fancy room thing

[owl0210]

I take the train every day to work lol.  I've also taken train rides from Boston to NYC a few times. I wouldn't do a long train ride the kids might get antsy. I'd fly if I were you.

[minnesotamommie]

they are long, the seats are as uncomfortable as airplane seats and trains are filled with creepy people, plus train schedules are NEVER ontime. I would suck it up and pay for plane tickets

[AjCeCeMom]

I just got off a plane with two small kids. It's really not that bad. Just take your car seats!

[night.magic]

 Only train I've ever been on is the one at the zoo. But it sure seems like a fun way to travel, and I would love to do that one day with my dh and dd's.

[Anonymous 1 - Original Poster]

Quoting mama2ameira:

I.traveled from pa to Niagara falls ny. it was horrible. i boarded 10 pm the night before and.didn't get there til 3pm the next day. its only a 5 hour drive. and.the seats are.uncomfortable to sleep in. I'd get a fancy room thing

ya our train would leave at like 2am on a thursday and not get there till like 6am the next day. so just over 24 hours. will be a long train ride. but a lot less stressful then flying. flying would only take 8 hours, but we would have to change plain several times. hard to do when you have 2 kids, 1 of them being an infant. it costs an extra $800 to get a private sleeping room. but might be worth it with the kids.

[thefiregoddess]

This. I'm from Philly... trains are a part of life.

Take the plane, seriously.

I took the train from philly to newport news and i thought i was going to die from ass pain.

Quoting owl0210:

I take the train every day to work lol.  I've also taken train rides from Boston to NYC a few times. I wouldn't do a long train ride the kids might get antsy. I'd fly if I were you.

[Sunshine257]

I use trains all the time but I am in Europe. My brother took a train from Dallas to Waco and the trains are never on time. He didn't complain about it. I personally would pay the extra for a plane ticket 28 hours is way to long. I have to fly 15 16 hours when I go back to the states with my son and it is hell! I usually time it where he sleeps on the plane but it is still hell when he is awake. I can't imagine having more kids. We do buy gifts for every hour to keep him occupied but he is always trying to get out of his seat.

[Anonymous 1 - Original Poster]

Quoting owl0210:

I take the train every day to work lol.  I've also taken train rides from Boston to NYC a few times. I wouldn't do a long train ride the kids might get antsy. I'd fly if I were you.

well 1 child would be 10 yrs old and the other would be an infant. the 10 year old will be fine. he can just bring his dsi and my husband has a kindle plus we can bring a dvd player. he won't be an issue. he is easy to entertain. I just think on a train it would be easier cuz if by chance he does get a little antsy its easier to get up and move around. there is space to get up and walk around. a plane you are just stuck in your seat. plus we are worried with the baby and the air pressure her ears getting messed up and her getting fussy. a train we wouldn't have that problem. we can get up and walk her around much easier. plus get the private sleeper room if we want to.

[Kaya529]

I would rather travel by train anytime. I know because I have been on planes, trains, buses and cars. I enjoy getting to see the country, My back doesn't hurt as bad when I get there, and you don't have to go through all the security. Though I have yet to travel long distance with DS so I am not sure about that part.