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I finally took an overnight train from Chicago to Pennsylvania to try it out. Got an Amtrak Roomette. It cost a fortune (relative to flying.) Could not fall as

I finally took an overnight train from Chicago to Pennsylvania to try it out. Got an Amtrak Roomette. It cost a fortune (relative to flying.) Could not fall asleep at all due to the jerky motion. Do not recommend. I have no idea why anyone would prefer this to flying.

lucb1e 2y ago
Similar experience in Germany, felt like I did not sleep a wink. I did get a lot of audiobook done during that time though! (And I felt surprisingly okay during the next day, so perhaps my brain did get some amount/form of downtime) Had expected the train to do like 60 km/h or so because there is no rush, everyone's sleeping, saves costs (wear and energy), easier scheduling by having the same speed as freight, and if the trains normally handle more-than-double speeds then this would be butter smooth. Nah, not a chance. From start to finish it felt like it was springing from station to station, with pretty old equipment so it was loud, plus every station of every tiny village was bright because no curtains, and the shaking and squeaking around curves and especially points/switches were madness. Asked the passenger from my cabin who got off at the same stop in the morning: he slept great! Maybe when the novelty wears off and you get used to it, it gets better? I can report back when I do this next time, but for now I'm also left wondering if it's a personal thing. (I'm sufficiently concerned about the rate of climate warming that I'll definitely try this again, it's only a matter of when I'd travel to a sufficiently far destination)
- ghaff 2y ago
  Those few times I've taken a sleeper, both private (Europe) and shared (China) rooms, I haven't slept as if I were in my own bed but I got a decent enough amount of sleep to call it a a "night's rest." But, then, it's also not unusual that, jet-lag or not, I'll have trouble getting to sleep in a hotel especially first night or so of a trip. So I guess I sleep well enough on trains (and on lie-flat seats in planes).

lucb1e 2y ago

Similar experience in Germany, felt like I did not sleep a wink. I did get a lot of audiobook done during that time though! (And I felt surprisingly okay during the next day, so perhaps my brain did get some amount/form of downtime) Had expected the train to do like 60 km/h or so because there is no rush, everyone's sleeping, saves costs (wear and energy), easier scheduling by having the same speed as freight, and if the trains normally handle more-than-double speeds then this would be butter smooth. Nah, not a chance. From start to finish it felt like it was springing from station to station, with pretty old equipment so it was loud, plus every station of every tiny village was bright because no curtains, and the shaking and squeaking around curves and especially points/switches were madness. Asked the passenger from my cabin who got off at the same stop in the morning: he slept great! Maybe when the novelty wears off and you get used to it, it gets better? I can report back when I do this next time, but for now I'm also left wondering if it's a personal thing. (I'm sufficiently concerned about the rate of climate warming that I'll definitely try this again, it's only a matter of when I'd travel to a sufficiently far destination)

ghaff 2y ago
Those few times I've taken a sleeper, both private (Europe) and shared (China) rooms, I haven't slept as if I were in my own bed but I got a decent enough amount of sleep to call it a a "night's rest." But, then, it's also not unusual that, jet-lag or not, I'll have trouble getting to sleep in a hotel especially first night or so of a trip. So I guess I sleep well enough on trains (and on lie-flat seats in planes).