The roomette was an upgrade from coach seating, but a step down from Amtrak's larger bedrooms. Even though it was just 20 square feet, it's the only way I'd take a long-distance train again. In ...

This month, I went on my first cross-country train trip, a 57-hour ride from Montana to New York. After a lifetime traveling in coach, I upgraded to a roomette, Amtrak's mid-level accommodation. The ...

The route: Empire Builder travels between Chicago and Seattle/Portland, a 46-hour trip. The East Glacier station is open only seasonally, but the Essex and West Glacier stations are open year-round.

NEAR WAGNER, Montana — The train rolls past distant hills — mountains, an easterner would call them. But it’s just a tease. Out here is mostly prairie and thin wire fences and undulating gray moguls ...

I booked a roomette on Amtrak's Empire Builder, a 32-hour train from Montana to Chicago. The roomette was an upgrade from coach seating, but a step down from Amtrak's larger bedrooms. Even though it ...