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7 great reasons 1> experience the unexpected Train experiences typically top anything that's possible when you're crammed in seat 21B of a 747. People don't get off airplanes with memories of taking a moving shower or of being followed by a bald eagle while winding through the Rockies. The reasons trains have fallen out of favor among many travelers-the pace, the minor indign ities, and the unpredictability of traveling companions-are the same reasons trains are idea l for an experience out of the ordinary. For example: On our way through Arizona to the Grand Canyon, we're sitting in the dining car, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Our harried dining-car attendant told us that everything was off-schedule because the dishwasher broke down, and she hasn't been back since. Suddenly the train slows to a halt in the middle of nowhere. From our seats, we see members of the kitchen staff, along with a conductor, exit the train and march around the curve of a dry hill. We have no idea what they're doing, and it doesn't help that there's sti ll no one around to ask. A few minutes later they return with armloads of paper plates bought at a store I never would have guessed was there. "Now that's service!" says one of my traveling companions. The food, eventually, is fantastic. This kind of thing happens all the time to tra in travelers. Not this particular malfunction and improvised solution, necessarily, but the unpredictability, the anecdotes and the camaraderie unique to the rail experience. 2> take the long way home Unlike airplanes, trains don't take any shortcuts to get to their destination. Like it or not, they take you along every river, around every bend, and over every mountain pass on routes than run for hundreds or even thousands of miles. Routes such as Amtrak's California Zephyr-which runs daily between Chicago and the Bay Area-give you close-ups of the terrain across more than half the continent, and the Zephyr makes a climb into the Rockies outside Denver that is one of the most stunning rail journeys in the world. The Empire Builder runs between Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, passes through the Rockies in Montana and travels for hours through secluded forests in Washington State. On the City of New Orleans, you could catch a glimpse of a gator, sunning itself in the swamps of Louisiana. Trains cal led the Southwest Chief, the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited show the mesas, deserts and pueblos of the southwest. The trains take routes that offer views you just can't get from the highway. Of course, ra il travel includes less savory views such as factory complexes, urban sprawl and rusty 19th-century railyards-especially on the East Coast between Boston, Washington and other big industrial centers. Be patient with the urban areas, however, because when you hit the countryside, the scenery will be well worth it. One reason why rail vistas can be so impressive is that trains have a much smaller "footprint" than cars. Instead of double and triple-lane highways with a median strip, shoulders, and gas stations, drive-thrus and chain stores perforating the way, many rail routes run on a single track just a few feet wide, with little or no development in sight. You get an up-close and ever-changing view-sometimes through windows that extend almost from floor to ceiling in specially designed observation cars on most cross-country trains. It's perfect for getting close to snow-capped mountains, austere deserts and canyons, and quiet forest groves and bayous. 3> stop where the action is While airliners can only land in networks of concrete and asphalt that are far, far away from anywhere you're likely to hike, bike, swim, or ski, trains make plenty of stops along the way, and they go directly to some parks, including the Grand Canyon, Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies, and Glacier National Park in Montana. Amtrak's Empire Builder, for instance, stops literal ly across the street from a historic lodge near one entrance to Glacier. The California Zephyr stops in Glenwood Springs, a town with opportunities for hiking, biking, and kayaking in and around Colorado's spectacular Glenwood Canyon. The Southwest Chief puts you within a two-hour connection-via bus or a special vintage train- to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. A variety of Amtrak trains also include on-board narration in the observation car on points of historic and scenic interest, by park rangers and other guides. Connections are also available to hundreds of other outdoor destinations, and some railroads offer programs geared for adventure travelers. Amtrak serves dozens of ski areas throughout the country, including Winter Park, CO, and Killington, VT, often with bus or shuttle service provided to and from train depots by loca l ski resorts. For information on ski areas served by Amtrak call 866-SKI-AMTRAK. 38 4> you can bring your bike! With an abundance of space and a pro-adventure attitude, tra ins are especia lly gear friend ly. For bikers, in May 2002 Amtra k launches a "Bikes-on-Board" program in the northeast. The service involves specially outfitted baggage cars with bicycle racks. You can also take other gear like skis, snowboards, surfboards and more-just make sure you pack your gear carefully to protect it during handling. Before making a reservation, make sure your train has a baggage car. On short-run trains you may be limited to overhead luggage racks where it would be more difficult, though not impossible, to store a mountain bike or surfboard. Amtrak cha rges a $5 fee to check big gear items like these. 5> travel eco-friendly Traveling by train can take you through the wilderness, while simultaneously having less of an impact on it than does automobile or airplane travel. According to US Department of Energy studies, trains use about half the energy per passenger-mile than planes do, and less than ca rs as well. Railroads also help resist sprawl. Hundreds of train riders can pass through a corridor just a few feet wide in a matter of seconds, with no need to build extra lanes for more and more individual vehicles. "There is a lot of capacity that we can squeeze out of existing rail corridors before you need to acquire land-and we don't think that's true for airports and highways," says Scott Leonard, assistant director for the Washington, DC-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. Most trains also originate and end at downtown stations surrounded by dense urban development, instead of at far-flung, sprawl-prone airports. 6> save your beans If you're looking for a deal, trains can also be an ideal choice. Last-minute bargains from Amtrak.com occasionally include one-way fares as low as $88 between cities like Chicago and New York, or as little as $163 between Chicago and San Francisco. Amtrak and VIA Rai l Canada offer an equivalent to Europe's popular Eurail pass: With the North America Rail pass, you get 30 days of unlimited travel to any of 900 destinations along 28,000 miles of track. The only catch is that you have to travel in both countries, and you have to plan your itinerary in advance. You can change it if space is available. The price for the pass varies seasonally and costs US$471 to $674. Private sleeping accommodations cost extra, and they're expensive. On Amtrak, they start around $258 a night for a snug compartment for two, including meals, and the cost of the sleeper is added to the price you pay for your ticket. It's sort of like paying to stay in a luxury hotel, but you are putting miles behind you while you do it and will have plenty to see. When it comes to basic fares, however, seats can be incredibly cheap. Other discount fa res are availa ble if you want to make multiple stops, and you can often make three or four stops-hundreds of miles apart-for less than you would pay for a single round-trip plane ticket. This option is especially attractive when you compare it to the notoriously baffling and high prices offered by airl ines as soon as you try to do anything other than travel round-trip. 7> live in the moment The first time I took a long train trip, I hated it. The trip was scheduled to last more than a day, and on top of that it was hours late. I made the mistake of expecting train travel to be like traveling on a plane. So I sat in my seat and read, listened to music, and did whatever I could to pass the time. In other words, I did everythi~g but notice and take advantage of all the things that make the train unique, Since then I've learned to simply look out the window more and find out about what we're passing by. I make myself available for conversations with other people who are along for the ride. I connect the dots between friends in different ci ties by making multiple stops on the same ticket. I watch the nighttime countryside roll by before falling asleep. And I spend more time looking at the map and planning future tra in trips. to take a train Also for outdoor travelers, last year Amtrak and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced a Florida Resident Rail Pass, which provides a year of ra il travel inside the state for $249. The agencies are making a special effort to promote the train as a way of reaching Florida's 154 state parks. VIA Rail Canada, meanwhile, goes even further, making it possible for travelers to get out virtual ly anywhere in the Canadian backcountry that's along a rail route. You can plan ahead for drop-offs and pick-ups at specific times, and you-along with equipment like a mountain bike or kayak-can be let off in areas that are far from any roads. Benoit Laporte, who spearheaded the introduction of VIA's unscheduled stops, says the ra ilroad reorganized its schedules several years ago to run more during daylight hours and "to focus more towards adventure travelers."