Rail and land
Southwest Chief
A two-night journey from Chicago to Los Angeles. You see Raton Pass and Apache Canyon from the sightseer lounge.
The train
The Southwest Chief runs between Chicago and Los Angeles. The trip is about forty-three hours. A roomette has a bed and a door.
West of Albuquerque the train crosses the high desert toward Gallup and Winslow. The San Francisco Peaks stand above Flagstaff. On many dates you pass them in the dark. A daylight look at Raton Pass and Apache Canyon is the westbound afternoon.
Where the train actually stops
The train pauses in Lamy for about four minutes. A van from there goes to a hotel in Santa Fe. Santa Fe is not at the platform.
In Albuquerque the train stops for about forty minutes, long enough for the platform and the vendors beside it. Old Town is about two miles away. If you want the plaza and the church of San Felipe de Neri, get off and stay the night.
The Flagstaff stop is a few minutes, and on many dates the train is there at night. The South Rim is about an hour and a half by road from Flagstaff. Amtrak has listed a bus at Williams Junction for the Grand Canyon Railway, a separate train from Williams to the rim. If you want to walk the Rim Trail, that is a night off the Chief.
Meals
Meals in the dining car come with a roomette: breakfast, lunch, and a three-course dinner, plus room service. At breakfast you can order railroad French toast or a three-egg omelet. At dinner you can order steak, chicken, or salmon. Amtrak changes the menu.
The cafe is on the lower level of the sightseer lounge. Every passenger can buy sandwiches, snacks, and drinks there. A coach passenger gets a dining-car table only if the sleeper guests have not filled it, and that meal is a separate charge.