Sandwiches, snacks and coffee are on sale in the lounge car at almost any time and this is an ideal place to become better acquainted with your fellow passengers. Americans like to talk and on trains will often tell you their life story in hair-raising detail. Video films are shown in the evenings and the bar becomes lively with impromptu parties and poker games which can last till dawn. Overnight trains are equipped with traditional sleeping cars housing cosy bedrooms that range from single 'roomettes' to family size affairs, although some are snug to the point of being cramped. Accommodation includes breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining car as well as complimentary tea or coffee and a newspaper delivered each morning.
Standards are high, even if chicken and steak can become monotonous after a while.
Luckily, the menu often includes a regional special such as freshly-caught trout or barbecued spare ribs. Some passengers arrive on board loaded with their personal supplies of food and sodas but this is not encouraged. Among the best trains to ride is the Southwest Chief, which takes the fastest route between Chicago and the Pacific by following the Santa Fe Trail first used by Native Americans then by Spanish conquistadors, wagon trains and stage coaches. At Dodge City you can look left and see Boot Hill, burial ground of many an outlaw and gunfighter. Beyond Albuquerque, the train crosses Arizona's desert country to Flagstaff, from where you can travel to the southern rim of the inspiring Grand Canyon.