“Brother, have you seen the starlight on the rails? Have you heard the thunder of the fast express? The great trains cleave through gulch and gully, they rumble with spoked thunder on the bridges over the brown wash of mighty rivers, they toil through hills, they skirt the rough brown stubble of shorn fields, they whip past the empty stations in the little towns and their great stride pounds its even pulse across America.”
– Thomas Wolfe, “Of Time and The River”
NEW VIDEO SERIES! A North American Train Odyssey (Canada & the U.S. by rail):
Join us for a scenic land cruise across Canada & the U.S. on VIA Rail’s “Canadian” & Amtrak’s “Empire Builder” here: A North American Train Odyssey (Canada & the U.S. by rail)
NEW VIDEO SERIES! Chicago to San Francisco on Amtrak’s California Zephyr – Round Trip, Dec 2023
Join us for a scenic land cruise across the United States on Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” here: Chicago to San Francisco on Amtrak’s California Zephyr – Round Trip, Dec 2023
An overview of the train routes shown on this website:
***Indicates a rare mileage trip: passenger train operation on a normally freight-only line, usually by a regular service passenger train on a detour; or a seldom-operated tour train; or a one-time specially chartered train; or a route where passenger service is discontinued.
CANADA EAST:
Aldershot, ON – Niagara Falls, ON: (‘The Maple Leaf’- Amtrak)
For pics of the route see pages on The Maple Leaf, The California Zephyr and also The Empire Builder.
Montreal, QC – Halifax, NS via Campbellton NB: (‘The Ocean’ – VIA Rail)
For pics of the route see page on The Ocean.
Montreal, QC – Halifax, NS via Edmundston, NB: (‘The Ocean’ – VIA Rail) ***
For pics of the route see page on The Ocean.
Montreal, QC – Gaspe, QC (‘The Chaleur’ – VIA Rail)
For pics of the route see page on The Chaleur.
Milton, ON (The Halton County Radial Railway)
For pics of the route see page on The Halton County Radial Railway.
Toronto, ON – Cochrane, ON (‘The Northlander’ – Ontario Northland Railway) ***
For pics of the route see page on The Northlander.
Belleville, ON – Kingston, ON (VIA Train 50)
For pics of the route see page on VIA Train 50.
Aldershot, ON – Windsor, ON (VIA Train 71)
For pics of the route see page on VIA Train 71.
Aldershot, ON – Sarnia, ON (VIA Train 87)
For pics of the route see page on VIA Train 87.
Sault Ste Marie, ON – Agawa Canyon, ON (Agawa Canyon Tour Train – CN)
For pics of the route see page on Agawa Canyon Tour Train.
Sault Ste Marie, ON – Agawa Canyon, ON (The Agawa Canyon Tour Train Revisited- CN)
For pics of the route see page on The Agawa Canyon Tour Train Revisited.
CANADA WEST:
Feature Video Series: A North American Train Odyssey (Canada & the U.S. by rail) April 2023
For videos of the route see page on A North American Train Odyssey (Canada & the U.S. by rail) April 2023
Feature Video: A Trip on VIA Rail’s ‘Canadian’ (Vancouver, BC -Toronto, ON) March 2022
For a video of the route see page on A Trip on VIA Rail’s ‘Canadian’ (Vancouver, BC -Toronto, ON) March 2022
Jasper, AB – Prince Rupert, BC (‘The Skeena’ – VIA Rail)
For pics of the route see page on A Trip on VIA Rail’s ‘Skeena’ (Jasper, AB – Prince Rupert, BC)
Toronto, ON – Winnipeg, MB – Jasper, AB -Vancouver, BC (‘The Canadian’ – VIA Rail) 2017
For pics of the route see page on A Trip on VIA Rail’s ‘Canadian’.
Toronto, ON – Vancouver, BC (‘The Canadian’ – VIA Rail)
For pics of the route see page on The Canadian & also The Rocky Mountaineer.
Calgary, AB – Vancouver, BC (‘The Rocky Mountaineer’)
For pics of the route see page on The Rocky Mountaineer.
Port Alberni, BC (Alberni Pacific Railway steam train)
For pics of the route see page on The Rocky Mountaineer.
USA EAST:
Philadelphia, PA – New York, NY (Amtrak’s Acela Express)
For pics of the route see page on Amtrak’s Acela Express
Buffalo, NY – New York, NY (Amtrak Empire Service)
For pics of the route see page on Amtrak Empire Service, Keystone Service
& New Jersey Transit , The Strasburg Railroad and The Silver Meteor.
New York, NY – Philadelphia, PA (Amtrak Keystone Service)
For pics of the route see page on Amtrak Empire Service, Keystone Service
& New Jersey Transit
Philadelphia, PA – Atlantic City, NJ (New Jersey Transit)
For pics of the route see page on Amtrak Empire Service, Keystone Service
& New Jersey Transit
New York, NY – Lancaster, PA (Amtrak Keystone Service)
For pics of the route see page on The Strasburg Railroad.
Strasburg, PA (The Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania)
For pics of the route see page on The Strasburg Railroad.
Akron, OH (Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad)
For pics of the route see page on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
New York, NY – Miami, FL (‘The Silver Meteor’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Silver Meteor
Buffalo – Corning, NY (The ‘Erie Limited’ Steam Train)***
For pics of the route see page on The ‘Erie Limited’ Steam Train.
USA WEST:
Feature Video Series: Chicago to San Francisco on Amtrak’s California Zephyr – Round Trip, Dec 2023
For videos of the route see page on Chicago to San Francisco on Amtrak’s California Zephyr – Round Trip, Dec 2023
Toronto, ON – Buffalo, NY (‘The Maple Leaf’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Empire Builder and also The California Zephyr.
Buffalo, NY – Chicago, IL (‘The Lakeshore Limited’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Empire Builder and also The California Zephyr & The Grand Canyon Limited and The California State Railroad Museum.
Chicago, IL – Emeryville, CA/San Francisco Bay Area (‘The California Zephyr’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see pages on The California Zephyr and also The California State Railroad Museum.
Sacramento, CA (The California State Railroad Museum) for pics of the route see page on The California State Railroad Museum.
Chicago, IL – Seattle, WA (‘The Empire Builder’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Empire Builder.
Chicago, IL – Portland, OR (‘The Empire Builder’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Grand Canyon Limited.
Portland, OR – Los Angeles, CA (‘The Coast Starlight’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Grand Canyon Limited and also The California State Railroad Museum.
Los Angeles, CA – Williams, AZ (‘The Grand Canyon Limited’ steam train) ***
For pics of the route see page on The Grand Canyon Limited.
Williams, AZ – Grand Canyon, AZ (The Grand Canyon Railway)
For pics of the route see page on The Grand Canyon Limited.
Williams, AZ – Chicago, IL (‘The Southwest Chief’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The Grand Canyon Limited.
Los Angeles – Chicago, IL (‘The Southwest Chief’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on The California State Railroad Museum.
Sandpoint, ID – Livingston, MT (‘The Montana Daylight’) ***
For pics of the route see page on The Montana Daylight.
Chicago, IL – Whitefish, MT – Yellowstone Park – Seattle, WA (‘The Empire Builder’ – Amtrak)
For pics of the route see page on Amtrak’s Empire Builder Revisited
www.northamericabyrail.info is not a company or a travel agency and is not affiliated with any railroads indicated on this website. www.northamericabyrail.info is a non profit personal site documenting the authors travels. The information on this site is posted in an effort to assist and inform, but we do not take responsibility for any inaccuracy. All pages & photos © www.northamericabyrail.info unless otherwise indicated.