This is a wonderful experience... Entering the Rocky Mts after Denver as the train does the “big ten curves” is great. When the train gets to the top of the hill you can look back and see Denver on a clear day.
Great production of this video of the California Zephyr. Thank you for not having music on this video. Too many videos made by others have music thrown on.
Thanks so much for the great video! I am thinking about taking this trip toward the end of February and wanted to get your thoughts on if you believe it's a good time of year to take it with all of the snow and the shortened daylight hours. Just want to make sure I'm able to see the great features! Thanks!
I did the trip beginning of February - all scenic parts of the trip were during daytime - end of February should be fine. Traveling from east to west you’ll gain an hour each day - I went to bed early and up very early.
Wonderful. Thanks for the video. I wonder if I wanna to enjoy the Colorado canyons in journey towards Chicago, which Amtrak station is the nearest? I am thinking not to board all over from San Francisco.
Once while I was on the CZ riding in a sleeping car, I observed a live birth take place on the train, I’m not joking. Back in late March 2019, I was on the California Zephyr going from Davis to Glenwood Springs and on the train, there was pregnant 19 year old girl from SFSU traveling from Emeryville to Denver with her boyfriend. They normally fly home from college for holidays/breaks but because their due date was close (due date was April 5th and they departed on March 29th), they had to use the train since airlines do not allow women to fly in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. During the ride at 1 AM, the girl’s water broke and the attendant for our sleeping car (Justin Woods, a young guy in his early 20s) volunteered to deliver the baby since he had seen how it was done online. The girl agreed and Justin did so in which he went into the first aid kit, got his gloves on, then squeezed himself into the roomette to have the girl push while he caught the baby when she was born. The baby ended up being born on the train - a healthy baby girl in a ROOMETTE!!! It was a fabulous story and the girl, her newborn and boyfriend were taken off the train by paramedics at the next railroad crossing (train was in a remote location between Elko and Salt Lake City at the moment which required a helicopter ambulance to meet the train). As it is, I observed the whole thing as I was holding the girl’s left leg as well as recording this with her boyfriend’s phone. I’ve wondered - if you are female, suppose this happened to you where you (or your wife/girlfriend) suddenly went into labor on an Amtrak train and the train was going across a remote location at the moment. Would you at all be able to tolerate giving birth unmediated, while crammed into a Roomette, on a bed that was not flexible (unlike in the hospital), on a train that speeding up to 90 MPH, the baby’s umbilical cord having to stay attached to you until you got to a hospital (no scissors/clamps on the train), and the person delivering your baby is an Amtrak conductor/attendant with no medical training or license of any kind??? Seriously, this girl was incredibly brave and was lucky that there were no complications, PLUS it only took 20 minutes for her to push the baby out (water broke at 1 AM, and the baby was born at 1:22 AM) What do you think of all this!!!???
Well, I guarantee that any woman ready to give birth "would be able to tolerate" pretty much any survivable situation...when the baby is ready, it is coming, like it or not. Women have been doing this since the dawn of man, and only recently are there options for medications (you wrote 'unmediation'...I presume you did not mean 'without mediation', in other words, without any kind of artificial assistance). Indeed, many women still prefer natural childbirth, often not in a hospital...it is hardly a requirement! There is not even any need for anyone else to be present. And scissors are not required for the umbilical cord, women used to bite them through, and there are definitely scissors and knives available on board the trains.
I took the CZ from Martinez, CA. all the way to Chicago...57 hrs. I had a roomette and I was alone. I strongly recommend at least a roomette...never coach. You will be very sorry!
Thank you for posting this! Very helpful. Great camerawork. Two questions... was your room warm enough? was the water in the shower warm enough? Thank you!
Thank you. I’m a Mac user and using iMovie for editing and captions - it’s a free movie editor for Mac users - record the individual scenes long enough and avoid panning. Enjoy your Empire Builder journey and video editing.
Thank you so much for this video! It is beautiful! I am going this year in mid February. I heard that there's a bus, provided by Amtrak, that takes you from Emeryville station to San Francisco. Do you know how to access that? Do you know if this bus goes to the SFO Airport?
I did purchase my ticket in the Amtrak app ( or web) - Ticket was from Chicago Union Station (CHI) to San Francisco Chase. Bank (SFC) which did include the bus transfer from the Train Station Emeryville. Took a taxi from there to my hotel Do not know about bus from Emeryville to SFO. Be aware - In February you might expect delays- our train was three hours late due to engine break down - we did have a Union Pacific Engine replacement from Winnemucca.
Thank you so much for posting this wonderful video of your journey. I tried to make it, but my mistake I reserved from Philadelphia and only could make it to Chicago because I couldn't sleep in coach. Look forward next trip to at least reserving a roomette. After watching your video, I want to go in the winter. 🏔️🏞️🤩 🚅❄️
Probably both sides - if I should choose I’ll say left side going in direction Chicago to San Francisco- I did frequently move from one side to another.
Great video thanks
Great video. Beautiful camerawork of this spectacular trip. I've taken it 3 times and I never tire of it.
Thank you - enjoyable trip
This is a wonderful experience... Entering the Rocky Mts after Denver as the train does the “big ten curves” is great. When the train gets to the top of the hill you can look back and see Denver on a clear day.
See denver Colorado????
Great production of this video of the California Zephyr. Thank you for not having music on this video. Too many videos made by others have music thrown on.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you for taking us along on your great adventure !!! Katy Buie
Would love to visit Illinois someday
Thank you for making this video! :)
Thank you for your comment!
Beautiful! I want to ride this soooooo bad! Thanks for sharing
Thank you - hope you'll get there soon.
@@mogenshallas me too!
Thanks so much for the great video! I am thinking about taking this trip toward the end of February and wanted to get your thoughts on if you believe it's a good time of year to take it with all of the snow and the shortened daylight hours. Just want to make sure I'm able to see the great features! Thanks!
I did the trip beginning of February - all scenic parts of the trip were during daytime - end of February should be fine. Traveling from east to west you’ll gain an hour each day - I went to bed early and up very early.
Foarte frumos
Wonderful. Thanks for the video. I wonder if I wanna to enjoy the Colorado canyons in journey towards Chicago, which Amtrak station is the nearest? I am thinking not to board all over from San Francisco.
Nearest to where?
Once while I was on the CZ riding in a sleeping car, I observed a live birth take place on the train, I’m not joking. Back in late March 2019, I was on the California Zephyr going from Davis to Glenwood Springs and on the train, there was pregnant 19 year old girl from SFSU traveling from Emeryville to Denver with her boyfriend. They normally fly home from college for holidays/breaks but because their due date was close (due date was April 5th and they departed on March 29th), they had to use the train since airlines do not allow women to fly in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. During the ride at 1 AM, the girl’s water broke and the attendant for our sleeping car (Justin Woods, a young guy in his early 20s) volunteered to deliver the baby since he had seen how it was done online. The girl agreed and Justin did so in which he went into the first aid kit, got his gloves on, then squeezed himself into the roomette to have the girl push while he caught the baby when she was born. The baby ended up being born on the train - a healthy baby girl in a ROOMETTE!!! It was a fabulous story and the girl, her newborn and boyfriend were taken off the train by paramedics at the next railroad crossing (train was in a remote location between Elko and Salt Lake City at the moment which required a helicopter ambulance to meet the train). As it is, I observed the whole thing as I was holding the girl’s left leg as well as recording this with her boyfriend’s phone. I’ve wondered - if you are female, suppose this happened to you where you (or your wife/girlfriend) suddenly went into labor on an Amtrak train and the train was going across a remote location at the moment. Would you at all be able to tolerate giving birth unmediated, while crammed into a Roomette, on a bed that was not flexible (unlike in the hospital), on a train that speeding up to 90 MPH, the baby’s umbilical cord having to stay attached to you until you got to a hospital (no scissors/clamps on the train), and the person delivering your baby is an Amtrak conductor/attendant with no medical training or license of any kind??? Seriously, this girl was incredibly brave and was lucky that there were no complications, PLUS it only took 20 minutes for her to push the baby out (water broke at 1 AM, and the baby was born at 1:22 AM) What do you think of all this!!!???
Incredible story. Very unique situation. Glad to hear things turned out great with the baby being healthy.
Well, I guarantee that any woman ready to give birth "would be able to tolerate" pretty much any survivable situation...when the baby is ready, it is coming, like it or not. Women have been doing this since the dawn of man, and only recently are there options for medications (you wrote 'unmediation'...I presume you did not mean 'without mediation', in other words, without any kind of artificial assistance). Indeed, many women still prefer natural childbirth, often not in a hospital...it is hardly a requirement! There is not even any need for anyone else to be present. And scissors are not required for the umbilical cord, women used to bite them through, and there are definitely scissors and knives available on board the trains.
Did they name the baby "Zephyr"?
I took the CZ from Martinez, CA. all the way to Chicago...57 hrs. I had a roomette and I was alone. I strongly recommend at least a roomette...never coach. You will be very sorry!
Thank you for posting this! Very helpful. Great camerawork. Two questions... was your room warm enough? was the water in the shower warm enough? Thank you!
Thank you. The answer to both questions is yes. The room as w elk as the restaurant and panorama lounge were warm and the so was the shower.
@@mogenshallas Thanks again! We booked our trip.
Nicely edited!!!
I'm going to be doing the Empire Builder in March. What did you use to edit your Clips together and caption?
Thank you. I’m a Mac user and using iMovie for editing and captions - it’s a free movie editor for Mac users - record the individual scenes long enough and avoid panning. Enjoy your Empire Builder journey and video editing.
I am going to do this one year. Just need these goons to leave me alone so I can enjoy my life.
Thank you so much for this video! It is beautiful! I am going this year in mid February. I heard that there's a bus, provided by Amtrak, that takes you from Emeryville station to San Francisco. Do you know how to access that? Do you know if this bus goes to the SFO Airport?
I did purchase my ticket in the Amtrak app ( or web) - Ticket was from Chicago Union Station (CHI) to San Francisco Chase. Bank (SFC) which did include the bus transfer from the Train Station Emeryville. Took a taxi from there to my hotel
Do not know about bus from Emeryville to SFO. Be aware - In February you might expect delays- our train was three hours late due to engine break down - we did have a Union Pacific Engine replacement from Winnemucca.
Thank you so much for posting this wonderful video of your journey. I tried to make it, but my mistake I reserved from Philadelphia and only could make it to Chicago because I couldn't sleep in coach. Look forward next trip to at least reserving a roomette. After watching your video, I want to go in the winter. 🏔️🏞️🤩 🚅❄️
A breathtaking trip through the Rockies that is difficult to capture on video - the trip must be experienced
My favorite place in San francisco is the Union Square.
I'm taking a bedroom to Denver on the CZ in December, and was wondering, did the bedroom have a good heater?
when we did the trip in february 2020 it was pretty cold - the temperature in the train was very comfortable.Enjoy your trip.
Does this not go over Donnor pass or is that the Seattle route?
Yes, through Sierra Nevada and over Donner pass and passing by Donner Lake .
Which month was this? Thanks!
February 7 to 9, 2020.
Which is the best side of the train to sit for better views?
Probably both sides - if I should choose I’ll say left side going in direction Chicago to San Francisco- I did frequently move from one side to another.
@@mogenshallas thanks