It’s about the journey, not the destination.

All Aboard—first published in 1995, and here revised and updated—is much more than just a mile-by-mile scenery guide for train travelers. Written both for veteran train travelers and those considering their first rail journey, it will keep any trip on track with its insightful travel trips and information about how railroads operate. 

All Aboard presents how and why the first railroads came about, describes the building of America’s trans-continental railroad, and explains how individual trains are operated. Railway expert Jim Loomis also offers advice that can only come from a veteran traveler: booking trips, finding the lowest fares, avoiding pitfalls, packing for an overnight trip, what to do on board, whom to tip and how much.

This new, fifth edition includes up-to-date information on new high-speed rail projects in California, Texas, and Florida, new trains on the Copper Canyon route in Mexico, current reports on the legal disputes between freight railroads and Amtrak, and much, much more.

All Aboard is the ultimate guide to American train travel and its unique history and culture.

Jim Loomis has written frequent columns about train travel for Sunday newspaper travel sections and has ridden every one of Amtrak’s routes, including taking all their long-distance trains multiple times, logging more than 200,000 miles on trains in the United States alone. He has also traveled across Canada on VIA Rail a dozen times. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Rail Passengers Association. He lives on Maui in Hawaii.