Welcome to Travel Upclose!

Hi, I’m Sherry

Thank you for stopping by my train-focused site. If you’re thinking about how to plan a train trip or are an experienced railfan, at Travel UpClose, I will share all I’ve learned traveling by trains over the last five decades. Yes, that’s right. I was traveling by train before Amtrak was created!

I’ve been writing about slow travel and trains for over 25 years. During that time, I’ve taken more cross-country Amtrak trips than I can count, taken all the Alaska Railroad routes, rode Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies and traveled across Europe from the North Sea to the Black Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea on all sorts of fast, slow and creepy trains. Does that make me an expert on train travel? Well, maybe.

I started this site as a way to help others discover the joy and excitement of train travel. For me, my trip/vacation begins when I board the train; not when I reach a particular destination. Even when I was working a full-time job in an office many years ago, I still traveled by train and included that as part of my vacation. Yes, it would mean a few less days to spend where I was going but for me, that didn’t matter.

Sometimes I just take a train ride for the sake of being on a train. Florida to Washington, D.C. to Chicago, then maybe across to Seattle, then down to Los Angeles, and back up to Chicago and a return to Florida. All done in about 10 days with a couple of layovers along the way.

There’s a lot to learn about overnighting on trains, too. I hope my train travel tips and advice are helpful to you when planning your train adventure. From planning to packing, gratuities and on board spending, you’ll find the answers you need on this site.

I have been a slow travel proponent since 1995 when I completely gave up flying. If I couldn’t get there by train, there was always an ocean or river ship to get me where I wanted to visit. I’ve been on more than 200 cruises and at least 20 river cruises, here and in Europe.

Other than traveling by train, I recently added another slow travel option – I bought a camper van and I travel around the U.S. and Canada with my dog Poppy.

When I’m not on a train or working, I’m at home practicing my guitar or ukulele (I’m awful at both!), cooking a new recipe or walking Poppy. Now that I’m in my 70s, I don’t feel the urgency to “have” to constantly be on the go. My travel plans are definitely more intentional and with a purpose.

I still love to do my own version of a circle America Amtrak trip, but now it includes pertinent stops along the way to places I want to investigate. Maybe my travel now has more purpose…I don’t know. What I do know is that I still get a rush when I hear the train whistle as it approaches the station. Or when I check-in at the train counter and get my boarding pass or e-ticket checked.

There’s something about traveling by train that makes me put up with the dreaded delays, occasional weather-related cancellations and mechanical issues. And I’ve experienced all of them.

I hope this site will inspire, encourage and motivate you to try taking the train instead of flying, whether here, in Canada or Europe. Please subscribe to my newsletter and keep up to date on news, reviews and learn what to do to make your first or next train trip a fantastic experience.

Thank you for stopping by!

Sherry