Four Piedmont trains a day between Raleigh and Charlotte, half-off kids fares, engines named for NC towns and short round trips you can plan around naps.

Amtrak Hartford Line and Valley Flyer trains link New Haven, Hartford, Springfield and the river towns up to Greenfield. Short rides, $1 kids fares and a carousel near the station.

The Pennsylvanian climbs the Alleghenies and swings around the famous Horseshoe Curve between New York and Pittsburgh. Where to sit, when to ride, and how kids fares work.

Acela is the 160 mph train from Boston to Washington. Weekday trains skip the kids fare, but assigned seats mean your family always sits together. Here's how to make it work.

Taking the Crescent with kids? It runs daily from New York to New Orleans in about 32 hours. Here are all 35 stops, the daylight stretches, sleeper rooms and kids fares.

Thinking about the Coast Starlight with kids? The Family Bedroom, why rooms are not discounted, the ocean side, the tunnels and the best daytime pieces to ride.

Free snacks, a bus to Yosemite and half-price kids fares. Here is every Gold Runner stop from Oakland and Sacramento to Bakersfield, plus short rides for a first try.

Pennsylvania's commuter-style Amtrak train runs from New York and Philadelphia to Lancaster and Harrisburg. Coach only, no cafe, lots of trains. Here's how to ride it with kids.

The Cardinal runs just three days a week from New York to Chicago, right through the New River Gorge. Here are all 32 stops, the daylight timing, rooms and kids fares.

Riding the Sunset Limited with kids: pick the right day, plan sleep, meals and showers for two nights, spot deer and dust devils in West Texas, and see all 22 stops.

Taking the Texas Eagle with kids: why one night makes it a good first sleeper trip, what to eat, the two-states-at-once stop, the Los Angeles through cars and every stop.

Which side faces the river, how kids fares work, and a science museum inside Kansas City Union Station. Every stop on the Missouri River Runner, plus short first rides.

Two trains a day, half-price kids fares, a steam engine in Galesburg and no stairs to haul the stroller up. The Chicago to Quincy line, stop by stop, for parents.

A four-hour train built for a Chicago day from Grand Rapids. All five stops, the beach and windmill stations, day trip timing, kids fares and the no-solo-teens rule.

One train a day between Chicago and Port Huron, with an early start and a late finish. Every stop, the railroad museum depot in Durand, seats, food and kids fares.

Three trains a day from Chicago to Detroit and Pontiac. Every stop, how to reach the Detroit Zoo and The Henry Ford, where to sit, what to eat and kids fares.

A daytime train from Chicago to St. Paul with upstairs seats and the Mississippi saved for the end. Every stop, which side to sit on, the cafe and kids fares.

One train a day from New York to Burlington, Vermont, in about 7 hours. A tunnel under Middlebury, monkeys on the station roof, all 15 stops, seats and kids fares.

Empire Service runs up the Hudson from New York to Albany, and twice a day on to Niagara Falls. Which side to sit on, why to pack snacks, all 16 stops and kids fares.

Four trains a day, half-price kids fares and a children's museum across the tracks in Normal. Here's how to ride the Lincoln Service with kids, stop by stop.