Texas Eagle With Kids: A Trip Plan for Every Stop
One night. That is what makes the Texas Eagle the right first sleeper train: you leave Chicago after lunch, see the Mississippi before bed, sleep through Arkansas, and wake up in the East Texas pines with Dallas by lunch and San Antonio's River Walk by bedtime. My son was two the first time and the thing he remembers is the conductor, who looked exactly like the one in the book and let him hold the ticket punch. Three days a week one coach and one sleeper keep going past San Antonio to Los Angeles, and those stops are here too, at the end. Below is every stop, which ones are worth a night, and which to sleep through.
By Kelsey Lizee Cecil. Times are approximate from the fall 2026 timetable; checked against Amtrak and each attraction in October 2026. Hours change; read the "know before you go" notes.If you only have one day
- With a toddler: Dallas to Fort Worth.Board at 12:38pm, cross the Trinity, and get off at 1:45pm by a clock tower with a life-size game board in the courtyard, then the Water Gardens. The commuter train runs you back. Jump to Fort Worth.
- Ages 4 to 8: Marshall to Austin.Board at 8:22am at a depot with a railroad museum inside, East Texas pines, Dallas and Fort Worth by day, and a million bats at 7:07pm. Jump to Austin.
- The big one: Chicago to San Antonio.One night aboard, the Great Hall to the River Walk, with a 45-minute stop in St. Louis to run through Citygarden's fountain. Jump to San Antonio.
Read this before you go
Three things to know. First, between Chicago and San Antonio this train has a cafe and flexible dining, not a full dining car; sleeper meals are included but coach families should pack dinner, breakfast and lunch. Second, the Los Angeles through cars are one coach and one sleeper, three days a week, and they sit in San Antonio for hours overnight while they are joined to the Sunset Limited; if you are going through, make sure your seat or room is in the through car and consider a room for that night. Third, the Sightseer Lounge is back on this train since March 2025, and the Texas day is when you want it. Alerts are on the Texas Eagle page on Amtrak (opens in a new tab).
Tickets, rooms, what to pack for one night (or two), the Fort Worth connection to the Heartland Flyer, and how the cafe works with a four-year-old are all in our Texas Eagle parent guide. This page is the fun part: where to get off and what to do when you do.
Southbound, St. Louis at 8:10pm is the last daylight stop of the first day; Arcadia Valley through Hope are passed between 10pm and 5:30am, and Little Rock at 3:17am. Northbound the dark stretch is Hope to Arcadia Valley, with Little Rock at 11:32pm. The 14 stops after San Antonio, from Del Rio to Los Angeles, are served only by the through cars on the Sunset Limited, which leave San Antonio at 2:45am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and arrive in Los Angeles at 5:35am two days after leaving Chicago; the rest of the train ends in San Antonio every day.
Stop 1 of 43CHITrain 21 leaves about 2:10pm; Train 22 arrives about 1:50pm
Chicago Union Station
The Texas Eagle leaves Chicago after lunch, which gives you a morning in the city, an afternoon of Illinois farms, dinner near the Mississippi and one night aboard before Texas. That one night is what makes this the best first sleeper trip: by breakfast you are in Arkansas and by lunch in Dallas. Union Station's Great Hall is the send-off, with marble stairs and a skylight the size of a tennis court. Northbound you arrive just before 2pm with the afternoon ahead.
Walk the platform to find your car's door number, then stand in the Great Hall and look straight up. If you are going through to Los Angeles, make sure the attendant knows; only one coach and one sleeper go past San Antonio.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the Great Hall, restrooms, a food court, a staffed counter, checked baggage and the Metropolitan Lounge for sleeper passengers.
- 5 minThe Chicago Riverwalk and the architecture boats.
- 15 minMaggie Daley Park's giant slides and climbing wall, free.
- 15 minMillennium Park and the Bean.
- 10 minWillis Tower Skydeck and the glass ledge, for kids who like heights.
A few hours here
- Morning at Maggie Daley Park and the Riverwalk (2 hours).
- Lunch in the station food court.
- Board by 1:40pm with snacks for the night and tomorrow's lunch.
Stay the night
Chicago is a weekend on its own: the Field Museum's Sue, Shedd Aquarium, the Children's Museum at Navy Pier, the L as a ride. Then the Eagle out of the Great Hall at 2:10pm.
Snack stop: The station food court; the Riverwalk stands in summer. Buy fruit and crackers for the train before you board.
Out the window: Rail yards, then the suburbs, then by Joliet the first corn and the big Des Plaines River bridges.
Union Station has checked baggage and a Metropolitan Lounge for sleeper passengers. Families with small kids are often boarded first; wait near the gate. Between Chicago and San Antonio the train has flexible dining and a cafe, not a full dining car, so coach families should pack dinner and breakfast.
Stop 2 of 43JOLSouthbound about 3:05pm (pickup only); northbound about 12:55pm (drop-off only)our honest take: ride on
Joliet Gateway Center
A 2018 station where kids can watch Metra, Amtrak and freight trains all at once, with the 1912 Joliet Union Station and its tall arched windows right next door. The southbound Eagle only picks up here, so for a family in the southwest suburbs it is a shorter drive than the Loop. The Lincoln Service stops here several times a day and covers Joliet properly; see that plan.
The platform itself: three kinds of trains in the hour before yours.
Right off the platform
- at stopGateway Center: a waiting room, restrooms and the Metra platforms.
- at stopThe 1912 Joliet Union Station, next door, now an event hall.
- 5 minThe Joliet Area Historical Museum and the Route 66 welcome center (admission; check days).
- 5 minThe Rialto Square Theatre, a 1926 movie palace, for a look at the lobby.
A few hours here
- Board here if you live nearby; otherwise stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip, unless this is your boarding stop.
Snack stop: Downtown Joliet's cafes, five minutes.
Out the window: The Des Plaines River and its lift bridges, then prairie.
Stop 3 of 43PONSouthbound about 3:48pm; northbound about 11:40amour honest take: ride on
Pontiac
A Route 66 town with a hall-of-fame museum, three swinging footbridges over the Vermilion River and murals on every downtown wall, all ten minutes from the platform. A good hour on the Lincoln Service, which runs here by day several times. On the Eagle it is an afternoon stop you ride through.
The swinging bridges, if you are on a daytime corridor train instead.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small station with a waiting room.
- 10 minDowntown Pontiac: the Route 66 Hall of Fame, murals and the swinging bridges (museum free; check days).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
See the Lincoln Service plan for a Pontiac day.
Snack stop: Downtown cafes.
Out the window: Corn to the horizon.
Stop 4 of 43BNLSouthbound about 4:22pm; northbound about 11:08am
Bloomington-Normal
The best stop in Illinois for a small child, because the Children's Discovery Museum is directly across the circle from Uptown Station, maybe a two-minute walk, with three floors of water tables, a climbing structure and a pretend farm. The Eagle passes mid-afternoon southbound and late morning northbound, and the Lincoln Service covers the same platform four more times a day, so you can get off here and still get where you are going without a night.
The Children's Discovery Museum's water room and the climbing structure, then the fountain in the circle outside.
Right off the platform
- at stopUptown Station: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, with city hall upstairs.
- 2 minChildren's Discovery Museum, across Uptown Circle, ages 0 to 10 (admission; check days).
- 5 minUptown Normal's cafes, a bookstore and the Normal Theater's marquee.
- 10 minConstitution Trail, a flat path for scooters.
- at stopMiller Park Zoo in Bloomington, small and old-fashioned, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Northbound: get off at 11:08am, the museum (2 hours), lunch Uptown, and a Lincoln Service train on to Chicago in the afternoon.
Stay the night
A Normal day: the Children's Discovery Museum, lunch, Miller Park Zoo by cab, and a Lincoln Service train in either direction. The Lincoln Service plan has the full day.
Snack stop: Uptown Normal's cafes and ice cream, within five minutes.
Out the window: Farms, then Lincoln's grain elevators.
Bloomington-Normal has checked baggage and a staffed counter. The museum is closed some Mondays; check before promising it.
Stop 5 of 43LCNSouthbound about 4:48pm; northbound about 10:30amour honest take: ride on
Lincoln
The only town named for Abraham Lincoln while he was alive, and he christened it with watermelon juice; there is a watermelon statue by the depot to prove it. Point it out from the window. Otherwise, ride on.
The watermelon statue beside the platform.
Right off the platform
- at stopA depot with a waiting room and the watermelon statue outside.
- 10 minDowntown Lincoln's courthouse square.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None at the station.
Out the window: Farms, then Springfield's skyline and the Capitol dome.
Stop 6 of 43SPISouthbound about 5:26pm; northbound about 10:03am
Springfield
Lincoln's town. The 1895 depot is a few blocks from the Lincoln Home, a whole neighborhood of 1850s houses with no cars, and the Presidential Museum, which has a replica White House and a Civil War theater that rumbles under the seats. The Eagle comes at dinnertime southbound and mid-morning northbound; the Lincoln Service runs the same platform four more times a day, so Springfield is an easy stop to get off at without losing a day.
The Lincoln Home's front parlor, then the museum's log cabin that kids can walk into, then the Presidential Museum's ghosts of the library show.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1895 depot: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage. Look for the restored mural in the ticket office.
- 10 minAbraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, with a replica of the cabin and the White House (admission; kids 5 and under free).
- 10 minLincoln Home National Historic Site, free, with timed tickets for the house.
- 10 minThe Old State Capitol and the downtown square.
- 15 minWashington Park's carillon and playground, by cab or a long walk.
A few hours here
- Northbound: get off at 10:03am, the Lincoln Home (1 hour), the Presidential Museum (2 hours), lunch, and a Lincoln Service train to Chicago in the afternoon.
Stay the night
A Springfield night: the Lincoln sites, the Dana-Thomas House for the grown-ups, a horseshoe sandwich for dinner, and the Eagle south at 5:26pm or any corridor train north. The Lincoln Service plan has the long version.
Snack stop: Downtown Springfield has cafes and ice cream within ten minutes; the depot has vending.
Out the window: South of Springfield the farms roll a little toward the river bluffs.
Springfield has checked baggage and a staffed counter. The Lincoln Home's house tours are free but ticketed at the visitor center; go there first.
Stop 7 of 43CRVSouthbound about 5:55pm; northbound about 9:23amour honest take: ride on
Carlinville
A flag stop in a town with the biggest cluster of Sears catalog houses in the country, which the grown-ups will find more interesting than the kids. A shelter by the tracks.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- 10 minThe courthouse square and the Sears houses on the east side of town.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Farms in the evening light southbound.
Stop 8 of 43ALNSouthbound about 6:30pm; northbound about 8:56amour honest take: ride on
Alton
The last Illinois stop, at a modern station outside town, where three rivers meet: the Illinois, the Missouri and the Mississippi. In winter and early spring hundreds of bald eagles sit in the river bluffs, and a painted Piasa bird, a dragon from Native legend, is on the cliff north of town. None of it is near the platform. The thing to do is be at a window for the Mississippi crossing into St. Louis, about 30 minutes after Alton southbound.
Eagles in the bare trees along the river in January and February, then the Mississippi bridge with the Arch ahead on the right.
Right off the platform
- at stopA modern station with a waiting room, on the edge of town.
- at stopThe Alton riverfront, the Piasa bird painting and the eagle-watching spots along the Great River Road, by car.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip; see the Lincoln Service plan for an Alton eagle day.
Snack stop: None at the station.
Out the window: The river bluffs, then the Merchants Bridge over the Mississippi with the Arch and the St. Louis skyline ahead.
Stop 9 of 43STLSouthbound arrives about 7:25pm, leaves 8:10pm; northbound arrives about 7:30am, leaves 8:10am
St. Louis Gateway Station
The big stop of the first evening, with a 45-minute pause both directions. Gateway Station is a short walk from the old Union Station, which now holds an aquarium and a 200-foot Ferris wheel, and from Citygarden, a free sculpture park with a splash fountain kids run through. The Arch is a 20-minute walk and the City Museum, ten stories of caves, slides and a school bus hanging off the roof, is 15. The Missouri River Runner to Kansas City leaves from this same platform.
If you are staying: the City Museum until it closes, then the Arch's little pod tram to the top in the morning.
Right off the platform
- at stopGateway Station: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, shared with Greyhound and MetroLink.
- 5 minThe old Union Station: the St. Louis Aquarium, the St. Louis Wheel and a mini golf course (admission).
- 10 minCitygarden, a free sculpture park with a wading fountain and climbable art.
- 15 minCity Museum, for ages 3 and up, with a ten-story slide and the outdoor MonstroCity (admission).
- 20 minGateway Arch National Park: the tram to the top and the free museum underneath (tram fare; reserve).
- at stopSaint Louis Zoo and the Science Center in Forest Park, free, by MetroLink from the station.
- at stopThe Magic House children's museum in Kirkwood, by car (admission).
A few hours here
- Southbound: the 45-minute stop is enough to walk to Citygarden's fountain and back; ask the attendant first.
- Northbound: get off at 7:30am, breakfast at Union Station, the aquarium, and the Missouri River Runner or a Lincoln Service train later.
Stay the night
Two nights in St. Louis: the City Museum and the Arch the first day, the free zoo and the Science Center in Forest Park the second, and the Eagle south at 8:10pm or north at 8:10am. The Lincoln Service plan and the Missouri River Runner plan both start here.
Snack stop: Union Station's food hall; Citygarden has a cafe. Dinner on the train southbound is the cafe or what you packed.
Out the window: Leaving St. Louis southbound in the dusk you pass the brewery and the river industry, then the dark Ozark foothills.
St. Louis has checked baggage and a staffed counter. The southbound stop is scheduled at 45 minutes, but the train can arrive late and leave on time; stay close. Southbound it is bedtime after St. Louis; Arkansas comes in the dark.
Stop 10 of 43ACDSouthbound about 10:17pm; northbound about 4:24amour honest take: ride on
Arcadia Valley
A platform in the Missouri Ozarks, opened in 2016, in a valley with pink granite boulders the size of houses at Elephant Rocks State Park ten miles away. A wonderful place by car, and the train is here at 10pm and 4am. Sleep.
None at these hours. Tell them about the elephant-sized rocks at breakfast.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- at stopElephant Rocks State Park and Johnson's Shut-Ins, by car, daytime.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 11 of 43PBFSouthbound about 11:57pm; northbound about 2:49amour honest take: ride on
Poplar Bluff
The Gateway to the Ozarks, with a 1910 brick depot, passed at midnight and 3am. No station restrooms, so do the potty run aboard.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1910 depot; no restrooms at the station.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 12 of 43WNRSouthbound about 12:52am; northbound about 1:46amour honest take: ride on
Walnut Ridge
The Beatles landed at the airstrip here in 1964 on the way to a ranch, and the town built a park with a giant guitar to remember it. That is a story for the morning. The train is here at 1am both ways.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small depot.
- 5 minBeatles Park and the Guitar Walk on Main Street, daytime.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 13 of 43LRKSouthbound arrives about 3:17am, leaves 3:32am; northbound arrives about 11:32pm, leaves 11:44pm
Little Rock Union Station
The biggest city of the night, passed at 3am southbound and just before midnight northbound. That is bad luck, because the Museum of Discovery in the River Market has a tornado machine and a toddler room, the Clinton Presidential Center sits in a park on the river, and a free streetcar runs between them. If Little Rock is where the grandparents live, this is the stop, with a hotel and a cab arranged; if not, you sleep through it.
For families who get off: the Museum of Discovery's Tinkering Studio, then the pedestrian bridges over the Arkansas River.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station, 1921, with a clock tower: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, open around the trains.
- at stopMuseum of Discovery in the River Market, ages 0 to 12, by cab or a 25-minute walk (admission).
- at stopThe River Market, Riverfront Park's playground and the Junction Bridge over the Arkansas River, by cab.
- at stopClinton Presidential Center and its park, by cab (admission; kids free).
- at stopLittle Rock Zoo, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Sleep, unless this is your stop. Northbound, get off at 11:32pm with a hotel booked.
Stay the night
A Little Rock weekend: the Museum of Discovery and the river bridges the first day, the zoo and the Clinton Center the second, and the Eagle at 3:32am south (hard) or 11:44pm north.
Snack stop: Nothing at these hours. The River Market has everything by day.
Out the window: Dark both ways; the Arkansas River is crossed just before the station southbound.
Little Rock has checked baggage and is staffed around the trains, late at night. Book a hotel that will take you at 3:30am.
Stop 14 of 43MVNSouthbound about 4:17am; northbound about 10:26pmour honest take: ride on
Malvern
The Brick Capital of the World, the stop for Hot Springs National Park 20 miles away, in the dark both ways.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small depot.
- at stopHot Springs National Park's bathhouses and the Mid-America Science Museum, by car, daytime.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 15 of 43ARKSouthbound about 4:42am; northbound about 10:02pmour honest take: ride on
Arkadelphia
A college town on the Ouachita River with a small depot, before dawn southbound.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA depot with a shelter.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 16 of 43HOPSouthbound about 5:31am; northbound about 9:16pmour honest take: ride on
Hope
Bill Clinton's hometown, and the watermelon capital of Arkansas, where a grower once raised a 268-pound melon. The depot holds a visitor center and a small Clinton museum, and his birthplace house is a few blocks away. The train is here at 5:30am, which is coffee time for the parents and a little early for a melon.
The first gray light over the pine woods, with coffee from the cafe.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe depot, with a visitor center and museum inside, daytime.
- 10 minPresident Clinton's birthplace home, a National Historic Site, free (check hours).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: The cafe opens early.
Out the window: Pine woods at dawn southbound.
Stop 17 of 43TXASouthbound arrives about 6:12am, leaves 6:20am; northbound arrives about 8:36pm, leaves 8:41pmour honest take: ride on
Texarkana
The state line runs straight through the platform, so while the train sits here it is in Arkansas and Texas at the same time. Set an alarm for 6:12am southbound if your kids want to say they stood in two states at once, or let them sleep and tell them at breakfast. The 1930 station has a waiting room; the post office downtown is also split by the line, with a stripe on the sidewalk where kids straddle it. Not worth a night, but the best story on the route.
One foot in Arkansas, one in Texas, on the platform, while the train waits eight minutes.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1930 Union Station: a waiting room and restrooms.
- 10 minThe state line post office and courthouse on State Line Avenue, with the photo spot on the sidewalk.
- 10 minDowntown Texarkana's Perot Theatre.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard, after the two-state photo.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: Breakfast from the cafe after Texarkana.
Out the window: East Texas pine forests from here to Marshall, the first big change of scenery after the night.
The southbound stop is eight minutes; stay by the door and ask the attendant before stepping down.
Stop 18 of 43MHLSouthbound arrives about 8:09am, leaves 8:22am; northbound arrives about 7:04pm, leaves 7:29pm
Marshall
The first real Texas stop, at a restored 1912 Texas and Pacific depot that is also the Texas and Pacific Railway Museum, with a model layout and a caboose. The train sits here 13 minutes southbound, breakfast time, and 25 northbound. Downtown is a ten-minute walk, and at Christmas the whole courthouse square is lit for the Wonderland of Lights. Marshall to Dallas, four hours through the pines, is a fine first ride from this end.
The model railroad in the depot museum, then back aboard for the pines.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1912 depot: a waiting room, restrooms, and the Texas and Pacific Railway Museum upstairs (small admission; check days).
- 10 minThe courthouse square downtown, with the Harrison County museum and a cafe.
- 10 minStarr Family Home State Historic Site, an 1870 house with grounds.
- at stopCaddo Lake's cypress swamps and boat tours, 20 miles by car.
A few hours here
- Southbound: board here at 8:22am for Dallas by 12:08pm, with the museum first.
Stay the night
A Marshall night with a car: Caddo Lake's bayous by boat, the depot museum, and the Eagle on in either direction. At Christmas, the Wonderland of Lights.
Snack stop: Cafes on the square, ten minutes; the depot has vending.
Out the window: East Texas pines and lakes, then the farms opening out toward Dallas.
The museum's hours are limited; check before promising the caboose.
Stop 19 of 43LVWSouthbound about 9:00am; northbound about 6:18pmour honest take: ride on
Longview
A busy station because an Amtrak Thruway bus meets the train here for Houston and Galveston, which is the fastest way from Chicago to the Gulf. Otherwise an oil town platform.
The Thruway bus to Houston, if that is your plan.
Right off the platform
- at stopA 1940 depot with a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage.
- at stopAmtrak Thruway bus to Nacogdoches, Houston and Galveston, booked with the train.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip, or the bus to Houston.
Snack stop: None near the station.
Out the window: Pines thinning, then farms.
Stop 20 of 43MINSouthbound about 9:52am; northbound about 5:18pmour honest take: ride on
Mineola
A railroad town with a brick depot and a nature preserve on the Sabine River with a little train that runs some weekends. Mid-morning southbound, a stretch at most.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA brick depot with a waiting room.
- at stopMineola Nature Preserve, with trails and a weekend miniature train, by car.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: A cafe on the main street.
Out the window: Farms, then the Dallas suburbs.
Stop 21 of 43DALSouthbound arrives about 12:08pm, leaves 12:38pm; northbound arrives about 3:23pm, leaves 3:43pm
Dallas Union Station
Lunchtime southbound, in a 1916 Beaux-Arts station with a tunnel to Reunion Tower, the ball on a stick, where the observation deck has telescopes and a floor you can see through. Dealey Plaza is five minutes, the Dallas World Aquarium is 15, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, with a dinosaur hall and a children's floor, is 20 minutes or a short DART ride. Dallas to Fort Worth, under two hours, is the easiest first ride on the whole route.
Reunion Tower's GeO-Deck through the tunnel from the station, then the Perot's dinosaurs.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, with DART light rail and the TRE commuter train on the same platforms.
- at stopReunion Tower's observation deck, through the covered walkway from the station (admission).
- 5 minDealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, for the older kids (museum admission).
- 15 minDallas World Aquarium, a rainforest with sloths and a shark tunnel (admission).
- 20 minPerot Museum of Nature and Science, ages 0 to 12, with a dinosaur hall and a children's museum floor (admission).
- 20 minKlyde Warren Park, a park built over the freeway with a playground and food trucks, free.
- at stopDallas Zoo, by the DART Red Line, with a giraffe feeding deck (admission).
A few hours here
- Southbound: the 30-minute stop is enough for Reunion Tower's lobby and back; ask the attendant first.
- Dallas to Fort Worth: board at 12:38pm, off at 1:45pm, the game board in the Fort Worth courtyard.
Stay the night
Two nights in Dallas: the Perot and Klyde Warren Park the first day, the zoo by DART and the aquarium the second, and the Eagle south at 12:38pm or north at 3:43pm. The TRE commuter train runs to Fort Worth all day if you want both cities.
Snack stop: Reunion Tower's lobby and the West End's restaurants, five to ten minutes; the station has vending.
Out the window: The Trinity River's levees and bridges, then 30 miles of suburbs to Fort Worth.
Dallas has checked baggage and a staffed counter. DART and the TRE share the station, so a day in Fort Worth and back is easy.
Stop 22 of 43FTWSouthbound arrives about 1:45pm, leaves 2:28pm; northbound arrives about 1:57pm, leaves 2:23pm
Fort Worth Central Station
The best stop in Texas for a family, with a 43-minute pause southbound. Central Station has a 70-foot clock tower and a shaded courtyard with a life-size game board, the Water Gardens, a park of cascading concrete pools, is five minutes, and Sundance Square's fountains and ice cream are ten. The Stockyards, where longhorns are driven down the street twice a day, are a bus or cab ride, and the Museum of Science and History has a dinosaur dig. The Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma City leaves from this platform.
The 4pm cattle drive in the Stockyards, if you are staying, then the Water Gardens' active pool from the top step.
Right off the platform
- at stopCentral Station: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter, checked baggage, the clock tower and the game board in the courtyard, shared with the TRE and TEXRail.
- 5 minFort Worth Water Gardens, free, with the quiet pool and the active pool's steps (hold hands).
- 10 minSundance Square Plaza's fountains and the shops and ice cream around it.
- at stopThe Stockyards: cattle drives at 11:30am and 4pm, a petting zoo and a maze, by bus or cab (free to watch; attractions charge).
- at stopFort Worth Museum of Science and History, with a children's museum and a dinosaur dig, in the Cultural District by cab (admission).
- at stopFort Worth Zoo in Forest Park, by cab, one of the best in the country (admission).
- at stopThe Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma City, from this station, daily.
A few hours here
- Southbound: the 43-minute stop covers the game board and the Water Gardens and back; ask the attendant first.
- Dallas to Fort Worth: arrive 1:45pm, the Water Gardens, Sundance Square, and the TRE back to Dallas any time.
Stay the night
Two nights in Fort Worth: the Stockyards' cattle drive and petting zoo the first day, the Museum of Science and History and the zoo the second, and the Eagle on, or the Heartland Flyer north. The Heartland Flyer plan starts here.
Snack stop: Sundance Square's ice cream and bakeries, ten minutes; the station has vending.
Out the window: Leaving Fort Worth southbound the train passes the rail yards and the Trinity, then prairie and ranches toward Cleburne.
Fort Worth has checked baggage and a staffed counter. The Stockyards are three miles north; the city bus and cabs both work. The Water Gardens' active pool has steep steps with no rails.
Stop 23 of 43CBRSouthbound about 3:12pm; northbound about 12:59pmour honest take: ride on
Cleburne
A railroad town with a small depot, 30 miles from Dinosaur Valley State Park at Glen Rose, where real dinosaur footprints sit in the riverbed and kids wade among them. That is a car trip; the platform is a platform.
If a car is waiting: the tracks in the Paluxy River at Dinosaur Valley.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small station with a waiting room.
- at stopDinosaur Valley State Park at Glen Rose, 30 miles by car (park fee).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
A Glen Rose night by car: dinosaur tracks and Fossil Rim's drive-through safari.
Snack stop: None at the station.
Out the window: Prairie and ranches, with the Brazos River crossed before McGregor.
Stop 24 of 43MCGSouthbound about 4:20pm; northbound about 11:47amour honest take: ride on
McGregor
The stop for Waco, 20 miles away, which has a mammoth dig you can walk into, the Dr Pepper Museum and the Magnolia silos. McGregor itself has a shelter, and the rocket-engine test site on the edge of town that sometimes roars loud enough to hear from the train.
Listen for the rocket engines.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- at stopWaco Mammoth National Monument, the Dr Pepper Museum and the Cameron Park Zoo, all in Waco by car (monument free; others admission).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
A Waco night by car: the mammoths, the zoo, and a Dr Pepper float.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: The Brazos valley, then Temple's rail yards.
Stop 25 of 43TPLSouthbound about 5:03pm; northbound about 11:20am
Temple
A railroad town where the Amtrak stop is inside the 1910 Santa Fe depot, and the depot holds the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum: a model layout, a telegraph office and real locomotives and cars in the yard outside. For a train-obsessed four-year-old it is the best museum on the route that you can walk to in zero minutes. Southbound at dinnertime, northbound late morning, when the museum is more likely to be open.
Climbing into the cab of the steam locomotive in the yard, then the model trains upstairs (check hours).
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1910 Santa Fe depot: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter, and the Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum in the same building (admission; closed some days).
- at stopThe museum's outdoor yard, with a Santa Fe steam locomotive, a diesel and a caboose.
- 10 minDowntown Temple's square and a cafe.
- 15 minMiller Park's playground and spring-fed swimming pool.
A few hours here
- Northbound: get off at 11:20am, the museum (2 hours), lunch downtown, and the southbound back at 5:03pm, or a hotel night.
Stay the night
A Temple night: the railroad museum, the park, and the Eagle on. With a car, the Waco mammoths are 35 miles north.
Snack stop: Downtown cafes, ten minutes; the depot has vending.
Out the window: Farms and the first Hill Country limestone, with the sun going down on the right southbound.
The museum keeps limited hours and is closed some weekdays; check before you plan the stop around it. Temple has a staffed counter.
Stop 26 of 43TAYSouthbound about 6:00pm; northbound about 10:17amour honest take: ride on
Taylor
A barbecue town northeast of Austin with a small depot, famous for Louie Mueller's brisket, which is a ten-minute walk and a 90-minute line. Dinner hour southbound; ride on to Austin.
The smell of oak smoke, if the wind is right.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small depot with a shelter.
- 10 minDowntown Taylor's barbecue and the courthouse square.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: Barbecue, if you have an hour.
Out the window: Blackland farms, then the lights of Austin.
Stop 27 of 43AUSSouthbound arrives about 7:07pm, leaves 7:22pm; northbound arrives about 9:16am, leaves 9:26am
Austin
The southbound Eagle arrives at 7:07pm, which from spring to fall is about when a million and a half bats come out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge, a 20-minute walk from the 1947 depot. That is the best timed stop on the whole route. The station sits a few blocks from Lady Bird Lake's trail, Zilker Park and Barton Springs are a short cab ride, and the Thinkery children's museum is across town. Northbound you arrive at breakfast with the day ahead.
The bats at dusk from the Congress Avenue Bridge or the lawn below it, March to October. Get off at 7:07pm, walk fast, and look up.
Right off the platform
- at stopA 1947 brick depot: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, next to the Seaholm district.
- 5 minLady Bird Lake's hike-and-bike trail and the boardwalk, with swans and turtles.
- 15 minThe Texas Capitol's grounds and dome, free.
- 20 minCongress Avenue Bridge, the bat colony at sunset in season.
- at stopZilker Park's playground and train ride, Barton Springs' spring-fed pool and the Austin Nature and Science Center, by cab or a 25-minute walk (pool fee).
- at stopThe Thinkery children's museum in Mueller, ages 0 to 11, by cab or bus (admission).
- at stopBullock Texas State History Museum, with an IMAX and a ship, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Southbound: arrive 7:07pm, the bats, dinner downtown, a hotel, and the next day's Eagle south at 7:22pm or the northbound at 9:26am.
Stay the night
Two nights in Austin: Barton Springs and Zilker's little train the first day, the Thinkery and the Capitol the second, bats both evenings, and the Eagle on. The best Texas stay on the route for ages 3 to 8.
Snack stop: Food trucks and bakeries within ten minutes downtown; the depot has vending.
Out the window: Leaving Austin southbound in the last light the train crosses the Colorado River and runs into the Hill Country toward San Marcos.
Austin has checked baggage and a staffed counter. The bats fly from about March to October, best in late summer; in winter there are none. Barton Springs closes for cleaning on Thursdays.
Stop 28 of 43SMCSouthbound about 8:08pm; northbound about 8:22am
San Marcos
A college town on a spring-fed river so clear you can see the turtles from the bank, and the Meadows Center runs glass-bottom boats over the springs that feed it. The river has a free city park where kids float on tubes in summer. All of it needs a cab from the small depot, and the southbound stop is at 8pm, so San Marcos is a northbound morning stop or a car stop. Honest take: nice, but Austin and San Antonio are both under an hour away.
The glass-bottom boat over Spring Lake, with the springs bubbling up through the sand below.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small depot with a waiting room and the city buses.
- 10 minDowntown San Marcos and the courthouse square.
- at stopThe Meadows Center's glass-bottom boats at Spring Lake, by cab (fare).
- at stopRio Vista Park on the San Marcos River, with rapids kids float over in summer, by cab.
- at stopWonder World Park's cave and petting zoo, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Northbound: get off at 8:22am, a cab to the Meadows Center for the first boat, the river park, and a hotel night or a car to Austin.
Stay the night
A San Marcos day by car: the glass-bottom boats, tubing on the river, the cave, and the Eagle at 8:08pm south or 8:22am north.
Snack stop: Downtown has coffee and tacos within ten minutes.
Out the window: Dark southbound; the Hill Country's edge and the Guadalupe River at New Braunfels in the morning northbound.
The Meadows Center boats run daily but fill up; reserve. No checked baggage.
Stop 29 of 43SASTrain 21 arrives about 10:46pm; Train 22 leaves about 6:48am. Los Angeles cars leave at 2:45am Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and arrive back about 5:00am Tuesday, Friday and Sunday
San Antonio
The end of the daily train, at 10:46pm, in a station between the Alamodome and the 1903 Sunset Station, with the River Walk a ten-minute walk and the Alamo 15. The DoSeum is one of the best children's museums anywhere, Hemisfair's playground is free and huge, and the river barges run all day. One night aboard from Chicago and you are here; that is the whole pitch. If you are going on to Los Angeles, your car sits in the station for hours tonight while it is coupled to the Sunset Limited; stay in bed.
Yanaguana Garden's climbing nets at Hemisfair in the morning, then the river barge, then the DoSeum's water room after lunch.
Right off the platform
- at stopSan Antonio station: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage, open overnight around the trains, with Sunset Station next door.
- 10 minHemisfair's Yanaguana Garden, a big free playground with splash features, and the Tower of the Americas (tower admission).
- 10 minThe River Walk and the river barges (fare).
- 15 minThe Alamo, free to walk the grounds, with timed tickets for the church.
- at stopThe DoSeum, the children's museum, by cab or bus, ages 0 to 10 (admission).
- at stopThe Witte Museum's dinosaur hall and the Pearl food hall, by cab (museum admission).
- at stopSan Antonio Zoo and the Brackenridge Park train, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Arrive at 10:46pm, cab to a River Walk hotel, and Hemisfair and the barges in the morning.
Stay the night
Three nights in San Antonio: Hemisfair, the River Walk and the Alamo the first day, the DoSeum and the zoo the second, the Missions or the Pearl the third, and the Eagle north at 6:48am, which gives you Austin's river and Texas by day.
Snack stop: The River Walk's ice cream and churros all day; nothing at 11pm but the hotel.
Out the window: Dark both ways on the Eagle. The through cars leave in the dark too, and wake at Del Rio.
San Antonio has checked baggage and a staffed counter. Through passengers to Los Angeles stay aboard during the 2 to 5 hour overnight switch; a room makes that wait much easier than coach. Northbound, Train 22 leaves at 6:48am; be at the station by 6:15.
Stop 30 of 43DRTLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 5:52am; eastbound about 1:10amour honest take: ride on
Del Rio
From here west the Texas Eagle is one coach and one sleeper riding on the Sunset Limited, three days a week, and the stops are that train's stops. Del Rio is the first, a border town at dawn with the Rio Grande just south of the tracks. The thing to be up for comes an hour later: the Pecos High Bridge, 265 feet above the river, the highest railroad bridge in Texas.
The Pecos bridge about an hour after Del Rio westbound, from the Sightseer Lounge with coffee.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small station with a waiting room.
- at stopAmistad Reservoir's beaches, by car.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: Breakfast in the dining car, which the through cars have west of San Antonio.
Out the window: The Rio Grande at first light, limestone canyons, the Pecos bridge.
West of San Antonio the through cars get the Sunset Limited's traditional dining car. Meals are included for sleeper passengers.
Stop 31 of 43SNDLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 8:27am; eastbound about 10:45pmour honest take: ride on
Sanderson
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: a shelter in the Cactus Capital of Texas at breakfast time, with the Big Bend mountains rising to the south.
Count cactus shapes from the window.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: Breakfast on the train.
Out the window: Creosote flats, mesas, mountains ahead.
Stop 32 of 43ALPLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound arrives about 10:31am, leaves 10:41am; eastbound about 8:45pm
Alpine
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars, and the best one on the way to El Paso: a 1946 depot on the main street of a mountain town at 4,500 feet, the gateway to Big Bend National Park by rental car. Chicago families headed for Big Bend ride the through car to here, two nights from Union Station, and pick up a car. The four hours after Alpine are the best desert ride on this train.
A lookout list for Alpine to El Paso: a deer, a longhorn, a dust devil, a flat-topped mountain. First to four picks the snack.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1946 depot with a waiting room, across from the Holland Hotel and the shops of Holland Avenue.
- 5 minDowntown's murals, a bookstore and ice cream.
- 15 minKokernot Park's playground.
- 20 minMuseum of the Big Bend on the Sul Ross campus, with dinosaur bones and a giant pterosaur (admission; check hours).
- at stopBig Bend National Park, 80 miles by rental car; Marfa, 26 miles.
A few hours here
- Westbound: off at 10:31am, a rental car, and two or three nights at Big Bend, then the train on from Alpine in either direction.
Stay the night
The Big Bend trip from Chicago: through car to Alpine, a car to the Chisos Basin, the hot springs on the Rio Grande, and the Sunset Limited plan for the rest.
Snack stop: Coffee, a bakery and ice cream on Holland Avenue, across from the depot.
Out the window: The Davis Mountains, pronghorn in the grass, then the long valley down to El Paso.
Book the rental car ahead; Alpine has few. Through cars run only three days a week, so a Big Bend stay is two or three nights.
Stop 33 of 43ELPLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound arrives about 1:25pm, leaves 1:50pm Mountain time; eastbound arrives about 3:00pm, leaves 3:45pm
El Paso Union Depot
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars, and the big afternoon stop of the second day: a 1906 depot with a tall tower by Daniel Burnham, a 25-minute pause westbound, and La Nube, a children's museum that opened in 2024 with a 50-foot climbing tower, a ten-minute walk away. The clocks go back an hour here. The full El Paso plan, with the streetcar, the ballpark and the zoo, is on the Sunset Limited page.
La Nube's climbing tower if you are staying; the depot's waiting room and the plaza outside if you are not.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Depot: a restored waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and checked baggage.
- 10 minLa Nube children's museum, ages 0 to 12 (admission; check days).
- 10 minSouthwest University Park, the Chihuahuas' ballpark, and San Jacinto Plaza's alligator sculptures.
- 5 minThe El Paso Streetcar's restored 1950s cars through downtown.
- at stopEl Paso Zoo, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Westbound: the 25-minute stop is for the platform and the depot; do not try for La Nube.
- Alpine to El Paso: four hours of desert, off at 1:25pm, La Nube before it closes.
Stay the night
An El Paso night: La Nube and the ballpark, the streetcar and the zoo the next day, and the train on. See the Sunset Limited plan.
Snack stop: Downtown bakeries within ten minutes; vending in the depot.
Out the window: The border fence and Juárez on the left leaving westbound, then the Rio Grande into New Mexico.
Set watches back an hour here westbound (Central to Mountain). El Paso has checked baggage.
Stop 34 of 43DEMLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 3:38pm; eastbound about 12:50pmour honest take: ride on
Deming
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: a New Mexico desert shelter with a surprising free museum ten minutes away and a duck race every August. Ride on.
None, unless it is Duck Race weekend.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- 10 minLuna Mimbres Museum in the old armory, free (check days).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Yucca and the Florida Mountains.
Stop 35 of 43LDBLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 4:33pm; eastbound about 11:55amour honest take: ride on
Lordsburg
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: the last New Mexico shelter, with a ghost town two miles south that opens some weekends by car.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter.
- at stopShakespeare ghost town, by car, scheduled weekends (admission).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Desert and the Arizona line.
Arizona does not observe daylight time; in summer its clocks match California, in winter New Mexico.
Stop 36 of 43BENLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 5:38pm; eastbound about 8:55amour honest take: ride on
Benson
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: an open-air shelter with no restrooms, nine miles by car from Kartchner Caverns, a living cave kept secret for four years after it was found in 1974. The cave is a reason to get off with a car; without one, tell the story at dinner.
The cave story as the sun goes down.
Right off the platform
- at stopAn open-air shelter; no restrooms.
- at stopKartchner Caverns State Park, nine miles by car (admission; reserve).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard.
Stay the night
A Kartchner night by car.
Snack stop: None; dinner on the train.
Out the window: The San Pedro valley and the first saguaros.
No restrooms at the stop.
Stop 37 of 43TUSLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound arrives about 7:00pm, leaves 7:15pm; eastbound arrives about 7:38am, leaves 7:53am
Tucson
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars, and the Arizona stop worth a night: a restored 1907 depot downtown with a steam locomotive beside it, a streetcar at the door, the Children's Museum Tucson a ten-minute walk, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum a 30-minute drive. Dinner time westbound, breakfast eastbound. The full plan is on the Sunset Limited page.
Locomotive 1673 outside the depot, a steam engine that was in the movie Oklahoma!, then the Desert Museum's hummingbird aviary in the morning.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1907 depot: a waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter, checked baggage and the transportation museum with the locomotive outside (free; limited hours).
- at stopThe Sun Link streetcar from the depot to downtown and the university.
- 10 minChildren's Museum Tucson on Sixth Avenue, ages 0 to 10 (admission; check days).
- at stopArizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 14 miles by car (admission).
- at stopReid Park Zoo, by cab (admission).
A few hours here
- Westbound: arrive 7pm, the streetcar to dinner, a hotel, and the Desert Museum tomorrow.
Stay the night
Two nights in Tucson: the Desert Museum early the first day, the Children's Museum and the streetcar the second, then the train on. Remember the through cars run three days a week.
Snack stop: Hotel Congress across the street; vending in the depot.
Out the window: Saguaros in the last light westbound; the Catalinas at dawn eastbound.
Tucson has checked baggage. Summer afternoons top 100 degrees; do the Desert Museum in the morning.
Stop 38 of 43MRCLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound arrives about 8:32pm, leaves 9:02pm; eastbound arrives about 5:35am, leaves 5:55amour honest take: ride on
Maricopa
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars, and the stop for Phoenix, 35 miles north, with an Amtrak Thruway shuttle to Tempe and the airport. The platform is short, so the train pulls up several times. If Phoenix is the destination, this is the stop; otherwise it is a 30-minute wait at bedtime.
For Phoenix families: the Children's Museum of Phoenix's three-story climber the next day.
Right off the platform
- at stopA small modular station with a waiting room and restrooms.
- at stopAmtrak Thruway shuttle to Tempe and Phoenix Sky Harbor, booked with the train.
- at stopChildren's Museum of Phoenix, the Arizona Science Center and the Desert Botanical Garden, in Phoenix by car (admission).
A few hours here
- Stay aboard, unless Phoenix is the plan.
Stay the night
Phoenix by shuttle: the Children's Museum, the Science Center and the Botanical Garden.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark westbound; dawn over the desert eastbound.
Book the shuttle on the same reservation as the train.
Stop 39 of 43YUMLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 11:49pm; eastbound about 2:47amour honest take: ride on
Yuma
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: a platform with no building and no restrooms, at midnight, in a river town with an 1876 territorial prison on a bluff that is a real museum by day. Sleep.
None at these hours.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform only; no building, no restrooms.
- 15 minYuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, daytime (admission).
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark; the Colorado River bridge into California right after the stop westbound.
Stop 40 of 43PSNLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 2:02am; eastbound about 12:35amour honest take: ride on
Palm Springs
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: a platform among the wind turbines miles north of town, no building, at 2am. Palm Springs is a good family town with an aerial tram up a mountain; get there some other way.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform and shelter in the desert; cab needed.
- at stopPalm Springs Aerial Tramway and the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert, by car, daytime (admission).
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark; the wind farm's red lights.
Stop 41 of 43ONALos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 3:54am (drop-off only); eastbound about 10:55pmour honest take: ride on
Ontario
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars: a suburban platform near the Ontario airport in the small hours, drop-off only westbound.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform shared with Metrolink.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark.
Stop 42 of 43POSLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound about 4:04am (drop-off only); eastbound about 10:40pmour honest take: ride on
Pomona
A Sunset Limited stop for the Los Angeles cars, the last before Union Station, at 4am. The attendant will be waking the sleeper around now.
None. Shoes on, bag zipped.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform shared with Metrolink.
A few hours here
- Sleep.
Stay the night
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Dark; the San Gabriel Valley's lights.
Stop 43 of 43LAXLos Angeles through cars only, three days a week: westbound arrives about 5:35am; eastbound leaves 10:00pm Sunday, Wednesday and Friday
Los Angeles Union Station
The end of the through cars, 65 hours and 2,728 miles from Chicago, at 5:35am in the prettiest station in the West. Union Station has a tiled waiting room, leather chairs and a garden courtyard, Olvera Street is five minutes, and the Pacific Surfliner, the train in the book, leaves from the next platform. Eastbound the through cars leave at 10pm, so the kids board in pajamas and wake in the Arizona desert.
Out the front doors as the sun comes up on the palms, then hot chocolate in the garden patio until Olvera Street opens.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the 1939 waiting room, restrooms, restaurants, a staffed counter, checked baggage and the Metropolitan Lounge, with every Metro line below.
- 5 minOlvera Street's market stalls and the old plaza, from mid-morning.
- 5 minPhilippe's sandwich counter, open early.
- 15 minGrand Park's splash fountain.
- at stopThe California Science Center's space shuttle (free) and the Natural History Museum's dinosaurs, by Metro (museum admission).
- at stopThe Pacific Surfliner to the beaches and San Diego, from this station.
A few hours here
- Arrive at 5:35am, breakfast at Philippe's, Olvera Street, and the Surfliner south by lunch.
Stay the night
Three nights in Los Angeles: the science center and the dinosaurs, Griffith Observatory, a Surfliner beach day, and the Southwest Chief back east from this station if you want a different train home.
Snack stop: Philippe's and the station cafes early; churros on Olvera Street later.
Out the window: Dark until the platforms; the sky goes gray as you step off.
Union Station has checked baggage and the Metropolitan Lounge, though neither may be open at 5:35am. Book a hotel that will take you at dawn or hold bags.
A conductor just like the one in the book
My dad would have loved this train. He liked a long sit with a window and a reason to talk to strangers, and the Eagle is 32 hours of both. What I remember from our first trip is not Dallas or the bats, though the bats were something. It is my son, two years old, holding the conductor's punch with both hands somewhere near Springfield while the man waited patiently, and then handing it back and saying thank you without being told. The book had taught him that part. I had not realized until then.
Next in this series: the Sunset Limited, the train the Los Angeles cars ride west of San Antonio, with the full plan for El Paso, Tucson and the 5:35am arrival. The Lincoln Service shares the stops from Chicago to St. Louis several times a day, the Missouri River Runner leaves St. Louis for Kansas City, and the Heartland Flyer connects at Fort Worth for Oklahoma City. Every route is on the Train Trips With Your Kids page.
Texas Eagle trips with kids: questions parents ask
How long is the Texas Eagle from Chicago to San Antonio?
About 32 and a half hours, one night aboard. Train 21 leaves Chicago at about 2:10pm and arrives in San Antonio at about 10:46pm the next day; Train 22 leaves San Antonio at about 6:48am and arrives in Chicago at about 1:50pm the next day. The Los Angeles through cars take about 65 hours and two nights.
What is the best part of the Texas Eagle for kids?
The second day southbound, all of it in Texas: the state line through the platform at Texarkana at 6:12am, the East Texas pines after breakfast, Dallas at lunch, a 43-minute stop in Fort Worth, and Austin at 7:07pm, when the bats come out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge in season.
Which Texas Eagle stop is best for a night with kids?
Austin, where the southbound arrives at bat time and Barton Springs, Zilker Park and the Thinkery are a short cab ride, or San Antonio, where the River Walk is a ten-minute walk and the DoSeum is one of the best children's museums anywhere. Fort Worth is the best stop for a few hours between trains.
Can we ride just part of the Texas Eagle with a toddler?
Yes. Dallas to Fort Worth is about 70 minutes (12:38pm to 1:45pm) with the TRE commuter train back; Marshall to Dallas is four hours through the pines; Chicago to Bloomington-Normal is two hours and ends two minutes from a children's museum, with the Lincoln Service for the return. None needs a night aboard.
Does the Texas Eagle go to Los Angeles?
Part of it does, three days a week. One coach and one sleeper leave Chicago on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, are joined to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio overnight, and arrive in Los Angeles at 5:35am about 65 hours after leaving Chicago, with stops at Alpine, El Paso, Tucson and Maricopa for Phoenix. Make sure your seat or room is in the through car.
Which Texas Eagle stops should we skip with kids?
All the night stops (Arcadia Valley, Poplar Bluff, Walnut Ridge, Little Rock, Malvern, Arkadelphia and Hope), plus the small platforms: Joliet, Pontiac, Lincoln, Carlinville, Alton, Longview, Mineola, Cleburne, McGregor and Taylor. The trip is Chicago, St. Louis, Marshall, Dallas, Fort Worth, Temple, Austin and San Antonio, and on the through cars Alpine, El Paso, Tucson and Los Angeles.
Sources and how I checked
- Amtrak Texas Eagle timetable, fall 2026 (Trains 21, 22, 421 and 422), Amtrak Sunset Limited timetable for the through-car stops, and Amtrak station pages
- Children's Discovery Museum (Normal), Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, City Museum and Gateway Arch (St. Louis), Perot Museum, Fort Worth Water Gardens and Stockyards, Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum, Thinkery, the DoSeum and La Nube: hours and admission as posted October 2026
- Texas and Pacific Railway Museum (Marshall), the Meadows Center glass-bottom boats, the Congress Avenue Bridge bat season, and the Amtrak Thruway shuttle at Maricopa
- Great American Stations and Wikipedia station and route articles for addresses, station history, the Texarkana state line and the Pecos High Bridge, cross-checked with Amtrak
Hours, prices and bus routes change. I update this page when they do; if you spot something out of date, tell me.