I've spent 75 hours on overnight Amtrak trips. I wish I had known 9 things before stepping aboard.

I spent 60 hours on Amtrak overnight trains between NYC and Miami. Then I spent 15 hours on an Amtrak sleeper train from Denver to Salt Lake City.

The 12 best fall foliage train rides in the US to book this year

Several heritage railways provide shorter, family-friendly excursions, sometimes with seasonal themes like pumpkin patches.