USA West By Train: The Complete Amtrak Travel Guide

Chris Hanus — Chris grew up on the West Coast, where he was charmed early on by the romance of the rails. He spent 10 years working in marketing and customer service for Canada’s national passenger rail service, becoming an expert on the railway system in the process. He has so far logged more than 482,000 kilometres (300,000 mi) on train routes across North America — and still feels a thrill when the train leaves the station.

Chris established WAY OF THE RAIL Publishing in 2002, in response to a growing demand for printed guides on North American railway journeys. In 2003 he published the award-winning British Columbia and Canadian Rockies: Railway Map Guide , a pioneer travel publication now in its second edition. He also contributed to the soon-to-be-released USA West by Train Amtrak guidebook.

John Shaske — Founder and president of John Steel Rail Tours, John discovered his passion for trains when he was just four years old. His family often travelled by train between central Alberta and the Pacific coast, and John learned a great deal about trains during those trips. He dreamed of becoming a railway engineer.

Fortunately, some dreams never die. In the winter of 1981, after John was asked to guide a BC Rail trip to Lillooet, in the province’s interior, he became permanently hooked on train travel. For years John studied every aspect of the rail business and worked in railroading. In 1990 he founded John Steel Rail Tours. The company is now famous all over the world, and John is rightly regarded as a North American rail expert.