I have always wanted to take a long train trip. So we went from truckee to Galesburg Illinois on the zephyr. The views are amazing and everyone should see this. However, the train trip was a disaster. 1. Our car (632) never loaded any water so the first night we had to use the toilets and showers in another car. 2. We were told we could bring four bags. We only brought two. The steward brought us one and said we had to keep it in our room as they had no place for it. 3. We wanted to ask a question so we rang our bell- the steward (Jose) came an hour later. 4. When we were ready to go to bed we rang for the steward to make the beds and he came to the door and said "get out". I said "oh you want us out of the room?" He said yes. Get out. 5. I expected the food to be pretty good. It was not great. The pasta was cold and hard. 6. The train was very rough. The beds were hard. Very hard. I have had smoother rides on a wooden roller coaster. It was almost impossible to sleep and getting into the top bunk was very difficult. 7. We asked for dry towels on the second day and the steward indicated we just needed to hang up the current towels. There is no room to hang up towels in these rooms. 6 the waitress in the dining g car indicated she was looking for another job. Jose was very rude. The employees are clearly not happy and it shows. 7 the temperature in the rooms could not be controlled. We went from hot to very hot to very cold regularly. 8. There was a damp sewer smell constantly in the cars. Not just ours. It needs a better "airing" out. 9. The ceiling tile over my bung came unscrewed and the tile fell. I jade to replace it and screw it in myself. My love affair with trains has ended. Amtrak killed it. read more

A better title for this listing should be the Historic Osceola train station. I've been here before during a previous California Zephyr train journey as we got off here to visit family. This time around, my Dad and I were on a road trip and stopped here to take another look. CONS - This is an unattended station, which means you need to have purchased your ticket in advance and that there's no provision for checked baggage. No information is available on when the California Zephyr actually stops here (in either direction). PRO - Impressive restored historic train station, both inside and out. It's well worth your effort to park and wander around. - Plenty of parking. Refer to Amtrak for long-term options. read more

Amtrak - Public Transportation Near Me - Osceola, Iowa

See all

Love this depot! Nicely restored. Family friendly. Friendly staff. Historic. See pics. It was late so no outside pics of the train. I may actually try taking a train someday. It was exciting to welcome a friend into town this way. Marcydiner tantrum scale of 5/5-no screaming kids. Plenty of parking. Check online for Amtrak pricing. I heard it was a great way to travel! read more

See all

*Walks in* Me: Hello! When's the next train coming? Ticket Lady: In about one hour! Me: Sweet! I have time for a quick meal. *Walks to nearby restaurant* *Realizes it's taken 32 minutes* Me: SCRRREEEEEECH! *Runs to Burger King* *Dips like a chip out of Burger King to Osceola Station* *Runs back in station* Me: Did I miss the train? Ticket Lady: Sorry. It's gonna be another hour, sir. The trains not here yet. Me: ('')*Flips out* read more

I'm not a big fan of flying so when the opportunity allows I look to travel by train. I've used Amtrak throughout the country from hour commutes to multi-day trips that allowed us to book sleeping car accommodations. Some lines are a complete joy. They are on time and effortless. Others are consistently late and problematic. I have taken the California Zephyr out of Osceola many times and unfortunately it falls in to the latter category. This station and line are plagued with problems. It's consistently several hours late. This is coupled with issues with the Amtrak information service and station personnel not being able to give accurate updates on the status of the train. There's nothing more annoying than having to drive an hour early in the morning to catch a train in to Chicago only to have to wait for several hours in this very worn and old train station because of the inability of the website, hot line or station staff being able to deliver timely information. The "station lady" that operates this station does so in a consistently authoritarian and abrasive manner. There are no amenities here and the bathrooms haven't seen any maintenance in a very, very long time. I wouldn't suggest using the bowl in the men's room if you are prone to stage fright. The Zephyr is a long line and the distance entails a lot of potential for complications with track issues or freight traffic. Problems out west can foreshadow some serious delays for east bound travelers. West in and out bound traffic seems to be less troublesome. Amtrak out of southern Iowa can still be enjoyable if you are in the right mind set. This means being prepared for delays and not pressed for time. I have made the mistake of scheduling same-day nighttime activities in Chicago and have missed them. The train itself is very nice, clean and comfortable with a full-service dining car, lounge car and observation car. Seats are large and many have 120 V power outlets for electronic devices. I will use Amtrak again, but will not plan anything outside of travel for my day in to Chicago. read more

I take this train regularly to go to Chicago or out to the west coast. The station attendant Pat is quite experienced and stays in touch with the train personnel so we passengers can have an idea of how much of a delay there may be. The eastbound train starts way back in the San Francisco area and has had many reasons why it could be delayed getting toward the end of the trip, which ends in Chicago. That seems understandable. But I'd recommend arriving at the depot at least 30 minutes before the stated departure time because, once in a while, it really is on time. This old depot has been renovated recently and is a pleasant place to wait for the train. Do not expect to find anything to eat or drink here. The rest rooms are clean and modern. Traveling via Amtrak is a lot of fun and so much better than flying! Come to the Osceola depot to begin your adventure. read more

I love this station yes the trains are late but THATS AMTRAK GET USE TO IT pat she's amazing I always love that gal she's always helped me and my dad to the train station is awsome old historic read more

I'm on the California Zephyr right now....paid extra for a sleeper car....the AC is broken....my room is about 200 degrees....... conductor supposed to be here an hour ago.... unacceptable. read more

Employees are super rude. Youd think if you spend over $100 on a ticket you could plug into a charging port. When I explained that my mother was in the hospital so I needed to make sure my phone had a charge the employees were rude and just made a move seats both times and one of those times there wasn't even assigned seats. Gone way downhill since I used to travel amtrak a few years ago. 1/5 Will just drive next time. read more

Nice improvements to the station. There are now 45 paved parking spots plus an overflow lot. Bathrooms are updated!

Yes, I have to agree with you on lateness. The Zephyr comes 2000 miles across the country and two mountain ranges on a pretty simple rail system. Storms, heavy loading and freight trains are just some of the things that make you late. The train is comfortable. For a state that spends over a billion dollars on roads. Nothing is spent on passenger rail. The attendent you spoke of told me she's paid $15 a day to meet the two trains. One each way. No matter what time they get there. So what kind of help are you going to get paying $15 a day? read more

Trip started out 5 hours late due to flooding of the Missiouri river. Would have missed the connecting train in Chicago but was put on a bus at Galesburg, IL and traveled by bus to Indianapolis where the train was waiting for us so we did make it to Baltimore on time. However, a week later on the trip home got a phone message and an email stating that the California Zephyr from Chicago to Osceola was cancelled and, get this, it stated that there were no alternative routes available. Luckily we had family in MN so we went to Winona and got a ride to IA so we could retrieve our car. Amtrak simply said that they were doing nothing to aid in our travel from Winona to Osceola. I thought that they guarenteed that they would see that we would make our destination. Guess that simply is not true. The trip was long, seats were uncomfortable but did have plenty of room. Rails thru Virginia were rough. Scenery was different...saw back side of buildings and mostly closeups of trees or rock. Red caps were very helpful and patient with my husband who is handicapped. Biggest complaint was their nonchalant attitude about being unable to get us back to our starting point. Funds to help rent a car or the arrangement of a bus ride...anything would have been preferred to the simple "sorry" that we got. Plus when I called customer relations to complain about being dumped 300 miles from where our car was, I was just told "sorry, we can't do anything about that." Take amtrak if you have extra money to get home from wherever you end up as you cannot be sure that a round trip ticket will mean getting back to where you started. Take amtrak if you have the extra time to wait and wait as their schedule is only very approximate. Take amtrak if you like looking at closeups of bluffs and trees and the backs of buildings. Otherwise, drive, bus or fly....all of which would be preferable. read more