Three Options

As Alex pointed out, we're currently working on our route. So far we have three possible routes, which I've taken the time to map out of Google Maps. The routes travel in different directions, so I've used the same color scheme to indicate the order of routes. It goes: Blue, Red, Orange, Green, Purple, Yellow, Black. That should help show which direction the trains are going in...plus they're labeled.

Original Plan (24 States):

View Train trip 1 in a larger map
Stops in Chicago, New Orleans, LA, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, and back to Washington, DC (In that order). Overnights in New Orleans, LA, and Seattle.

Revised Plan (30 States):

View Train Trip 2 in a larger map
Stops in New Orleans, Chicago, Portland, Emeryville (Across the bay from San Francisco), Chicago, New York City, and back to Washington, DC (In that order). Overnights in New Orleans and Portland. Note that parts of this route travel in the opposite direction than the original plan.

My New Idea (33? States):

View Train Trip 3 in a larger map
Stops in New Orleans, Chicago, LA, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, and back to Washington, DC (In that order). Overnights in New Orleans and Seattle. Note that this route travels in a pattern resembling a mix between the previous two.

Train lines that are the same throughout: City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional.

So, what do you think?