Wendover did a video on this a couple years ago. Basically saying why trains suck in America. And the reason is the same: freight gets priority because Amtrak does not own the track, freight companies do. https://youtu.be/mbEfzuCLoAQ

It’s the law that passenger trains should get priority, but actual enforcement of this law is nonexistent, and Amtrak does not have as much money to spend on counsel.

If you’re on CSX track, you sit. I’ve been on trains that left precisely on schedule that were impacted this way.

Train service between Utica and Buffalo is routinely affected by this.

I took a train from Chicago to LA almost 20 years ago. There were 6 passenger cars attached to 60+ freight cars. There was a 20+ hours delay. All the stops were in dilapidated industrial areas. A ridiculous experience. Never again.

For a transcontinental trip: drive a car or a van.

Amtrak has never run Mixed freight trains, so this must not have been on amtrak.

That is not true, Amtrak used to run a service called Mail & Express. One of the trains was indeed mixed passenger and freight.

That said, Amtrak engines are also often leased to other freight companies so you can frequently see freight trains being hauled by Amtrak branded engines.

In case anyone is interested in Mail and Express:

http://utahrails.net/pass/amtrak-mail-express.htm

It stopped in 2004, presumably due to declines in mail volume. (Which I wonder if it would make sense again now, due to more mail-order package shipping.)

Anyway, it's not really "freight" in the sense that most people think of a freight train. It's all Amtrak rolling stock.

They still do offer Express shipping services between some stations. It's a very cheap way to send something between NYC and Washington for same-day arrival, especially if it's a big box. You have to have someone go to the train station on either end to get your stuff, though. They move them around on the passenger trains that have baggage cars (the 'named' trains, typically at least on the East Coast).

Alas, the pictures I took were on film, and it's been lost in various relocations. Very likely it was Amtrak, with the "sightseeing car" and all.