Thanks for all the tips and thanks especially for the invite from the "Group of 6"
After looking into trains it indeed seems as though prices aren't much different than by air, of course railroads change the whole dynamic of travel since you're going through scenery rather than over it. My initial thoughts were to just get off the train when the muse calls and spend a day of two photographing before moving on, but the idea of shooting a speed graphic out the window is very attractive too.

I guess all I need is time and money!