My experience was the opposite. I've done various shorter and longer Amtrak trips on my various visits to the US. I've done Raleigh NC - Philadelphia - Pittsburgh - Dallas, which is really just a concatenation of some shorter and some longer legs. I've also done Chicago - San Francisco, which is a really long trip (two mights and more than two days), plus I did Chicago - Albuquerque which is about 24 hours. The latter two lines pass some of the most amazing scenery I've ever seen from a train. I was never bored at all on any of these trips. I rode in sleeper for which all meals are included as is free coffee whenever you want it. Although not top notch 5 star cuisine, the dining car was definitely on par with the best I've seen on any European train in recent years. And yes, it was a real dining car with table linen and all the niceties, not the airplane style gunk on a diminutive plastic tray that is sadly becoming more and more common on European trains too. Then there was an observation lounge with extra large windows so you could take in the scenery or chat to random people who for some reason were all the most fascinating bunch of individuals you could imagine. Then there was also a bar car where you could hang around if you craved for a drink in between somethings. Besides the usual drinks there were even craft beers and other local specialities of the areas we passed through. The staff were absolutely fantastic and always answered questions courteously and had some nice stories and anecdotes to tell. The worst part of those trips was actually arriving as I didn't want it to be over.