My parents took me on a trip via the California Zephyr, Coastal Starlight, and Empire builder when I was 5 years old. I'm now in my 40s and that was one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. I re-took the California Zephyr with my wife some years ago, and hope to take it again with my child some day.
Memorable travel, not just memorable destinations.
I took my own daughters on the Zephyr a few times. This was because, as a child, my mother took my sister and I from Kansas City to Chicago on a train and it blew my child-mind. So, like you, I passed it on.
Memorable travel, not just memorable destinations.