Certainly, Amtrak's on-time performance has been much better for me than the airlines'. (Unless canceled flights and flights that leave you stranded overnight in MSP or DFW don't count as late?) Additionally, I've never lost anything on Amtrak, while I've lost baggage appx. 33% of the time that I check anything on a plane. I don't know how Amtrak gets such a bad rap...

The seats on the Empire Builder are certainly spacious enough for halfway decent sleep - I've additionally found that I can sleep on the floor under a pair of seats fairly well, leaving the seats to my tripmate. My dad recommends staking out a table in the lounge car a little before bedtime, and sleeping on the floor there.