Pros
(1) Some of the people are actually pretty nice to work with. (2) You can get decent retirement benefits - if you retire with enough years of service.
Cons
(1) You never know what your budget will be year to year. Amtrak is partially funded by the US Government. Politicians are in a cost cutting mood, and Amtrak's budget was severely reduced. Layoffs are underway and will be for most of 2012. (2) DC politicians love to cut Amtrak's budget, even though Amtrak's share of the pie is miniscule. (3) This is a government job without government benefits. Many employees are lifers and simply hanging around until retirement. (4) With a few very recent exceptions, Amtrak technology is 20-30+ years old. (5) Amtrak has lost money every year of its 40 year history. (6) Despite the current economic climate, given a choice between unemployment and a job at Amtrak, I cannot stress enough that you remain on unemployment and continue looking.