All Aboard

When I was a small boy in England I remember riding the coal fed steam driven trains from Chester to Liverpool every other weekend. Very slow. You could watch the crops on the farms grow several inches and the cows age. Always enough time to brew a cup of real English tea. Darjeeling, of course. Not a big trip, maybe 20 plus miles. I also took the train to London a couple of times. What a great experience being a passenger in an old British train.

Today, I occassional take the Los Angeles Metro Link train from the San Fernando Valley to Downtown L.A. A very different experience. I'm looking forward to riding a high speed bullet train one day. I'm not sure there's any "romance" in the sleek new trains. I agree, Europe seems to have the best trains. One look at a dirty old Amtrak at the Burbank Station makes a good comparison.

The comment from the ExPat reminds me of my childhood in Tunisia taking the train from Carthage to Tunis. It was an electric commuter train with wooden seats, the windows opened. You could feel the air and occasionally the smell from the lake near Tunis. Near Carthage you could smell the mimosas along the tract. It was a noisy but memorable experience.

I have only riden in trains on the east coast of the U.S. I find the rides very uncomfortable. The trains in this area are stopped for every possible reason (maintanace on other tracks, comercial shipments, etc.). It should be people before things but it isn't so the trains loaded with people are made the lowest priority. Thus every train with non-human cargo is allowed right-of-way. Also in the area I have travelled the tracks are in the very worst parts of towns. Looking out the windows is scarry!!!!!

In college I went to east Africa for an entire Summer. The most memorable part of my trip was traveling with a friend - a junior at West Point - by the old British Rail train from Mombasa back to Nairobi for our flight home. We blew a whole $16 for a first class car up front, while others of our traveling companions took steerage. I recall it was an 18 hour trip. We ate in the dining car with people from England and Scandinavia and our talk ranged from amusing African bathroom anecdotes to world politics, looking out at herds of elephant, giraffe, and zebra all along the way. The comfort of napping in the car, window wide open for the warm day and my journal open for the occasional brilliant idea, lulled by the sound of the rails going past below us was incomparable - a mythically Perfect Day.

Two of my sons travelled via Amtrak from Seattle to Minneapolis, thinking a cross country train ride would be a great experience. They were sorely disappointed - very cramped for space for a couple of days.

Still, I agree that there IS something charming or nostalgic about riding on a train, like a throwback, positively speaking. It reminds me of the huge ferry boats in Seattle; in one respect it seems archaic to make 20 trips a day between Seattle and the peninsula when a bridge would hold so much less drama. But....after a hard days work in the city, what a way to relax and unwind ~ on the water, wind in your hair if you so choose, or sitting inside watching the sea gulls keep up. Nothing like it in the world.

I'm old enough to have ridden the rails in Britain both pre and post privatization. British Rail was marvelous -- those comfortable compartments now found only in Harry Potter movies have been replaced with people movers designed to get the largest number of people in the smallest possible space.

European railroads still manage some charm while moving people efficiently. A recent trip from Madrid to Malaga proved to me that it is still possible to maintain some sense of comfort and civility while travelling long distances.

Since I haven’t taken an extended train trip since 1965, and that was only to go from Chicago to Oklahoma to check out the OU campus, I think I’ll have to get kidnapped and take one of the more exotic European trips you described in your article. It would be nice to actual enjoy the “getting there” part of the trip.

Another aspect of train travel that is dearly missed is the wonderful poster art that was produced to advertise the industry. From the moody black and white art deco posters from Europe to the colorful and warm Santa Fe posters depicting travel in the southwest.

I totally enjoyed the article

The "20th century Limited," which I remember well, still runs--more or less. It is now called "The Lake Shore Limited," runs over the same beautiful route, including the Hudson Valley, has a dining car and sleeper cars and compartments.

Just last year, and for the 2nd time in about four years, we took the train (the Empire Builder) from near Madison, WI to Seattle/Portland. It is an unalloyed delight, provided - repeat: PROVIDED - you bite the bullet and get a room. The food, while repetitious, isn't all that bad. Sitting in the room during the day and watching the entire northern tier of states go by is maximum relaxation, etc. However, it is a far cry from the luxury of even a couple of decades ago.

For example, while they still use real metal implements in the dining car of this particular train, we have been told the others now tend to use plastic; and the "real linen" accoutrements in the dining car were replaced by paper in the 3-5 days we spent in Portland, etc. However, all in all, if you have the time it is worth the trip - if for no other reason than we can't tell how long our short-sighted government will continue its support (at least one of our current crop of candidates has announced he will end AMTRAK - and this at a time that even Greyhound is making a comeback).

There are a number of things one must know about before taking such a trip, however. From the obvious (make sure you have a small carry-on sized bag for your essentials; even in the rooms there is not much space for storage - or stowage, if you prefer) - to the more subtle like go direct to Seattle rather than direct to Portland since the Portland group is in the last few cars and hence subject to longer walks to the observation car, dining car, etc. (in addition, the Seattle bound cars are staffed by the workers out of Seattle rather than from Chicago, and they are simply more pleasant).

Since the dinner seating is based on "completing" a foursome at the table, you can find yourself with some very nice folks - but once and a while with some real oddballs (our strangest was a couple who had emigrated to Seattle because they couldn't stand the "oppressive heat" of Wisconsin). There is, of course, the option of going with another couple and having a built in foursome. In which case you could simply have two connecting rooms, too. However, there is always something sort of interesting about trying to get to know strangers over dinner - or even more so over breakfast. (And, truth be told, I suspect that I probably stand fairly high among anyone's "oddballs I have met" list.)

We've also taken the train (the California Zephyr) from Portland down the coast to SFRAN. Also much fun, seemed like a roomier coach setup, and the equipment/rolling stock was certainly much newer. And the Intermountain run from SFRAN to Denver and on to Chicago is a real treat - but we've been told they have cheapened the experience and service over the past 2-3 years.

Like many people, I find our willingness to destroy what once was the finest rail system in the world - in order to subsidize the airline and trucking interests - absolutely appalling; and I believe it is something we will deeply regret in the not-so-distant future. But then I am at that stage of life where I guess I am not in an enormous hurry anymore: let's face it, if you are in your own room and the train is late it is not something you usually care much about.

I DO believe people are far to eager to experience the foreign before they investigate the domestic. In the current atmosphere of declining dollar value abroad, I hope more folks at least give our home-grown product a try. It isn't the Orient Express - but, from what I have read, neither is the Orient Express these days.

I have always wanted to travel by train. One of my favorite novels is Murder on the Orient Express. I always thought it would be exciting, an adventure full of romance and mystery. The kind of journey where you meet your soul mate and fall in love over a two day train ride. As a little girl I dreamed of traveling the world. I would love to see it the way you have, with a real appreciation of the places and the people. I hope I'm lucky enough to see the things you've described.

I have many memories of trains. My mother and I criss-crossed the U.S. several times, from back East to California. Whenever my parents were separated, we always came back to California to be near my mother's family. I can remember one layover in New Orleans. We missed our connection to California but it's a good thing we did. That train was in a horrible wreck. I can't remember the names of the trains now; this took place about 1960.

I took a train from Venice to Paris this summer and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. It was freezing in the rooms and we had to fit six people in one room, with huge suitcases! We had also heard that some people had been robbed on the train, so we were all scared that people would try to steal our stuff. It wasn't fun. I wish I had a J.Peterman catalogue with me...