Just back from a Boston-to-Philadelphia round trip on good old Amtrak. Compare this to your most recent experience taking an airplane and see why I love trains.
- Train stations embody 19th-century optimism. Airports embody 20th-century paranoia.
- Train stations are easy to get to.
- We got to South Station an hour before our train. We had time to change our return tickets (no penalty), buy sandwiches for lunch, drink good coffee, and read papers before we left.
- Nobody gave a damn who packed our suitcases.
- Our seats had space between us for our shoulders, in front of us for our legs, and in back of us so we could really recline and sleep.
- We enjoyed our time on the train reading, talking, and looking out the window at other people’s lives.
- Though glad to be home, we look forward to taking another trip on another train.
1 response so far ↓
1 Elaine of Kalilily // Apr 8, 2003 at 10:07 am
During my work life, I spent many hours on the Amtrak from Albany to NYC, usually in the company of colleagues. I swear that we got more work issues figured out on those train trips than we ever did in office meetings — that is, as long as I could stay awake. I tend to fall asleep in any moving vehicle that I’m not driving. I’ve always wished trains would come equipped with pillows and blankets, like planes.