Something about a train is magic

I love that President Biden likes the train as much as I do. My experience is limited to the northeast corridor – mostly New York to Boston, which, to be fair, may be Amtrak’s most profitable route.

What I probably like most about the train is that it is something I did as a child, that I can still do today, without much change. I use to take the train from New York City to Rte 128, Westwood, MA to visit my maternal grandparents after my mother died. Gladys, who looked after me, would put me on the train with a sandwich wrapped in wax paper and hand me off to the conductor. In those days the trains had compartments. The conductor would lead me to my compartment and reassure Gladys that he would look after me and the adventure would begin. Watching the world go by from a train is mesmerizing. Marshes filled with birds, huge piles of trash, people sitting on benches at stations, highways, marinas, tunnels, graffiti, urban blight and vacant land all blur along the route. I read, I doze, I watch.

On one of these childhood trips, I nodded awake to find I had dropped my wax paper on the floor and there was mouse nibbling on it. When the conductor stopped to check on me, I reported the presence of vermin and his retort was “Did it have a ticket?” It’s funny what you remember – it was like a scene out of Stuart Little –

When I arrived at my destination, the conductor came for me and delivered me to my grandparents’ driver on the platform. I would smile and wave goodbye to the my new friend, maybe we would meet again on my ride home.

We didn’t own a car – we took the train – like millions of other travelers. Like most things – people are their experience. Lawmakers who prefer to drive their own car, have been voting against Amtrak funding since the Bush administration. You have to wonder how many of them have ever actually been on Amtrak?

Funding Amtrak is more cost effective than subsidizing roads when all the math is said and done – and not just in dollars and cents – when you consider the impact of automobiles on global warming. All forms of transportation are subsidized in the U.S. – Amtrak is not asking for any special favors.

Amtrak’s subsidies by and large support the long-distance routes, which Congress mandates as a public service. Yet somehow, lawmakers want to require Amtrak to run these money-losing (but important) long-distance routes and then cut the money to run them.

Why would I take the train when I could fly or drive in less time and often for less money? Because there is something about a train that’s magic. Trains are not part of a socialist plot. They do not diminish individualism. The best thing about trains may be that every passenger is not riding in a car and contributing to air pollution.

Amtrak 1986 There is something about a train that’s magic TV AD

It is sad to me that people would rather be isolated in their own vehicles than ride the train – they have no idea what they are missing.

As I age, I like the train even more. It is a less harried way for me to travel in my post stroke world. I am happy to leave the driving to someone else. I usually sit in the quiet car these days and listen to an audio book and knit, but mostly I look out the window and smile.

The post Something about a train is magic appeared first on Notablerose.