I made it home last night.
The only problem were the train delays. As I mentioned earlier, passenger trains must wait for freight trains and there is only one track in each direction (for brief parts of the trip there is only one track), so you must expect delays. There was one delay I didn’t expect, however. Yesterday afternoon the train left Philadelphia during a huge rainstorm, and then the train stopped somewhere between Philadelphia and Trenton for over an hour. I was glad I wasn’t in an airplane trying to land in Philadelphia or Newark.
What we didn’t know was that the storm had knocked out power for central New Jersey, which affected the train lines. Trains were backed up in both directions of the Eastern Corridor. When we finally got to Trenton at 6:45 I waited for the 4:45 train to Princeton Junction. You know it must have been something when a guy from the NJ PBS affiliate, NJN news, was walking down the platform getting soundbites.
Will I do it again? Absolutely, yes. I’ll probably fly to either Chicago or Colorado and then ride the Zephyr. It is an extraordinary experience. I just got this comment from Melissa, who I met in the train,
Fausta,
My husband Tim and I had the pleasure of dining with you on the zephyr this week and we wanted to tell all of the cynics out there that a trainride should be experienced by everyone at least once in your life. I don’t even consider myself an outdoor person, but when you see the sights on the train, the only word that can describe it is majestic. We live in the city and usually drive from california to denver but, on the train, you get to see the “Real America” that we tend to forget about. It’s also a very nostalgic experience that my husband and i will have for the rest of our lives. Who’s waxing nostalgic in an overcrowded airplane or when fueling at the pump. Who I ask you? WHO?
It was a wonderful journey.
Fausta,
It was a pleasure for E. and I to dine with you on the Capitol Limited. We had a lovely time chatting with you, as well as a generally wonderful time on the train. I’m happy to second the sentiments of your commenter from before. The sights were indeed majestic, and the rail experience, from the care of the attendants and the opportunity to meet fascinating people on the train, to the chance to see sights only a tiny fraction of people will ever experience made the trip one that I, too, will recall fondly for the rest of my life. I look forward to trying it again someday.
One of the things that is often forgotten when talking about the tragedy of the rails is that while the railroads are oft decried as ‘government subsidized money-losers’, the states spend billions on roads and freeways, effectively subsidizing all the cars and trucks thereon. Everything running on rubber tires is paid for with taxes. It is important to remember that the rolling stock (whether train cars or individual private conveyances) are less important than the surface necessary for the vehicles themselves.
Anyway, thanks for the wonderful discussion at dinner.
Best,
~Brian