Training Session

April 2026

Today I ponder the wonder and adventure of riding on a train. A timeless means of travel that still exists, well past its zenith.  We must remember that trains were the most important method of transportation in the US from the 1860s until the 1920s, when the automobile usurped its status.  Still, there is nothing like a 3-hour train ride through the Midwest, with Chicago as your destination, to fill you full of nostalgia.

Given that for years I personally travelled on an airplane 2-3 times a month, I must start by comparing the experience of rail versus air travel. As everyone knows, there is absolutely no nostalgia nor pleasure in air travel. I don’t know anyone that would say that flying fills them with anything other than maybe trepidation.

The changing perspective on air travel is one of the most obvious challenges in the travel industry of the last 50 years. What was once thought of as a dreamy, romanticized adventure, has turned into an dreaded and uncomfortable nightmare. I cannot think of a life experience today that requires such a loss of independence as travelling by plane.  It is cramped, confined and you are utterly subjugated. It is essentially joyless. Disrupting the adage that it's all about the journey and not the destination. In terms of air travel, its just something to endure. Train travel has its issues.  But not to that extent.

The US rail system is much different than its counterparts in other areas of the world. American rail is truly designed around moving freight, not personal travel.  It’s rarely on time, and the cars themselves are generally not designed for individual comfort.  But regardless, the experience is still unique and far less stressful than any airplane ride.

Today, I arrived at the station mere moments before departure.  No security.  No lines.  Boarding was easy.  I grabbed a plastic glass of wine in the dining car as I passed through to find a seat.  I sat by the window with a panoramic view of one side of the world. As we got underway and stopped at a few small cities, the train car slowly filled, but to nowhere near capacity.  I settled in and whipped out my trusty pen and paper. As the journey progressed, I just took in what I saw and felt, writing down random thoughts.  The following is what transpired within my mindless scribblings.

What a diverse set of passengers! Parents, grandparents, and children all aboard.  Card games and conversations begin. Phones and computers stretch the Wi-Fi to its limits. The purser’s voice blares on an ancient sound system too old to still be useful but still being used. People happy, laughing loudly, quite proud they can afford the luxury of a train. Off to visit long lost relatives in places that might just be fragments of memories.

The dining car is adjacent to my own.  It quickly gets busy, selling bad coffee and warm beer. The microwavable delicacies they feature provide tempting aromas that fill the air.  The sounds and motion are hypnotic.  The clickity clack of the wheels on the track with creaks and moans like an old man’s weary bones are continuous.

We pass random piles of railroad ties, awaiting their moment to support the creaking. The train slows to a stop before really getting started, with no clue why.  And questions arise, will we be on time today, or rather, how late will we be?

We travel through parts of America that are usually unseen.  Backyards with junk piles go for miles and miles. The only indication of life being the flapping American flag that seems to stand proudly behind each home or shack.  Dogs viciously barking in a silent way, chasing the train to the limits of their chain. Jolted to a full stop and a yelp, I could almost hear and feel.

Junkyards and old towns with stories untold. Warehouses filled with who knows what, bound for who knows where. Fields of corn and wheat, cows and horses. Some fields are completely empty, except for a sprinkling of crows. Making me wonder why.

The open fields lead to crowded cities. Past factories that all look ancient. Belching filth into the air, only miles from pristine, protected lakeshores.  Flame emitting smokestacks. Like huge candles on an industrial, battlefield cake. Random buildings with no obvious purpose. It all makes me wonder. As my mind wanders as it only does on a train. 

We stop regularly.  Old stations that have seen better days and new ones that have lost all the virtues the old ones held. Slowly passing the din of a road crossing as cars wait and watch. Wondering how long it might be until they’re on their way again.  Passing a train moving the other direction, inches away. Screeching by, defying logic. Through swamps and forests farms and fields. The true America is revealed.

Mansions far up on the hill looking down upon the hovels nearer the tracks. Occupants in blissful ignorance to the plight unseen. Neglected ballfields and barricades. Forgotten playgrounds and pools. An old, abandoned drive in theater. Lonely for the bygone era when there was novelty in watching a movie from your car.

The train is full of sleepy riders casually ignoring the lives that thrive within earshot of the rails. Those lives that are immune to the noise of the lonely whistle. We are all bound for somewhere. Together in a journey. Seeing the same things with different points of view.  Always waiting, wondering what’s around the next turn. On a diesel time machine journey back through golden eras where trains were once the fastest way to anywhere. Rhythmically purring in a way that allows you to doze, without ever really falling asleep.

And then suddenly the city.  Chicago!  Truly an awesome sight, even for someone that has seen it dozens of times before. A crowd of skyscrapers swathed against the shoreline. Framed in a bright blue sky.  A riveting view as we slowly approach, leaving the industrial blight and sleepy countryside behind.  We roll into the station. An hour late.  And no one cares.  We have just seen America.  All in our own way.  And stayed grounded in history while doing so.