I think there have been eight occasions when I have traveled to or passed through countries with regimes unfriendly to the U.S. As a visitor in those countries, you stay out of trouble by keeping your mouth shut and not attracting attention. I was booked on a Russian train that departed in the late morning…
Serious rail fans already know about this site, of course, but for more casual rail fans, it can add a great deal to your understanding of Amtrak’s operations. Fair warning: it can occupy however much of your spare time as you will allow. https://asm.transitdocs.com This map will tell you where every Amtrak train is at…
I have just booked another ride on VIA Rail’s transcontinental train, The Canadian. As with most of my previous rides on this wonderful train, I’ll be boarding in Toronto for the ride to Vancouver. The rationale behind that choice is simple: the scenery keeps getting better as you go—first rich farmland, then the incredible wilderness…
The Loomis family—my branch, anyway—were all Yankees from Connecticut. But in 1934, my grandfather built a modest vacation home on Captiva Island in Florida. It’s a small island in the Gulf of Mexico off of Fort Myers. My mother and father honeymooned on Captiva and they retired there 50-some years later. Once, as a family,…