A View from Train # 5
Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr climbs into the Rockies after leaving Denver and follows the Colorado River for over 100 miles.
What the hell are they thinking?
I am, of course, an advocate for expanding and improving America’s passenger rail system. There are just too many reasons why we ought to be putting a lot more resources toward that as a national goal. Rail is the way to go because it’s good for the environment, it will reduce our dependence on oil,…
A Small Silver Lining
Several weeks ago, there was a massive mudslide in a remote area of the Cascade Mountains north of Chemult, Oregon. It covered almost two-thirds of a mile of Union Pacific track up to 200 feet deep, interrupting all rail traffic including Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, which runs daily in both directions between Los Angeles and Seattle…
Canyons, Curveballs and Cornfields
Amtrak’s Train #4, the daily Southwest Chief, departs Los Angeles Union Station on time at 6:45 p.m., beginning a two-day, 2,200 mile journey to Chicago. I’ll be leaving the train at Kansas City, however, to watch the Boston Red Sox in a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals. It’s my annual summer indulgence of…