Amtrak was created back in the early 70s because railroads operating at the time desperately wanted to get out of the passenger business. Why? Because the money was in freight and most passenger service was a money-losing proposition. So Congress created Amtrak because the lawmakers correctly felt that a national passenger rail system was a…
From time to time, I’ve received comments and emails — not all favorable — about the posts that stray from “Travel” and “Trains” and wander off into “Other Things.” Sometimes I write about “Other Things” because there just isn’t enough stuff about travel or trains coming along to provide fodder for a daily post that’s…
“When they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.” Harry Truman, to reporters after the death of Franklin RooseveltApril, 1945 —————————————————————————– “I’m ready.” Sarah Palin, to ABC’s Charles GibsonSeptember, 2008
VIA Rail, which is Canada’s equivalent to Amtrak in the U.S., made news a while back by offering free tickets to Canadian service personnel during the month of July. That promotion was a huge success and, as I recall, something like 60,000 people took advantage of the offer. Well, VIA is at it again. To…