Let’s start with a simple, indisputable truth: all public transportation is subsidized. That’s true from airlines to bikeways, and everything in between. Amtrak’s troubles began at the time of its creation in the early 1970’s when conservatives in Congress decided that the primary goal for the railroad should be to at least break even. We’ll…
The Belmond British Pullman company has restored and refurbished an entire train that now carries lucky people on a variety of rail excursions. The thing is, Belmond transports you back in time as well . . . back to the 1930’s and the Golden Age of Train Travel. Our excursion began at Victoria Station as…
Slowly and painfully, the Golden Age of train travel came to a sorrowful end in the late 1960s. Rail passenger service was driven out of profitability by air travel and the opening of the Interstate Highway System. And yet, Congress at that time understood that passenger trains provided many Americans in rural areas of the…
My part in my latest book project is just about done. The manuscript is 99-percent finished and all that remains will be a final read-through looking for anything that needs tweaking. And, since my editor is far more skilled in that area than I, there will be little if anything of consequence for me to…