On an Amtrak Long-Distance Train, There’s Scenery … and There’s Scenery.
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On an Amtrak Long-Distance Train, There’s Scenery … and There’s Scenery.

I don’t know if there’s ever been an actual scientific survey, but I’m quite sure that most people riding across the country on an Amtrak train will say what they enjoy most is looking at the scenery. It’s certainly out there in abundance and that’s certainly how I feel. I’ll never get tired of the…

Amtrak’s Best-Kept Secret: The Cardinal – Part 2
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Amtrak’s Best-Kept Secret: The Cardinal – Part 2

(The following is Part 2 of an account of one of my several trips on the Cardinal. It was originally published in the Columbus Dispatch.) At dinner, I’m seated with a husband and wife from Philadelphia on their way to visit a daughter in Portland, Oregon. They’ll be connecting with the Empire Builder tomorrow in…

Amtrak’s Best-Kept Secret: The Cardinal – Part One
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Amtrak’s Best-Kept Secret: The Cardinal – Part One

(The following is an account of one of my several trips on the Cardinal. It was originally published in the Columbus Dispatch. Part 2 on Monday.) The Cardinal isn’t a big train – a locomotive, a baggage car, just one sleeping car, three coaches, and a diner.  And it runs only three days a week…

More and Better and Faster Trains? Here’s How to Get Them.
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More and Better and Faster Trains? Here’s How to Get Them.

As mentioned here a few posts back, the Highway Trust Fund is about to run out of money and, as a result, an effort is being mounted to come up with a comprehensive bill to fund all modes of transportation. The question then becomes which mode gets how much? NARP is part of a new…