Let’s not beat about the bush, I am a massive Amtrak fan, I am totally biased in its favour, I see the photo above and all reason flies out of the window. Yes, it is expensive, yes, it is slower than flying, yes, it is cramped and prone to delays of one sort or another, but it is glorious! If I were to have another child Amtrak is the name I would choose, and in these gender non-specific times it would fit very well.

I have nearly circled America by train, there is just a stretch from Seattle to Chicago to do and I must make sure that when I complete it, it is in daylight as I believe that the journey is spectacular. It is my ambition to complete this remaining leg before I get too old. At the age of 63, I still have youth on my side, many people have commented -but now is the time to act, to complete, and to fulfil ambition before there are no more days left to follow dreams.

The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake comes to mind, “O Lord God, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning, but the continuing of the same, until it be thoroughly finished, which yieldeth the true glory; through him who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life for us, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.” 

Quite a few years ago, back in the UK, I had a lodger who had an American friend  he invited over to the house, and who turned out to be an Amtrak driver. I remember finding his career fascinating but had no idea about the scale of his job and the great distances he covered, I think he operated in the east. Having now seen Amtrak first-hand I am smitten!

I hadn’t intended to eulogise US rail, I thought I could get away with a few good stories and that would be it. But be warned, I could happily turn this blog into a celebration of all things Amtrak and even Union Pacific and all the other commercial rail companies as well. Wikipedia says that there are 160,000 miles of railroad across the country, in the UK there are about 10,200 miles. The reach of Amtrak is phenomenal, and where it beats the car and plane is that there are parts of the United States that can only be seen by train, wild places privileged by rail.

However, there is an elephant in the carriage that must be dealt with immediately and I serve notice that the answer to the question must be a resounding, ‘Yes!’ The answer ‘Yes!’ must resound from Washington to San Francisco and from Chicago to San Antonio. In truth, I am not really interested in other points of view, but

Q: ‘Can a journey by rail be classified as a roadtrip?’

For the sake of clarity, we are not talking about a trip by road here, but a roadtrip through the United States, a journey of meetings, conversations, anecdotes, tales and discovery. I don’t believe a journey by plane would count as it is simply designed to travel from A to B in the shortest possible time. Trains on the other hand, lend themselves to getting to know others, or for providing opportunity for hours of silence in contemplation or sleep as the train barrels through the wild places, or for small acts of gallantry as doors are opened for others or wobbly people carrying coffee are steadied by the outstretched arm of a fellow traveller.

On American trains, I can sit like a wide-eyed bush baby on a bench – just sitting and looking out of the window – I’m preparing for retirement. On every trip, I have been more than happy with the roomettes I have had, which are tiny, but which offer snug comfort. As the iron horse traverses America, the light filtering through the window constantly flickers across the sedentary passenger like one of those early cinema projectors. Across desert and through forest, the afternoon sun gives way to sunset and evening and then high above the pole star seems to steer this 20^th century leviathan ever onward, mile after mile. To the hurried there is no comfort to be found in train travel, just an eager need to reach their station and then to disappear into the night on whatever errand had sent them there. Some travel by train to avoid flying, others commute and then people like me travel to see, to observe and to absorb and to drink whisky – if I have got my act together.

Conversations I have struck up have been with passengers in adjacent cabins, at the meal table and also in the lounge. I have shared information with strangers on where I am travelling to, whilst gently interrogating others about their reasons; I have broadened my musical repertoire with recommendations on artists to follow, and have taken advice on where to find the best restaurants in the next town. When fellow travellers learn that I come from another country, political questions soon follow, ‘What do you guys think of – ‘ or ‘do you think the Queen of England could come and sort this out – for us?’ Then there are the conspiracy theorists, and they are tedious as hell, if you are not careful you can easily find yourself taken prisoner for an hour at a time. My favourite conversations are with those people who may have lived seemingly ordinary lives until you discover something extraordinary about them.

A small but impressive example was the day that I met a graduate in his mid-20’s (I foolishly forgot to record his name). The train had made a 4 hour stop at San Antonio and we got talking. He was at Oklahoma University and was on his way home to Palm Springs in California – sometimes the distances that Americans travel to do ordinary things is mesmerizing. He told me that he had completed a semester’s (term’s) work ahead of schedule and was heading home for a term (semester) to save money to put towards his own apartment so that he didn’t have to live in the halls of residence. So I asked him how he managed to cram two semester’s work into one. ‘Oh, I’m on a special programme for people like me’ – he was a gifted individual, good for him, but sickening for the rest of us mere mortals who have to slog away at the work we do. It was clear that he was a very bright chap and he reminded me of a young Bill Gates. He also managed to explain to me why Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett should have travelled so far south to fight the Battle of Alamo. It was a quiet afternoon conversation but I couldn’t help but wonder how his life would unfold. I imagine his intellect will carry him far as well as his drive to achieve goals.

For the modern traveller there are two drawbacks to travelling by train. The first are those extended wi-fi outages that to be fair may be expected in open countryside, and the second is trying to write whilst on the move. In a word – don’t – when you have forgotten what you have written your writing will appear as comprehensible as Amharic script to the average non-Amharic speaker. Remember and write it down later, or record your thoughts as an audio file, even typing can be tricky.

Your train awaits, may I see your tickets please?

By road and by rail there are adventures aplenty so climb on board, find your quarters, sit back and relax, but do ‘Watch Your Step!’

This is the Journeymen singing ‘500 miles’. It really only works in the States as you can’t travel 500 miles anywhere in Britain without falling into the sea:  https://youtu.be/kd7qt2ilIO8?si=48GTuKWt7AINFm84