What little kid would not want to take a ride on a train. I know when I was a kid I would have jumped at the opportunity. But then I also wanted to ride on a firetruck, ride in a police car and ride on a garbage truck. I'm turning 75 in a few weeks and would still like do those thing, it's every kids dream and every old man's fondest memory.
I know I was like
most kids (my grandson included) and had a fascination with trains, I even had
my own train set that I had to share with my brother and every time I saw a
train go by I would watch it in awe. The idea of having an opportunity to ride
a train would have been the thrill of a lifetime but it never happened. I did
come close when I was a Cub Scout, my den leader worked for the railroad and we
got to ride from one end of the rail yard to the other, it wasn't very far but
we talked about it for days.
By the time I
grew up my childish dreams turned to adult necessities that involved living in an adult world, little things like making money to buy food and gas for the car. Trains still fascinated me but something else
always seemed to catch my eye but the thought of getting to ride on a train has
always been in the back of my mind but the opportunity never came about because life in general always had a habit of getting in the way - until now. Believe
it or not, here I am writing this
story while Kay and I are on an Amtrak train on our way to visit my brother in
Arizona, an old man's fantasy has come true.
It all started
months ago, Kay suggested that we travel to Arizona to see my brother Pat and
his wife Teresa, they had moved out west years ago and Pat refuses to come east
again and he was the only brother she had not met. We talked over time
schedules, how much time should we allot and other sights we might see along
the way. Then we gave thought to mode of transportation, should we fly, should
we drive, I know how about we take a train. Kay had ridden a train to
Washington years ago and thought a long train ride might be fun, so she set
about coming up with the particulars, to make a long story short - here we be in
a sleeper car on the "Sunset Limited" somewhere in southern Texas.
It has been a great trip so far but things are not as I thought they would be but then my only experience with riding a train has come from the old movies I watched on TV and boy things couldn't be more different. First of all, when I grew up trains
rode on lengths of rails that were joined together with large bolts and a gap
of maybe an inch would separate the joined ends. There was a sound made by the
wheels as they passed over the gap, it sounded like the train was saying
"clickity clack, clickity clack" every time a set of wheels hit the
gap. Well, they don't make any such noise any more as the rails are made in
extremely long pieces and the ends are welded together to make a seamless rail
that runs for miles. I was so looking forward to the "clickity clack"
sound to lull me to sleep tonight.
In the old movies, even new movies, where people are riding on trains they are carrying on a conversation while walking down the aisle just as though they
were in the confines of their own home, they sat in the dinning car and comfortably ate their meals then returned to the sleeper car and invite friends in to talk for awhile, it made one envious of people who had
an opportunity to travel by rail. Well, as I sit here swaying from side to side while
attempting to type this story, I can tell you there is nothing smooth about a
train ride except for when said train is at a complete stop. For one thing the
appearance that the rails are laid on a smooth bed of packed gravel is for sure
an optical illusion and the faster the train goes the more obvious the
illusion. There are slight dips in the tracks that give a small bounce as the
train passes over them, so you have some moments when you seem to feel as if
you are in a bounce house. There is the sideways rocking motion probably
due to a slight height variation of the opposing rails, at times your body
(even when sitting) will rock violently from left to right or right to left by several
inches, again the intensity of the sideways motion depends on the speed of the
train. Sitting down while experiencing these various motions is bad but try
walking down the aisle or worse yet try going to the bathroom while the train
is running down the track at fifty miles an hour. If you are old like me, you
had better be holding on to something, Kay was standing up earlier when the
train was slowly coming to a stop she wound up in my lap. After a trip to the dining car, we are
anticipating several bruises to appear on our bodies because the isles are
narrow, like maybe 30 inches. Narrow aisles could be considered a safety net
allowing your body to react like a ball in a pinball machine, your shoulders and or hips
just bounce off the walls as the train sways from side to side.
We chose a
sleeping car because it affords privacy and the ability to stretch out and
catch a few winks while the train is underway. If you are making a long trip of
several days, it is nice to have a bed to sleep in and your own shower as
opposed to a reclining seat and having to share the restroom with a bunch of
strangers. While the coach class is not as private the sleeping compartments
also have their own brand of deficiencies, for starters they are small, tight,
slim, and downright tiny. The sleepers of the old movies slept four people and
were spacious enough to accommodate at least six people for drinks and polite
conversation. Sleeping compartments of today are built for two people and at least one of them should be young and flexible enough to climb into the top
bunk, they should also be skinny as the bed is a tight single. The compartment
as a whole is very well laid out with a long couch that opens to a small double bed, a sink, coat closet, shower / toilet, one fold down seat and a fold down table, all crammed into a space about six and a half feet by six and a half feet and six and a half feet high.
The upper bunk
folds up when not in use, when in use be sure the safety straps are secured as
you could easily bounce out during the night and by the way, you must like a
very firm mattress. I tried the upper bunk on the trip out, I am a spry
75-year-old with a brain that keeps telling my body "go ahead you still do that", after twisting my body like a pretzel. I
finally made it into the bunk and got a blanket over me but after being tossed
and bounced around for an hour I had to climb down to pee and damn near pulled a hamstring getting down. When I came out of the bathroom I looked at the top bunk and looked at Kay in the bottom bunk and decided she needed the warmth of my body next to her. The bottom bunk when not in use serves as
a couch and is comfortable, when folded down for use as a bed another mattress
is applied making it quite comfortable. Two people like Kay and myself can
sleep on the bottom bunk but before attempting this you need to understand it will add a whole new meaning to the term "togetherness".
The shower /
toilet is accommodating if you are about my size. I am 6ft 2 inches and weigh
about 225lbs, if you are bigger than me then you may need a crowbar to get in
and out. Turning around once you are in is damn near impossible and if you drop
the soap you will need to step out to retrieve it. The nice thing is that the toilet allows that you can sit down while bathing.
Not every
stranger is interested in a conversation, and you should note that
entertainment is limited to looking out the window counting cows, clouds,
distant mountain tops and cars on fast moving trains going the other way. There
is not always internet service so I advise that you bring your own form of
entertainment, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles and a deck of cards should fill the bill.
One should be
prepared to gain weight. We were told that all trains east of the Mississippi
served food prepared by "Chef Mike", in other words the food is the
same as a TV dinner warmed in a microwave oven - hence the name "chef
Mike". We are also told that all trains west of the Mississippi serve food
prepared by a cook on board and meal choices are more appealing to the palate. I
can attest to the truthfulness of these statements, for sure the deserts on the
Sunset Limited are to die for. I'm afraid to jump on the scales when I get
home.
Not surprising
there are people who love train rides and take them quite often, even I
wouldn't mind taking a short trip in the coach section but I'm not so sure that
I will be interested in another cross-country trip. I will say this has been a
good trip, it was both interesting and exciting and I'm glad we did it but if
you are prone to bruise easily or are a senior who has a problem with your balance then riding the train is not for you.
