Even Less Gloom?

On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 16:22:52 -0500, "Neil Gould"
wrote:

Having traveled once from Richmond, VA to New Orleans by Amtrak, I'd
rather drive than do it again. I would have saved 18 hours each way
even if I stopped for 8 hours sleep.

There are faster ways to go anywhere than to travel by train (or by ship).
Kinda misses the point of the experience, though.

You mean the jerking, bumping, swaying and noise?

Don


Virginia - the only State with a flag rated
"R" for partial nudity and graphic violence.

Kinda misses the point of the experience, though.

You mean the jerking, bumping, swaying and noise?

Hee hee! Agreed.

My parents used to LOVE that part of train travel. They said the
bumping, swaying and noise made for a great night's sleep.

And my grandfather worked for Santa Fe, so trains were in my family
blood.

Personally, I think trains are cool (one of my fondest memories is of
taking the Santa Fe Super Chief from Chicago to LA as a child), but
I'll fly any time over them. Too slow and clunky to make them viable
cross-country transportation.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Recently, Jay Honeck posted:

Kinda misses the point of the experience, though.

You mean the jerking, bumping, swaying and noise?

Hee hee! Agreed.

If that's how you really feel, why you would fly on anything smaller than
a 747 puzzles me.

Personally, I think trains are cool (one of my fondest memories is of
taking the Santa Fe Super Chief from Chicago to LA as a child), but
I'll fly any time over them. Too slow and clunky to make them viable
cross-country transportation.

For those with the resources to fly, travel by train *is the point of the
trip*, not "getting somewhere" fast. The Santa Fe Super Chief is still a
great experience (we took that one about 5 years ago). You get to see the
country from a historical perspective, since the railroad tracks seldom
pass through the suburbs. More importantly, one gets the chance to meet
and chat with people that you wouldn't normally encounter. There is no
comparison between those folks and the obnoxious jerks that think their
airline ticket entitles them to make everyone else's experience miserable.

In a similar vein, when I choose to fly spam-cans I'm not in a hurry to
get somewhere. To the contrary... I want to *prolong* the experience. So,
I fly Warriors, Archers, 172s, etc. I'm not interested in "faster" planes
that guzzle twice as much fuel to get me somewhere 30 minutes sooner.
YMMV.

Neil

"Don Tabor" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:50:59 GMT, "Neil Gould"
wrote:

Yeah, going anywhere over 50 miles by Amtrak is going to be VERY
educational.

Having traveled thousands of miles on AmTrak, I highly recommend it. It's
a heck of a lot better experience than I've had on any airline.

Neil

Really?

Having traveled once from Richmond, VA to New Orleans by Amtrak, I'd
rather drive than do it again. I would have saved 18 hours each way
even if I stopped for 8 hours sleep.

Quite! From 1994 thru 98 I had to do quite a bit of airline travel and it
was, by and large, pretty decent (except AmericaWorst/USScare).

With the interstate highways having mostly 75MPH speedlimits (read:85-90
cruising), in the west, you can beat any Amtrak. And you get to stop WHERE
you want, WHEN you want. Or, if you're one of those touchy-feeley, let's all
cram together for a group hug, well then Amtrak is probably just your speed.
:~)

Now, if sightseeing is your thing, one of those scenic rail trips would be
much superior to the Amtrak cattle-cars.

Then, too, some people like cattle-cars...at least for everyone else.

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...

"El Maximo" wrote:

airline.

I recently went in for a colonoscopy, I highly recommend it. It's
a heck of a lot better experience than I've had on any airline.

Just had mine & agree completely, no sarcasm intended.

At least I was unconscious during the most painful and humiliating parts
of the experience, which is better than I can say about my last airline
flight.


Yeah (sigh!) ...the more they need it, the more they've stopped serving
booze.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Kinda misses the point of the experience, though.

You mean the jerking, bumping, swaying and noise?

Hee hee! Agreed.

My parents used to LOVE that part of train travel. They said the
bumping, swaying and noise made for a great night's sleep.


Yeah...sleep...uh huh, sure.

Our parents were much more....um, savvy...than we realize.

They were, however, very discreet.

"Neil Gould" wrote:

I'm not interested in "faster" planes

What!?!?!!!

Heretic!

Don't you know there's no such thing as a fast enough airplane? ;^)


--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

In article ,
"Neil Gould" wrote:

For those with the resources to fly, travel by train *is the point of the
trip*, not "getting somewhere" fast. The Santa Fe Super Chief is still a

In the U.S., that is. Just got back from 3 weeks in Germany -- 4
successive business trips on ICEs up and down the length of the
country. G-d, they live better there than we do.

"AES" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Neil Gould" wrote:

For those with the resources to fly, travel by train *is the point of the
trip*, not "getting somewhere" fast. The Santa Fe Super Chief is still a

In the U.S., that is. Just got back from 3 weeks in Germany -- 4
successive business trips on ICEs up and down the length of the
country. G-d, they live better there than we do.

So move there.

[crickets chirping]

Recently, Dan Luke posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote:

I'm not interested in "faster" planes

What!?!?!!!

Heretic!

Don't you know there's no such thing as a fast enough airplane? ;^)

If I'm being shot at, my priorities change. ;-)

Neil