Taking the train across the U.S. - A perspective

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 01/08/2016 at 09:42 • Filed to: None

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When I was little, I took the train with my mom to visit relatives in another state. For me it was a magical trip. I remembers seeing so many things I’d never seen before. There were cows and countryside. There were cities with gigantic buildings. There were mountains! We were on a train! It’s a rolling living room! We can have dinner and our entire restaurant is still moving!!!

Now that I’m older and have experienced the trials and tribulations of taking the train as part of a daily commute, I feel rather blase about getting on a train for any reason. Sure, commuter trains and cross-country trains are different. But I think my attitude isn’t about the trains. Who wouldn’t want a rolling house that magically carries you from place to place without you having to worry about driving? No, my problem is with the other people on the trains.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. Eric Fadden of the Huffington Post !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! :

“... a [cross-country train] trip like this comes down to people. And people are disgusting creatures. The cars will start to smell about a day into the journey. Some will try to clean themselves the best they can, given that they have no access to showers. Others will simply wallow in their own filth for the next few days and deal with it when they get home.

They will trash their seats and the areas around their seats. The things they will do to the bathrooms is something that I can’t really put into words; which says a lot, given that I’m a writer.”

It seems we have forgotten how to be respectful of one-another and how to clean up for ourselves. We can’t keep a bathroom clean and can’t pick up trash we’ve dropped. We must eat what we want when we want, no matter the smell (I’m looking at you, tuna man). Above all, we’ve forgotten what it means to be ashamed. I’m talking about that feeling that we got when Mom gave us that look of disapproval. The one that said, “stop doing what you are doing before you get into real trouble.”

There was a time when everyone responded to that look with shame, no matter who was giving it. Parents, grandparents, friends and family - even strangers were able to give the look and we responded. These days, the look is taken as an invitation for a fight. Even parents are ready to do defend their child from the look, all the while ignoring the fact that their munchkin is busy painting the seat in front of them with a chili-dog.

And so we go on ignoring each other and trying to make the best of other people’s bad behavior. That, my friends, is why nobody likes to ride the train.

jariten1781 > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/08/2016 at 09:50

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-Not US unique

-Ride in an upper class carriage and you’ll find these behaviors significantly lessened (though still present to a degree). Not sure if Amtrak has them since I haven't ridden one in more than a decade and when I did I had no monies.

smobgirl > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/08/2016 at 09:55

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My dad works for Amtrak, so we pretty much traveled by rail if we weren’t driving. The sleeper cars were definitely a huge improvement, but I remember the bathrooms were an issue in coach even 25 years ago. I imagine the touristy routes are less awful than the east coast commuter-based trains, though. I don’t remember the California Zephyr or the Auto Train having the same gritty atmosphere as the regular trains we took to Florida.

I dream of taking a trans-Canada trip by rail someday. Maybe their stereotypical politeness extends to rail travel :)

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > smobgirl 01/08/2016 at 10:13

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Taking the Ocean across Canada before it goes away is high on my wish list.

smobgirl > The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) 01/08/2016 at 10:16

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Have you done the Denali Star? I was going to do an Alaska trip a couple years ago but the money didn't work out. That's on my list too.

facw > jariten1781 01/08/2016 at 10:20

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Amtrak has business class on its East Coast trains at least (and first class on the Acela)

gin-san - shitpost specialist > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/08/2016 at 10:20

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People are shitty - I've never had issues like this on European rail, although trips there are generally short unless you're going across the continent.

TheRealBicycleBuck > gin-san - shitpost specialist 01/08/2016 at 10:25

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The filth isn’t as much of an issue on the commuter trains I’ve ridden, but the general attitude is worse.

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > smobgirl 01/08/2016 at 11:18

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I’ve never done a long distance train ride, only relatively short hopes from NYC to DC, but I want to. My wife wants to travel now that we’re married and settling in, so hopefully it happens soon. A trip to Alaska (including a ride on the Denali Star) is on the short list, so hopefully we’ll get to it before settle down and have kids.