On Monday, I took the train to Manhattan. I have only been to the city a few times before and never without traveling companions.
But I'm not going to write about the trip, rather I'm going to write about the Journey...
I think Paul Theroux captured the experience of rail travel best in his travel novel, "The Great Railway Bazaar." Travel isn't about the destination, but about the journey.
Interior of Pennsylvania Station 1910-1963
Rail travel will never be what it once was in the days before the Second World War. The great Pennsylvania Station in New York, the grand corporate structure in steel, glass and sculpture designed by McKim, Mead and White, has been gone nearly 50 years and will never be again.
But as I was rocked to sleep by the gentle swing of the train as we glided through the dark and fog, I was transported back, ever so slightly to a time, not so long ago, when travel was less chaotic, less hurried.
With each station, sometimes small and sometimes large groups of passengers would join or depart the train as we moved ever closer to our destinations.
They have added some modern conveniences to the train today. They have Wi-Fi connectivity both in the stations as well as in each train car so it is quite easy to stay in touch with the outside world, should you desire.
I've had a chance to travel by train quite a bit in America. I've been a far north as New York city, south as Orlando, south-west as Atlanta, and west as Charleston, West Virginia. Those steel rails take you through the front and back yards of America, letting you see what the Interstate highways and pale blue flight paths allow you to miss.
The trip took about two and a half hours each way and we were on time both ways.
While some may disagree and not every experience may be as pleasant as mine, I find the train to be relaxing and more civilized way to travel, void of the chaos of the outside world. And for a trip to and from Manhattan, I cannot think of a simpler, less expensive and more civilized way to travel than by train, even today.
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Love the way your wrote your description of riding the train. It brought back some nostalgia for my childhood days. My mother's parents lived in NYC and we would take the train to NY several times a year to visit, see a show, or go shopping. I recall my parents taught me how to "mind the gap" on the platform, how to carry my own bags and how thrilling it was to watch the world whirring by. Hope you had a great trip!!
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