Train Redux

I had another chance to take the train out to see my friends in California recently; unlike the last time I visited, this trip was very much spur of the moment and (by necessity) needed to be low budget, so I booked a standard Coach ticket for the roundtrip.  I admit to having had some trepidation about that arrangement, since my most recent trips had been with sleeping accommodations; once you’ve experienced all of the perks of traveling in that fashion, it’s hard to ignore those working their way through the three-course dinner two cars in front of you while you stare out across the darkening landscape wondering what might have been.  As it turned out, I was pretty comfy in those wide, reclining seats they offer in Coach — and, in fact, I had quite a bit more room to get up and move around than I’d had in the small Roommette.  Still, the chair didn’t recline to a complete bed, and stepping over the person on the aisle to make a midnight run to the restroom was more interesting than it should have been, but all in all, I had a pleasant experience that I would be willing to repeat again in the future.  

A view of the grand windows in the waiting room at Los Angeles Union Station

There’s something incredibly magical about traveling that way, too.  The boarding process on Amtrak is relatively low key when compared to the crowd-the-gate-so-I-can-get-my-carryon-into-the-overhead-compartment competition I often witness when flying back East to see my family.  Perhaps it’s the more stately manner in which the train pulls up to the station that gets the better angels to appear, or maybe the echoes of a bygone era give people a moment to reflect on the fact that travel once used to be a fun adventure we looked forward to embarking on.  Whatever it is, I found myself completely relaxed and ready to start my long weekend when I stepped off the platform in Los Angeles — and, conversely, more than a little sad when I found myself back there just a few short days later to return home.  

Another view of the waiting room at Los Angeles Union Station

Traveling the rails is not something I was able to do much of while growing up back East.  Passenger rail didn’t return to Southern Maine until long after I’d moved to Arizona; while I’d taken the subway around Boston quite a bit, the T is not quite the same as a full-blown passenger train with all of the trimmings.  I know for certain that’s why I had a passenger train as a central component to the plot in Requiem; Vasily booked a room on the Sunset Limited nearly two years before I actually did, so I had quite the bout of jealousy.  He was fortunate enough to get the upgraded sleeper, the sort of cozy little room that you often see in the movies set during the Golden Age of passenger rail, something I’ve not had the budget for myself.  (Perhaps — and this is just a thought — this sort of profligate spending on the part of the Rancho Linda Police Department might be a contributing factor to their ongoing budget crisis. Someone should talk to them about that.)  Since I’ve cleverly stationed Alejandro’s mother in Tucson, I suspect we’ll get more chances to see Vasily traveling in that manner in the future, especially now that I’ve done it a few times myself and have more of a sense of the sights, sounds and even smells that go along with the experience.  Having the chance to finally walk around Union Station in Los Angeles in person increased my appreciation for what used to go into such structures, and why they were so important to the towns and cities they served; seeing how many people still rely on rail to get around gave me hope that someday, maybe, we’ll once more have as robust a system as other countries.

One can hope.