WHY TAKE A TRAIN? - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 1

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WHY TAKE A TRAIN?
Sophie Tucker once said, “I've been rich and I've been poor.
Believe me, rich is better.” Well, in my many travels I've been
comfortable and I've been uncomfortable. Believe me, comfort-
able is better. A lot better. And that's why I take the train.
There are a lot of societal and environmental reasons for
being pro-rail, and we'll talk about those in another chapter. But
for long-distance travel, the train is the only civilized option left
for us. You think not? Just consider the other choices.
See America Through a Windshield?
Forget it. Droning great distances across the country by car or—I
shudder at the very thought—by bus is, for the most part, a waste
of time. If you're the driver, it's tiring. If you're a passenger, it's
boring. Either way, it's confining and uncomfortable.
In Charles Kuralt's delightful book, On the Road with Charles
Kuralt , he said, “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is
now possible to travel across the country coast-to-coast without
seeing anything.” Kuralt's exaggeration can be forgiven, but you
won't come close to seeing much of the real America until you
leave the interstate. When we build superhighways in this coun-
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