{"id":6962,"date":"2013-10-27T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-27T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=6962"},"modified":"2013-10-27T10:44:30","modified_gmt":"2013-10-27T14:44:30","slug":"travel-by-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2013\/10\/27\/travel-by-train\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel By Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Before the North Country got its first (light) snow and while the trees still had most of their leaves, we took a short train trip to Quebec City.<\/p>\n

My wife and I drove from Potsdam, made it through the border and parked at the Cornwall train station in less than an hour. The VIA Rail building\u2019s interior is the sort of tiled, nondescript waiting area you\u2019d expect. But going out the back door and standing by the tracks is like stepping into an iconic past:<\/p>\n

The low, brick building. Dull steel rails. Turning to see them run from one horizon to the other. It’s an indelible scene from our cultural history. This is how the backdrop must have looked when millions of 19th- and 20th-Century Americans left rural hometowns for the city, for war or college. But by the time my generation came of age, we were sold on the independence and possibility of cars.<\/p>\n

I want my money back.<\/p>\n

Standing under the deep eaves of the train station and watching leaves the color of fire shake in a light breeze, I can now see that rails hold the same promise as any highway.<\/p>\n

\""I<\/a>

“I could just look out the window and watch the slow-motion non-drama of a fall day play across the plains…”<\/p><\/div>\n

But the train is so much better. I can\u2019t remember the last time I hopped behind the wheel and had a uniformed attendant offer to bring me anything from the snack menu. When you\u2019re driving, no matter how soporific the road you\u2019re on, you can\u2019t just take a nap. And, of course, on the train you can take bathroom breaks that don\u2019t delay anything or anyone.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s much better than flying, too. VIA Rail doesn\u2019t ask you to wait in long lines, then demand that you slip off your shoes, belt and dignity. They don\u2019t irradiate passengers to generate cartoon nudes. Airlines want you at the terminal two hours before take off. We left the house two hours before the train\u2019s departure. And even though we sat in the economy section, we were in the wide, comfy recliners that airlines only offer in first class.<\/p>\n

It was relaxing, too, in a way that flying just isn\u2019t anymore.<\/p>\n

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