> According to a report I heard I think on NPR, train travel is having
a
> resurgence. It was reported that it is rather difficult to get
tickets on
> many of the longer runs. How long it will last is anybody's guess but
> probably not long.
>
This thread reminds me of an Amtrak ride I took in 1979. I was living
in Iceland, and preferred train travel from the coast when I went home
to Iowa. Amtrak had re-instituted the Lake Cities Limited shortly
before, along the old NYC "Water Level Route", and I decided to take
that instead of the more familiar Broadway.
It was a madhouse - The train was carrying extra cars (back in those
days, Amtrak still *had* extra cars), which taxed the units into a
power failure. When passengers started getting a bit unruly as the
trip stretched to over 24 hours, the normal-sized train crew couldn't
cope & simply gave up -
And why was this? Because my trip just *happened* to be less than a
week after the Three Mile Island incident, and the Broadway Limited
passed about a mile from the site.
I later learned that the avoidance of the Broadway lasted for over a
month . . .
We may see a "fear of flying" which lasts even longer, this time - I
wonder if Amtrak will handle it better.
Marshall
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