In the dining car I've dined with and spoken to: an author, a spec-ops E-5, a BNSF executive, the owner of a private rail car, and a Brit living in France who is a historian of medieval European history. In the Pacific Parlor Car of the Coast Starlight, I've drunk brandy with a Scottish tourist who knew his British railroad history. You can't get that kind of experience on a plane.
I used to take trains NYC to Chicago years ago. And I enjoyed the club bar and meeting and talking with all kinds of folks.
Can’t anymore. Can’t sit that long. I’d be walking the aisles too much. Take the plane because the trip is shorter; the only reason.