My grandparents ran the MOMON HOUSE where the railroaders stayed and ate between the Indianapolis-Chicao-Louisville routes All stopped in Monon. The staff on the trains were all friends of the family. It was common for dad (jr) to put us on the train and travel North to grandmas or south to my cousins houses In college I’d take the train home for a day and return in time for curfew. When grandpa died leaving grandma a widow with 7 , it was the railroad men who would drop off shoes or a basket of pears or a dozen eggs They and their families were family. Never had need of a sleeper car but was always treated extremely well Knew I was safe and loved when I rode the Boilermaker Special.
The Hoosierline is a Trump Line
I have pleasant thoughts too. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Japan. You get on their trains, and all the old Pullman silver is there. They serve you first class.
REmember when it was the in thing to take a train from New York to LA if you were a movie star in the 30s. I know eventually planes, but even then, people loved the trains... which probably were going faster than they do now.
I’d take the train from Chicago to Peoria when in Medical school. You’d make it to the outskirts of Peoria like in 1 1/2 hrs, which is less time than you’d go by car....Then it would take you 45 minutes to make it in, because of bad track. They had the train going 10 MPH. This went on the entire time. I bet you Amtrak still hasn’t fixed it.
Sell off Amtrak to the private sector, then you’ll see.