"From Boston headed home, I met up in the club car with members of a rock band, a secretary, a Peace Corps guy just back from India, and a retired dentist, and we partied night and day, telling stories and laughing our asses off. The Peace Corps guy had a sitar, and would play morning, noon and evening ragas as America rolled by outside."
"Could this be proof that train trips are special, that they resonate more deeply in our bones than other journeys do? Maybe. Or maybe this just shows how thirsty we are for a chance to turn away from current events for a moment. I'm guessing it's both."
An initial 43-hour Southwest Chief journey from Los Angeles to Chicago sparked a flood of reader train stories shared on social media. The collected memories feature vivid moments: a sitarist playing ragas in a club car, a surfboard, root beer floats, a bride-to-be and an account involving Ray Bradbury. Travelers describe scenic legs through Utah and Colorado, socializing in club cars, relaxed freedoms of earlier decades and unexpected camaraderie. Train trips are portrayed as deeply resonant and restorative, offering escape from current events and fostering intimate, communal storytelling. More than a dozen personal accounts were gathered and lightly edited for presentation.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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