electricron wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 8:41 amThe only thing Amtrak excels at anymore is grand views of America - mostly of back yards of farms and ranches - that you can not get from a plane tens of thousands of feet above the ground. But here is the rub, you can get those same views driving you own car; even "grander" views where Amtrak dares not go. Las Vegas, Branson, Great Smokies, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Denali, etc.
The Cardinal in West Virginia has many miles of the New River Gorge, not seen by automobile.
My only childhood memory of Amtrak was the ice cream novelty vending machine at my neighborhood station. My friends and I had never seen one, nor have I since, and patronized it when we could afford it. This was at Lambert's Point, Norfolk, Virginia, where N&W had moved the station. It occupied the lower floor of modern two-story office building, next to the coal yards. Much better than an Amshack, but not exactly downtown either. Service ended in 1977.
When Amtrak returned to Norfolk in 2012 a new station was built downtown. Immediately on leaving the station it crosses a river and you're on your way, and then a smooth ride to Richmond with only one stop. From there north the traction gets more rambunctious. The new service has been popular. Driving a car to Washington in commuting hours, say for Pentagon employees and service members, is no easy task, on highways that have doubled and quadrupled in width.
Going back to the 1970's, a good patch of tangled, wooded land around the N&W, built on leftover fill-dirt and who knows whatever else, served as an unofficial playground for us. These days it's more controlled, as a nature park. People on that side of the neighborhood had to wash their houses every year of coal dust. I believe that situation has improved.