On the Tracks of the
Iron Horse
by John Pitt
"All aboard! All
aboooardd!!" The conductor's extended cry created a thrill of anticipation
as we mounted our train in Washington, DC, for the start of a journey that
would take us 3,500 miles across the entire United States. With its
waiting room decked in gold leaf and a marble concourse large enough to
hold the Washington monument sideways, the city's Union Station made a
suitably imposing place to begin our adventure on the tracks of the
legendary Iron Horse.
Amtrak's gleaming Cardinal train crossed the Potomac and was soon heading
down the Shenandoah Valley, home to wild bear, bobcat and 200 species of
birds. Most of the trees had turned crimson and gold in the early autumn
sunshine as our train climbed into the Blue Ridge Mountains on a line
built in the 1870s by former slaves from Virginia. On a mountain above Big
Bend tunnel stood the statue of John Henry, who swung twelve-pound hammers
in both hands to prove he could tunnel through rock faster than a
steam-powered drill. He died from a heart attack soon afterwards but his
achievement inspired such railroad songs as "Take This Hammer" and "If I
had a Hammer".
We accompanied rugged, boulder-strewn rivers among waterfalls and forested
hills until sunset, when it was time to investigate the dining car. Meals
on board are usually freshly prepared and on this occasion there was
excellent locally-caught trout on the menu. Afterwards, the bar was the
place to go to enjoy a drink and the evening movie or a game of cards.
Strangers quickly became friends in the laid back atmosphere and a girl
from Manchester, England, told us she was out to see the world on $10 a
day, intent on making maximum use of her rail pass to visit nearly every
state inside a month.
Through panoramic windows in the observation lounge we watched the
Cardinal's progress across the Ohio River towards the bright lights of
Cincinnati. When the train stopped and we went back to our coach we found
the attendant handing out free pillows. People began to settle down for
the night. Getting a decent night's sleep was no problem since the coach
had well-padded, reclining seats and I made sure to choose one which was
well away from the noise of the sliding doors. I had also took a coat to
wrap around me in case the air-conditioning became over exuberant.
I awoke to find the train trundling into Chicago, where the Great Hall
waiting room is as big and almost as grand as many a cathedral. Now sadly
underused, its sweeping staircases and wonderful arched ceiling seem to
echo with the sounds from another, much busier age. One veteran Red Cap
porter told me how not so long ago you could have enjoyed a bath, a shave
and a shoeshine in the restrooms below, sometimes bumping into Al Capone
as he did the same.
From Chicago I boarded the California Zephyr, which takes a route formerly
used by pioneer wagon trains, gold prospectors and the Pony Express. You
can find out more about the Cardinal, the Zephyr and all other
long-distance Amtrak and VIA Rail trains in the guide book USA by Rail
(ISBN 1 898323 83 6) available in bookshops or by mail from Bradt
Publications, 41 Nortoft Road, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, SL9 0LA, England.
E-mail bradtpublications@compuserve.com
In North America the book is distributed by Globe Pequot,
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475, USA.
E-mail service@globe-pequot.com
Since I would be spending two nights on board the Zephyr I opted for the
luxury of a private sleeping compartment this time. All long-distance
trains have them and the modest extra ticket price includes meals in the
dining car as well as fresh coffee and a newspaper delivered each morning.
You may even find a chocolate mint waiting for you on your pillow when you
retire. The room felt a little cramped at first but was cosy enough, with
a fold-down bunk and two seats that could convert into a second berth if
required.
The train pulled out through residential suburbs then travelled over wide
cornfields and marshes before dramatically crossing the Mississippi River
on a 2,000ft high bridge. This gentle, tree-lined countryside is renowned
for its covered bridges, which were made even more famous by the book and
film of "The Bridges of Madison County". The Zephyr crossed the Missouri
River as darkness descended and the sleeping car attendant came to make up
our beds. Following a hot shower it was a pleasure to snuggle down and be
swayed through the night listening to the comforting rhythm of the wheels
on the track.
The most spectacular part of the journey began next day as we climbed the
Rocky Mountain foothills, where deer and elk scampered among the aspens
and pine trees. After going through the Moffatt Tunnel (the highest point
on Amtrak's network) we followed the Colorado River through a series of
brilliantly coloured canyons. On our left was the huge violet and purple
mound of the Grand Mesa, the world's largest and perhaps most beautiful
flat-top mountain. We looked for golden eagles riding currents of air
along the warm red walls of Ruby Canyon then, at Westwater, entered a
landscape of dry river beds and eroding sandstone mesas, passing the
picturesque Sweet Grills Cafe featured in the film "Thelma and Louise".
After descending snow-dusted mountains to the desolate uranium country of
Utah, the Zephyr paused at Salt Lake City during the night then whisked us
to Reno by the following morning. From Reno we crossed the Sierra Nevada,
keeping our eyes open for atmospheric remains of old gold mines. At Donner
Lake we saw the place where in 1846 a party of settlers were trapped for
several agonising weeks after being caught in tremendous blizzards. Half
the settlers died or were forced into cannibalism to survive before they
could be rescued.
Cameras flashed furiously as the train inched along overgrown cliffs above
the North Fork of the American River, easing down the western side of the
Sierra Nevada through drifts of lupins and poppies. The Golden Gate Bridge
appeared casually to the right as we travelled along the bay towards our
final destination, San Francisco. We might have made the journey across
country by air in a fraction of the time but trains are so much more fun
You have time to relax, stay close to the landscape and you move at a pace
that is perfect for sightseeing. North American trains possess abundant
style and old-world charm but they may not be around for ever, so climb
aboard soon while you have the chance.
About the
Author:
John Pitt is the author of USA by Rail and writes on travel for
newspapers and magazines throughout the world. He has travelled more than
60,000 miles by train in the USA and Canada. For more information, and the
chance to win FREE rail passes or a copy of the latest Railroad Tycoon II
computer game, visit the
website
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