Regular readers of this column may remember one from a few years back, written as I traveled by train from Buffalo to New York City. The gist of that column was that the “backside” of many buildings revealed a little of the past because the “modern updates” were confined to the street side.
Well, I’m on the same journey. The whistle still blows as the train claims its right-of-way over all others on the lowly rural blacktop road as it crosses. It’s a reminder of how this form of travel once changed pretty much everything, including the landscape, commerce, communications and even time.
Passenger service in this country isn’t comparable to many other places in the world, but Amtrak seems to be trying. One of the “improvements” is an internet connection. It’s a good thing, I suppose. I checked on my e-mail, read a little of the Wall Street Journal. I looked around at the nearby passengers: fingers flying on two smart phones, another laptop in use, a tablet and occasional ringtones from phones. And while I’m guilty of being connected I’m going to pack up the computer soon. I’m going back to see what we, the passengers, are missing.
The trip started with seeing three turkeys followed by a deer and a number of ducks in various ponds. That’s the wildlife so far. We’ve been along the canal, and canal towns are interesting reminders of their past glory, before the train disrupted that era. There are periodic remnants of other track beds. Were they those of rivals to the New York Central or some of the NYC when it boasted “four tracks” along the route?
There are abandoned sidings, some leading to old feed storage depots. Was the feed mill a victim of fewer farmers or trucking? And there are buildings which were, most likely, “railroad hotels” in smaller towns.
A rail trip from Buffalo to New York in the late fall, when the leaves are gone and the “backside” is visible, is really a hundred-year trip back on a time machine with stops in many different decades if you take a minute to put electronic devices down and see what you are missing. And that’s what I’m going to do now, just as soon as I email this back to the copy desk.
By Grant Hamilton, Publisher
