Why are trains so romantic?

Question

Also share your stories of romance on trains if you have any.

Answer 1

The "romance" of trains belongs to a different era. You have to go back before the 1972 nationalization of passenger travel in the US (when Amtrak was born as a Federally operated system). It's the 50s when "Streamliners" were the king.

Flying was still propeller stuff, lots of stops, flying too low (IN the weather), bumpy, turbulent and dangerous. Going to Europe or Asia was luxury steamliners and luxury rail was the way to go on land. The rail companies competed for the most luxurious streamliner. With sleeper cars, they were faster than airplanes in crossing the country, because airplanes didn't fly at night.

Glorious and posh life (for its time) was the order of the day on board. Anerica the Beautiful outside the Vista Dome, nothing to do but cuddle with your honey, eat 5-star food and watch the splendor of America go by.

The generation that experienced that is dying out but Amtrak keeps trying to revive the imagery for commercial purposes. It won't ever be as it was. A goverment employee doesn't understand taking a risk, reaching for a dream, the necessity of making people believe they are more important than they are (luxury).

Since 1972, they have not kept up, by maintaining the roadbed. OK for freight but not for passenger. Now, it's too bumpy, rocking back and forth, etc. If they intended to make it work, they should have switched to mag-lev technology in the late 70s and we'd all be riding on a cushion of magnets at 350 mph. Coast to Coast in absolute luxury in less than 9 hours.

Compare that to your one stop 10 hour Southwest flight in that 20" wide seat and nothing to see out that tiny shared porthole but the tops of clouds.

Answer 2

Hard to say for sure. It might be like Amtrak used to say, "There's something about a train that's magic." I for one will add that some years ago I took the train across the country. Two weeks with various stopovers. It was some of the best money I have ever spent in my life!

Answer 3

Probably because they opened up new lives; people in California could get news from New York within a week, and new things could go from coast to coast. They were also the first machines a human came into contact with, so these changes they brought made them seem dreamlike.

Answer 4

All Aboard With Amtrak!! Amtrak from simple comfort to pampered pleasure

There are scenic and romantic train rides all over the world. Some of Amtrak's more scenic stretches take days and can be a vacation in themselves. Otherwise, you can plan a vacation around one or more "dinner trains


3 years ago i got married june4,2003 . my marriage has since failed & am divorced this coming december. anyhow when my wife & i were together my parents gave us a honeymoon trip on amtrak to orlando,florida from south station boston,mass. mind you now we both were living in portland,maine at the time. i still live in portland maine. she has moved to another town since.
we traveled on amtrak train from boston,massachusetts to orlando florida & had a wonderful romantic train ride; she had never been on a passenger train before at all. i took the initiative of "showing off" the train to her & was excited for her to hear the conductors 2 way radio chatter-especially the talking hotbox equipment defect detectors that check the train for any mechanical problems as it passes by the detectors. i get a kick out of the talking hotbox detectos. her & i sat in the cafe car at one of the tables & it just so happened one of the conductors had his radio with him & i asked him nicely if he would let my newly married wife hear the talking equipment defect detectors; he kindly obliged while her & i were making out. i couldn't help myself . she got a chuckle out of the talking detector voice. you gotta be there to understand it. i also showed off the rest of the train to her & introduced to her to personnel i knew from previous trips on the amtrak train that i had taken before. made me feel all important & exclusive..."Ego"...lol . the rocking of the train while i held my wife in my arms was very romantic & watching how happy she was to be with me. i'll never forget that trip as long as i live.
i can't tell you all the details because it got steamy & yahoo answers team likes you to keep your stories clean on here. i'll let your minds & imagination figure the rest of the story out on your own..lol


if theirs any railfans in this topic feel free to check out my yahoo360 page.click on profile & it will take you right to my page.
i'm a railfan from portland,maine like i said.

Answer 5

I'm not sure about here in America, but in europe it's a nice way to travel.

Answer 6

They express excess energy, always romantic.

They thunder in tunnels.

As a system, they are very reliable (depends on your mood, but can be reassuring).

Answer 7

Just wondering whats romantic about them? They're loud, dirty, smelly, and not much fun

Answer 8

They are long and slow and travel on basically on an unshared pathway.....