Today I took my first Big train ride!!

I've used Philadelphia's transit system a couple times with my family, but those train rides were never more than an hour. This time I went on a train all the way to Chicago... for 22 hours.

I am a big train fan. I mentioned it briefly in my paper on sustainability and capitalism, but trains are the most environmentally friendly, efficient, and cost-effective form of transportation we have! Living in America means that I don't get any of that though. We only have one high-speed rail line and I sure as hell cannot afford it. So I got the 22 hour ride.

Generally, as someone who cannot afford a car, I love all modes of public transportation. Taking the city bus in my college town makes me feel more connected and integrated into the community in which I live. There's a quiet sense of solidarity and understanding on public transit; we all just need to get from A to B, and most people don't want to cause problems. I don't believe in the fear mongering around a few unstable individuals using public transit. I've felt more unsafe in the car with my dad than I ever have using the bus. Cars isolate us, and take autonomy away from those of us who are disabled, unable to afford a car, etc. Generally I like to blame a lot of my problems on my man Henry Ford.

ROLLING BACK TO TRAINS THOUGH! I rode mostly on the Capitol Limited train from Amtrak, the United States' ONLY national rail service. It's pretty nice. The grilled cheese I got sucked, but the seats are roomy and comfortable and the view is much better than anything I get on the highways.

I started at 30th st. Station in Philadelphia, which is beautiful, by the way. Gorgeous open hall with a big screen with information. Art-deco chandeliers. It's currently undergoing renovations, so I'm really excited to see it when it's done. I'm totally botching a bunch of these words; Notepad++ doesn't have spellcheck.

The train from Philly to Washington D.C. was called the Northeast Regional Rail and it was alright. Not super roomy, but comfortable, and it had wifi which I can't say about this one. It was only an hour ride, and I'm pretty familiar with the Northeast part of this country so there was nothing particularly interesting I saw on the way.

Washington D.C.'s Union Station is ALSO beautiful. It's a bit more busy and airport-like(?) than 30th st., but that meant that I could buy Cinnabon. I'd love to explore it if I had more time.

The Capitol Limited train, from D.C. to Chicago, is a really lovely train. It is two stories, which I didn't realize was possible for a train. It has a ton of leg room, there's curtains on the windows. Like I said before, though; no wifi and the grilled cheese sucked. This thing goes through states I'd never been to before which is super exciting; I saw a ton of cows and horses in West Virginia, and got to see the bridges in Pittsburgh lit up at night, and there was this bizarre abandoned building at one of the stations in Ohio(?). I also got to see Lake Michigan!!!

Arriving in Chicago was super exciting; Union Station, like 30th st., is undergoing renovations. But I got to explore it a bit before my next train came! I decided to get to where I'm staying using mostly Chicago transit, because I will be using it all summer and would like to get used to it sooner rather than later. After navigating through a maze of work-in-progress temporary walls and blockades I made it to the main station. Union Station is beautiful. All train stations are, really. I wish I had gotten a good photo of it, but I'm sure I'll be back there soon.

I loaded up a bus card (as I will be using it to get to work every day this summer) and bought myself a train ticket to the suburbs. Chicago's suburban transit coverage is honestly impressive for an American city. The place I am staying is further from Chicago than my hometown is from Philadelphia, but my hometown has barely any bus coverage. The nearest train station is 40 minutes away. I was surprised by how close I could get to where I'm staying just by train.

Speaking of the train damn everyone is so patient with me lmao. I kept asking stangers questions because I was so worried about fucking it up somehow. "How long do we have to board?" "This is the right track for this train, right?" "Is this the train going to XYZ?" and many more questions came out of my mouth to bother unsuspecting strangers. They were all very nice about it at least and gave me good, accurate information. Thank you, Midwest hospitality. I remember back in my college town the bus driver kept rolling his eyes and complaining when it was obvious I didn't know how to navigate the bus system.

Honestly, everyone told me I would be sick of trains after that 22 hour ride across states, but I am an even stronger Train Fan now. The journey felt so safe, relaxing, and comfortable. Was I excited to get the hell off that machine? Yeah absolutely, but that is mostly because I desperately craved a shower and a bed. I will forever be fascinated by the punctuality, efficiency, and care that goes into maintaining and running train systems.

I'm chilling in my temporary home now. I like it a lot here so far! I can get anywhere I need to via bike and bus. More blog posts about my silly little journies (journeys?) to come! I hope!

♥jay