Riding the Rails
My youngest daughter and I took the train recently from Kansas City to St. Louis. Over the years I’ve heard horror stories about long delays along the normally 5 hour route, but recently I’d heard that most of those problems had been resolved so I decided we’d take the chance. The train ride was great! Very comfortable seating, similar to an airplane but with lots more seating space. We left from Independence, MO, just east of Kansas City (home of Harry Truman and the Truman Presidential Library).
It’s a small train station, staffed for just a few hours a day by volunteers. There was a small, well kept parking lot, and benches on which to wait. The train stops at least a half dozen times as it crosses the state, but only for a few minutes each time. Much of the route is right along the Missouri River, through small towns, and farmland. Very pretty scenery – much better than what we see from the highway (no billboards!!!!). The trip takes just about the same amount of time as driving, and with two of us, we spent a bit less than we would have one gas. Our trip back was not quite as idyllic – the air conditioning in our car was working only sporadically. But the passengers took it in stride – most where St. Louis Cardinal fans traveling to Kansas City to watch the series with the Royals (I’m proud to report that our KC Royals won the series!), and were in festive moods. This lack of grumbling really made the difference between what could have been a very long, tedious trip and what ended up being a “warm” , but fun adventure. All of this is a not-so-subtle lead in to a couple of great samples made by our design team using our new Train Engine Large – 1217J image. The name of each designer will display when select each photo.
