The number of Americans who lived in what was known as the “golden age” of train travel, which ended in the late 1940s, is rapidly diminishing.
So the attraction of many of us today toward railroads is twofold, either one of nostalgia, one evocative of old movies and glamour, or one of a futuristic mode of transportation, something along the lines of the sleek, quick and quiet monorails in Disney World.
Thus, the preliminary results of a recently released federal study that showed two proposed new passenger rail lines going through Chattanooga probably quickened many of our pulses or had us dreaming of a train trip we might make in the near future.
We’ll admit the New York to Houston route had us thinking about visiting relatives in Texas or seeing a Broadway show in New York City, while the Chicago to Miami route had us dreaming of taking in a Cubs baseball game in Chicago or stopping at a Florida beach in the other direction.
However, the likelihood of any of those who recall the “golden age” of train travel being alive when, or if, those routes ever come into being is slim.