Much better than flying

I've fallen in love with a new mode of transportation: the train! Okay, okay. So it's not exactly new. I admit, trains have been around awhile - however most of the time the places I go to aren't usually accessible via anything other than plane or car taking the train for work is something new.

Rather than flying or driving all the way to to Chicago this week, I took the train. A short five-hour drive got me as far east as Aurora, Illinois, where I found the train station all decorated for Christmas inside.

I thought the train going into Chicago was nearly empty because I didn't see many others in my car with me. 

Boy, was I wrong! Stepping off the train, I was nearly trampled by the scores of folks rushing to get past me and go someplace. As we pulled into Union Station, dozens and dozens of people poured out of my train and into the station.

Union Station itself was quite an adventure. There were people and stores and nooks and crannies all over. On my return trip I had a few moments to spare and explored just a little before I set off to find my express train back to Aurora. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of friendly people who said hello, smiled, or stopped to visit.

While waiting for my train, I enjoyed looking at all the other tracks and trains down the row, wondering how excited my father would be to see all of this himself.

 Is this little buffer really strong enough to stop a train from crashing if it doesn't slow down soon enough when coming into the station? Somehow it looks pretty inadequate to me. Maybe it's just for show, to make people feel better.

 That's my 3:18pm express train back to Aurora.

That's my ticket home - before the conductor came aboard and took it.

The windows gave the view outside a green cast. I wondered if this is what the world would look like if I was literally looking through "Coke-bottle" glasses. Soon we were clipping along fast enough things nearby began to blur so after a short while I didn't look outside as much and focused on my book instead.

As we came within a few miles of every stop, several people would get up to stand in line behind the doors in anticipation of getting off. I'm not sure why they were so insistent on standing so soon. A few times the train lurched enough to bump them around, into each other or into the walls. I sat where I was and enjoyed the view as long as possible before my stop. I'd have to get up and off soon enough!

At 4:13pm we pulled into Aurora and I said goodbye to the BNSF before beginning the long walk back to my car where I hoped it would start after sitting in the cold for a few days. 

This old caboose marked the end of a good trip and a fun adventure.