There’s a stereotype that autistic people love trains. No one is quite sure why, but I have been into trains since I was a kid, and I enjoy travel by train. Back in 2014, I took a solo train trip from Denver to Seattle. It was my second time to the area, and the journey to and fro was far more interesting than the trip itself. I spent three weeks writing at a spiritualist camp between Tacoma and Seattle. I would nearly finish my first novel, Cast Iron. However, the travel was the real part of the story.
See America by Train
The first thing you have to know about traveling by train in the US is that the train is always late. Unlike the Eurostar that swept me from Paris to London, Amtrak doesn’t keep a schedule. Trains show up when they arrive, and the time of departure on your ticket has very little meaning. The rolling stock is vintage at best. Your destination is written on a small ticket and slipped into a slot above your seat. Small pieces of luggage sit in the same space. Large pieces of luggage go into the baggage car or more conveniently at the vestibule of your car. In 2014, my ticket read Sacramento, the western stop of the California Zephyr. I wouldn’t get my little slip for Seattle until I boarded the Coast Starlight complete with a special observation car and lounge.
