Strangers on a train: The highs and lows of my 2-day rail journey from Chicago to LA
At 6 a.m., the sun shoots through the back window of the Amtrak train car like an orange spotlight. Outside, the rails glow against the flat plains of western Kansas. Maybe the light woke me. Or maybe, after four or five times of restlessly opening my eyes, it just happens to be dawn.
I teeter down the aisle of 2 1/2 cars full of people on my way to the Cafe Car for coffee.
I boarded the 2:50 p.m. Southwest Chief out of Chicago's Union Station on a Friday. By mid-morning Sunday, we'll arrive at another Union Station: Los Angeles. I could have flown between the two cities in roughly four hours. But as a frequent flyer all too familiar with the rush and stress of air travel, I was drawn to
