But instead, all I got was this tiny seat on a tin-can of an airplane.

I investigated the details of how I would possibly get to Albuquerque by train. In the adventure category, it puts plane travel to shame. But we’ve gotten used to departing and arriving the same day for most points on the globe. It’s hard to look at the two to three trains, fifty-some hours over three days (not counting layover time) with a straight face. Long distance train travel is primarily about the trip, with the destination coming in as a solid second. Otherwise, you would fly.

Southwest Chief, The Capitol Limited, The Lakeshore Limited – you can’t deny there’s more glamour in those route names than in a small bag of peanuts.

The Replacement: Alvarado reconstruction of Albequerque’s train station, demolished in the 1970s. RL Fifield, 2012.