There is romance in the sounds of it, the sounds of the horns, the sight of it, the sight of its length and enormity, the fact that it is often a small city on wheels, traveling to and through so many different communities in all types of weather at any time of the day or night.
There is romance in freight, in business, in exchanging goods on the open market, in seeing that people get the things that they desire, and seeing this from almost the beginning to almost the end. This is especially true in truck driving, but perhaps less so in ships and air where captains or pilots may be more in love with the vehicle than in what they are transporting.
It may be argued that train engineers, conductors and other personnel are more in love with the train than with what they are conveying. However, I think that the sheer enormity of the vehicle and of the responsibility of carrying everything safely and on time must be at least somewhat impressive to them.
I think that this romance is especially evident in areas that are large in geography or population. As I wrote in the beginning, I was fond of the sound of the train which I sometimes heard late at night. The United States has the longest rail network in the world, although I suspect that it is now devoted primarily to passenger traffic, especially to commuter or short-distance trains.
China has the largest rail network in terms of the transportation of freight. And as I stated in another series of posts, China has expressed a desire to build a rail network to Washington D.C., through the Bering Strait in Russia and Alaska.
I am certain that the people of Russia, Canada, Brazil and Australia are also proud of their countries’ railway systems.