DeeKnow’s Grotto

Anyone who knows me will be aware of my passive but clearly geeky interest in railways. I had model railway as a kid, I travelled on trains by choice in Europe and Africa, I worked for British Railways for 3-years while living in the UK, and lately I've managed to convince a couple of unsuspecting souls (Matt and Kym) to join me in going to model-railway exhibitions.

There's just something about trains I love. A few months back I was at a BBQ and met a real-life-train-driver, man what a thrill. I talked his ears off to the point where he said I should come along on a ride in the cab with him one day (jeeze I must organise that).

So it is with some sorrow that I read of struggling railway companies the world over. Our own NZ railways can only really compete in certain niche freight markets, the passenger service is a bit of a joke. In fact our national rail infrastrucrure is so badly run down it won an award last year for Worst Transnational Corporation operating in New Zealand.

Today I read a really interesting docu-story about the current state of the american Amtrak company which apparently lost 1.2 Billion US dollars last year. Despite escalating fares and route cut-backs though, happy train-lovers readily fork out twice the cost of a plane ticket to spend 5 times as long travelling between two points...

Train buffs are holdouts of a front-porch culture. They know their attendant's first name, and they welcome passing time with strangers at dinner. By focusing on local scenes, like families waving at the train from their pickups, train passengers take a different measure of America.

The key phrase in the above quote is that railfans "welcome passing time". Thats the great thing about train travel, kicking back and taking your time, there's no rush to get anywhere you just enjoy the journey as you go. This is especially important in NZ if you travel by train, coz here you really need to know how to wait. Don't bother setting your watch by the train whistle when you're in our neck of the woods.

10:37:32 PM