CityView Magazine

travel think about the time-honored form of travel, but the view from inside the train is much better than the view of it — slowly — passing through town. W Railroad Ties All aboard Amtrak for the holidays BY KELLY TWEDELL aiting for the passenger and freight trains to move through down- town Fayetteville each aſternoon gives me plenty of time to look around and The barn-like Dutch Colonial Amtrak station on Hay Street is quite historic and was first known as the A.C.L. Depot, built in 1893 by the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Originally there was just a single track, but it was later joined by another. At the A.C.L.'s peak in 1934, 30 passenger trains made daily stops in Fayetteville. The famous Palmetto Limited was the New York-to-Florida train whose route stopped in the heart of the downtown. ence as a train passenger, instead of just a train watcher. Many passengers were waiting inside the Fayetteville Amtrak ter- minal for the 1 a.m. train heading south to Florida. It was to be my family's first time boarding a passenger train and an adventure to check off our bucket list. For others, it was sim- Late on a cold evening last January I had my first experi- ply a means of transportation to come visit grandchildren and other relatives. One young soldier stood in a corner kissing his wife and baby goodbye as he sent them back to visit her parents. He later explained that they are a one-car family and he knew the train was safe means of transport for his precious cargo. As my husband, two sleepy-but-excited kids, and I boarded the dimly lit silver train and picked out our velour-covered seats, I was impressed by the amount of space and semi-pri- vacy the fully reclining seating provided. The amount of leg- room made me recall airplane seating, but it was as if the row in front of us missing, a very pleasant surprise. Bringing along a pillow and blanket made the trip even more comfortable. The neatly uniformed conductor came through the cabin to punch our tickets, just as you might expect. He was accus- tomed to moving through the swaying train and was careful not to wake those who already driſted off to sleep and leſt their tickets sticking out on top of their seats. gers to sleep, thankfully, my kids included. Having just picked up my husband hours before at the airport as he travelled back The gentle sound of the speeding train lulled most passen- CityViewNC.com | 41

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