From 1944 to 1951 I traveled from Dayton Ohio to Rome, Georgia. I would take the New York Central to Cincinnati in late afternoon and the Pullman car I was in would be added to The Southern’s Ponce de Leon for the overnight to Rome. How I loved that trip which was Steam until the late 40s when it became Diesel. I have so many pleasant memories of the water stop at Corbin, I think and the time my friends mother put us on the northbound train with a box full of biddies while she whistled so the porter wouldn’t not what I was up to. I was 12 years old at the time.
I never got trains out of my blood, starting with the subways of NYC, the Southern, the Mopac and Chicago El (Navy years), the White Pass to Lake Bennett, CA, The Canadian (VIA Rail) from Toronto to Vancouver with return to Michigan via the Empire Builder (Amtrak), and various European trains. Most recently my wife and I had a wonderful Amtrak trip from Toledo, OH to San Antonio, TX. Like I said - I can’t get trains out of my blood, and I love it!