My Uncle, and to a slightly lesser extent my Dad, was a big train nut. I remember going to some Rail museums when I was younger. Of course, the model trains and electric trains were always fascinating.
While I know some Gen Xers and younger folk that are into trains, it seems more a generational thing with the gap occurring after the Boomers. I always attributed this to the changes that happened after WWII with the spread of automobiles and television becoming more and more common as the years progressed.
Trains became an afterthought in society rather than a romantic possibility. The younger generations didn't look at a passing train and ask, "where can it take me?" (Instead, we looked to the sky and passenger planes and rocket launches. (A generalization to be certain.
)
Of course, growing up in Wichita like Danzilla... well, just short of hijacking a combine, the train was probably the only escape!
*blows kiss
That said, I think of growing up and watching old westerns. A western without a Train just seems wrong.
Or else I think about some old Tom Waits...
