All Aboard

Jim Loomis has written frequent columns about train travel for Sunday newspaper travel sections and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Rail Passengers Association. He has ridden every one of Amtrak's routes and taken all their long-distance trains multiple times, logging more than 200,000 miles on trains in the United States alone. He has also traveled across Canada on VIA Rail a dozen times. He lives on Maui in Hawaii.

Acknowledgments
Foreword: Rediscovering the Train
1 Why Take a Train?
2 How It All Began
3 Amtrak to the Rescue
4 Planning Your Own Train Trip
5 Packing and Last-Minute Details
6 Life Onboard
7 Who's in Charge Here?
8 When Things Go Wrong
9 Coaches, Sleepers, Dining Cars, and More
10 How It All Works
11 What About All Those Freight Trains?
12 Safety Is Priority Number One
13 Taking the Train in Canada
14 Mexico's Copper Canyon Train
15 Ten Great Railway Stations
16 Will There Be Trains in Our Future?
Appendix A: Pick a Train, Any Train
Appendix B: Some Suggested Itineraries
Appendix C: Railroad Terms and Slang
Appendix D: How to Find a Rail-Savvy Travel Agent
Appendix E: Passenger Rail Advocates
Appendix F: Excursion Trains and Railroad Museums
Index