By Debra Karplus, The News-Gazette; July 14, 2019
I like flying. But I especially enjoy train travel. I’ve lived my entire adult life in Champaign-Urbana, always within earshot of the railways. In fact, I’m distracted from my writing right now as I hear the whistle of the northbound Amtrak, running a few minutes late, according to my clock.
My passion for train travel began young. Dad’s cousin Molly was a commercial artist working in Chicago for enterprises including Santa Fe Railways in the 1950s and 1960s. I remember the kids’ activity books she’d illustrated for Santa Fe’s youngest passengers. I now wish I’d saved mine.