Confessions of a mall walker

I’ll be frank with you: I am one of those people I used to despise. But it’s cold outside, I need to exercise to keep the pounds I took off last summer from coming back on this winter, and so I go to Tysons Corner Mall in Virginia for 90 minutes every morning before the stores open. So far it is working beautifully. But let’s keep this to ourselves, okay? I told my daughter Liz, the Manhattan sophisticate, who told her friend Lele, who whispered back, “Liz, I don’t think you should tell people about your dad,” and Liz emailed me, “Dad, I don’t think you should tell people you’re a mall walker.” She’s probably right.

The reason I mention it at all is that this is when I get to think. This morning I thought of two great columns for Trains Magazine, and tomorrow morning at Tysons I’ll decide which to do first. But that was only the first 15 minutes, half the time it takes to cover one level of the mall. Here’s what I thought about the rest of walk:

I confess I am really pissed at Peter Rogoff, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s acting undersecretary for policy. According to Kathryn A. Wolfe of Politico, Rogoff told lawmakers this week that the Obama administration is “not inclined” to support an extension of the December 31, 2015, deadline for implementing Positive Train Control on some 70,000 route miles of U.S. railroads. Yes, he said he is aware of “new and emergent complications” caused by the Federal Communication Commission’s refusal (since last May) to allow construction of more than 20,000 radio transmission towers needed to transmit PTC-related signals and commands, because Indian nations haven’t had time to inspect the sites on railroad properties for ancient artifacts. Readers of my blog and magazine column are aware that this, in itself, insures that no Class I railroad will complete the arduous task of installing, testing, and turning on PTC before the deadline. And the FCC’s paralysis drags on and on. This will put these railroads, through no fault of their own, into disobedience of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and subject them to stiff penalties. “But no,” the detached and incredibly ignorant Mr. Rogoff, adds, “we’re not inclined to necessarily move the deadline.” For such blatant disregard of the realities on the ground, the U.S. Senate ought not to confirm Mr. Rogoff’s appointment. Then he can return to his former job as a Senate gofer, which strikes me as his level of competency.

I confess I am not really interested in applying for a writer’s residency at Amtrak. As reported on Amtrak.com/amtrakresidency/, the residencies (up to 24 of them per year) will be awarded to “creative professionals who are passionate about train travel and writing to work on their craft in an inspiring environment. Round-trip train travel will be provided on an Amtrak long-distance route. Each resident will be given a private sleeper car, equipped with a desk, a bed and a window to watch the American countryside roll by for inspiration. Routes will be determined based on availability.” I thank all the people, at least a dozen of you, who brought this opportunity to my attention when it was first rumored a couple of weeks ago. But 1) I am not very creative, 2) I don’t have a Twitter account, which is required, 3) I am not a twentysomething, which seems to be the age target, 4) I hate rejection, and 5) I’d probably end up writing about the female waiter on the Capitol Limited Tuesday morning approaching Chicago. What about her? Well, a woman who was seated beside me at 6:30 was immediately asked for her breakfast order and when she said she needed a moment to consider her choices, was left to consider for 40 minutes in the almost-empty car. That’s probably not the kind of writing Amtrak wants to inspire by its residencies. Yes, I do think this is a good idea on Amtrak’s part. But I also think I’m better off paying my own way.

I confess I don’t look forward to the writing life without Matthew Van Hattem. Many of you know that Matt, the senior editor at Trains, is leaving the magazine in a few days for more money and maybe even more fun and prestige with another organization. But you don’t know that my success as an almost-fulltime writer for Trains the past five years owes almost entirely to Matt’s genius as the editor of my feature stories and columns. So I will sorely miss him. More on this in a few days.

I confess to having heard a most interesting rumor: That Amtrak may switch the Cardinal from a New York-Washington-Chicago route using Amfleet equipment to a Washington-Chicago route with Superliner cars. I have this on very good authority, first, from my sleeping car attendant on the Capitol Limited Monday evening and second, from Mark the red cap at the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago Union Station. Never let it be said that I don’t have reliable sources. I think this would be a big improvement for the train.

And finally, I confess to having enjoyed the hospitality this week of Ed Ellis and his colleagues aboard two Pullman Rail Journeys cars that adorned the rear of Amtrak’s Cardinal, from Chicago to New York (I hopped off at Alexandria, Va.). Ed is a frightful gossip, as am I, so we had much to talk about. What I cannot tell you is why Ed and his associates from Iowa Pacific Holdings made the trip. But nothing prevents you from using your imagination. — Fred W. Frailey