The Journey Begins in the City of Roses

I arrived in Portland without incident, tolerating air travel, as I do, always wishing I were on a train instead. But my United Airlines flights were auspicious in that I had a beautiful overview of my home city of Washington, DC, from the plane after taking off from National Airport, and had a spectacular look at Mount Hood on descent into Portland. I also got a free upgrade to an Economy Plus seat, and enjoyed access to the United Club thanks to my Select Plus status with Amtrak Guest Rewards.

The Millennial Trains Project's (MTP) second journey has officially begun, with all but five participants and the staff gathering inside the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge at Portland Union Station. As we watch today's arriving Empire Builder pull in (some six hours late--sadly typical these days) and its eastbound counterpart prepare to depart, we introduce ourselves and receive our packets. Participants are beginning to delve into Pioneer's Journey, a curriculum designed by City Year that will help them reflect on their own personal journeys towards becoming leaders and positive difference-makers. They will take an hour each day for personal and shared reflection based on this curriculum.

One of the topics of today's introductory Pioneer's Journey discussion is creative placemaking: the idea of assessing peoples' relationships with the places they inhabit and how to make more of our built environment more inviting and conducive to human interaction. I have a feeling that people who have been engaged in this work will discover that the train is an amazingly inspiring space in and of itself -- as MTP founder Patrick Dowd says, "creating a sense of community in a mobile context." It is the capacity of trains to give people these transformative experiences that MTP's endeavor evokes, and we hope to spread the idea to other groups.

As was the case last year, the majority of MTP participants have never taken an overnight train trip in the US. Some have done so in other countries, and those who have ridden American trains have only done short-distance or commuter runs. Sarah Smith is a regular commuter on the San Francisco Peninsula's Caltrain and described her commute as something she puts up with. Kyle, a brand strategist who works with small businesses "run by someone with passion," is looking forward to getting a chance to observe and see patterns in the landscape, and notice how the natural features of a place influence its identity. Leslie Gahagan, a new addition to the MTP staff who grew up in Arizona then went to college to Lynchburg, VA and now lives in Washington, DC, says she appreciates the historical aspect of the railroads as a history major. She recognizes that passenger trains are undervalued and realizes just how far behind the rest of the world the US is in offering travel choices to its citizens and visitors.

We spent last night at the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center, a spectacular spot overlooking the Columbia River Gorge (and offering a birds' eye view of the BNSF and Union Pacific main lines on either side of the river) about 40 miles east of Portland. The private cars that will take us across the continent--LA Rail's sleepers Salisbury Beach and Pacific Sands, and dome-lounge Silver Splendor--departed Los Angeles yesterday morning behind Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight. We will board them tomorrow afternoon here at Union Station for the five-hour ride to Seattle. On Friday, I will share with you the mobile maker space that has been installed in the Silver Splendor.