Trains for Nature : Railroads and the American Land

What did America lose with the decline of the passenger train? Much more than most Americans think, observes Alfred Runte, a leading historian of our national parks. Including parks and wilderness, the greatest loss has been to the American land. No technology was ever more respectful—protective—of what it means to have a national landscape. In song and story we call it America the Beautiful. And yet we let our best beautifiers disappear.

Now the landscape suffers in our mindless rush to get rid of old technology and blindly embrace the new. Wind farms and solar power plants cajole us to redefine beauty itself, allowing access even to protected wilderness. No railroad ever asked for that—or wanted it. Beauty was after all the essence of travel. Americans sought—and railroads delivered—an intimate connection to open space. Recalling train travel experiences of his own, Runte invites us to interact as we travel, to slow down and renew our passion for the land as part of our journey and destination. As a true visionary with a deep respect for the land and its people, Runte asks us to open our eyes and our minds to the idea that we need not sacrifice beauty for progress.

Originally published in 2006 as Allies of the Earth: Railroads and the Soul of Preservation, the book today is even more timely, now we see what policy-makers have in mind as replacements for railroads. Offering a new preface and epilogue, Runte stands his ground. Absent restraint, no technology is practicing conservation. Railroads renew the hope that the trains, i.e., the restraint, we so carelessly threw away may still be restored to preserve the remaining glories of our continent.