Sometimes is has seemed that railroads were doomed. The Durango-Silverton railroad is one of the most spectacular rides in the world. In 1960, it was nearly shut down. In 1883, the Orient Express ran from Paris to Istanbul created the ultimate in luxury travel. It was abandoned in 1977. In 1887, rotary snow plows first fought the snow drifts in the High Sierras. Looking like relics they seem improbable holdovers from the past. Once this streamlined locomotive hauled passenger trains at 100 miles an hour. But for 20 years, it sat outside a museum, its machinery rusting. Yet today these trains still run the rails. Now they evoke a more remote past when trains first bridged the continent, Ferried recruits to war provided celebrities with an opportunity to be seen and a chic way to travel, gave a mobile campaign platform to politicians, and offered a refuge for hoboes. Train tracks disfigure the countryside Trains assault the senses with brutal noise and begrime the air. How then account for the multitude of people who love trains?