Since the tracks were built, trains have moved goods across America around the clock – traveling through big cities and small towns alike. But the history of passenger rail in the United States is not so cut and dry. People have long shown interest in hopping aboard a train, and in the early 1900s, it was the only way to get from one coast to the other. Through the middle of the century, a trip by rail was viewed as glamorous. But by the 1970s, the business turned so unprofitable that the government was forced to take it over, creating the Amtrak service. Now, demand has Once Again increased for rail travel, with more and more people thinking of punching a ticket. Nebraska Public Media’s Bill Kelly climbs aboard the California Zephyr to explain the history of passenger rail in America and how its future might hang in the balance.

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