It was one of those nights in the southwestern desert country where the air is thin and pure and the stars seem so close you could touch them. We had finished our dinner and were just walking around waiting for nothing, just enjoying the time in Alpine, Texas. And then the Amtrak train pulled into town. We know about the train and its stop in Alpine from our time years ago of renting a room in the hotel right across from the train station and every train that came through on its way from the west coast to the east coast blasted their horn to no end. The night passed slowly. But here was an opportunity with the Amtrak train sitting right there with its big diesel engines idling just as we approached the station while meandering around. Had the train not been 5 hours late getting to Alpine we would have missed this chance to talk with the crew. Trains have always been of interest to me, but in a different way from most. My yearnings were for a ride in the loc...