Flying by Rail

I don’t recall how we first heard about the Champaign County Preservation Alliance’s excursion train, a one-day-only fall colors tour along trackage that hasn’t seen regular passenger service in decades. I do recall making a quick decision to procure tickets, and a good decision it was, as the three scheduled departures rapidly sold out. None of us Acuffs had ever been to St. Paris, Rosewood, Quincy, or any of the other off-the-beaten-path country through which the train was to pass, but the five of us were eager for a rare experience.