My girl Brenda and I have been looking into possibly taking a train trip from Minot to go visit her dad in Oregon.  It's about a 30 hour trip by rail and about a 21 hour trip by car (if ya drive straight through). Well we ain't driving straight through, so after getting a good nights sleep and all the required potty breaks, driving the route would actually take longer.  It's not just time, it's stress on my head, and wear and tear on my car.  So I really think it'd be fun to do, and a trip we could pull off in the winter.  Looks like the average ticket price for the trip is about $164.00.

Have you ever taken a train trip? My family did twice from Minot to South Carolina.  Once when I was a baby and a second time maybe when I was eight or so.  I still have great memories about sitting upstairs in the bubble car.  It gives you a great panoramic view and you can get up and wander around as much as ya like. So I'm looking forward to riding the rails once again.

It's my understanding that most rail lines have been on the money losing track for the last few decades.  I must be wrong because now there is a group called the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority that is proposing a passenger line that would reestablish a Bismarck/Mandan to California connection that stopped running over 40 years ago.  They've asked Morton County to come ALL ABOARD!  It's all in the early stages, and the Morton county commissioners may discuss it during a June 22nd meeting.

Who would invest in trains?  Well a dozen years back, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway bought 100% share in BNSF and Buffet's one of the best in the business of business.

Would you support such an endeavor?  Are trains coming back?


LOOK: Route 66’s quirkiest and most wonderful attractions state by state

Stacker compiled a list of 50 attractions--state by state--to see along the drive, drawing on information from historic sites, news stories, Roadside America, and the National Park Service. Keep reading to discover where travelers can get their kicks on Route 66.

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