2024 07 20

El train in the night over Logan Square. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

I think a lot about how great trains are and how regrettable it is that this country doesn’t have a robust network of trains like most of the developed world does. Sure, cars are fine, but there’s something nice and freeing about being able to venture out into the big city and not have to worry about where to stash your rolling metal box. Imagine a world with high-speed trains connecting all the great midwest towns and cities. We could wake up in Chicago, do lunch in Detroit and dinner in Toronto with almost no effort! Instead, just getting to Detroit from Chicago is basically an all-day affair, likely by car, or possibly on the six-hour, thrice-daily, “higher speed” train.

As someone who loves to explore new places, the train is the ultimate tool. While sitting at the bar early one evening in Union (beautiful photos on their website, btw! 😉) and hearing CTA trains roar overhead as they made a stop across the street at the blue line’s California station, we invented a game. We’d ask the bartender to pick a random number two through ten and use that number to guide the rest of our night. She picked four, so we settled our tab, crossed the street and whatever the next arriving train would be, we’d take it four stops down the line and explore any new-to-us businesses in that part of town. It was a nice little way to get out of our routines and see something new.

Later, we made this game into a full day and doubled down. One random number picked from a stranger led us to Bridgeport and another random number from a stranger led us to Chinatown, where we enjoyed some delicious steamed buns that would’ve never been on our agenda had we not ridden the rails and used the trains as our city guide. We were adventurizing!

-Clayton