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That's not to say the service was entirely wonderful. But every railroad had its own distinct personality - different engines, different rolling stock, different interior configurations and decoration, different paint schemes, different on-board food, etc. Train riding (and watching) was a feast for the eyes. And that goes for the freight trains as well.

I love traveling on Amtrak. But along with K Mart, Starbucks, and the Gap, it's typical of the overall homogenization this country has undergone over the past few decades.

Apart from the number on the side of the car and (perhaps) the color of the seats, one Superliner or Amfleet II looks exactly like the next. So it's not surprising that some people, at least, become obsessed with tiny details and minor variations that most of us wouldn't notice.

1) An outside industrial designer (now do you really think they will do it "in house") must be hired each time they choose to have a new "image design" (five in 31 years)

2) The cost of taking perfectly presentable equipment and repainting it just because someone else came out on top of a "Whose on First" skit as "60 Mass".