Reading The Rails -
An Amtrak Trip to
OK City
Although youthful fancy has long left me, I still find myself fascinated by
trains. Maybe it’s because those innocuous railroad tracks that I drive
over without much thought – except when an impossibly slow moving
freight train holds me up – are actually live history lessons, just waiting
for someone to take notice. In Texas and Oklahoma, railroad tracks
follow old cattle trails and pioneer roads, and many towns grew up or died
around the rails. Some towns even named themselves (or were named)
after railroad executives. Try that with an Interstate or an airline!

So fortified by a love of all things on rail, the fact that Oklahoma is celebrating
its centennial, and the desire to experience a city the way travelers of yore
once did – on foot - I took my family on board the Heartland Flyer, the
Amtrak Train that makes daily runs from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth
and back. I wanted us to witness the history of that state from the backside,
the kind you only see when you follow the tracks through landscapes that
cannot be viewed from the window of a car.
I took a fun weekend trip with my son, niece, and nephew
to Oklahoma City on the Heartland Flyer. We had a blast!
Here's my account of this great adventure, where we
didn't have a car, and didn't need one, as we traversed
the very walkable downtown.
From the onset, we weren’t disappointed.
Even with freight train delays, which take
precedence as Amtrak leases the line from
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, none of us
complained. Maybe it’s because there’s
just a  general acceptance that Amtrak
never runs on time, or the fact (I’d like to
think) that with the way we were traveling,
time just didn’t seem to matter and the
point of the trip was the journey itself.

Besides, there was a lot to see and do. We
whiled away the time meeting fellow
travelers, and I became pretty good friends
with the snack car lady who, like a waitress
in a forlorn roadside diner, offered free
advice and wry insights. The scenery may
have also contributed to the mellow vibe.
Since the tracks follow the Santa Fe route,
which is one of the oldest North/South
railroads in Oklahoma, we passed hulking
grain silos, closed depots, abandoned
schools, and lines of old telegraph poles.
The train clattered over rust-colored truss
bridges, and ran alongside ancient
alignments of US 77. Derelict warehouses
and slaughter pens reminded us of a not-so-
distant-past that is quickly being forgotten,
while to the contrary, restored train depots
amid vibrant commercial districts
welcomed the train. We rode through the
Arbuckle Mountains and skirted the
Washita River, which had whipped into red
colored rapids from the recent heavy rains.
Once in Oklahoma City, we located our hotel, the Sheraton, two blocks
from the station. The next day, like time travelers, we explored the city on
foot. We first strolled through Bricktown, the original site of Oklahoma
City. Located just east of the train station, we found plenty of food and
souvenirs, and took a boat ride on the canal that interlaces the district.
History was retold in art works along the way. We viewed murals
depicting long gone street scenes, saw a sculpture that represented the
predominantly African American neighborhood that once clustered
around the tracks, and visited an oversized bronze representation of a
land rush scene crossing the Bricktown canal.

What couldn’t be walked to could be discovered via trolley or bus. The
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau runs a deliriously cheap trolley  (50 cents
for four) to many of Oklahoma City’s sites, including the Oklahoma City
Memorial. City buses stop at the Capitol Building, Oklahoma History
Center, the stockyards, and the zoo. Both the trolley and the buses
stopped in front of our hotel. And, we never felt unsafe or overly tired from
the amount of walking we did.

The early morning trip back to Fort Worth felt just as relaxing as the first
train ride. While we made pretty good time if you went by the clocks in the
Amtrak Universe, I couldn’t help notice the irony that trains had created
time zones to run more efficiently, and here I was, satisfied to have been
delayed by only an hour and a half.

Like I do after every trip on a train, I came home with renewed resolve to
support government subsidies to Amtrak. I also like to think that we left
with an appreciation of the compactness and convenience of train travel,
and a sense of the past that can only come when seeing the landscape
roll by as passengers of bygone days once did. History, I learned, is well
served on a train.
A sooner rushing along the Bricktown Canal in 2007.
A lovely Canal centers the Bricktown historical district.
Oklahoma City's Santa Fe Station with elevated platform sits just west
of Bricktown.
Parts of the walls from the Murrah Building,
blasted to smithereens on April 19, 1995,
still surround the Oklahoma City Bombing
Memorial site. The cite, managed by the
National Park Service, is a moving,
emotional tribute to the children, women,
and men who died on this very spot.
Before You Go
•        A short trip to Oklahoma City requires a two night stay, as the train arrives late and leaves too early the next
day for any meaningful sight seeing.

•        The train departs daily from Oklahoma City at 8.25 am and should arrive in Fort Worth at 12.25 pm. The return
train leaves at 5.25 pm and with luck, will arrive by 9.25 pm.

•        Tickets can be purchased at http://www.amtrak.com or at the train station. Four round trip tickets from Fort
Worth to Oklahoma City cost $159.00. The fare from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth is half price, thanks in part to
state subsidies.

•        Don’t expect the Orient Express on the Heartland Flyer. You’ll find the seats comfortable and roomy, but not
luxurious. All seating is upstairs while the snack car and the bathrooms are downstairs. Luggage can be stored
downstairs as well, or in overhead bins.

•        All seats are first come, first serve, and the train is relatively old. So if you expect to use electronic devices,
make sure to arrive early so you can snag a seat with an outlet.

•        I.D. is required at the time of check-in and when boarding.

•        The Fort Worth Amtrak Station (1001 Jones Street) is a full service depot, with connecting trains to Chicago
and San Antonio. It is also the city’s main Greyhound Bus depot and a Trinity Railway Express stop. Oklahoma
City's station (100 South E.K. Gaylord Boulevard) only services the Heartland Flyer, so station operation is limited.

•        Hotels can be booked via the Amtrak website or the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website.
The CVB site makes it easy to figure out which hotels are located within walking distance to the train station, and
it also has coupons to area attractions.