The City Of New Orleans

I just booked tickets for an epic trip - flying to Chicago, then taking the train down through the South to New Orleans, then flying back to Seattle from New Orleans. The train is actually a bit of a historic pilgrimage, with stories from hard times of slavery and prejudice. The train is called "the City of New Orleans" and has been immortalised both on the stage and in music. I watched the stage production "The Pullman Porter Blues" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre a few weeks ago, and it was the inspiration to book this trip. The Pullman train was a train line most popular during the 30's/40's/50's that ran from Chicago to New Orleans and employed mostly black men as their 'Pullman Porters'. These porters had a huge reputation for the service they provided. The men were made to work long hours with strict standards to meet, they were paid a pittance and treated as slaves. Despite all this, the Pullman Porters were pillars in their own communities, saving up money to buy houses and carrying themselves with dignity and mana. The famous song "The City of New Orleans" also talks about this very train line - Chicago to New Orleans. It really is an historic rail line to follow! The song was covered famously by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Here's a video of the song, a version by Arlo Guthrie, with some pictures of the train trip. I've been watching a hundred different version of this song all morning and feeling so excited!