All Aboard!

The Fat Controller just walked past, complete with a peaked, black cap.  He is a train conductor, and its 7.45 a.m., we're waiting at Boston's South Station for the 8.20 am train to Washington DC, arriving 4.23 p.m..   

Red hats also walk past, with their trolley, looking for people who want their luggage taken to the train.  A little oddly, one has a wheelchair on his.  His hat is at a an angle, pushed back from his forehead. 

This is nearly rush hour, as commuter trains disgorge their passengers, there is a sense of order and calmness about the way they move from train to subway.  This is nothing like the rush at Victoria.

Another red hat goes by, a larger, younger man, in shorts, with his hat off to the side at a very jaunty angle - a rebel without a cause?  

The electronic arrivals / departures board makes a sound like the old mechanical boards used to (prior to LED displays), but this sound is false - it is coming from the speakers - creating a sense of the traditional american station, just as the conductor and red hats create a traditional look and feel. 

Will the conductor say "All Aboard!", as we board the Amtrak Regional 171 to Washington DC, calling at Providence Rhode Island, New York Penn Station, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Union Station.  The train hoots, and the level crossing clangs.  All Aboard!