How Trains Left Indelible Tracks on American Culture

All aboard the Takeaway Train! It’s time for the final installment of our mini-series on how trains built America. We'll explore just a few of the many ways that just a few of the many ways that trains have impacted pretty much every aspect of modern life — films, music, food, religious practices, even our sense of time and space. We'll hear from some familiar voices, some new ones, and from Takeaway listeners themselves as we try to answer the enduring question: why do we love trains so much?

In the first episode, we heard stories of train laborers, from those who laid the tracks to those who keep the trains running today. Listen to that episode here: "How Trains Built America's Labor Movement."

In the second episode, we heard more about how trains were prominent sites in America’s long struggle for racial justice. Listen to that episode here:"How Trains Became Engines of Freedom."