After high school I rode Houston to L.A. on the the Sunset Limited. That was a few months before its demise in '68. Amtrak got hold of it after that, so the route still exists, if in name only -- without Pullmans, and without luxury. When I rode it, the dining car had white linens, silver service, and flowers at each table,

Specifically, Eisenhower made the Interstate a priority -- his legacy -- because of the wartime need to move vast materials between the coasts. The personal automobile became an extension of Everyman's castle. At the same time, de-commissioned aircraft were readily available along with cheap petroleum, so airlines blossomed. The thinking at that time took trolley cars out of the city and replaced them with gasoline buses.

Now, as we re-install light rail in our cities, we are faced too with rebuilding long-haul rail service. It's just another cycle in history.