THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT A TRAIN (via Gene Brown):

Here's a Yule story that ought to be a movie (Ronnie Polaneczky, 12/22/05, Philadelphia Daily News)

Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin - native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is one of them.

He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard.

One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby's body to D.C. for burial.

"That's a lot of history for one car," says Bennett.

He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played.

The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D.C. and Bethesda, in Maryland.

"We wanted to give them a first-class experience," says Bennett. "Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats - real hero treatment."

Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea.

Nothing warms the cockles of the heart like a good train story.

N.B. The Wife and I watched The Island last night. It's overlong by about 45 minutes, but great right up until Steve Buscemi leaves the screen and profoundly conservative, not least in that the America of 2030 seems to have experienced a real train boom.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 3, 2006 9:45 AM