On this episode of APRHF's Let's Talk Trains, we visit with Doug Alexander, whom was selected to ride last month's Amtrak's Inspection Train from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jacksonville, Florida. We started out by asking him describe his passion for trains and passenger railroading. Then we asked about heavy passenger rail in his area of the country. We then moved on to have him revisit his trip on board the inspection train. A litte background... Doug Alexander is a fourth-generation native of Atlanta, Georgia where he grew up and still lives with his family. Doug has been an active proponent of rail transportation literally since childhood. His first effort, at age six, was to design a tram system for his summer day camp. The bulk of Alexander’s career has been spent in marketing and market communications, though he spent six years as Rail Program Manager for the nowdefunct Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, and five years in various positions at the Georgia Department of Transportation. Alexander also served eight years as a city-wide elected member of the Atlanta City Council, from 1994 until 2002. He was vice-chairman of the Council’s Transportation Committee and served on Georgia Municipal Association’s Transportation & Community Development Committee, ultimately chairing that committee for two years.Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston University with additional studies in journalism at the Univ. of Georgia and architecture at Harvard University. His hobbies include sailing, model railroading and photography. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Anne, and their sons, Wilson and Julian and their dog, a beaglebasset mix named Rainey