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If you need me, I’ll be standing out by the railroad tracks, surrounded by luggage and radiating squiggly lines of excitement like a cartoon puppy. When Amtrak service resumes, I want to be ready.

It has been an extremely encouraging year for supporters of passenger train service to Des Moines. In 2008, a regular schedule between the Quad Cities and Chicago was reportedly being mulled by experts. This year, it was mulled by experts wearing nicer suits.

So it shouldn’t be long now.

The next step after the Quad Cities will be to add service to Iowa City, and at that point the engineer might just as well keep rolling right into Des Moines for dinner. Then, at long last, the dream will come true: We’ll be able to tell Osceola what we really think of it.

Our offices are located in the old Rock Island Railroad depot, and we’ve witnessed an incredible amount of action from our windows this year. Much of which is currently being prosecuted by the authorities, but some of which had to do with people using trains.

Just last week, the BNSF Holiday Express rolled to a stop out here, giving us a place to put the people who had gathered; they kept coming into the lobby and talking about a train ride, and we were afraid that they had “gone Amtrak,” as the psychologists say.

But no, it was all part of a fine project by the railroad to give rides to the families of those in the armed services, complete with decorations, Santa Claus and other festive details.

It was a nice gesture, and we can only hope the kids enjoyed playing their video games while the adults stared out at the snow.

Last summer, we glanced up one morning and saw Gov. Chet Culver boarding a train for a one-day trip boosting rail travel. A wonderful moment, marred only by the widespread fainting – people were just so shocked to see him show up on time for a scheduled appearance.

At the last moment, the governor realized he was about to be trapped with reporters and constituents for the following several hours, and you could see a trace of panic in his eyes. But then he thought about the free breakfast, and the conductor had to dodge out of the way.

“We’ve never been this close. It’s never looked this positive,” Culver told reporters that day. We’re assuming he was talking about passenger rail service and not his chances for a second cinnamon roll.

“We’re pushing as hard as we can to get this done as quickly as we can,” he said.

That was in June. In July, the Des Moines Register reported that “plans for a study needed to revive Des Moines-to-Chicago passenger train service have been put on a side track at least until next year.”

Amtrak had promised to complete a feasibility study this year, but got distracted by other cities with their glitter and charm and big, heaving, probably fake ridership forecasts.

So “pushing as hard as we can” paid off about as well for us as “trying to score a touchdown” usually does for the Detroit Lions.

Now that I think about this latest delay, which follows some 30 years of railroad moguls hiding under their desks whenever Des Moines drops by, it may be that the special events of 2009 warped my view of our rail prospects just a bit.

It’s just that I have so many strong memories of rail travel. Waiting four hours for a train in Alaska that was delayed by a rockslide. Waiting in Osceola for a train that was delayed by weather. Riding that same train to Washington, D.C., with no air conditioning.

Standing in a Chicago El train as it smacked into another El train.

You know, it’s kind of cold out here by the tracks. Maybe I’ll wait indoors.

Contact Business Record editor Jim Pollock at jimpollock@bpcdm.com or by phone at 288-3336, ext. 241.