I enjoy traveling pretty much however I do it, and there are benefits and drawbacks to just about any way that you want to travel. There are several reasons that I like the train, and
@hollydolly has pretty much mentioned all of them, too.
The longest train trip that I have ever taken was from northern Idaho out to Virginia to visit my daughter when she was stationed near Norfolk, VA.
The train does not follow where a highway goes, so sometimes we were deep in the mountain passes, or going through the plains, and no houses or cars anywhere around.
The train has an observation car (used to be called a VistaDome), where you sit in kind of a glass bubble on top of the main deck of the train, and you can see everything from up there, in all directions.
I loved being able to watch the front and the back of the train, and when we were going to go through a tunnel, you could just see the whole train disappearing into the tunnel, car by car.
With a train, you can easily get up and walk around,so it is not like being confined to a seat like you are with most travel modes. I enjoyed walking up to the dining car in the mornings and having a fresh cup of hot coffee served in nice cups and silverware that is actual silver plate and not stainless steel.
There was also a snack bar where you could get sandwiches and pop or other snack food, and I carried protein bars along with me in my travel bag, so that helped to save on food costs.
For one part of the trip, I had a sleeping roomette, and that was pretty nice, too.
Not a lot of room, but an actual little bed, and private.
In the dining car, I visited with other travelers, and learned that train travel is something that seniors are doin a lot of. One couple said they do their vacation each year by train, and had sold their motor home.
They stopped wherever they wanted to visit, and either rented a car or used Uber to get around while they were visiting a city. They didn’t have to drive, try to find a nice motel or RV campground at night, and could both just relax and enjoy the scenery.
Amtrak has specials where you can buy a ticket for a certain amount of time (say 2 weeks or a month), and then get on and off the train anywhere along the route that you have chosen,sightsee, and then get back on another train when you re ready to leave and go somewhere else.
I would totally LOVE to have a month to spend, just riding around America and seeing places where I have never been.