You might also look into Paul Theroux's books on train travel in Europe/Asia (from London across the south of Asia and up to Japan, then back across Siberia) and South America (from Boston as far south into Patagonia as he could go). While I tend to prefer Bryson's writing to Theroux - the latter often comes across as a bit of a curmudgeon and can sound patronizing to the "locals" - there's lots of good stuff there.

If you're in Chile - while train travel there isn't what it used to be, check out the open-air railroad museum in Santiago if you're into that sort of thing. About 20 well-preserved steam engines of all types are on display. Admission, if memory serves, is about $1 US.