I'll agree with you on airplanes, being cooped up in one is not a particularly pleasant experience. But trains, on the other hand, I love. A nice train ride is a soothing experience and it's nice to be able to take in the journey of a train, especially in Europe.
I really wish train travel in the US wasn't abjectly, stupendously lame. Seattle to Vancouver: $40, fast as driving. Seattle to Portland: $40, fast as driving. Seattle to San Francisco: more than flying, TWO GODDAMN DAYS. LA to San Diego: $35, fast as driving. LA to Santa Barbara: $40, fast as driving. LA to San Francisco: more than flying, TWO GODDAMN DAYS. LA to Seattle: TWICE AS MUCH AS FLYING, THREE GODDAMN DAYS.
Am currently halfway through a 10 Hour Dr., and I would much rather be on a train. That said, there is no doubt that train travel in the US pretty much sucks. But here are some tips on how to make it more tolerable: http://hubski.com/pub?id=38684 Edit: it is amazing how beautiful West Virginia is to drive through. Then you go over this gorgeous bridge, and you see a sign for Ohio and the other side immediately sucks. Ohio is really difficult to drive through, it takes about 70% of the trip and it's flat, and quite barren. 
I'm going to swear here. Is that okay with everybody? FUCK DRIVING THROUGH OHIO. Jesus I swear. That fucking state. I would avoid it all costs if it's at all possible. I hated that state before and then I was a passenger in an accident that probably should have killed me and a friend and fuck driving there.
My grandfathers 80th birthday party tomorrow evening. Shhh it's a surprise. I turn right back around Sunday morning. There for one day only. Why can't the speed limit be 70 miles in Ohio, like the rest of the country…?
To be fair, when you compare LA-Seattle to Europe, the distance would be about the same as from here (Netherlands) to Spain. Which takes about half a day to a day and is just as expensive as a plane, but nobody does that shit. Plane's just too easy and you can get really low rates when you fly with something like Ryanair. Where rail really shines is trips longer than an hour / one and a half (Intercity trains) and between really big cities (e.g. Brussels - London) as it provides a better and easier door-to-door time for people who need to be in the city's core anyway.