Me curios: did you recently seen people showing trains to theyr kids?
I spoted 3 this year... one guy even put his 2 years? old kid to touch a train car!
Yes, every once in a while I do a little railfanning in the town of Ashland VA, about a half-hour from where I live. It's not unusual to see some people with their children doing a bit of train-watching there, you can get VERY close to them.
But not TOO close! They're usually moving through the town at about 35 mph.
Most fun I ever had railfanning came when I took my 2-year old daughter down to watch a stopped NS train. As I was explaining to her a bit about 'horse trains' and the different kinds of locomotive, the engine crew practically boiled off the locomotive to meet her, give her an Operation Lifesaver pin -- they wanted to show her their train because she was taking an actual interest in them and in railroading.
Overmod, your story danged near brought tears to my eyes! Each of you in that scene played your parts perfectly. I'll bet you're a great dad.
Though not a dad myself, I did have the pleasure once of talking to the engineer of the Three Rivers and asking if my 11 year old nephew and I could get into the cab of the locomotive for a few minutes before the train left Chicago for Akron. He said yes! and now my 26 year old nephew and I both treasure that memory.
What kind crewmen they all were. Thanks for your heart-warming story.
Do any of you gentlemen ever look in on the "Classic Toy Trains" or "Model Railroader" Forums? Every once in a while there's a "future of the hobby" discussion where the reactions to the question are either dismal or optimistic.
I'm a bit of an optimist. While this isn't the 1950's and trains don't have the pervasive influence on everyone's lives they did in those days every time I go to a train show I see quite a few young familys in attendence, all enjoying themselves tremendously and they all leave with SOMETHING, from pull toys to starter sets.
I don't think we've got too much to worry about.
I have seen people showing trains to their kids on numerous occasions.
In Alpine, TX, where I spend a lot of time, I have seen on more than one occasion an outbound crew member stop to talk to children about his job as an engineer or conductor. Alpine is a crew change point for the UP and Amtrak.
When I was a lad, which was many years ago, nearly every Sunday morning, from 1945 to1953, my dad would load me into our 39 Ford and take me to watch the trains in and around the railroad town where I grew up. A favorite spot was near the turntable. There were still plenty of steam engines in the area. He would read the Sunday papers - New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer - while I would look at the trains.
My father never played any sport with his boys. He was not athletic. But he made up for it by taking me and eventually my brother to watch the trains on Sunday mornings. He also introduced us to many of his clients - he was a lawyer - who were railroad men. I have never forgotten those Sunday mornings or the men that I met.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
But what happened after 1954?
Its been over thrity years that a son who could never get up for school on time would set his alarm on the weekends to get me up (on a day off mind you) so we could go to the Amtrak station and watch its early morning arrival. Many hours spent together watching Conrail in Berea Ohio. He grew up and on occasion when the stars are in the right alignment, he sounds the horn of his NS locomotive as if to say hey Dad...thanks, as I now stand trackside alone but proud of fulfilling his dream and in some ways mine as well.
How proud you must be.
I'd say you both are very lucky and deservedly so; I'm not sure which of you I envy more.
My long ago favorite seen over and over again at the 1990's era Amtrak Dearborn, MI Depot was to see kids put their head and ear on the rails in front of the approaching Amtrak train while their Parents stood back and smiled. There just isn't any Norman Rockwell these days to capture this stuff in paint.....lol.
Myown Dad was too involved with too many professional and charitable occupations to spend much time with me. But on family trips to Brooklyn on the subway it was always the front car so I could look out the window in the train door. By the time I got to high-school, the war was over, and we did have some time to spend with each other. I started going on fan-trips, mostly in the New York City area, at age 15 in 1947. The last day for Manhattan streetcars, K Kingbridge-Broaway-125th and X 125th Crosstown was 28 June 1947, and I spent most of the day riding and photographing. The next day, the 29th, was the day for an open-bench-car fan trip on the remaining New Haven streetcar lines, and Dad went with me on the New Have traini and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Hew Haven and East Haven from an open-car seat. I still have pictiures of him and the cars.
Often we would visit the Bronx Zoo together. This involved a trip to the Zoo on what is now the 2 subway line, whcih then ended at the demolished 180thStreet Bronx Park terminal. From the Zoo we would walk though Bronx Park and visit the Botanical Garden, ending up at the 3rd Avenue Elevated's Bronx Park Station. Then would come a ride down to Chatham Square on the elevated, and Mom would join us at our favorite Chinese restaurant there. We would walk over to the Hudson Terminal (later World Trade Center IND station, and then ride home on the AA (now C) 8th Avenue Local.)
Dad passed away while I was in the Army at Fort Bragg, but the weekend just before I was home on a weekend pass (Silver Meteor leaving Southern Pines at half-past Midnigiht on Saturday morning and aqrriving there at 23:30 Sunday night. Or was it the Silver Comet?) Goldman Band Concert in Central Park was one event my parents and I shared that weekend, and other shared events may have included Saturday morning at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and a meal at Dad's favorite Rumanian East Side restaurant. If it were not for the sdhedule, I woiuld have prefered the ACL, with Fayetteville closer to my BOQ digs than Southern Pines at Bragg's back door, but the Champions left too early for a weekend pass and returned a bit too late. This was all coach, not sleeper, and I enjoyed the half-rate given to servicemen on active duty. When I could ride the ACL, I could also be lucky and be served by my friend since 1945 and age 13 Jim Masters, dining car Maitre-de.
Dad did definitely have something to do with my being a railfan. A trip to Connecticut started by a lift in a friend's auto, but the return was on the New Haven from Hartford. On the platform, agre 3, the steam locomotive scared the wits out of me. So as the train came to a stop, Dad picked me up and carried me to the head end and had me touch a side-rod, before boarding the first coach. At Grand Central Terminal, with the steam engine (probably an I-4 Pacific) replaced by an electric, I wondered what happend to that marvelous locomotive. It was probably only a year later at age four that I learned about the engine change.
Memories are wonderful. Your's remind me of leaving Chicago on the PRR to see my relatives in Lebanon IN and standing on the back platform after being stopped at the Calumet River bridge for a ship and being late. After the train got a clear signal, we turned down the Colhour line and after turning onto the double track line at Bernice, toward Crown Point, the train began to accelerate and my dad pulled out his pocket watch and started timing mileposts. We soon were doing over 90 mph and closing in on 100 when they had to slow for our stop at Crown Point. Leaving Crown Point, we again accellerated to almost 100 and held it most of the way to a slow down to cross the Erie. We didn't make up all of the delay but those engineers (we had two K-4's on the point) were trying to bring us in on time. This was in 1943 (before the ICC had mandated cab signals or ATC for speeds over 79 mph) when I was seven years old. Thanks for stimulating the memories.
Off-topic : @ daveklepper : Romanian restaurant. Intresting. I'm a Romanian (living in Romania).
On-topic: I'm curios if some of the parents who are showing kids trains nowdays are taking them on a ride with the train.
Well, when I went to Petersburg Va. last year when Norfolk and Western 611 came to town there were quite a few families on the train.
I do see some families getting off the Amtrak trains here in Richmond, but not too many.
Muralist0221 On Amtrak trips notice the sleepers are old people (like me). The coaches are mostly young adults.
On Amtrak trips notice the sleepers are old people (like me). The coaches are mostly young adults.
dakotafredFortunately for sleeper travel, the future promises lots of old people.
But most of the boomers born after 1956 have never ridden LD trains. Unlikely they will start now.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
I operate at the Fox River Trolley Museum and I will never forget a young man getting off our 1902 C.A.& E. car 20 when we returned from our trip and he said "That was supper peachy neato"with the biggest grin I've seen. Really made our day. We get a lot of kids and we tell them these cars were used by their grandparents to commute before1957. On June 5th we had a fun occurance. There is this couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. They met on the train 65 years ago. Their children thought it would be fun to take them on another train ride. At our museum we just happened to have THAT train. They got on and talked about the old days! What they didn't know was that at the end of the line in the Forest Preserve the children had rented a pavilion for a surprise party.
Here they are geeting off the car at the Forest Preserve.
And the waiting party.
These are things that reward us for our work. I'm sure Tree gets these bonuses also.
Car 20 was on the C.A. & E. in 1902 when it opened and is still running on its 114 year. I should be so lucky.
Thanks. Reminds me of childhood riding the CA&E to Chicago with my mom.
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