In my little town, there wasn't much in the way of entertainment. My father would take us down to the UP mainline and we would watch the trains come through. Still lots of steam locos at that time.
York1 John
When I was small, under 5, Dad went shopping and we got stopped by a switch engine servicing a local lumber yard. It was a CNW switch engine, probably an 0-6-0.
My earliest railroad memories:
Seeing a passenger train stopped at the local depot in town, blocking traffic on the main street so we got a good long look at it. Timetables suggest that this must have been somewhere in the 1957-58 time frame. I have a distinct recollection of a deeply slanted nose on the E unit. The C&NW still had and was running the pre-WWII E3s that were the original diesel electric power on the 400, but it is more likely that what I saw was an E6. Either way I am pretty certain about the slanted nose.
The other even earlier memory is standing in our front yard and seeing a line of smoke moving from north to south. I could not see the tracks and it wasn't until the C&NW started running the bi-level intercity trains that I could see the very tops of those passenger cars, particularly at night when the greenish lights (tinted windows) from the upper level could be seen moving. There is a slight chance that what I saw as a very young boy was one of the final steam locomotives on that division of the C&NW but by the early 1950s they had already started to remove steam service facilities on that main line in Wisconsin (steam hung on longer in the outer areas of the railroad). I might have been seeing an ALCO diesel. I might have been seeing a steam powered railroad crane being moved, since the CNW kept theirs into the early 1960s. I suspect I was 3 or 4 years old.
Dave Nelson
Let's take a trip back in time. Dust the cobwebs and think back. See what we get.
What are your memories of Railways 'when you were a young'un'?
The one that is the earliest in my memory is ---------------Being an orphan from three days old I lived with an Uncle and Aunt and two cousins until I was three years of age. Therefore it was at that time. (When I was four I lived with my Grandma and Granddad.)If I was three, then it was the Summer of 1950. Aunt and Uncle decided to take us to Bridlington for the week.It was a Saturday morning. Suitcases were packed. The excitement of going on holiday.As my Uncle had to work Saturday, he was to follow us the following day. (Six day working days were the 'norm' then.I remember how dark, dingy and very smoky the area around the ticket office at Leeds City Station was. My two cousins (Jean, 7 yr old and Margaret, 5 year old) and I watched as my Aunt bought our train tickets. Carefully she placed them in her handbag.With having two suitcases a Porter was needed and one was immediately on hand. Loading the cases on his hand barrow he asked "Which train.""Bridlington," Aunt replied. To which we scurried after the Porter to our waiting train.At last we boarded the train. Aunt lifted the suitcases on to the luggage rack above and we settled down in our compartment.Looking out at the platform, a huge Station Clock gave the time of 08.56. Aunt smiled as our train was not due to depart until 09.37.Another elderly married couple joined us in the compartment.Aunt looked out of the window and saw, not twenty yards away, a lady with a tea trolley. The clock said 09.04. Plenty of time."There isn't a queue I shall get some tea," said Aunt and alighted from the carriage.No sooner than she had bought the tea, she turned, saw and heard the engine take the strain an began the Schhuff, Schhuff, Schuff. The time was 09.07.Pandemonium struck in the carriage. Three of us screamed "Mam." Tears streaming down our cheeksWe were some way out of Leeds by the time the other couple in our carriage managed to calm us down.The Ticket Inspector arrived. Off course we had no tickets. Aunt still had them in her handbag. The Ticket inspector was dubious to our story, but we stayed on board.Finally we arrived at Bridlington. The elderly couple had their own suitcases, but they also helped us with ours.At the ticket barrier, the Inspector allowed us through to the other side, but had to wait there until the next train from Leeds arrived. The elderly couple waited with us.Thirty minutes later, the train from Leeds arrived. Amid tears of joy, Aunt thanked the elderly couple.The 09.07 departure to Bridlington from Leeds was a 'Duplicate' and not in the timetable.The week in Brid was great.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought