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A Sense Of Adventure

Last Saturday my granddaughter planned an adventure. Her mother was in on it of course. They picked me up in the early afternoon. My grandson was along as well. Next, we wound our way through Warren and picked up Carly’s boyfriend. Then we were off.

I had no idea where we were going, but I was game. I was curious but I did not say a thing. When we got to Sheffield I found out the destination was just off Leather Street. I knew where that was because I used to attend their township meetings.

The destination was the Train Museum at the old depot for the Pennsylvania Railroad. As we walked about I saw many familiar faces. One man I had traveled with and could not resist teasing him about getting left at the Philadelphia Train Station. Another man had been in my lay servant class. I had listened to a sermon he prepared just a couple weeks earlier and he had listened to mine.

Then, we met the people who used to rent the house that my daughter now lives in. The children that were small at the time were now all grown up with children of their own.

As we looked at all of the memorabilia I reminisced for the family about my love for trains.

When I was young my mother and I walked up to the corner to board the Nickel Plate Railroad to ride to Buffalo to shop. When we arrived in Buffalo we boarded a trolley for the ride uptown. After a day of shopping (we mailed our packages to save tax) we did the ride in reverse and arrived home in the early evening.

The New York Central Railroad went through northern Dunkirk. I rode that many times as I visited a boy I was going with who went to Notre Dame. He was able to meet me at the station and take me to my hotel. On one trip I recall visiting with a nun who commented on my pretty dress. We had a wonderful conversation and that made the trip go that much faster.

When my husband and I traveled to Lancaster, Pa., we took a ride on the railroad through the countryside. We admired all of the beautiful farms and checked out what they were working on. We also visited a train museum there. I remember they had a Brooks engine on display. They were made in Dunkirk. My grandfather had pictures he donated to the historical society from the Brooks factory.

One year for my birthday my husband took me on the Knox Kane Railroad. He made arrangements for us to have lunch on the train. Although it was only September it was cold enough to have the little wood stoves lit. We rode across the Kinzua Bridge. That is gone now, but there is a new visitor’s center there. Maybe I can visit there this summer.

We also rode on the train in Titusville after we went through their little museum. I visited there again last summer with my grandson. That museum has really grown. We spent a lot of time there reading all of the information. That was a trip he really enjoyed.

A train trip across Canada was a wonderful trip. It was so relaxing. We rode in the domed car watching for wildlife. The food was excellent. I remember ordering poached eggs each morning for breakfast. We had beds that were made up each night. They called us “the ladies who slept in the hall.”

On a trip to Alaska we rode the train from Fairbanks to Anchorage. It was sort of an over the river and through the woods ride. There was a narrator who called our attention to the sites we passed. If someone stood along the rail the train stopped and picked them up. I remember I was eating a delicious berry pie as we sat in Wassilla.

Then there were the train trips into New York City. What a wonderful way to travel. We could stretch out our legs and wander around the car. When we arrived we walked with our suitcase to our hotel and that was it.

One year for Christmas my daughter gave me a book about trains. I read it and enjoyed it. When my husband was alive there were segments on the History Channel about trains that we followed faithfully. They were very informative. Now trucks ride the rails to their destinations.

I remember when they went from the old “Iron Horse” engines to the streamlined diesel ones. They sounded different as they ran. The whistles also sounded different. We lived by one railroad and you got so you hardly even heard them.

While in Des Moines where our daughter was attending law school we found a wonderful train museum. Everything in the place was clearly marked. There were many displays of model railroad layouts. I took notes so that I could write an article. Finally, a gentleman came to talk to us. He brought the owner out to meet us so I got more material. The young man was in a wheelchair but he did not let his handicap interfere in any way. He was able to climb up and start the engines for us. He described how he collected all of the things he put on display. I ended up with a very nice piece.

I remember getting a drink in a paper cup when we rode the train to Buffalo. It was a novelty. I absolutely love trains. What would our country look like today if we had kept our system of railroads? I think there would be a whole lot less traffic on the major arteries.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net

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