Sandy Supposes....

Choo Choo

PROMPT: Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1834, the first mainland railway line opened in Belgium. Have you ever taken a train trip? Not like a subway ride, but an actual passenger train? Tell us about it! If you haven't, would you? Where would you like to go?

         Someday, perhaps after I win a lottery, I would like to travel through the Canadian Rockies . All of the windows of the train would showcase the breathtaking scenery. With my new fortune, I would then travel on the Orient Express reliving the luxury and nostalgia of a great murder mystery crafted by Agatha Christie. Meh, as a woman of leisure, I could meander about Europe,too. I must admit, I've never experienced a sleeping car. Is it similar to the berth of a boat?

         Train travel and I are not strangers. When my three children were quite young, two toddlers and an infant, I opted to ride the rails with them in tow. My usual mode of transport was via car with me acting as chauffeur, navigator, warden, entertainment director, peace keeper, and more. For once, I longed to venture forth with my feet up. I was assured stress and anxiety would never appear.There would be no traffic snarls, no whimsical vagaries of other drivers, no wondrous weather woes, and most appealingly, no prolonged pit stops.

         Well, the idea had its merits, and it was worth a try. Being a driver, I control the timetable. As a passenger, I was at the mercurial mercy of Canadian train transit. I soon discovered time was an abstract concept. Schedule, what schedule? The stopover and transfer in Toronto stretched into eternity.

         I feared cranky, bored terrors. The trip was a longer one than our familiar road route, by a couple of hours. Bah, my three loved the freedom of train travel. It was a great novelty to actually move; toddle, stumble, crawl, jump, twirl, and run.There were no restraints at all, no car seats, no booster seats, and no seat belts. They could chase each other. They could and did climb over the seating.They had a number of windows to stare out of, and press their noses to, pointing out passing points of interest.They introduced themselves to other passengers. They chatted and asked questions of their new friends. They never succumbed to slumber. In a car, strapped in and confined, they inevitably fell asleep. This was their kind of adventure.

         I never did relax enough to put my feet up. My attention was divided by three. The train swayed and rocked with a constant clickety-clack of the metal wheels striking steel tracks. I did enjoy the antics of my little companions though.

         We arrived at our destination long after the sun set. The rural Northern Ontario village had no such thing as a train depot, or a platform, or a regular crossing. It was like being onboard a city bus, we pulled a line attached to a bell, and the train stopped on its track to permit us to disembark. It took us a few moments to regain our balance minus the constant rumbling. The kids and I waved farewell to 'our' train as it chugged away.

         Sadly, passenger train service is no longer available in this area. The only trains that careen by are lumbering, squealing freight cars.