everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
i have seen this train or some variation of it in books. growing up, we lived in a house that was a stone's throw from the airport and it gave me nightmares every time i heard the sound of the planes' engines revving up. the stories that i heard from my parents about the atrocities of war would come alive in my mind as i slept and as bad dreams are wont, they became nightmarish. but then the train track was also nearby and hearing the 'toot! toot!' sounds, the image of a fast moving train with its black smoke trailing overhead replaced the bad dreams with images of journey to magical places.
the irony was i didn't get my first train ride until i was in my thirties when i was in Europe in the early 80's. it was not the magical train ride of my dreams, but the scenic views of belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, and france were magic enough for me.
trains these days, no matter how sleek and modern, do not exude the romance and splendour of travel that i had read about in books. however, only a few like me would feel lugubrious about the trains of old that was bad for the environment, and so trains like this had been relegated to museums or nostalgia like this one in london (ontario).
for the jump for joy in june challenge and for the mad minute word for today, the word being lugubrious meaning, mournful, dismal or gloomy.
When I was a little girl, I used to be scared of the whoop whoop of the steam engine and would imagine it coming along the street and climbing up the wall into my bedroom! Now I love train rides and have done many!
Is this one in a museum?
My husband rode Amtrak with 50 high school music students this weekend but when we were in college we rode the old-fashioned, but new steam engines and had coal soot covered faces by the end of each leg of our journey through China. When my son was little he loved trains but our town, even though it used to be filled with logging trains, has no trains anymore, so he'd have to wait until visiting grandma in Wyoming where the coal trains go through many times a day.
You have chosen a lovely full frame shot and the story goes so well with it; when I was around 4 yrs old I became trapped on a steam train, I remember my brothers teasing me as the door wouldn't open, I cried so much.
excellent shot, perfect processing. there was a train crossing about 4 blocks from the house i grew up in. i was never afraid of it, though. to this day i find the sounds that go along with a train very comforting
Cool capture (and thanks for the tip.... they are running a veteran train here on Sundays during summer so I have to go and see if I can get a shot of that ;-)
Great composition and processing. There is just something about a train that fascinates me. I took the train from St. Petersburg, Russia to Mowcow. It was a totally great experience.
The loneliest sound in the world for me was hearing the steam tarin hoot and whistle across teh lake , and know my parents were 12 weeks and 500 miles away.
(Army boarding school in Occupied Germany)
@maggiemae - as much as i love flying, it has become an annoying way to travel sadly. but travelling by train has always been a lovely experience for me. lots of people to see and talk to, unlike on the plane. this here is permanently outside of the london western fair market. i never tire of taking a photo of it every time we come visit the grands. thank you, maggiemae.
@fullcircle - oh, heavens, one time i played near the tracks and i got beaten up for doing so. i had a cousin who died when the fast-moving train passed by and he got sucked in by the speed of the train. thank you, cindy.
@aurorajane - same thing comes to mind every time. thank you, aj.
@pandorasecho - such lovely memories, aren't they, dixie. amtrak used to ply the chicago-toronto route during the 90's but that's long gone. i like riding the amtrak, the conductors were always friendly and helpful. thank you, dixie.
Is this one in a museum?
(Army boarding school in Occupied Germany)
@fullcircle - oh, heavens, one time i played near the tracks and i got beaten up for doing so. i had a cousin who died when the fast-moving train passed by and he got sucked in by the speed of the train. thank you, cindy.
@aurorajane - same thing comes to mind every time. thank you, aj.
@pandorasecho - such lovely memories, aren't they, dixie. amtrak used to ply the chicago-toronto route during the 90's but that's long gone. i like riding the amtrak, the conductors were always friendly and helpful. thank you, dixie.
@ruthmouch - thank you, ruth.
@claireuk - awww, poor little claire. but you still like trains, don't you?
@netkonnexion - thank you, damon,
@catsmeowb - thank you, camille.
@sarasdadandmom - it does, doesn't it? thank you, terry.
@atooner - thank you, amy.
@eniaral - amen! thank you, laraine.
@helstor - looking forward to yours, erik. thank you.
@henrir - that would've been an awesome trip! thank you, henri.
@june - you should write about it, it sounds interesting! thank you, june.
@cathrinemitch - thank you, cathrine.
@678tabby - thank you, june. i'm just so glad that this photo has evoked fond memories for everyone.
@lafish - thank you, laurie.