Tell me when you saw your first train. Open to anyone. :) :) :) :)
I saw my first train when i was about 4yrs old and it was in Augusta,gerogia in the down town next to the savannah river. the railroad was NS passenigner but for some worry reason i cant remeber the rest.
I don't know when I first saw a train but I do remember the first time I rode on one. I was 4 years old and the year was 1947. My parents took my sister and I, plus our cousins, on a day excursion from Calgary to Banff on the CPR. The CPR had some old, wooden colonist cars which they kept around for such excursions. My most vivid memory of that trip was riding home in the cold and dark. The cars were unheated, the gas lights were out of gas and the seats were hard. But that never turned me off train rides. I still enjoy them.
Jim
cant remember. either near the yard near the airport or the Ex. nickle plate road ns line.(i grew up with it you might say ;)) It's down the street from me. I used to live next to it!!! not anymore. :'(
I still like going their! :)
I grew up in a CPR townsite. I can not remember the first time I saw a steam locomotive, but I can remember seeing my first diesel engine.
i am a third generation railfan and modeller. can't say where or when i saw my first train but i do know my parents took me to sturgeon, pa on a pennsy commuter train to visit my grandparents. i was born in august 1964, the train was discontinued in november the same year.
I was young enough to remember the steam locos of the B&M. I saw pacifics and consolidations on the commuter runs to Boston. Our house was a block from the tracks and my schools play ground was right next to the tracks so I saw them every day from 5 years old and more.
Can't remember the first I actually saw. My dad had a model railroad layout when I was born. He used to be a city driver and drove trucks to the rail yards to pick up trailers and I know we used to go downtown a lot, over the bridges that were over the rail yards in St. Louis
My first real experience on a train was going to Colorado when I was 4 with a friend of my aunt's. My uncle was stationed there (in the Army) and my aunt was there with him. Strange that the thing I remember most is the ham sandwich in the dining car.
I believe my first train ride was also my first look at a real train. I was, well let's just say it was in the 60's... went from DC to St. Louis. I remember the view from the window... it was like magic. A gentleman in a nice uniform brought me oatmeal and freshly squeezed orange juice in the dining car. I hate pulp! Loved the ride, though.
I remember my first look at a layout. I was seven years old. It was my grandfather's layout, which took over gramma's dining room. I was hooked for life that day.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I'm going to go get my manly tissues now...
R,
J
I grew up in New Jersey with the CRR of NJ high bridge line right in back of our house. As soon as I was big enough to look out the window. My first train ride was on a DL&W Electric MU train from Dover to the Hudson river. The first diesel locomotive that I saw was when we moved to Oklahoma in 1944. I was on the Santa Fe train from Chicago to Oklahoma City.
I was a little less than two years old , my parents & I had landed in New York City before Easter in 1952 . We had spent a good deal of time flying between Iceland and Gander, kept having engine trouble. After landing ,finally got everything straightened out with Immigration we ended up being Sent to Chicago where we had relatives from Mom's side of the family. That was an wonderous time , first airplane ride , first elevator ride, first time in a skyscraper and first time riding in a train . That was truly long ago.
JH- Are you from Iceland? Really beautiful country over there. When I worked at the UN, I knew quite a few Icelanders. I spent Christmas and New Year in Rejkavik back in '73 I think. One of my good friends at the UN (Thor) was Icelandic and I dated his sister when she came to visit. Then Thor and I flew to Iceland that year.
When I was 4 I rode in the cab of several diesel powered locomotives. 2 of them were Youngstown & Austintown and one was in Erie Lackawanna livery, but belonged to some industry and was used for switching. I have a video tape of it that my father took, my brother was 8 or 9 at the time and got to sound the horns at the railroad crossings and got to do other stuff too. A year or two later my dad's friend died and I never got to ride in a cab again. Just think of how much trouble my dad's friend would have gotten into if he would have done that with all the strict regulations in place these days. The first one I saw was what I later found out to be the last train to run on the line, until just recently when Ohio Central System was operating some scrap & refuse trains over 2 decades later. The train was headed by 3 either Conrail or EMD lease Ex Conrail units, my dad's not sure, and I only remember them being blue, which doesn't help, but my dad said it took over 4 hours to pass because the speed limits in place because of the poor condition of the track. The track was ripped up a few year later, and had to be replaced in several areas when OHCR began its operation a few years ago, the line is now operated by a subsidiary of Wheeling & Lake Erie I think.
First train I remember got me written up in the local paper. It was 1948, and I was two. I somehow escaped from the back yard to go look at trains and planes. I had to cross the trolley tracks and the B&O Baltimore-Washington main line to get to the small airport. While I was out "exploring", my Mom had called the police and fire departments to look for me. Somewhere in that episode, the B&O's "Cincinnattian" with a bullet-nose P-7 stormed past. A neighbor finally saw this toddler wandering on the tracks and corralled me. The episode made it into the old Washington Star.
For several years shortly after, I got farmed out during the summer to my grandparents in Warren, PA, where Pennsy steam still reigned. At that time it was an important double-track main line out of Erie. A few blocks from their house, the line split, with one headed up the Allegheny River towards Olean, and the other up the mountain to Kane and on to Renovo and eventually Harrisburg. Today, the Olean line is under the Kinzua Dam lake, and the rest is single track operated by, I believe, the Allegheny Valley RR after being spun off when Conrail was created.
Terry: I was staioned in Iceland in the Navy in 1970-71. I agree - beautiful country. I had my own car, so was able to get around quite a bit. Always reminded of how Middle Earth would have looked, back in the days when Tolkien was popular the first time around. Did you ever see their one preserved steam loco?
I don't remember when I saw my first train. It was probably on one of the trips North on State Route 7 along the Ohio River where all the industries are. My first train ride (I believe) was October 5, 2008 (I'm only 13). It was on the Byesville Scenic Railway in Byesville, Ohio. They had gotten an ex CP or CN steam locomotive from Ohio Central.
cody
To Terry : No I am not an Icelander , though I am told it is very beautiful in a Volcanic sort of way. Ethnically I happen to be a Danube -Swabian although I was Born in Bavaria in Chieming near Munich . My parents were displaced persons who fled to Germany during & after the Second World War . Their ancestors were from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire , their provinces had been divided between Yugoslavia & Romania after WW I . They met in Bavaria after the war , their home cities were about 60 miles apart. I am told that Germans had settled in that part of Europe before and after the Turkish expansion .
The only reason we got to see so much of the area between Iceland and Gander was because the airline Flying Tigers was doing the flying and kept having an engine go bad on the flight. It took some days to either get repairs or another plane up there. I am told the boat got there to New York City faster than we did. You know the old saying about getting there is half the Fun. John II.
According to my mom's memories, it was a freight, "You saw a yellow one, that's all I can remeber... the Blue Island District in Oak Lawn." Oh dear, oh dear, I wonder what railroad that was:
The Union Pacific... (http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif)
Joshua
the first time I road a train was the first year of Day Out With Thomas
I grew up with model trains as my Dad had worked for both Pennsy and Santa Fe. So when I was young we used to ride downtown and watch trains at the crossing in town. The first train I ever rode on was a steamer up at Strasburg, PA. To this day Strasburg is my second home. My Dad used to work with steam engines when he worked for the Pennsy, and even though I don't have anything against diesels, steamers are my thing ;D
My mother claims my dad had a train for me when he picked us up from the hospital back in 1941. On those occasions he was driving (WWII, gas rationing) he did manage to have to stop for a lot of crossings mainly in San Francisco. At the ripe old age of 3 my grandfather would take me to the SF Zoo every Friday--we'd take the Muni streetcar and I usually rode up front where I could watch the motorman. At the end of the day at the zoo, there was a steam train to ride--the engineer was a friend of my grandfather's, so I had the equivalent of a cab ride--in his lap--and I got to blow the whistle and ring the bell.
gj
I don't remember seeing my first train, but I must have been very, very young. My father was an engineer, and we lived next to the railroad tracks.
Bruce
From as far back as I can remember pre WW2, the family would catch the GW train from Snow Hill station in Birmingham to Portsmouth for our yearly weeks holiday in Southsea. This always included a day on the Isle of Wight, travelling to and fro on a side paddle steamer. Can still remember standing in the doorway of the engine room watching the inclined engine. Still have a photo of grandpa and me aged about 7 (1934?)walking to the beach,taken with a box Brownie. Also have photos of a 1950 mountaineering holiday in Norway taken with same camera.
Eric UK
Iceland - My first impression of Iceland was the same as Nut's - Like stepping into the past.
Germany - My Ahmann ancestors came from Meckelege -
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mowarren/schake/part1c.html (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mowarren/schake/part1c.html)
Sir, I no recall of that.
I remember that main line that ran through town was, and recall seeing most often was Chessie System C&O , late 1960s thru 1980.
and sometimes varoius others like GTW, once in a while The Rock,and
Penn Central/New York Central.
1st Train ride? Do amusement park trains count? The engines were scaled
down steam engines that even used real coal,,at the House Of David park
in Benton Harbor MI.
Then in due course the trains at Disneyland in Anaheim,and Knotts Berry Farm.
Subways Count? Washington DC Metro and then the BART in San Francisco.
REAL Train ride,Electric,Last summer,,South Bend to Chicago Millenium station on
the South Shore Line then took the "EL" to Addsion Ave for a Cubs game. [Cubs won, beat the Marlins.]
These are all my major (Or worth mentioning.) train rides:
My first train ride was at the Illinois Railway Museum on their Coach Train pulled by the Metra E unit (Leading) and the Milwaukee Road E unit (Second unit) pulling a train of Pullman and normal coaches. I rode "The Green Hornet" as well.
My second ride was on the Washington D.C. Metro system from Maryland to Washington D.C. It was an enjoyable, underground, trip. It gave me a better, and more experienced, respect towards rapid transit by means of third rail, elevated, or third rail.
My third train ride was at the Monticello Train Museum. I road their "Ghost Train" during the day, pulled by their Canadian National ALCO FA-1. Pulled where Pullman coaches with one Budd coach at the end, then a caboose with an air horn when backing up.
My fourth train ride was at the Illinois Railway Museum on their coach train pulled with five or four Pullman coaches with their Southern Pacific EMD SD7 pulling alone. It was nice, but the custom Nathan 5 chime horn kept startling me over and over again.
Then my most recent ride was at the Illinois Railway Museum once again. This time, I rode all trains (Like I always try to.) except the Vintage CTA cars (Red and green scheme.), but instead road the newer CTA cars when we first arrived (Red and tan scheme.). Along with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Nebraska Zephyr, and the coach train. Though, the coach train was pulled only by the Southern Pacific EMD SD7 once again, it had a longer consist this time around.
Those are all of my more popular rides. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to post.
Sincerely,
Joshua
Here may be found photos of that House of David train that I mentioned earlier. My grandfather is in two of the photos,,#4 second from right
and #5 on the right.
The last three photos are the ones I remember seeing and riding on.
http://www.houseofdavidmuseum.org/edensprings/trains.htm
These trains are going to make a comeback in the next year or two.
that would have been as soon as I was old enough to stand up and look out the screen door in the kitchen. The Nickel Plate Road went through the middle of a field behind the house. I don't remember seeing any steam locomotives, only diesels. ...One of my earliest childhood memories is standing at the kitchen door watching giant black monsters roar through the field while the floor of the house vibrated beneath my feet...and wondering what they were.
I'm not to sure when i seen my first train it might have seen the frankford market El where i live in Phila PA.
When I was VERY young (born in 1948), we lived in Downsville, NY until 1956. The O&W tracks ran near us (they went bankrupt before I was born) so I didn't see a train till we moved to Deposit, NY in 1956.
I believe it was still the (weary) Erie back then. We lived ON (what was then) Rt 17 (before the four lane was built) and the Erie tracks were about 300 yards from our house. All I remember about my first nights there was that I thought I'd NEVER get to sleep with all of the noise from the trains and trucks going by!
I don't remember seeing any steam engines on the Erie (I think that they had changed to diesel power by then). Most of what I saw were F series diesels then later on when GP series engines when they merged with the Lackawanna.
One train in particular stands out in my mind. A trains LOADED with M60 tanks headed east. I found out years later that we (the US) stripped the east (of the Missippippi) of all of our M60 tanks to send them to Israel! Quite a site to see all of those hundreds tanks on flat cars!
I also rode the Phoebe Snow from Hornell to Binghamton, NY twice in 1967. We darned near froze to death as there was NO heat and it was at Christmas time!
I was Born in Portsmouth, England.
Trains were so common that you couldn't fail to notice them. Sadly, many, many lines have closed since then but trains are still more common than in North America. The line into Portsmouth would see trains every five to ten minutes or so.
Here's a video taken in the mid to late 1960s showing trains on one of the many mainlines leading to and from London. This is what was once the Southern Railway and later, when the video was taken, the Southern Region of British Railways. Now it's all "privatised".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CA&hl=en&v=R4ZFi3Pcyy4&feature=channel_page (http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CA&hl=en&v=R4ZFi3Pcyy4&feature=channel_page)
I was born in Youngstown, Oh in 1951 and thought that when the sun set in the west, it left an orange/pink hue in the sky. In reality, it was the steel mills running day and night back then. The first train I remember seeing impressed me so much that I remember it to this day even though I was only four years old at the time. My father was letting me ride along with him to go pick up something or other and we stopped at a rail crossing where a NYC L2b (so I was informed) rolled passed with a long train of mostly gondolas. I clearly remember counting the drivers and watching the volcanic exhaust in the subzero cold. With relatives in PA, MD, WV, and VA, one of which was a grandfather who worked for the Southern, I watched an awful lot of trains on the PRR, NYC, B&O, C&O, WM, Southern, and even Y6bs on the N&W. Nothing has ever equaled that L2 slamming through the crossing with its exhaust enhanced by the cold and carload after carload of newly made steel.
Now, of course, Youngstown is almost as dead as the L2 that past me that day. People born too late to have seen this country when we made things missed out on a lot more than seeing an industrial America. They missed out on seeing a real multicultural society, one where people from all over the world were in America because they wanted to be Americans, were proud of where they came from, but even more proud of their work and their community.
Somehow, maybe because I've gotten older or maybe because I've lost enough of my marbles to have faulty mental connections these days, all of that relates to the first train I remember seeing back when we kids hung on every word of the big Hunkie or Wop who bragged about how much steel they rolled that day rather than listening to hyphenated American adults brag about their latest feat of thumb typing on their IPod.
Regards
That's a hard question to answer,One of my uncles was a railway cop and another Great Uncle was granted a patent in 1914 for the automatic railway safety switch, so I remember having interest from hearing stories at a young age, but I can tell you with certainty when I fell In love with steam locomotives, I was twelve years old and my parents took me to tour the freedom train, we rounded a corner and there sat the most beautiful Locomotive I had ever seen.
(http://members.pioneer.net/~fitzrr/49aftrb1.jpg)
Need I say More?
NM
I supose the first train I ever saw was when my mom would take me int0 Manhattan on the old GG Subway from Queens.
i saw my first train when i was 2 years old in Ephrata, Washington
Trains were around in the landscape so I guess I saw them. But the first formal trip to see a train was in January 1953 when I was 3 1/2 years old. Dad took me to the Silver Spring MD train station to see the train carrying the Trumans home to Missouri after Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration. Truman was graciously granted the use of the presidential train car with the open rear platform, the same one he had used campaigning when he was president. Silver Spring is the first stop west of Washington DC on the B&O Metropolitan Branch between DC and Point Of Rocks MD where it joins B&O's "Old Main Line" via the Patapsco river valley from Baltimore for points west. The train stopped at the station and former president Truman made a short speech from the platform to the large gathered crowd. I've read that this practice was carried out during the entire trip. A whistle stop farewell if you will. Very young, I didn't remember the event very well.
Robert
I was 5 years old my grandfather worked on the the new york central railroad down town cleveland, he let me climb aboard an engine and blow the whistle and ring the bell.