All The Live long Day...."Now departing on Track Two"!
- Thread starter Meanderer
- Start date
Some of these old train stations and buildings that were used for different things have a lot of nostalgia value. Problem is that so many of them have disappeared.
My Grandmother and Grandfather on my Mom's side were not rich or even well to do people. Every evening the trains would slowly go by the front of their home, which was maybe a 100 yards away. They would stop the engine up the rail a bit and take on water at a place called the "Scale Pond." Then, when they would restart, the engineer would slowly back up the train and then stop suddenly to go forward and this would bump the cars. The cars were loaded with coal from West Virginia and Kentucky and it would be piled high up over the top of the cars. When the cars would be bumped, some of the coal would fall onto the ground besides the track and when the train pulled away the area residents would go out to the tracks with their buckets and fill them with coal, so they would have coal to burn for the night.
My Grandmother and Grandfather on my Mom's side were not rich or even well to do people. Every evening the trains would slowly go by the front of their home, which was maybe a 100 yards away. They would stop the engine up the rail a bit and take on water at a place called the "Scale Pond." Then, when they would restart, the engineer would slowly back up the train and then stop suddenly to go forward and this would bump the cars. The cars were loaded with coal from West Virginia and Kentucky and it would be piled high up over the top of the cars. When the cars would be bumped, some of the coal would fall onto the ground besides the track and when the train pulled away the area residents would go out to the tracks with their buckets and fill them with coal, so they would have coal to burn for the night.
It's in Lancaster County. Just across the Susquehanna in Amish Country.
Old&InTheWay
Member
I enjoyed every single one of these pictures. I have loved trains ever since I was a little kid. I get lost in reveries with all the pics. Last summer I attended a conference in Kansas City. People there thought I was a tad eccentric because I took the Amtrak sleeper. Love those trains.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
About a decade ago, this would have been my youngest grandson's favorite pic. He was so into Thomas!
When I lived in South Australia, I visited a recreation of a recreated village called " Old Tailem Town". There was an old train sitting there that we went through. My Aussie ex's father had been a train conductor, so it was very interesting for him.
The station in Niagara Falls is a little old-fashioned station, reminescent of some of the images posted in this thread.
The station in Niagara Falls is a little old-fashioned station, reminescent of some of the images posted in this thread.
Great photos and stories! Thank you!@Old&InTheWay Thanks for your post, and welcome to Senior forums!
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
In 2017 my sister and I took a group day trip with AAA. For the life of me I can't remember where we went but it was further north than northeast N.J. We went for lunch then took a ride on a steam engine train to get to a river boat tour. While waiting for the train to take us back, I went into their rest area and came upon some photos on the wall. I thought these were the coolest.
I think most every little boy had an electric train set back in the day. I had two American Flyers, one Lionel and one Marx. I had a really nice layout thanks to my genius dad. We would put two sheets of plywood together with green matting on top that came in a roll. We had working switches and even a few working cars. The one AF blew smoke as did the Lionel by putting some kind of drops into the stack.
We had a working crossing and a little village. We tore it down one day and sold everything. How foolish we were.
I like this:
We had a working crossing and a little village. We tore it down one day and sold everything. How foolish we were.
I like this:
That's pretty awesome!
Pappy
Living the Dream
jujube
SF VIP
My maternal grandfather was a welder for the Norfolk & Western for many years. For the family of an employee, train travel was free. My grandmother would put my mother and my two uncles on the train to their grandparents with tags tied onto their clothing telling the conductor where to put them off. Lots of young children traveled alone back then; the conductors and porters kept an eye on them.