Time Traveling on Trains

My husband and I traveled to Boone, Iowa, to ride an old train this week. The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad operates over an 11-mile section of the former Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railroad, between Boone and Wolf, Iowa, a former junction with the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway. Visitors can see several restored trains from the 1930s – 40s and enjoy a ride on the rails through the scenic Des Moines River Valley.  While sitting at our candle-lit table, complete with roses in a vase, we were serenaded by vintage music and lush landscape views. At one point, our train crossed Bass Point Creek on a 156-foot-tall steel bridge that took us high above the treetops. It was brief, breathtaking, and so worth the trouble of the long drive there.

As we ate our meal and enjoyed the trip, we reminisced about our childhood train experiences.  When Tom was eight or so, his family traveled by train to California for a vacation.  At a stop in New Mexico, sneaky and unattended, Tom stepped off the train to examine rocks along the tracks. He picked up one that appealed, then got back on the train, and his family was none the wiser!  Considering everything that could have gone wrong in his leaving the train, it’s a blessing that nothing happened.  He kept that rock and has it still, reminding him of that exciting trip.

I had two childhood experiences on trains. Once, when I was very small – maybe six or seven years old, my family went to our local depot to pick up my grandparents, who had gone to Ohio to visit family.  I remember the excitement of waiting at the station for their arrival, hearing the train whistle coming in, watching as passengers unloaded, and spotting my grandparents.  The train was an exciting thing that took you to wonderful places or connected you with loved ones for happy experiences.  A few years later, my brother and I had been staying with our other grandparents in Iowa, and when it was time to go home, my aunt brought us back home by train. The trip was exciting as it rolled through farmland and crossed the Mississippi River. When we arrived at our town depot, I remember getting off the train and feeling quite grown up.

Flash forward fifty years, and I found myself a grandma babysitting my first grandchild, Jaycie. She and her mother lived in a small rural house very near some train tracks.  Every day, as trains approached, they lay on their horns, and poor Jaycie would be frightened. She’d cover her ears and run to me crying.  I’d pick her up, walk to the window, and say, “Don’t be afraid. The train blows its whistle to tell people hello and to get off the tracks because it needs to go through.” This seemed to help a little.  She always hated the noise of the trains whistling, but after I read her The Little Red Caboose Golden Book, she seemed to forget about the noise. Who can help but fall in love with trains after reading that story and feeling encouraged learning that small can be mighty – that we must “hold tight.”

The little red caboose also taught us about the function of each type of train car. There are oil cars, coal cars, livestock cars, and engines.  After reading Little Red Caboose, Jaycie and I would stand at the window and practice our numbers by counting train cars and learning to identify the different kinds of train cars.  I remember we were stunned by trains with over one hundred cars and how many were transporting oil and coal.  Only Amtrak carried passengers in one or two cars. Considerably fewer travelers in this day and age, but clearly, railroads are still vital for the transport of fuels.  Jaycie, then three, noticed there were never any cabooses.  I wouldn’t have noticed had she not said anything. This made me do some Googling, and we learned that Caboose cars are rarely used anymore, as trains function differently. So, think again if you believe an old children’s book like The Little Red Caboose might have little relevance today. The book still offers many entertaining and meaningful things and opens conversations and investigations into the whys and hows of train travel.

Last week, Jaycie graduated from eighth grade and will soon be entering her freshman year of high school. She has not yet traveled by train, but I hope to give her that experience one day soon. Perhaps we will ride an Amtrak to Chicago’s Union Station!

For this month’s Recommended Read check out The Little Red Caboose by Marian Potter and illustrated by Tibor Gergely. Even if you read it as a child, re-read it and savor its nostalgic illustrations and timeless message.

And under the Activities section of my blog, check out my Loose Caboose worksheet.