Loco Motives

My earliest recollection of riding a train was in Kiddie Land, a part of the Amusement park, Idlewild, near Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Several child sized passenger cars followed an electric version of a red and silver diesel engine that ran in a circular track. Kids were placed single file in the open air passenger cars for the short trip. It was one of the many kid enticing rides of Kiddie Land.

My next memory was a tour in an actual excursion on board a real train. I believe it was a huge black B & O locomotive. I was in the first grade of elementary school and it was our field trip. We were bused to Connellsville to begin our journey. I can remember how massive the cars seemed. The porter was there to help us board. Eager faces of my classmates soon were pressed against windows and the hiss of the engine became louder and the whistle announced we were off. Views of the Youghiogheny River, trees, and hills sped past until we reached our destination in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. There was no tour of the falls. There were too many kids for the teacher to keep track of. Hustled into another school bus, we were shuttled back to school.

The next trip on a train was in Elkins West Virginia. A travel companion and I decided to escape for a mini-vacation. We stayed in a motel over night to limit the stress on our aging bodies. The tour was a six hour trip to Spruce West Virginia. Spruce is a ghost town. The buildings of this old lumber town were razed long ago, but placards explained the businesses locations. It was a pleasant train ride that had several interesting stops along the way to Spruce.

Recently I was able to eliminate an item from my bucket list. I took another train ride, but the difference was it was first class with meals and snacks served in the dining car. The Potomac Eagle left the town of Romney West Virginia. The route follows the South Branch of the Potomac River. Our tour director shared a wealth information of historic homes and sites along the trail. The engineer stopped to allow passengers to ride in a gondola car to view a stretch of the river where bald eagles nest. We weren’t disappointed and saw several.

The meals, snacks, and service were great. It was a truly memorable way to cross off another item from my bucket list.