Last night the evening news had a short story about the porters who worked on the trains in a bygone era. The story made me think of all the train trips I made as a young child.
During the late forties and early fifties I joined my mom to visit her family in Texas every summer. We rode the Sunset Limited from Los Angels, California to San Antonio, Texas where my grandparents lived. I loved riding the train. It was always a grand and glorious adventure. People dressed up to travel in those days. I wore one of my nice dresses. Mom's outfit always included a hat and gloves when we boarded or got off the train. On the train we set on a couch-like seat which faced an identical seat. It seemed to me that our travel companions were always friendly and interesting, although my mom was a bit more reserved than I ever was. She did not like me to sit on the facing bench with my new friends. I got in trouble if I allowed them to buy me candy from one of the porters. The big highlight of the day was going to the dining car. It was like a fancy restaurant. There were white tablecloths and pretty dishes. The waiters always called me Miss and put my napkin in my lap for me. I felt like a princess. Strangers always joined us at the table. It was great fun. While we were at dinner porters went through the train and converted our seats into beds. Mom and I slept together on the lower bunk. Our seat mate always slept in the top bunk. Curtains hung down to give each bed privacy. After dinner I crawled into our cozy private bed and changed into my pajamas then went to the bathroom at the end of the car to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. It was just so exciting to do all this getting ready in a bathroom full of other travelers. Our bed had a reading light and I wold lie there reading and listening to the train until I fell asleep. In the morning we would get up, dress and go to the dining car for breakfast. At breakfast there were no tablecloths, but we still got to share our table with other travelers. By the time we returned to our seats the porters had made our beds back into a sitting area. The trip took two days on the train. I loved every minute of the journey.
Did you ever travel by train? Do you have any memories of your time on a train?
4 comments:
Hello! :)
Unfortunately, my train memories are restricted to Amtrak between NY and Boston during my college years... not nearly as glamorous as your trips! There was even one time, going home for Thanksgiving, when I had to stand at least half the duration of the trip. Shortly after that, I bought a car.
Isn't train travel wonderfully decadent!..I've taken one train trip in my life,all the way across Germany,and it's something I'll always have fond memories of.
Like Just Me, the only train trip I ever took was from DC to Philadelphia right before college. But it is something that I dream of doing. A long train trip across the country. Or at least across the west.
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