TrainSpotting

I guess my first train ride was at Point Pleasant NJ, on the beach.

Trains have been a part of my life all these decades. It started with Pennsylvania Rail Road. The PRR leased the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1872—which included key predecessors like the Camden and Amboy Railroad and the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company. This core route through Newark, New Brunswick, and Trenton became the backbone of modern passenger service.

Before I came of age, we kids would go to the tracks in Highland Park and put pennies on the track. I also would watch the trains go past and wonder where people were going and why. I later found out a few reasons and places. I would just stare out the window and take in all the people, places and things I saw. I also did that while flying and when I would get midway across the country I would see the plain with those water wheels that irrigated crops and looks to see how they were connected. I also followed roads and highway. Now you can just use Google Earth. In fact, a Youtube video SLOW TV has a 8 hour view from the conductors view point of a long trip. I know some of you will think that is crazy to watch a long train ride, but people spend lots of time watching someone cut wood or build something.

In the 60’s I rode trains from New Brunswick to Richmond where I would get off and take a bus to school. There were a number of us from the same military school so we could easily spot fellow classmates. We wore those blue/grey Eisenhower (battle) jackets. If you were in grades 5-8 you might also have had to wear a cape which could be unbuttoned and buttoned in the front for warmth.

I always rode coach and that meant we used the general bathrooms on the train. The mens bathroom (and I assume the ladies room also) had a lounge outside the actual toilets. This is where servicemen would smoke, drink and play cards. There were always dufflebags strewn about. Since we cadets ranged in age from perhaps 11 or 12 to 19 or so, I don’t remember ever feeling like a little kid playing soldier around these guys. I also remember a few times being able to smoke and drink a bit with the guys. The Silver Meteor and perhaps the Silver Comet come to mind as the trains. In DC I believe they switched engines from electric to diesel so we had a brief delay.

There used to be signs not to flush the toilets in the station. That was soon remedied!

We were on a tight schedule, leaving school at Friday noon and being required to be back by Sunday perhaps 6pm. Only 1 time I was late because of a train issue. Most weekends I just traveled by car or bus from middle Virginia to DC area where I stayed with a fellow cadet. The train rides were reserved for long holidays.

When DC light rail (Metro) I would take the train into DC for museum visits and the events on the National Mall like the Beach Boys and 4th of July fireworks.

In both DC and Atlanta, I would take these from near my home to the airport. It was very convenient not to have to fight for parking and also made me pack less. When Honolulu talked about light rail, I thought it was odd not to start from the airport and ending at Waikiki area. Many people come every week and clog the streets with cars trying to find their way with street names in Hawaiian. I know car rental companys and taxi companys would have fought it all the way, and perhaps that is why the rail was held up for so long. However, they would have had a lot of riders and been able to pay off a lot of the building costs right up front. Also colleges and business people would have been common riders too. Instead the construction was held up for decades before finally being started.