Loading ...I too have great memories of rail travel . One of my earliest memories is of getting ready to board a transcontinental train when I was only 2 years old – I believe in Montreal , to go to Vancouver. A few days ago you posted a link to a photo of a Canadian Pacific ‘Hudson’ steam locomotive . I believe that may have been the type of locomotive which pulled into the station as we waited on the platform . I had been on trains before to get to Montreal from Northern Ontario , but that locomotive was so huge it scared me . My father was a tall man , yet I believe the drive wheels of that locomotive were as tall as he was. Steam locomotives had no ‘gearing’ so I guess the diameter of the drive wheels determined the top speed for the long stretches crossing the many miles of the prairies , and passenger trains were light compared to freights , so getting the train rolling was not an issue.
After putting my mother and I on board the Pullman , my father left to catch a different train to return to his work building the air base in Labrador ( Goose Bay?). Since it was war time , and sugar was rationed , I had never tasted sugar . I had also never seen a black person . My mother was not feeling well one morning on the trip , and the black porter offered to take me to the dining car for my daily breakfast of oatmeal porridge . On the table was a small bowl of some white granular stuff that I had never seen before . The porter sprinkled some on my porridge , poured milk on it , and put a spoonful in my mouth . WOW ! Why had my my morning porridge never tasted like THAT before ? After that , in my mind all black people were wonderful and kind .
You are right , we have great memories of that era . I believe that after the plight of so many during the Great Depression , CEO’s were a kinder , gentler breed than the CEO’s of today . They were certainly not paid over a hundred times more than the line workers . We were poorer then , but richer in values and morality than many today .
Any feedback on the Hudson class of locomotives would be appreciated.
Thanks for bringing back great memories .
Maya – Thanks for the daily rail pix
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