Chapter Five - Steam Locomotives to Space Shuttles

Chapter Five
Steam Locomotives to Space Shuttles

Well, space shuttles would be jumping way ahead but the title sounded cool. Now steam locomotives do fit in at this point. The Santa Fe railroad was originally called The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe. The Santa Fe railroad had a large office building in Topeka and for many years provided many jobs in the community.

I remember seeing passenger trains pulled by a steam locomotive running along by the highway. At night you could see the red glow from the tinder box which heated the water to produce the steam to drive the engine which pulled the train racing through the night at speeds of sixty to seventy miles an hour. The sometimes plaintive wail of the locomotive’s whistle echoing through the night is a sound you don’t forget.

I remember going down to the railroad station to see the first diesel drawn passenger train which was phasing out the iconic steam locomotive. It looked streamlined, modern – it was the future, but its harsh diesel engine sound and air horn just did not evoke the nostalgic aural sensation of the locomotive’s whistle. When I came to Pasadena, California to go to school I came by a Santa Fe train arriving at the Alameda station downtown Los Angeles. Even today as you stand in the cavernous waiting room with its high vaulted ceilings and Spanish tile walls and floor, closing your eyes, in your mind’s ears you can hear the hustle and bustle of the heyday of the railroad era. Ah, those “rose colored glasses”.

Another experience that comes to mind that involved a train indirectly happened when Gary and I went down to the fair grounds to watch them set up a traveling circus. As we walked towards the site where they were setting up the big top we noticed some excited action going on at a boxcar which was on a sidetrack. We had to check it out. We witness a cow giving birth to a calf – quite an experience. There sure was a lot of gooey placenta mess.

While we’re talking about circuses I’ve never been a big fan of the Big Top shows. I think the hectic pace of three rings of action going on simultaneously was too much for me. What I do remember fondly about a circus is Cracker Jacks! The caramel coated popcorn and peanuts in the box with the surprise inside. It never really turns out to be a surprise. It was never the diamond ring they advertised as possibly being in the box. It was always something plastic – a ring, a special coin or a little figurine. Still looking for the ring! Do they still sell Cracker Jacks?