Ethan,
One thing I love about living in Chico is hearing train whistles far off in the distance. As the train gets closer to town the whistles get louder. Then the crossing barriers go down, and the train roars through at speeds up to seventy miles an hour as the huge engine shakes the ground beneath its steel rails. Trains have always fascinated me.
My mom and dad gave me and my brother, Hugh, an electric train set for Christmas one year. We were at Grammy Spickler's farm, of course. I couldn't wait to get home so I could show it to my best friend Bill. Bill had a train set in his bedroom. His dad made a fold-down table for his train set. It had tunnels and bridges and all kinds of farm animals to put on his train. I would take my train to his house, and we would play trains for hours and hours.
Back in those days trains were a lot different than they are today. Most trains had coal-burning steam engines that spewed out huge clouds of black smoke and white steam. Unlike today's modern trains that run smoothly and quietly, the trains I remember as a boy were dirty and noisy and rough-riding. But it was always exciting to see them when they stopped at the railroad station. The fireman and the engineer had to take on water for the boilers, grease the wheels and sometimes hook up more train cars. Being a railway worker was back-breaking dirty work.
There were two major railroads that ran through my home town of Cedar Falls, the Rock Island Line and the Illinois Central. There was also the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern. The was a local line that went north and south not too far from our house. There was also a small train line that delivered coal to the college. It ran two blocks from our house. It ran so slow that we could pass it on our bicycles. I had a friend named Gerry whose dad was a engineer on the WCF&N, and occasionally Gerry got to ride with his dad on the train. He was the envy of us all.
Fairly often my dad made business trips around the state, and he usually took the train. That meant that we would all get to drive to the station to send him off. It also meant that we got to watch the Land of Corn come into town and stop at the Rock Island depot. That was a real excitement. My dad would board the train and wave goodbye, and slowly the big black engine would build up steam. The engineer would sound the whistle, push the throttle and the train would slowly begin to move. Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! The Land of Corn would gradually gather gain speed until it was out of sight. But we could still hear the Chug, Chug, Chug and the blast of the whistle as my mother drove us home.
A week later my dad would come home and we got to do it all over again in reverse. The Land of Corn always arrived at 9:30PM. It was great to have my dad home again.
One summer there was a horrible train accident when a fire engine on its way to a fire was struck by a train. The firemen were sounding their siren and didn't hear the train coming. Just as the fire engine crossed the tracks it was hit by the train at full speed. Unfortunately, the firemen were all killed. After that they moved the fire station away from the railroad tracks.
It was a very sad time for the city of Cedar Falls.
My brother and I shared a bedroom on the second story of our house. On hot summer nights we always slept with the windows wide open. Shortly before 9:30 we could hear the Land of Corn coming into town and drawing to a stop at the Rock Island depot down town. Later on we could hear the departure whistle blow and the Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! as the train left town again. We both listened to the train sounds as long as we could stay awake. Those are sounds I will never forget.
The Rock Island depot is still there, but it's now a bank. The trains no longer stop there the way they used to.
I know how much you like trains. I like them, too. Trains have changed a lot since I was a boy. I can't imagine what trains will be like when you grow up.
Love you, Grampa
One thing I love about living in Chico is hearing train whistles far off in the distance. As the train gets closer to town the whistles get louder. Then the crossing barriers go down, and the train roars through at speeds up to seventy miles an hour as the huge engine shakes the ground beneath its steel rails. Trains have always fascinated me.
My mom and dad gave me and my brother, Hugh, an electric train set for Christmas one year. We were at Grammy Spickler's farm, of course. I couldn't wait to get home so I could show it to my best friend Bill. Bill had a train set in his bedroom. His dad made a fold-down table for his train set. It had tunnels and bridges and all kinds of farm animals to put on his train. I would take my train to his house, and we would play trains for hours and hours.
Back in those days trains were a lot different than they are today. Most trains had coal-burning steam engines that spewed out huge clouds of black smoke and white steam. Unlike today's modern trains that run smoothly and quietly, the trains I remember as a boy were dirty and noisy and rough-riding. But it was always exciting to see them when they stopped at the railroad station. The fireman and the engineer had to take on water for the boilers, grease the wheels and sometimes hook up more train cars. Being a railway worker was back-breaking dirty work.
There were two major railroads that ran through my home town of Cedar Falls, the Rock Island Line and the Illinois Central. There was also the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern. The was a local line that went north and south not too far from our house. There was also a small train line that delivered coal to the college. It ran two blocks from our house. It ran so slow that we could pass it on our bicycles. I had a friend named Gerry whose dad was a engineer on the WCF&N, and occasionally Gerry got to ride with his dad on the train. He was the envy of us all.
Fairly often my dad made business trips around the state, and he usually took the train. That meant that we would all get to drive to the station to send him off. It also meant that we got to watch the Land of Corn come into town and stop at the Rock Island depot. That was a real excitement. My dad would board the train and wave goodbye, and slowly the big black engine would build up steam. The engineer would sound the whistle, push the throttle and the train would slowly begin to move. Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! The Land of Corn would gradually gather gain speed until it was out of sight. But we could still hear the Chug, Chug, Chug and the blast of the whistle as my mother drove us home.
A week later my dad would come home and we got to do it all over again in reverse. The Land of Corn always arrived at 9:30PM. It was great to have my dad home again.
One summer there was a horrible train accident when a fire engine on its way to a fire was struck by a train. The firemen were sounding their siren and didn't hear the train coming. Just as the fire engine crossed the tracks it was hit by the train at full speed. Unfortunately, the firemen were all killed. After that they moved the fire station away from the railroad tracks.
It was a very sad time for the city of Cedar Falls.
My brother and I shared a bedroom on the second story of our house. On hot summer nights we always slept with the windows wide open. Shortly before 9:30 we could hear the Land of Corn coming into town and drawing to a stop at the Rock Island depot down town. Later on we could hear the departure whistle blow and the Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! as the train left town again. We both listened to the train sounds as long as we could stay awake. Those are sounds I will never forget.
The Rock Island depot is still there, but it's now a bank. The trains no longer stop there the way they used to.
I know how much you like trains. I like them, too. Trains have changed a lot since I was a boy. I can't imagine what trains will be like when you grow up.
Love you, Grampa
