tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33704160.post6426627654340794150..comments2023-03-26T03:11:22.530-05:00Comments on Traveling Laughs: Toot-Tooting Down Memory-laden TracksCharlene Ann Baumbichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09634623648295710676noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33704160.post-38925713543123468882009-03-13T17:25:00.000-06:002009-03-13T17:25:00.000-06:00Wonderful story, Rachel. I can almost hear that t...Wonderful story, Rachel. I can almost hear that train a comin', and hear the voice on the other end of the line ... Thank you so much for taking time to share the rich details.Charlene Ann Baumbichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634623648295710676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33704160.post-67066662949697461242009-03-13T12:46:00.000-06:002009-03-13T12:46:00.000-06:00In the early 1950s my parents moved us all 20 mile...In the early 1950s my parents moved us all 20 miles beyond the suburbs into a great big house that was just about 300 yards from the B & O railroad line that ran through the town. My first night in that house was in November, when the woods between our house and the railroad were bare. Late that first night a train whistle announced that a train was approaching. I sat bolt upright and wide awake, hearing not just the train whistle but also the chug-a-chug-a-chug of the engine (back in the steam-and-coal-powered days). I was convinced that the train was headed straight for my bedroom. But, of course, it didn't take long before I slept through the night.<BR/>There were a few times that first year when my younger brothers would wander up to the train station and sneak into the coal bins - for some reason they liked to try to climb to the top of the piles of coal. So they came home looking like a pair of tiny coal miners.<BR/>Our dad caught the morning and evening commuter train each workday. Once in a while during the first few months, he'd fall asleep, the conductor would forget to awaken him, and we'd get a phone call from the next town down the line, "Josie, please come pick me up."<BR/>Rachel in Suburban Washington,DCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33704160.post-86038889327254781182009-02-07T16:04:00.000-06:002009-02-07T16:04:00.000-06:00Janice in Virginia,Thank you for sharing this love...Janice in Virginia,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for sharing this lovely memory. You sure can't beat "free" and somebody to keep an eye on you, ey? If only all our travels were that glorious ...Charlene Ann Baumbichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634623648295710676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33704160.post-70587189950325072922009-02-05T12:12:00.000-06:002009-02-05T12:12:00.000-06:00My mother worked as a ticket clerk for the Seaboar...My mother worked as a ticket clerk for the Seaboard Airline Roadroad, later known as the Seaboard Coastline Railroad, which became Amtrak. Her sister had the same job, albeit in a different city and state. When my sister and I were young, Since we could ride for free because of Mama's job, Mama would plop us on the train to go visit our cousins. She'd tell whichever conductors were working the train that day to keep an eye on us and away we'd go, traveling solo and feeling so grown up!!! There are so many train stories I could tell from my childhood but that's the first one that comes to mind. Thanks so much for taking me on this special trip down memory lane...<BR/><BR/>Janice in VirginiaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com