Life on the Train

"The time will come when people will travel in stages moved by steam engines from one city to another, almost as fast as birds can fly, 15 or 20 miles an hour.... A carriage will start from Washington in the morning, the passengers will breakfast at Baltimore, dine at Philadelphia, and sup in New York the same day.... Engines will drive boats 10 or 12 miles an hour, and there will be hundreds of steamers running on the Mississippi, as predicted years ago."
--Oliver Evans, 1800

Old L&N Depot

What could possibly be more nostalgic that reflections upon the train, especially the steam engine? Massive hulks of iron and steel ruled the rails and were the life blood of America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Train stations bustled as trains regularly stopped to load or unload passengers or freight. The train dominated an era of growth and prosperity relying on the backs of the Chinaman and escapes from the Western bandits.

The evolution of the train is much like life, its journey through time collects treasured memories of people and places as it stops and goes from one station to another. Have you ever thought about comparing life to a train ride or a series of train rides?

Be sure to watch in FULL SCREEN!

We've come a long way from the days of steam powered locomotives which demanded back-breaking drudgery to trains of today having advanced to high-speed technology centered on magnetic levitation. However, from the steam engine to the electric to the diesel to the stream-lined locomotives none compare to the poetry of steam.

Poetry of Steam

Incredible expansion in New York (The Empire State) during the 19th century

need not be mentioned without highlighting the role played by the railroads.

Whether leaving the city for the country or bringing raw materials into the city, railroads linked municipality to farm.

  
White clouds in rhythmical motion

Swirl to the beat of the engine

The whistle signals, “All aboard”

As I say good-bye to my friend

 Lovely in all her poise and beauty

Is the Iron Horse with its majestic stance

Daring and brazen blowing off steam

Hotter than ending a summer romance

Valves open, wheels slowly revolve

Emitting sounds of raw metal against metal

Smoke twists and turns, rises and falls

Settling gently as dew on a rose petal

The massive hulk eases forward

Resembling a cat stalking its prey

Mightily, steady with resolve

The driving rods push it on its way

Weaving, winding along rugged terrain

In harmony with nature’s raw concepts

Swirling, whirling flurries of ashen smoke

Invite all within its billowy depths

©2012 AwakeningsSharla Lee Shults

Ride the rails, Feel the motion, Sense the power

The Sounds of a Vanishing Era

While this is a 9-minute presentation, it only takes

a couple of minutes for you to feel the passion

of the railroad in a bygone era.



Original Oil Painting: Sharla Lee Shults

One of my paintings completed for my husband.

It hung in his office until his retirement from the railroad.

Connecting the past to the present. . .

While we may say goodbye to an era once vibrant, let us not forget the impact of the railroad as America rapidly became an urban nation. Where would America be today without the expansion of the railroad?