The Iron Horse. . . .A Little Girls Memories. . . .

A steam engine locomotive in Nevada (Caliente?) in the mid 1930s

Chugging through a Utah landscape in the mid 1930s

Muggles wanted to go outside very early this morning. Even though

it was still dark, I went out with her and watched as she explored

every nook and cranny of the courtyard. I enjoyed the cool breeze

that was gently soothing away some of the heat of the previous

day. This is my favorite time. It is my time for reflection, my time

to explore the wonderful memories that are tucked away in my

heart.

As I sat there, I heard the OOoo ooOO of a train whistle and the

Ding-Ding-Ding of the railroad crossing bell as the gate came

down. Immediately, I was transported back to another time and

another place.

I have always been fascinated by the sights and sounds of the old

steam engine locomotives, the "Iron Horse", as they were called

when I was a child. Caliente was 15 miles from Panaca and was

home to one of the Union Pacific Round House Railroad Stations.

From the time I was a little girl, a favorite pastime was to go to

Caliente and watch those amazing steam engine locomotives

pull into the station. Even before you saw the train, you would

hear the blast of the train whistle. The whistle on the old steam

engines was called a 'mechanical bell whistle". The blast, when

the engineer blew the whistle, was a delightful sound caused by

super heated steam being forced through the smoke stack of

the locomotive. WHoOO!, and then the thunder of the wheels

as the train roared into the station. The sound is everywhere,

inside of you, outside of you. Then just for good measure, the

engineer blows the whistle again. WHoOO!

I remember being six years old and standing on the train

platform with my parents and my brother, David, who was

eight. Mom and Dad were putting us on the train to go to

Salt Lake City, Utah. We were going to stay for two weeks

with our sister, Theresa, and her husband, LeGrande.

WHoOO! The towering black and grey monster roared

into the station. The huge steel cylinders were dripping a

watery black grease and plumes of black smoke billowed

from the smoke stack. Steam hissed steadily as it rolled

to a stop. I remember jumping backwards and releasing

a long drawn out AaaaH! as I was overcome by awe and

wonder.

I watched the flurry of activity on the platform as people

rushed around; passengers collected their belongings,

stewards hurried by with baggage carts piled high with

luggage, and hugs and kisses were exchanged as loved ones

bid their goodbyes. Mom and Dad gave us into the care of

a pretty stewardess, admonished us to be good and do every

thing she asks of us, kissed us goodbye and stepped back as

the conductor called his "ALL ABoarrrD! The last

passengers hurried to board as the stewardess settled us

into a window seat facing the front of the train and pinned

tags with our name, parent's name and address, and

Theresa's name and address onto our clothes. I clutched

the cuddly rag doll mother had made for me tighter in my

arms and gazed around with wide eyes. I was actually

sitting in a passenger car pulled by one of those huge

locomotives! I will never forget the many sounds as the

engine prepared to leave the station. The passenger cars

stretched out far behind it and the conductor was now

standing on the red caboose at the end of the train.

Suddenly, WHOosh! I got goose bumps and my spine

tingled as the train started to roll forward, past the

station, and we were leaving. I looked out the window and

saw Mom and Dad smiling at us and waving. The engineer

blew the whistle, WHoOO! as the conductor signaled the

all clear. The OOoo ooOO echoed all around us and

soon all of the cars were moving. WHOompH! CLang!

CRash! ClacK - ClanK!, as the heavy engine and cars

begin to roll across the gaps between the rail sections.

Ka-WHOosh! CLang-CRash! WHOompH! And

then a steady and soothing Tick-Tickety-Tick as the

great Iron Horse picked up speed and settled into it's

traveling gait. We looked out the window in wonder as

the landscape rushed by and it seemed like we had

just began our voyage when we heard the Ding-Ding-

Ding as the crossing gate came down and we were

pulling into Modena, Utah. There were no passengers

getting off or on the train there and we were soon on our

way again. Before we even had time to think about it,

the stewardess came and got us to go to the diner car for

lunch. We felt very grown up sitting in an elegant booth

and being served by a waiter in a uniform. I don't

remember what our lunch was but I do remember that

we had ice cream for dessert.

After we settled back into our seats, David played with

the wooden train and blocks he had brought and I spent

time describing the sights rushing by the window to Dolly.

I think we both took a nap, lulled to sleep by the soothing

symphony of the train rushing along the tracks, Tick-

Tickety-Tick. After awhile the stewardess came and

told us she had a surprise for us. Holding our hands, she

walked us through the train cars until we were standing

on the observation platform of the caboose. We were

approaching the famous Horseshoe Curve built into the

tracks through one of the canyons. At a certain point,

you can see the engine with the smoke billowing from

the smoke stack, the long line of cars curving into a

graceful half circle, and the little red caboose trailing

along with jaunty flair, in one amazing picture. The

engineer blew the whistle, WHoOO! as a signal to those

who wanted to take pictures. Some sights, no matter how

young you are, you never forget, and this is one of them.

It seemed just a very short time after we returned to our

seats that the conductor came into our car and said we

were approaching the Salt Lake City station. He told all

of us to make sure we collected our belongings and to

gather up any trash we had accumulated. The stewardess

came and told David and I to remain in our seats until she

had helped the other passengers leave the train and she

would be back for us. WHoOO!, and then with a loud

CLang-CLang-CLang! WHOosh! HisssSS!, the

mighty engine rolled to a stop.

Theresa and LeGrande were waiting for us with huge

smiles on their faces. The stewardess took us to them,

checked all information and identification, told Theresa

how good we had been, hugged us and waved, as she

walked away. We went into the station and as LeGrande

left to claim our luggage, Theresa asked, "Did you have a

good trip? Was it fun? We were both talking at once as

LeGrande came with our luggage and we walked to the

car.

Suddenly, we heard ALL ABoarrD! Ka-WHOosh!

CLang! CRash! CLack-CLanK! Once again, I got

goose bumps and my spine tingled as with a last WHoOO!,

a plume of black smoke rising from the smoke stack, and a

HisssSS! of steam, the mighty Iron Horse rushed out of

the station on the way to it's next stop. For a little girl from

the tiny town of Panaca, this was a dream come true. It

had been a beautiful, wondrous day!

In the next several years, I repeated this trip two more

times. Once with David and Delores and once with Delores.

The excitement and fun of riding on the mighty Iron

Horse had not diminished at all. It was still a wondrous day!