It was on this day in 1814 that a man named George Stephenson made
the first successful demonstration of the steam locomotive in
Northern England. His engine pulled eight loaded wagons of thirty
tons' weight about four miles and hour up a hill.
But though the locomotive was invented in England, it had its
greatest impact on the United States, where there was so much wide-
open space and so many natural resources to take advantage of. By
1840, the United States had 2,800 miles of railroad track. By 1872
that number had increased to 52,000 miles of railroad track.
Walt Whitman called the locomotive "Emblem of motion and / power—
pulse of the continent." But some people weren't too happy about the
introduction of the locomotive and the faster pace of life it
brought. Henry David Thoreau wrote, "This world is a place of
business. What an infinite bustle! I am awaked almost every night by
the panting of the locomotive. It interrupts my dreams. There is no
Sabbath. It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It
is nothing but work, work, work."
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
16 comments:
What would Henry David Thoreau think of todays hectic pace of life! Dianne
HappyDi2. I think he would say lay back and relax, everything is moving way to fast. And everything is over before you have a chance to really enjoy yourself to the fullest. We grow up to fast, we age to fast, and as we get older time flies by to fast. So we need to stop and enjoy all the good things in life. Especially the train whistles in the distance, which remind us of the "good old days", when life SEEMED to be simpler. Winston Allison
Winston, When I think of trains I remember what my son said to me when he was about 6 years old as I tucked him into bed and we heard the whistle of a train in the distance, "Don't you like the lullaby of the train, mom?" To this day, when I'm in bed and hear a train whistle in the distance, I remember those words and I feel comforted. Dolly
Dolly. Pretty cool eh!!!!!! When I hear a train whistle I think of Val David. It is so soothing and calming. Good memories. Winston Allison
My dad worked for CNR, and I have both good memories and sad: Good is when I think of him getting a pass and him and I 'riding the rails' as he used to take me to some unknown destination, turn around and 'ride the rails' back home. Sad is when I hear the Hank Williams song "Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow" as then I am reminded Dad is no longer us. Needless to say, I love trains. Cheers.
Hi Mom'45 I think ,that's exactly when your Dad is still with you ,."Whenever you Think of Him"...........................see he can be there anytime you want,That's the cool thing...........................HF&*RV
There are some pretty good train songs. Lover Lover Please, Please Come back..... Atchinson, Topeka and the Santa Fe Chattanooga Choo Choo Freight Train Honky Tonk Train Blues Night Train Wabash Cannonball Just to name a few. Dianne
Here you go Winston ,.....have a visit: http://www.val-david.org/ Have Fun & Remember (Val-David) Verdun and for Dolly ,........try this : http://members.tripod.com/~NASCARULZ/upbellwhistle.wav there's a train bell & Whistle ,if you scroll down beloe the songs ............................................Have Fun & Remember.....................................verdun
Thanks for the lullaby, Les, but there is no sound. I think I need a plug in or something.. I'll have to get my son to have a look. Dolly
Oh That's too bad Sabby,....it opens with Windows Media Player (it should have done it automatically,.............oh well,it's the thought that counts........hahahaha I just thouth you'd have liked it..........maybe next time: Have Fun & Remember Verdun: ...........now just imagine the whistle....................................
Trains.... Our fathers magic carpet........made of steel. Just hearing that whistle blow just does something to me..... takes me back so far I can't believe I have been on this earth that long. I remember my grandson and I watching Thomas the tank engine every day. Wouldn't that be something if we had enough money to be able to have a reunion by hiring a train and just going across Canada from one sea to the other. We could start at one end of the country and pick up people along the way? Then come back the other way and drop them off.
Winston that is one helluva an idea,.....I can see it,but the logistics would certainly be interesting,as rail travel these days is somewhat expensive,..Yet not entirely out of reach ................++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Can you Imagine a VerdunConnections Train....................hahahahhaa, might need to throw in the Montreal name to attract more takers,.......I know an open end ticket ,can be purchased where you can travel and get off at any of the stops and board again a few days later ,but one train doing the whole trip would really be interesting,if it started from out here,the western travellers would have the benefit of a complete nationwide trip,& back (or fly back)....and it would get progressively shorter for those who board along the way: eg: someone getting on in Montreal,would only be on till we got to Halifax & Back to Montreal,...What a laugh it would be ...............but very time consuming to say the least ( a month or more)...............................In any case it's a neat thought:but can you imagine the cash outlay..............hahahahahha VIA.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++HF&RV
Winston what a wonderful idea!!! I haven't been on a train in years. My grandad worked for CPR for years, and my uncle Fred Downey also worked for CPR too and I often would take the train to Valois where he lived, this is years ago. What fun it would be to go cross country by train. Dianne
What we take for granted, eh! Out here on Vancouver Island, I believe there is only the one train and it runs from Victoria up to Courtenay only ( literally half of the island). I have never ridden it but from what I hear it's a pleasant trip, mind you, it only runs once a day so you can't be in a hurry (but what the hey, out here we live on 'Island Time'). So I still hear that lonesome whistle blow at least once a day. I know there are still logging trains where they're still actively logging, but think I'll pass on hitching a ride on one. But darn good would be to put together a cross-country train trip right here on the board. We have members right across the country, so as the train passes by where you live, put your city on the list. If we start from west to east here's mine: Courtenay, Vancouver Island, BC ~~~~~next....
CANADA IS BEAUTIFUL, NATURALLY!!
http://www.train-canada.net/ ===============================+++++++++++++++++ ..............There & Back ,.....were on the track to Party, Eating , Drinkng,........Dancing ,...........and (well you know)...........hahahahahha +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ..........and Just in case We never get around to it,..............I have one of these for everyone: Have Fun & Remember Verdun ...................
Happy to hitch a ride on your board train. Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C.
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