Vermont railfan event
About 80 “train catchers” boarded coaches behind Rutland No. 405 that Saturday. Some carried cameras, some notebooks, some with a buddy, some came alone. What did all of us have in common? Trains.
I call us “train catchers” because like dream catchers, we anticipate a safe journey provided by our engine. We are all enamored by the iron horse for different reasons.
Wayne, my husband, first discovered trains at the foot of a kind-hearted grandfather. In his company, the small boy would blossom. Safe in the hands of a modeler, who loved trains, would be the seeds from which an engineer would grow. Wayne became an engineer in both senses of the word; as a software engineer and as a lover of the train engine and all it encompasses.
This was my first experience, however, witnessing what train buffs call “foamers.” I watched as cars and small trucks chased our train at every step.
One devotee drove a gray truck with an orange kayak hanging on for dear life in the back. He literally ran, camera equipment in hand, to situate himself to photograph our passing. He did not miss a single stop along the way.
My own story with trains dates back to my childhood. My father introduced my brother to Lionel trains when we were kids. I cannot remember a Christmas when among our gifts was there not some piece of train paraphernalia wrapped up for Richard to open. He had a large transformer that powered the engine and a chain of tiny lights that ran along the track laid out on a cellar table. The basement was all in darkness, but you could hear the sound of the train clicking along the tracks, smell the smoke that rose from the engine, and just make out the scene from the twinkling lights.
My husband fills our cellar today with an assortment of train books, train models, tracks, and magazines. It was Trains Magazine that presented us with this trip out of Rutland, Vermont. I needed a getaway, and love a long ride, especially in the fall.
Videographer Kevin Gilliam is our guide today. He was at the Rutland station with Nastassia Putz, Trains production editor, greeting us in the early mornings. With bag lunches, pastries and a lot of train talk, the trip got off to a friendly start. We were all passengers behind the Rutland No. 405, a one-of-a-kind engine.
Nostalgia is at the heart of most train devotees. Fifty years ago, I left home to attend college in Vermont. One woman told me that she started to follow trains with her daughter, and now, just loves to photograph them. There are many stories to be shared aboard. And I overhear many tales about other train rides taken across the U.S.
I love that the observation car has seats that can be adjusted. You can choose to face either way. Here on the train, the rider can decide either to face forward, or backward. It is very relaxing to sit back and be driven on a specific route and watch as the world goes by.
I will view at least three covered bridges on this excursion. Fall foliage is just beginning, but the land is dispersed with white church steeples, broad green fields, bare corn fields, and just- burning browns and golds. Cameras capture the old engine emerging from tunnels, crossing rusty bridges, or contrasting before the state’s Green Mountains. We have multiple opportunities with carefully planned photo stops along the way, to set up and focus and shoot some wonderful angles.
So, what is this attraction for the train and its massive engines? Is it this solid sense of power as the train is pushed or pulled along its rails? Is it the calming sound as the passenger cars rattle along, clacking rhythmically?
This country was settled coast to coast by these trains. It is as American as baseball and apple pie. Looking across the miles of open space, you can almost imagine how it looked plowing in snow, steam rising, as horses rode by, and American Indians still roamed the land. And how many workers did it take to build so many miles of track?
Trains represent man’s determination to expand and to move forward. Today, riding in one of its passenger cars, a rider enjoys the benefits of a slower pace compared to today’s car ride, and the opportunity to take in all the details of the scenery surrounding them.
I am reminded that 2024 brings many new ways to view the world of trains as two drones fly overhead. Old meets new. But for this tourist, the drone is only here to get a better angle on a historic centerpiece.
The train continues to move automobiles, produce, and people. It continues to safely and reliably carry its cargo to its destination. It is still fulfilling the American dream. And today, one small engine inspires our imagination. Even after over 70 years of service, the Alco RS1 runs using all it has across the rails of American history.
