I’ve always enjoyed having my driving interrupted by a train crossing. I roll down the windows and watch the passing spectacle with the soundtrack full of the cadence of the wheels, counting the cars and imagining faraway places and industries. Never thought I’d personally know a railroad engineer, but three years ago we took our first trip to his home country of England and explored several vintage railways there. They included West Somerset Railway in Somerset (featured in the home page video) and Ffestiniog Railway in Wales (yes, two ff’s). We even saw the Flying Scotsman at the National Railway Museum in York— the mecca for all railway-mad Brits.
The faithfully restored engines and passenger cars rolling through beautiful countryside from one quaint station and town to the next truly did spark my romance with trains. It reminded me of scenes from all the vintage BBC TV shows I’ve watched.
On subsequent trips we experienced the Bodmin and Wenford Railway in Cornwall, Severn Valley Railway in Shropshire, Great Central Railway in Leicestershire (UK’s only mainline heritage railway), Bure Valley Railway in Norfolk—and one high-speed first-class trip on a Virgin Trains Pendolino out of Euston Station in London (not vintage but sure nice…).
