All aboard to dreams and wishes

I've always wanted to ride in one of those sleek dome cars on a train trip through the country, especially the Rockies. Alas, so far at least.
But early today, at the Amtrak station in Oklahoma City, there was this classic. The Heartland Flyer, which runs between here and Fort Worth, must have brought it overnight. But when the train left, with my wife Susan on board for an arts conference in Ardmore, the car remained.
Ah, the dreams and wishes of such journeys.

All aboard to stress freedom, part 1

Tired of stress and traffic? The cure is a weekend trip aboard Amtrak's Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth with friends. It begins early, parking in the Cox convention center across the street from the depot, and walking across the street and up on the platform to the waiting silver cars and locomotive before  the train leaves the old Santa Fe station downtown at 8:25 a.m.

Jill, Susan and I waiting to board

Any trip to Fort Worth is personal for me, having gone through first grade there, but this was with Roy
and Jill Kelsey. Roy's a train buff, like me, and I found out he'd never ridden a train before, and we were celebrating Jill's retirement from UCO.
I love going places where I don't have to rent a car, or drive... there's less to worry about, less stress, and more more time to enjoy the sights. Fort Worth is one of those places. Plus, there's no hassling TSA, body scans and having to worry about shuttles from remote airports. It's also cheap--$32 round trip. No baggage fees. You put your baggage in a storage area as you get on, and then climb stairs up  to the seats. Your train deposits you right downtown at what is also the super modern and clean central bus station, two easy walking blocks from a hotel.

The Kelseys

It may not be the most scenic railroad trip in America, but you will see things on this 418-mile trip you never see from a car--including the Washita River "canyon" through the Arbuckles, plus a lot of rural countryside. And you've got a lot of time to look out the windows, to chat, to think, to enjoy friends. On Fridays and Sundays the train is packed, picking up and letting people off at regular stops at Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley, Ardmore and Gainesville.

The conductor.

The train staff are courteous and fun, joking and easy-going. You can get up and move around from car to car, go to the cafe car which is more of a snack bar for beverages and snacks and souvenirs, or bring you own. The bathrooms are clean and lots bigger than on aircraft. There's lots of foot room, wider aisles, and no seat belts. The seats are well upholstered, comfortable, and have foot and leg rests. You can view the countryside, talk with friends, think, read, or doze, because the ride is really smooth.

The Washita River canyon in the Arbuckles

Susan and Jill 

You get between 12:30 and 1:30, get your baggage, and walk up a small hill to the historic Texas Hotel, remodeled by Hilton, the same folks who now run the Skirvin in OKC. Check in is easy, and lunch is a three-block walk away up red brick Main Street to the Corner Bakery.

Your correspondent travels light

Remember your train rides?

Amtrak Surfliner, California

My oldest son, M/Sgt Vance Clark, USAF, called today, riding AmTrak Surfliner up the Pacific Coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara.  A beautiful view. He was thinking about memorable train rides in his life and he couldn't remember the date of one.

"Remember when we were in Canada on the steam train? He asked. "When was it?"

I pulled the date and place out of my mind immediately. " "Your Mom was pregnant with Dallas, so it would have been the summer of 1971, in Winnipeg." I asked him what he remembered. At age almost six, he could remember going to the bathroom, flushing the toilet and seeing the tracks underneath, afraid of falling through.

We chatted for several minutes, each remembering train rides, he with more than me, because in the service he's been on trains in Turkey, England, the Chunnel, France  and Germany, plus time on Amtrak from Glacier National Park to Chicago to St. Louis.

"It's amazing that you remember the train rides more than any plane rides, and they're always more pleasant," he said.

The Rock Island Rocket

Got me to thinking. Earliest train ride I can remember, just barely, is at about four or five, riding with my Dad in the Rock Island Rocket from Fort Worth, through Comanche where Granddad lived, to Duncan, where he'd pick us up. I most remember dark windows and night, wondering about the people living in the lighted homes.

Of course there was one train ride my Dad would never forget, when he jumped a freight in Tucumcari in 1932, lost his grip and fell under the big steel wheels, costing him a leg. See "My Dad had a wooden leg." But he never talked about it to us. http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/search?q=wooden+leg

In Albuquerque, long ago

After that, I don't know. There's a photo of Mom, Jerry and I boarding the Santa Fe at Albuquerque to go to east Texas, but I don't remember that trip. And when I got my Cub Scout Webelos badge, they packed us onto the Santa Fe at Albuquerque and took us to Lamy near Santa Fe for the ceremony.

I do remember Neysa and I boarding Amtrak in Ardmore to go to Houston, where we picked Mom up and moved her to Waurika in the early 70s. And we road the steam train out of Chama to Cumbres Pass and back years later. http://www.cumbrestoltec.com/

Cumbfres and Toltec

Since then, I've ridden Amtrak from Washington to Philadelphia one morning to meet a professor friend. Susan and I have ridden the Amtrak Heartland Flyer to Fort Worth a couple of times (taking students one time), and took the train from Rome to Florence a few years back.  In Utah, east of Salt Lake, I rode the steam Heber Valley Railroad for a short distance, riding in the caboose all the way. http://hebervalleyrr.org/

Forest Park Railroad

Most recent was a "kiddies" train, the Forest Park Railroad,  in Fort Worth two years ago, see August, 2010 post http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-aboard.html   and I road one in Elk City  and Duncan before that.

On every one of the trips I remember the scenery outside the windows, the sounds, some of the people--pleasant, relaxing. Today I value such travel for its lack of stress. Isn't that amazing? As Vance said, the only plane trips you remember are the bad experiences.

Now I'm not a real railroad buff, but no wonder I'm attracted to old steam engines,  see October post, http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/search?q=Bartlesville  and prowl old depots like the one at Waurika where we owned the newspaper--vacant then but it's become a library and museum.

 I always want to climb on old steam engines and railroad cars, am captivated by cabooses, "Where's the 'boose?' http://clarkcoffee.blogspot.com/2011/07/wheres-boose.html , count the freight cars going past, attend train shows, yearn for a caboose in my back yard, look down those tracks wanting to go.

North to Alaska

And this May, the Lord willing, we'll board the Yukon and White Pass steam train at Skagway.

And with Dad's art in the house, and some of my efforts, especially Christmas cards for good friends Roy and Jill Kelsey, the pull of trains is more than just a fact.


All aboard!

My Dad's scratchboard of the turntable in Fort Worth. I was there as a kid when he drew this, and he later turned it into a snow scene for a Christmas card. So many memories

My watercolor from Neruda's poem, "Is there anything sadder than a train standing in the rain?"