[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] steam powered clinic bonus

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> "Rich" == Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com> writes:

Russell> I can tell you with good authority that biking along side is
Russell> likely to be a Vastly More Interesting Experience(tm) than
Russell> riding *on* the train.  The boys and I did that last weekend,
Russell> and we might as well have been on an elevator, albeit one
Russell> with nice windows.  We were directed to the far end of the
Russell> train, a nice old dining car, but the only clue we had that
Russell> the train was being pushed by a steam engine were the
Russell> occasional faint whistle toots, and the occasional vague
Russell> glimpses of steam far away when we went around curves.  I am
Russell> glad to have contributed to their fund-raising, but the ride
Russell> itself could be described in two words: "boon" & "doggle".
Russell> Or slightly more verbosely: "45 minutes of my life I will
Russell> never get back again."

Rich>    If you and your boys want a more authentic steam train ride,
Rich> wait until next summer and take a long weekend in Virginia City,
Rich> NV (a half-hour drive south of Reno on 395, then up the
Rich> Sierras). The Virginia & Truckee RR runs between there and Gold
Rich> Hill to the south and you get to ride in open cars with benches.

I've done better than that.  

Circa 20-odd years ago, I worked at the then Washington Park Zoo (now
called the Oregon Zoo or something) during the summers.  I had a job
as a Station Master on the narrow gauge railway there.  They have
several trains that travel between the zoo and a station at Washington
Park, near the Rose Test Gardens.  One of their engines is a steam
engine (burns deisel to heat the water), a 5/8 scale of a Truckee or
something.  On one of our visits to the zoo more recently (a couple
years ago) I got to talking with one of the train engineers (typically
staff mechanics at the zoo) about the olden days, who retired when,
who was still around, etc.  As I semi-expected, he offered to let me
and one of my kids to ride up in the cab of the steamer.  Now *that*
is interesting.

The standard ride semi-sucks these days though.  You used to get 5
minutes to get out and look at the view at the Washington Park
station.  Now, unless you are getting off or on, you just sit on the
train, staring at foliage not dissimilar to the foliage you just spent
10 minutes traveling past except that it's not moving, and wait a
couple minutes.  Going back up the hill, sitting in the cab of the
steam engine is quite an experience, though.

Aside: I saw some of the Mt St Helens May 18th eruption from the
Washington Park platform.  I still have a jar of ash I collected at
the zoo from the eruption a week or so later.


-- 
Russell Senior         ``I have nine fingers; you have ten.''
seniorr at aracnet.com