When the Romance Ends
When the Romance Ends
By Jack Freer | Posted Sept. 29, 2014 | Portola, California
CNN PRODUCER NOTE Jack Freer experienced some rich train history during his trip to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California and the Railtown 1897 Historical State Park in Jamestown, California. What draws Freer to trains is their impressive design. “For me, it’s the engineering and their massive size, the complexity of some of the engines and the beauty of their design.” he said.
– slmas12, CNN iReport producer
People around the world have been having a love affair with trains for hundreds of years. Trains first appeared in America in the 1700s with passenger service starting in the 1830s.
Luxury passenger train service began in 1890 and by the 1920s Americans were enamored with train travel and passenger revenues were at an all-time high.
There were other ways to get to destinations, but people really wanted to get there by train. It was not so much the destination as it was the journey by train that was important.
Everything ends at some point. And so, it is with trains. Some of those majestic passenger train engines and cars were wrecked beyond repair. Others were sold for scrap and some simply abandoned. Some of the more fortunate engines and cars found their way to railroad museums where they are restored to operate as tourist attractions once again carrying passengers. Others merely become motionless displays destined to deteriorate in place.
But when it comes to trains, America’s love affair will probably never end.