Scenes From a Railway Carriage and Memorable Journeys

We have a street in our town called Railway Street… but no railway.
We were going to have a railway, the locals say.
We even have a railway station, but so far no railways have been built here.

However, I have had memorable train journeys in the past.
The most memorable was London to Istanbul, four and a half days, with no buffet car. It was a bit of a nightmare as we had to keep changing trains and were often left on platforms in different countries.
In the old Yugoslavia, two fat, jolly ladies got on with a huge picnic hamper and shared it with everyone in the carriage. Two Turkish men stood for me so that I had a place to sleep when the train was in Greece, where we crossed the border into Turkey.
We arrived at the iconic Istanbul station, which is a beautiful building and in many movies.
Countries varied from manicured landscapes to the beauty of Bulgaria, so green and many waterfalls, but draconian officials who questioned and searched everyone.
Seats on many Turkish trains were wooden and uncomfortable.
Then, exciting trains in Australia with completely open carriages with no seating, where there was fresh air and views of sparse land. Also, double-decker trains that were a novelty to me.

I know some of you love trains.
In my heart, I miss the steam trains, but barely remember them. Train journeys are not so glamorous these days. Although long-distance journeys look appealing to me.
There are always plans to build railways here, but so far nothing has materialised. Subways or underground don’t appeal to me.

What are your trains or transport systems like?

So let’s chat, play music, post memories and gifs and images, respect our friends…enjoy!

Lian & Kieran

to

Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans

Chuck Berry - Memphis Tennessee live 1965

From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson (read by Ben W Smith)

Doctor Zhivago (1965) Original Trailer 

Wonderful shots of train journeys and across snow by sled.