Today a number of bloggers, inspired by Dan Antion at No Facilities, are celebrating National Train Day with a special post all about trains.
Officially, National Train Day doesn’t exist anymore, a victim of administrative cuts somewhere along the line, but Dan “The Conductor” was not prepared to let it slide, encouraging train enthusiasts to show their love.
I wrote a post for National Train Day a couple of years ago which can be found here. I wrote about why trains hold a special place in my heart, however this year I don’t have a story to tell. I don’t even have cool train photos by Mike Robins from onrgallery.com.
What I do have are some simple train memories I’ve gathered from my various travels. You can click on any photo to view an enlarged image and scroll through the slide show.
I hope you enjoy!
My Life Lived Full 
I did not even know National Train Day was a thing! So awesome – we love train travel when overseas. Had some awesome experiences on trains travelling through Myanmar.
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I learned about it through another blogger. The wonderful ways blogging introduces us to new things 🙂
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Trains have had an important part in my life. My grandfather, father, brother, husband, and son in law all worked for the CNR at some point in their life. The train line was also the reason my home town came into being in northern BC, and still is an important employer in the community.
Jude
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I think in Canada many of us have connections to the railroad In one way or another. I too grew up in a railway town. I’ll always have a soft spot for trains and look with fondness whenever one goes by.
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Great collection Joanne! I’ll have to keep this day in mind for next year. Maybe I can grow my collection before then 😉
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Definitely! Join in!!
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I am train lover and here is my post:
Steam locomotive park
Thank You for your post.
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Thanks for the link – I particularly liked the rail bike 🙂
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I loved your story about early childhood and trains. Trains hold a special place in my heart as well. We used to take the Coast Starlight when we would visit my grandparents. It was especially fun because we we unaccompanied and it was our first real experience with independence. Seems like every train we were on had a guitar player on it…lots of fun indeed!
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I am a passionate lover of trains but I didn’t know that there is a national train day, Joanne! Your pictures are truly mesmerizing!
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I wouldn’t know either if it wasn’t for Dan at No Facilities. Apparently the official day was cancelled a few years ago, but bloggers like Dan are keeping it alive … and so we should!! 🙂
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Just a quick “Hi, Joanne!” Also, a great big smile for your different trains that I don’t have an opportunity to see right now, but hope to someday!
I’m a big fan of yellow and green colors 🌄 Like when the sun is behind the hills of Ohio. . . 🌞
Off to work on Sunday, change about three weeks ago at the warehouse. . . I just keep on rolling on. . . 🚅🚆🚂 Happy trains to you!
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Happy Trains to you too, Robin! 🙂
Bummer about working on a Sunday though. Yesterday it was pouring rain, so we’re all excited about spending the day outdoors!
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Smiles back at you! 🙂😊
Yes, it has been a pretty good weekend, dry and sunny and then a burst of rain on Saturday. Today, much less rain.
I’m mainly mentioning my schedule since it has impacted my visiting “powers,” Joanne. It has taken a bit of my energy. . .
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When the busys set in there’s nothing much that we can do about it except to hunker down and get the most important stuff done first.
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Really good collection! I am so bummed I missed it. Ugh. Next year! 🙂
Love that totem.
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Thanks Joey. I like that subway stop a lot – that’s just one totem of several 🙂
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If you catch and share more, I won’t be upset 🙂
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You go/went on many trains! During my teen years I went to school by train for several years, so it’s nostalgic for me. But they were not the modern trains you’re showing here. Great collection, Joanne!
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Going to school by train makes me think of Harry Potter 🙂
Sooooo – any magical training? 😉
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If my painting is magical …yes:)
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Of course it is! 🙂
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I love your photos even though I’ve never been on a train. I am glad I found your blog because I am going to visit my childhood home on a train for the first time soon. I also have a train about a mile from my house and I Hear the train during the night; I love it
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That’s so cool! I really hope you enjoy your train experience 🙂
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I miss the Go Train! Thank you for sharing these memories!
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I don’t take the train very often – but when I do, I get a silly satisfaction from it 🙂
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Trains are something I hear more than see around here. I have happy memories of riding on them as a child going on vacation or while in the UK when I was a student, but now… trains are moving objects that block roads and carry stuff to and fro. Useful, but not as romantic as they once were to me.
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So right! They’ve lost that romantic air. Now it seems we’re always in a hurry.
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I am not a train aficionado as my experience with them is extremely limited, apart from a few journeys on the Eurorail. But I did enjoy your photographs from this year, and last year. Such a different selection, and a different view they afford. I can imagine the romance of train travel and why you might enjoy them!
Incidentally, I tagged you on a 3-Day Quote Challenge, on the off chance that you might care to join in. Mainly, I tagged you so that I could share your blog with some of my other blogfriends.
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Thank you for thinking of me and wanting to share 🙂
I’m really struggling to keep up with the blogging world right now so I’m not keen on joining a 3 day challenge. I do appreciate that you’ve considered me though 🙂
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No worries at all! I mostly wanted to share your blog with my other blogfriends!
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💕💕💕
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Great pictures! I love trains. I had never really ridden on them until I started traveling to Europe with my German husband. German trains are so precisely on time that they only give you 3 minutes to change trains and they are confident you will make it. Such a fun way to travel.
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The Europeans really have the trains down to a fine art … or at least seemingly so compared to our North American ones!
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OMG, I adore trains. If I wasn’t’ scrambling to get underway to Chagos tomorrow, I would totally participate in this challenge. I did drop by Dan’s site to leave a comment (thank you for the introduction) as a fellow fan. And I loved your tribute to train travel here 🚂. My next dream after I complete my sailing circumnavigation is to train it around the world, or at least do Canada coast-to-coast by rail (I’ve already done the States a couple of times) and take a train from London to Asia. So excited.
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You are such an adventurer!!! I’m minor league in comparison 🙂
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I love trains – all kinds. I live right across the street from the Old Mill subway station so I’m on the subway almost daily. Some days can be “challenging” but most of the time I quite enjoy it. Even spent a whole day back in December when the new stations opened visiting each one – got off the train, popped up to the surface to get my bearings and see which buses came into that station – and then continued on my way – it was great.
GO trains are very comfortable and my only complaint is the ongoing chaos at Union Station which is where I normally leave from.
Just back from a visit to Kingston to see a friend and family and I always take the train – VIA is really updating things these days and I make sure that I have a window seat and enjoy the view each way. I don’t bother with VIA 1 (business class) when going to Kingston but will usually pay the extra when travelling to Ottawa or Montreal. I want to eventually have taken the train from one end of the country to the other (in sections) – I really think it’s the best way to see things.
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I haven’t been on a VIA train in ages, although I’ve heard nothing about good things about the Toronto-Montreal corridor. There’s something calmer and gentler about train travel. I’m a fan 🙂
I also happen to really like the subway. I just wish Toronto wasn’t so dysfunctional. It’s really impaired development of transit over the years and now we are this mega city with a minor league transit system.
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I love the convenience of train travel in many countries especially in Europe. Well at least once one gets the system figured out and comes to realize that Italian towns must be so numerous they share the same name. That’s not confusing at all. 🙂
Its a great collection Joanne. Is the one with what appears to be a yellow bus being towed?
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omg – the Italians are in a class of their own when it comes to confusing maps, confusing streets, confusing towns!!! We used to joke that it was their way of protecting their village. If marauders can’t find it, they can’t sack it 😉
The yellow vehicle is a service car with train type wheels to travel on the rail. They are convertible vehicles that can go either on the road, or the rail track. We see a lot of them here.
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Woo-woo! All aboard! Wow, would ya just look at all those trains. Great post, Joanne. Hugs!
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Granted, not one of them can be summoned by a trumpet or powered by a Ouiji board … although I can’t say that with absolute certainty 😉
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I’m impressed with your train photos. While I would have photos of us on trains, I don’t think it’s often occurred to me to photograph the outside of the train. Although, we did once visit the Railway Museum in York so somewhere I’ll have some train photos. 🙂 Maybe a post for next year? (Given it’s over already here.)
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Thanks Mosy! I guess I’ve never thought of it as something unusual to photograph. I have a nephew who is a train engineer up north. I would love someday to spend an hour or two with him on the job!!
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Oh, you should definitely take advantage of that!
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Yay for trains. The boy-child was utterly obsessed with them as a little ‘un — very difficult in a country that has wantonly abandoned its rail heritage. But it does mean I know every suburban line and station in Auckland, and the location of all the level crossings 😂😂
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That is sad, Su. Maybe trains today are considered anachronistic … like the horse and buggy. It would be a shame to see them disappear 😕
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Our politicians and planners talk the talk, but apart from very expensive urban rail expansion in Auckland, even rail freight seems to be declining. Short-sightedness and greed rule!!
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😕
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Happy National Train Day! Thank you for posting these pictures. I fully intended to get on board (yes, I said that) this year, but I probably won’t be able to… my Thursday Doors post will have to suffice. I love all the different types of trains you included – from locomotives to trollies. I’m sorry I didn’t see that statue at the Toronto Museum stop when we were there… it’s marvelous!
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Thanks Janis. I don’t know exactly when the Museum stop was renovated, but I love its new look. This is only 1 of several statues at the track level. It’s a VAST improvement over the original dirty yellow tiled walls.
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Hi Joanne. The GO train is always fun, but I especially like taking the VIA to places like Ottawa and Montreal. Doing that in the first class compartment (which isn’t all that much more expensive than regular) means a pleasant ride and a wonderful meal.
I used to like the subway trains in Toronto, but lately find them either empty or overcrowded, no middle of the road no matter what time I take them. Neither of those conditions feels especially pleasant so the subway isn’t as high on my trains list as the other two.
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I haven’t been on a VIA train since my university years. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the train through that Toronto-Quebec City corridor.
I do love the subway and take it whenever I can. We don’t live near a subway stop and I have to drive for 20 minutes to get to one, and then hope and pray I can find a parking spot in the commuter lot. With the Kindle app on my phone, I enjoy the reading time 🙂
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Trains are a romantic way to travel although I must admit, they make me think of murder mysteries! Alfred Hitchcock especially seemed to enjoy stories centered around train travel….:)
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You’re right!! They are a favourite of murder mysteries! I’m thinking Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Express.
There is something very romantic about the thought of train travel. It didn’t lose that ‘luxury’ appeal that air travel did with its security, decreasing services, and small tiny seats.
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I like your Distorted selfie it’s fun! The old train in your hometown Chocrane (sp) is lovely! I like the green train too.
Someday I want to take a train trip long enough to eat in the dining car, and have my cabin turned into my sleeper car. 🙂
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I’ve done it, I liked it, I would happily do it again!! 🙂
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I don’t think we have a Train Day here – a shame yours has stopped. I travel on suburban trains at least once a week, other trains less often – though last weekend we took the train to Edinburgh (only 40 miles or so, but counts as intercity).
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Those are great trains to have been on, Joanne. I also like the abandoned rail lines. I’m sorry to see that but it’s a great picture. Thanks for the shoutout and thanks for helping to keep Train Day rolling.
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I missed it last year, but I’m glad to be back this year!
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Glad to have you back. Two weeks notice seems to be about right. Last year I gave four, but I think some people forgot 😏
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The reminder didn’t hurt either 😉
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I took the auto train from Florida to DC in 2012. Loved it!
https://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/top-ten-things-train-travel/
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Fun! Now that I’m seeing you call it the ‘auto train’ here, I’m thinking that you really did bring the car with you. Am I right?
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Mass transit overland travel would reduce tons of emissions and free us up quite a bit from the crazed need for oil. The initial $ for it and the maintenance of it would be daunting, but that would also create a zillion needed real jobs… nah, it’ll never happen!
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I don’t know what the energy consumption is like for a typical passenger train. Certainly here in North America it is more problematic because of the great distances involved and electric trains aren’t a viable option because of the weather.
I would certainly love to do more train travel though.
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I’ve never been invited into a think tank (though one can NEVER avoid parish work, lol) –I’m decidedly 5 levels below neophyte in any matters like that, but it surely seems like mass transit is better overall for the atmosphere we people have to live in (she said, as she thought of the 3 vehicles in her own driveway, two of which she’d gladly part with, though their owners would be upset)!
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I can relate. We are 3 people with 4 vehicles 😕
Sadly, mass transit in our area is really poor. I would happily use a transit system that was easier to use – or, better yet, my bike … if it didn’t involve a death wish on these city streets 😕
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Bicycles for daily travel here, too, are pretty much out of the question. Our mass transit options are becoming more doable, though, and scheduled bus routes are extending into later evenings. Or so I hope. 🙂
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Sorry for the long comment(s) — sometimes I forget that I’m commenting at someone ELSE’s blog! Gah. Anyway, if I didn’t say it before, I loved your photos!
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LOL! Thanks 🙂
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I miss riding the train. Back in Europe, I went everywhere by train. From the farm to boarding school, from Austria to France in a sleeping cabin and of course the first ICE ride in the high-speed train -what left me a bit woozy. Here in the U.S., it’s just not that interesting, due to missing connection points and long waiting times.
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Europe has the advantage of density on their side when it comes to trains. The distances in North America are just so great. In many ways, I could argue that just makes it more important to have trains, but I guess the economics aren’t there 😕
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I agree with you, the long distances make train rides more logical for me.
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From time-to-time we consider taking an Amtrack trip (the name for US passenger train service). But it is prohibitively expensive. Much cheaper to drive a car.
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The cost is another horror story.
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I love train travel! I take the train whenever it is a workable option for me. Unfortunately I live in a big, sparsely populated country (relatively speaking – there are very high populations in some spots) so there are much fewer options than in congested Europe, and they are more expensive and less convenient. One of the few downsides to all this space we enjoy in Canada, eh Joanne? 😉
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Funny you should say that because it was exactly what I was thinking. The distances in Canada are just so intimidating. The costs of maintenance have to be overwhelming.
When I was in university, I was on the overnight train from Cochrane to Toronto (when it was still running) during a very cold winter night. The brakes on the train froze and unfortunately we were in the bush in the middle of nowhere. We sat on that train all night not moving. I assume they were waiting for a crew to reach us deep in the woods and unfreeze the brakes. I was so relieved to finally get off that train when it arrived in Toronto many hours behind schedule.
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Whoa! I can see why you’d be relieved!
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I love the ‘2 trains’ sign. Words and pictures….you cannot say they didn’t warn you! The Scarborough trains are a really pretty shade of green. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a train that I would call ‘pretty.’ Ours are usually all graffitied up–which is pretty, but in a very different sort of way.
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The green trains are part of the GO system that services the communities in the greater Toronto area. I really like them but sadly I don’t get to ride them very often. Almost never, actually.
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Train Travel is such an enjoyable mode of transportation. Sadly, I must say, I’ve done more of it when in Europe than here in the U.S. Looking forward to more some day soon I hope. And why do away with Train Day? Seems to be a terrific, nostalgic yet still contemporary topic to celebrate.
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I don’t think anyone understands why ‘they’ decided to stop National Train Day. Happily train lovers are ignoring it 🙂
I’ve travelled a lot throughout Europe but rarely by train – except for subway lines. Unfortunately my husband doesn’t share my love of trains.
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Great photos for the National Train Day! Keep the day alive by blogging about it!
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Another train lover! 🙂
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I lived for a while in Wilmington DE. The train service there was wonderful and I used it frequently. Where I live now, there is no train service at all. We are an hour north of Philadelphia and it would be a great asset to have train service to Philly and NYC. If it happens at all, I will be dead. Trains are an easy and inexpensive way to travel.
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More trains would be such a great way to relieve road congestion. Sadly, in North America it seems we’re heading in the opposite direction of less service.
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I agree. Twenty years ago we had train service to both cities but they discontinued it because of the cost of maintenance. Now it would cost a bazillion dollars to reinstate because they developed over the tracks.
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{sigh}
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