Train Talk

All Ages

This is one of my favorite themes, especially with mixed groups of young and old.

My seniors had the real train memories, but the kids were all fascinated by the very idea of trains!

Books and Magazines
Images of train travel with sleeper cars and dining cars, brought back many memories. There were so many voices talking at once in my first group, we had to pass around a small train to show whose turn it was to speak!

 "I remember when I was 5 and I had to get dressed up in a ruffly dress to travel with my grandmother on the train. I hated that dress and I couldn't stop crying!" Another shared,  "I remember when I traveled alone on a train with my 5 kids. The best part was that they had a car where parents could take their kids to play. It was large and open and the kids even played ball!  We had a great time." I couldn't even imagine there was such a thing! 

One story began with a sad note, of being only 5 when Father died.  "My mother couldn't take care of all 5 of us, so before the school year started, she put me on the train to Galveston. I lived with my grandmother during the school months and took the train home in the summers to be with my family."  I couldn't help but notice her sweet expression as she spoke. I had a feeling this was not a painful memory. "Which train ride did you like best... leaving or returning?"   She laughed that she liked them both!  "I loved being with my grandmother and I loved getting home!"

Funny Pictures

Some books brought back memories of old movies. The book photo of  "Some Like It Hot" gave a lot of us a good laugh.  Who wouldn't love to be on train, "slumber partying" with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe?  We came up with quite a list of movies involving trains...  "North by Northwest",  "Strangers on a Train",  "Shanghai Express" , "Orient Express"...  

Kids and Trains

When I was a kid, there were more toy electric trains and everyone knew the story of "The Little Engine That Could".  I had quite a few kids visiting my senior groups and I was surprised at how much train knowledge they had.  The "Thomas the Train" craze, with all their books and videos must have educated and entertained this generation more than I realized!

Waiting for Trains to Pass

Both the seniors and the kids had memories of being stopped by trains. (All 5 of my groups are located very close to tracks) The kids talked about sitting in cars and watching the trains rumble by.  We laughed at how powerless trains make us feel when we have to wait. 

One senior recalled walking to school with her young uncle when she was a child. They came upon a train stopped on the tracks. Her uncle insisted they crawl under so they wouldn't be late.  When she began to cry, her uncle told her she could either go with him or walk back home herself.  She remembers the panic she felt as she followed him under the train.

Train History

The old Currier and Ives prints reminded us of how train travel used to be. Inez reminded us of the coal carried on the trains. And many of us knew how dirty people used to get in those early days of train travel... with all the steam and soot. The image above of the people watching the train go by reminded Betty of being young and waving to the service men when traveled by on trains.

Music
Music can be a powerful reminder of the past.  My old recordings of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", made the weariest in my group sway. 

Songs like "I've Been Working on the Railroad" had my youngest singing along. But the nicest surprise was in a group I don't have pictured.  At the nursing home I had a son visiting his elderly mother.  He and his cousin sat away from the group, just watching.  But then the cousin asked if I knew the song, "People Get Ready".  I said I wasn't sure, could he sing it?  And he did an amazing version of the old Curtis Mayfield song.  You could imagine a church choir backing him up.  We were reminded of how often the train is a symbol in songs of the journey to heaven.   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOXmaSCt4ZE

Sound

I shared a recording of the clanging sounds at railroad crossings.  My toy wooden train whistle actually had a pretty authentic sound. But it was the recording of a distant train whistle that got the best reactions.  We all agreed, the sound of a train at night was the most special, when the rest of the world is quieter. "What do you think when you hear a train at night?"  I asked one group.  Dorothy answered with a sigh and grin, "Ohh! It makes me think of going places!"  To her, the sound conjured up good travel memories.  I asked, "Anyone else?"   Dot, who shares so many funny stories, became quiet. "It's a lonely sound." She said.  We all agreed.

Last Stop for the Train

 My last group was all kids at the Shelter.  I had a broad range from age 3 to 13, but they were amazingly enthused about trains. They were eager to see pictures of old trains and to hold the rusty rail spike. One even had a grandfather who worked on a railroad. They passed the little train car around the circle as I played a recording of "Casey Junior" and when the music stopped they answered silly questions about trains. They worked as a team to build a super quick "Brio" train track.  They laughed at their own mistakes when we sang a complicated & confusing song/game "Trainy Train, Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga- RAIL SPIKE!"  

But the best part was when I announced, "Everyone grab a chair!  Let's play train!" (The kids didn't even act like I was a crazy old lady!)  Our train wound around the mountains of Utah...  which was their choice of places.  And every time I blew the train whistle, the train screeched to a halt and we took turns sharing all the amazing things we spotted out our train windows.  

We dragged out the train fantasy until it was time to clean up for dinner.  I had the kids help me fold up the Quilt. When the backside of the Quilt was revealed, some of the older kids began reading the words written on the muslin.  "Taos, New Mexico"  "Los Quenes, Chile"  I explained that I took the quilt when I traveled.  They were curious. I told the 2 sisters who had moved here from Utah, that I would be in their state, next week!  "I have a good place where you can take your quilt!"  Said one of the sisters.

The little girl  just beamed when she told me the name of a shelter where I could share the quilt with other kids.  Her lit up face made me smile, but the thought of her knowing yet another shelter made me ache.

What Did I Learn?

Trains are powerful, physically and also in how they can bring us together... in discussion and play!  Trains are also magical, in the way they bring out the kid in all of us!