Being a Gemini in almost every way, there are loads of subjects that interest me, if only in the most superficial way. Those of us born under the astrological sign of Gemini, if you even casually “believe” in such things, are known to be great communicators with a quick wit, inquisitive about many things, but lacking the patience to stay interested in any subject long enough to master even one. That describes me to a tee, and has helped me in such pursuits as trivia (catch that?) and conversation, but alas, not in any monetary way. I enjoy topics ranging from sports to history, politics to movies, and cars to conservation. One topic, however, has never grabbed my attention…not even for a moment, until now. That topic is trains.
Listen, I’m not saying that I have been completely unaware of trains. I have utilized trains quite a bit in my life as a means of transportation, and even rather enjoyed riding the train during my childhood. What I mean is that trains never intrigued me enough to watch them, learn about them, collect them, or play with toy versions of them. I do remember a friend of mine who had an electric train that I played with once or twice, but watching a miniature sized freight train run around a six foot oval track was far from what I considered fun. Seeing freight trains live meant only one thing to me, a long boring delay in an otherwise efficient trip to wherever it was we were headed.
Now, flash to the present. We live in a neighborhood that is positively littered with trains. From our balcony you can watch Chicago’s Metra commuter trains arriving and departing from Ogilvie Transportation Center (formerly the Northwestern Train Station). Not even 1/2 block to our south is the CTA elevated line carrying the Green and Pink lines servicing Chicago’s West Side nearly 24 hours a day. Within two blocks to our north both the aforementioned Metra trains and the occasional Amtrak train pass over the grade crossings at both Clinton Street and Canal Street on their way into Union Station. Those same trains can be viewed from directly overhead as they pass under either Lake Street or Des Plaines Street. As I type this, I am listening to the hum of a Metra engine, bells a dinging, on it’s way into Ogilvie.
Though it can be a bit of a ruckus during both the morning and the afternoon rush, it very quickly becomes part of the ambient noise, and is easily ignored…if you are so inclined, of course. My son, Xavier became enamored with trains even before he was mobile. Early on, he was particularly fond of the CTA, which we actually ride far more often than we do the Metra. He smiled as the trains clattered by overhead, and he laughed as they pulled in and out of the stations at which we waited. In fact, one of the first phrases he ever uttered was “Up-Up” referring to the “El” train loudly passing overhead on Lake St.
Riding on the CTA El train
As he learned to walk, the city opened a new park and playground north of us on the corner of Kinzie and Jefferson. This was shortly after his first birthday, and required a walk across the grade crossing on Clinton St., which typically resulted in a mandatory wait of at least 15-20 minutes to watch a handful of Metra trains roll by at eye level. Xavier’s love of trains was growing, and he was not alone. As we got to know several of the other parents in the neighborhood, it became apparent that this love of the rails was at least in large part a factor of proximity. Without exception, every child (boys and girls) growing up in this area of the West Loop loves to watch the trains go by, though some obsess a bit more than others.
Sensing the interest, Kerry was the first of the parental team to enter the realm of Thomas the Tank Engine, and she jumped right in with both feet. Xavier’s first gift, for no special occasion whatsoever, was the Pirate’s Cove set which included track, a couple of bridges and tunnels (one referred to as Skull Mountain), Thomas, Salty, and a cargo car. The cost for this “little gift” was…wait for it…$150! He loved it, and still plays with it every day almost two years later. Many other engines and vehicles followed including four trains from a company called Whittle Trains that are exact wooden replicas of an Amtrak Engine, Amtrak Superliner Coach Car, Metra Passenger Car, and CTA Passenger Car. On any significant trip from home, Xavier must be accompanied by at least one, and usually several of his trains.
The wooden Thomas trains are relatively expensive, but have a certain handcrafted and traditional feel to them. I think these wooden toys create a sense of nostalgia in this final generation of parents who grew up playing with toys that were considered “high-tech” if they ran on batteries. With an entire community of characters to select from and collect, it also plays upon my inner urge to collect them all. In the past this urge has manifested in collections of baseball cards, G.I. Joe figures, coins, matchbooks, shot glasses, and photos of state capitol buildings. Good for Xavier, and bad for my wallet. The characters all originate in the other, and in my opinion, more evil side of Thomas…the television episodes, all of which are available on DVD. Each episode runs about 8 minutes, and having been created by a Reverend, would teach some sort of good moral lesson, or so we believed.
Xavier watching the South Shore Metra trains come in under Jackson St.
I was the one who first introduced the DVDs to the house, so shame on me. Again, Xavier loved them, and for a time, wanted to watch them over anything else available on the television. I brought the first ones home as a surprise when he was probably about 18 months old. The three of us sat down together to watch the first episode without a worry at all. He had already seen Thomas on T.V. a couple of times and enjoyed it, so what could go wrong? In the first episode, “Percy’s Chocolate Crunch”, Xavier’s second favorite engine, Percy, in the course of trying to stay clean by delivering sugar to the chocolate factory, slides on an oily track and crashes rather violently through the entire length of the factory, finally exiting hard through the back wall covered in chocolate. Harmless fantasy to older children and adults, sure, but Xavier was stunned, and seeing the tears welling up, I quickly skipped to the next episode, the name of which escapes me. In this episode, Gordon, the biggest and fastest engine on the Island of Sodor, decides he is too fast too obey a slow caution sign on some old tracks, and before we knew it, he had derailed and crashed through the countryside coming to a stop only after plowing through a barn and throwing his driver and fireman into a pile of dirt. This time we were too late, and Xavier melted down. Though it only took a few minutes to calm him, we went ahead and previewed the other episodes before allowing him to watch them. During our previews we even caught the trains calling each other “stupid” and telling each other to “shut up”. Reverend indeed!
Xavier decked out in his Thomas Gear for "A Day Out With Thomas"
Fortunately, Xavier has grown tired of the Thomas shows, but has replaced them with more desire than ever to see the trains in person down at the grade crossing. We oblige at least a couple of times per day, and he comes home extra happy if he is lucky enough to see an Amtrak being pulled by the efficient GE Genesis Engine and pushed by an Amtrak Cascades Engine. He will even sit down quietly on the floor and page through the free Amtrak catalog showing all the various lines and trips one can take aboard the rails of Amtrak. We are seriously contemplating a long trip on either Amtrak’s Empire Builder or California Zephyr once Hayden is old enough to appreciate it.
Now, as if nurture isn’t a powerful force in child development, Hayden at only seven months old is beginning to take a shine to the big engines as they roll by. Her favorite toys of Xavier’s to swipe as she “army crawls” the living room are his Thomas trains and track. The good news is that if she does somehow end up loving Thomas as well, we already have such a large collection that sharing will be a piece of cake.
As for me, I still don’t understand the obsession, but have certainly learned a lot more about it. I now know the actual manufacturers and models of the various engines used by Metra to power their trains, and Xavier and I have even been introduced to one in particular that the Metra staff refers to as “Stinky Vern”. I have a pretty good handle on when all the different trains depart from Ogilvie Transportation Center as we frequently skip the grade crossing and walk the three blocks to the station itself where we can watch the trains arrive and depart right at the source. I am now familiar with the term “Railfan” and the community to which that name belongs. I know of locomotives with such colorful names as The Blue Goose, The Commodore Vanderbilt, The Mighty Hudson, and the Southern Pacific Daylight Express. I have even filmed some Metra and Amtrak trains during our excursions and posted them to YouTube where I have several hundred views and a handful of comments. Despite all that, I still don’t feel the love, but so long as Xavier and Hayden enjoy the trains, by god, I will do my best to pretend.
Be Well!
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