Dear Friend,
How have you been treating yourself? It’s important to note, when training your newly acquired rescue doggy, both of you have the opportunity to earn rewards; how fun! You can share in your successes! A toy squeak or a couple of extra crunchy kibbles for him… and, for you? Besides a clean, dry, carpet and an amazingly engaged companion, how do you reward yourself?
Or, did you adopt a cat? Well, then, confetti and party hats for everyone - you have a new leader! No matter what’s happening in your world right now, I hope that happiness abounds!
Over your lifetime, you’ve been brave, you’ve been immersed in progress and you’ve succeeded! Just look at how much you have to list on your resume! You can bake a potato in under 5 minutes. You can type and send a letter without licking anything! You can back your car up and, without even turning your head, you know exactly what you’re running over!
And think of what has been invented since you were born. Kudos! You are among a select bunch of humans that embraced a huge amount of change in a tiny amount of time.
From a single family, stuck-to-the-wall rotary phone, to the voice activated cell that you carry around in your pocket, it’s happened and you’ve been there! What will ‘they’ think of next?
Let’s sit with that question for a moment. ‘They’ can think of just about anything… so, is there anything we can’t or won’t embrace?
What do you wish of the future?
History is not my favorite subject. I would like it a lot better if people always told the truth; but that isn’t the way it has been. Truth is often a tangle of choices and consequences and things left out if not altered to fit a Disney ending. Understandably, not everyone wants their whole, real, story told.
For instance, let’s consider the Choo-Choo Train. Do you know the history of this beautiful machine that chugs along on the rails? The truth is, countless lives were taken advantage of, abused, ultimately lost in the building of the railways. But, trains also have a history of saving the day, making it possible for people and products to be transported quickly and safely.
Hindsight is 20/20. So, imagine it’s the 1820s. ‘They’ are asking you to embrace this idea of a railway… and then, forty years later, you’re expected to embrace an even bigger idea, the Transcontinental Railroad, promising to connect the Western and Eastern US.
With 20/20 hindsight, it’s easy to see the pros and cons. If you knew then what you know now, would you have been in support of building the railways? Who would have asked your opinion, anyway? What a thing to ponder.
Trains can take us across town, into the heart of a city or out into incredibly wild and remote places. Frank has enjoyed photographing many trains, stations, and tracks throughout his lifetime of travels world-wide… he shares just a few in this blog/letter to you.
The most common track size is called ‘standard gauge.’ These tracks are 1,435mm or 4’ 8.5” wide. Most of the world’s railways are built using those measurements.
But there’ve been times when train tracks were built using 3’ wide, ‘narrow gauge,’ bringing trains up and over mountain passes, giving them a closer turning radius on winding track, and smaller footprints through tunnels of rock. The White Pass and Yukon Route trains of Canada are examples of narrow gauge tracks still in use today. Read More about: The History of White Pass & Yukon Route
Across the world, some railway systems meet up with others that are varied in width and sometimes the train wheels have to be adjusted with a gauge changer in order to allow the trains to continue on their way. The wheels have to be unlocked and moved either further apart or closer together to fit the next bit of track and then re-locked. Who knew? Here’s a very quick video that demonstrates modern day Swiss variable gauge train switches from 1 000mm to 1 432 mm gauge.
Over time, train power has developed from horse-drawn to wood burning, steam, coal, diesel, and electric. If you’d like to know more, watch: The History of Rail Travel in Under 6 Minutes.
Have you ever been to a park that offers rides on a ‘Model Railroad train?’ A really fun place to see and ride one of these trains is Train Town, in Sonoma, CA. Here’s a short video to introduce you to Train Town.
And trains are great toys, too! Whether they are model trains from miniature worlds…
... or toys to be played with on make-believe tracks, trains bring fun and adventure to our imaginations.
This locomotive is one of Frank’s just-for-fun wooden-toy creations.
When you have a moment, please Write To Us and let us know how you are! You can always tell us about your dog or cat...! We love to hear from you! And thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post!
Sending you happy wishes for a lovely week ahead,
Gently Be,
Leslie and Frank