The Old Train Station

In the glory days of the passenger railroad, you had the grand train stations in the big cities, and you had the train station in the small town.  As fewer people took the train, the train made fewer stops.  Many of the small towns were served by the passenger train.  In those small towns, the train stations were abandoned.  Some were demolished, but some were spared.  In some towns, the train no longer goes there.

You visit the small town, and you see the old train station.  It is a visitor center or museum or a business.  Some that are within major metropolitan areas are used as commuter train stations.  Some were kept in their place while some were relocated to be preserved.  Some that are next to an active rail line have had a fence between the depot and the tracks.  You have stations that have remained next to rail trails.  Regardless, you feel the need to see the train station.

As you walk around, it appears lonely.  As you look through the windows, you see the waiting room.  You can imagine the people sitting on the benches waiting for their train to come.  You look into what was the ticket office.  You imagine the ticket master selling tickets.  You see him collecting the mail to send to citizens of the town.  You see him sending a telegraph.  He is at the window watching for the trains.  You look into the freight room and imagine the freight being prepared to be put on the next train and the freight that had arrived to be sent somewhere in the region.  You walk out to the empty platform.  The tracks are currently empty but wait.  You imagine the passengers standing awaiting for their train to come.  The train comes, and the passengers board and deboard the train.  Their loved ones hug them and take their luggage to the car, or horse pending on the time period.  Then, you are back to the present as a train, an actual train comes and rolls by the station.  You stand, and you watch.

But you are at a station where the tracks are no longer there.  You see a rail trail, or you just see the old railroad bed.  You set your mind back in time, and you see the trains coming.  You watch each hiker and biker, and you think of them as a passenger on a train.

The old train station may still be used as a train station or not.  As you see the station, it will remind of how the railroad was a part of the town and how it made many towns what they are today.

The Cover Photo is Point of Rocks, Maryland.

The First Photo is Apex, North Carolina.

The Second Photo is Barnesville, Ohio.

The Third Photo is Amherst, Virginia.

The Fourth Photo is Marlinton, West Virginia.

The Fifth Photo is Quakerstown, Pennsylvania.

The Final Photo is Brunswick, Maryland.