Riding the Rails in Chehalis

My obsession with all things TRAIN stepped up to a new level this weekend when I got to ride my first STEAM TRAIN. Oh, yeah! A 2-8-8 Mikado, circa 1916. She is a beaut. And when she lets off steam -- well, watch out!

Here she is shunting one of the passenger cars out of the shed, right before our 1-1/4 hour ride down the old Milwaukee Road track between Centralia and Chehalis, Washington.

When we stopped en route to Portland to visit Auntie Jill, I had no idea that Mom and Dad had this fabulous surprise in store for me. Sure, I spend hours each day hunched over my Thomas the Train tracks, and lately I've fallen asleep clutching my favorite engines, Thomas and James, but how did they know I'd been hoping beyond hope to ride a real steam train?? They know me so well.

I was riveted, and I'm not punning. The three of us rode in the open passenger car (a converted flatbed car) behind the engine almost all the way -- until it started to rain really hard. It had already been misting on us as the steam from the smokestack condensed and the water vapor blew back in our faces, along with a little soot from the used motor oil the engine burned. I didn't care. I didn't even cover my ears when the steam whistle blasted. I felt it was all part of the experience, and I didn't want to miss any of it.

The ride was very scenic, through farmland with lots of neigh-neighs and moo-moos. I waved at all the cars on the many rural road crossings.

When we reached the end of the track, the engine shifted onto a siding and chuffed past our cars in reverse, then pulled us home backwards. From the open half-door at what was now the front of the first car, I could feel the heat from the boiler in the nose of the engine and watch the whirling axles spinning the wheels that are taller than I am.

I was sorry when the train ride was over, but then serendipity kicked in. We went to the engine cab and asked if we could take a look, and the friendly crew invited us up. While were were looking around, the engineer said did we mind riding with them while they moved the engine in preparation for the next ride?

My parents had to accept the offer for me. I was struck silent with awe and couldn't have spoken if I wanted to. So we got to ride in the moving cab, and Mom got a video to prove it. See the next post!

Thanks to my fellow train enthusiasts at the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Museum. I think you just recruited your newest, youngest fan. (Dad says as soon as I get my driver's license, I can make the 3-hour trip to come volunteer!)