Photo ©2011 by John A. Shaw
Lil’ Greg’s been obsessed with Steam Trains for at least the past 2 years. For the longest time, it seemed the only live, full-size steam trains here in SoCal were the ones in Disneyland, which we took full advantage of with our annual passes.
Yet, after hundreds of hours of Train DVDs, multiple visits to the Travel Town Train Museum and endless page-turning through train picture books, Greg has become all too familiar with the iron giants, and just the other day remarked, “Daddy, I want to ride on a real steam train, not the small ones like in Disneyland.”
Not to discount the Disney Railroad; if it weren’t for them and their friendly engineers, Greg would have never known what it was like to sit in the cab of a working steam train in full operation. Nevertheless, Greg still knew there were larger steam specimens out there somewhere. The problem was, where were they?
My fellow SoCal rail fans and/or parents of, look no further than Fillmore & Western.
The Fillmore & Western Railway Co. is a low-key, modest train depot 60 miles North of Los Angeles, off of Freeway 126, but to any resonant rail fan like my son, it’s nothing short of pure paradise.
After hearing the exciting news that Fillmore & Western acquired the 1913 2-8-0 Baldwin Steam Locomotive #14 late last year, I’d been checking their website constantly for a chance to get Greg on board.
Sadly we’d missed the few rare excursions on Christmas and this year’s Railfest, but crossed our fingers for the next time(s). Then, just by chance, I visited their website this week and discovered they were indeed running steam August 6th and 7th! I bought tix immediately and prepared for an awesome adventure.
I was actually expecting a large crowd to be there that morning. After seeing the immensely large turnout at National Train Day 2011 at the Union Station downtown, I thought the same kind of flock would be waiting at F&W. But instead, it was totally mellow, which was a happy shock to me—I don’t really like crowds. Remember, I’m a Scorpio. 
Thanks to endless reruns of Matt Bown’s Extreme Trains DVD (specifically the Steam Train episode featuring Union Pacific’s #844), I’d known that it several hours to prepare a steam train for an excursion, so I knew the #14 had to be coming to life somewhere. As Mr. Bown puts it, “Starting [a] giant locomotive is like waking a sleeping dragon.” I scanned the tracks, and sure enough, there it was tucked away in the distance, with steam slowly bellowing from its stack. It was an awesome sight to behold.
We were scheduled to depart at 11:30, and shortly after 11, Baldwin #14 pulled up to the station. The telltale clanging of a steam engine’s bell upon arrival has got to be one the most haunting sounds ever. Since the Baldwin’s construction in 1913, I can’t even imagine how many people have heard its bell, and what kind of stories are associated with it. Believe me, I drown in the possibilities. Here was that epic moment. This, coincidentally, is also the very first video I’ve ever uploaded to YouTube. History in the making, folks.
Up close, the locomotive was a feast for all five senses, and conjured up even more senses I was previously unaware of. Here was a genuine, living and breathing testament of American struggle and triumph—an iron-clad icon of the perseverance of time and tradition. There was a distinct, pungent smell of water vapor, oil and greased steel which defined this dragon; an aroma all its own—several times more imposing than the trains of Disneyland ever wafted forth. See how Greg coughed towards the end of the clip? That was it. Even at rest, this beautiful beast hissed and churned with a burning heart.
We had reserved a spot in the vintage Dining Car for our lunch, and it too had more than enough vintage décor to write home about—especially, for one, the series of antique fans gently cooling the car. It was pretty cool and comfy in there for a hot day, and I wondered if that was indeed due to the fans or a hidden upgraded modern air conditioning unit.
Greg, meanwhile, was so excited to be on board, that only after a couple of minutes he shifted uneasily in his seat, pleading “Aren’t we gonna go yet?” I had to explain to him that trains leave exactly on schedule. “See? It’s 11:26, Greg,” I showed him on my iPhone. “We’re leaving at 11:30. So that means in four minutes.” He seemed to calm slightly, calculating the exact duration of four minutes in his head.
When we finally got going, the sequence of two long whistles signaling the train releasing brakes and proceeding sent chills up my spine, as the entire train tugged forth in a groaning symphony of squealing metal bearings and creaking wood joints. Greg’s eyes flew wide open and his jaw dropped when he heard the sound and felt the pull. His dream of riding a real old, real big steam locomotive had finally come true.
Photo ©2011 by John A. Shaw
Speaking of train whistles, I could never fully describe the particular melancholy feeling I’ve always associated with them and why they have such an effect, but after reading this Wikipedia article I now know why. Some excerpts from the page:
“In popular and folk culture, train whistles are often associated with loneliness or hard luck, because of the association of trains with transients and hobos who often wait outside the train station and run and jump on to ride the railcars as they just begin moving out of the station. The book Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow is an example.”
“Furthermore, minor chords (like that of a train whistle) are said to have a melancholy sound…Additionally, steam whistles (the traditional sounding mechanism of train whistles) tend to waver in pitch, and thus make more of a crying or wailing sound, that further adds to the lonesome nature of the shrill steam whistle.”
“Lastly, train stations were (and, to some degree still are) associated with the departure of loved ones, and the sadness of saying goodbye. To the extent that the sound of a steam train whistle is unique, and somewhat symbolic of long distance travel, it has come to contextualize itself as mournful and melancholy as this three-chime steam train whistle.”
Exactly. But for me, also, the whistle symbolizes both a departure and discovery. Saying goodbye but also saying hello to a new world, previously unreachable and uncharted. Once again, I asked myself, “How many people have heard that whistle…and how many tears have come with it?”
Click here for Part 2 of this story.
Tags: Pop Life
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[...] series covering Fillmore & Western’s Baldwin 1913 2-8-0 #14 weekend steam excursion. Click here to read Part 1, or here to read Part [...]