Trains

At Union Station Meridian

Union Station, Meridian                                                                           Since I was a young girl, I have had a fascination with trains; passenger trains to be exact. I would envision myself on the Orient Express, an international railway service with routes from Paris, Istanbul and Vienna. What it must have been like for foreign travelers, in 1883, to board the Orient Express.  The train was composed of: Baggage car Sleeping coach with 16 beds (with bogies) Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles) Restaurant coach (nr. 107) Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles) Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles) Baggage car (complete 101 ton) The first menu on board (October 10, 1882): oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with ‘château’ potatoes, ‘chaud-froid’ of game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, buffet of desserts. The menus alone would prompt me to purchase a ticket.  Perhaps the writings of Agatha Christie that later were adapted to film; one being 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1974), intrigued me. "Who did it?" and "Why?" Sure there were other films, notably 'Orient Express' (1954) and 'From Russia With Love' (1963). There are many more films and made for television movies that rode the rails on board the Orient Express. Songs have been composed, as well, for the worlds most famous train. Union Station, Meridian Perhaps, my love for trains, be it passenger or freight, was passed down through family genes? My material Great-Grandfather was an engineer on Southern Railroad. My brother's love for trains was so great, on his second birthday, the theme for his party was trains. And our Grandmother took him on his first train ride, from Meridian, Mississippi to Laurel, Mississippi. By automobile, it is a little over an hour drive, 59 miles by interstate. But for a two-year old, it must have seemed like an entire day. Also, our Mom took that same route when she was a girl of twelve years old.  Mom's and my first train ride, together, was on board AMTRAK, from Mississippi to Virginia. That first trip was so exciting. We had lunch in the snack car and, at seven o'clock, we had dinner the dining car. The food as you can imagine was awful, but I convinced myself it was the best meal I have ever had.  We took several more train rides, but none were as grand as that first trip, and certainly not at all I imagined the Orient Express being. Thank goodness, I had an imagination! Union Station, Meridian                                                                                  Meeting a freight train; up close and personal.