The river flows...

[sheepherder]

Back in the '80's and '90's, I used to travel to the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Antique shows in the Spring, and the Import/Kit Car shows. We'd go down on Thurs night, get there at 8 or 9am and take in the show through Sat evening. Sunday we'd drive down to Gettysburg and tour the National Battlefield Park. Always something new to see. One time, my girlfriend and I decided to take the Gettysberg Railroad ride. It's a privately owned 14 mile long straight track, through peoples backyards.

It was a riot! We got to the 'station' early, and examined the locomotive, the cars, and the station (a re-creation) itself. All very mid-1800's period. As we were getting our tickets, a strapping six-foot-five young lad, dressed in bib-denims, plaid shirt, engineer boots and a lunch bucket the size of a suitcase came through, on his way to the train. The GF immediately said "That's the stoker!". I agreed, he was certainly qualified. A few minutes later, an older gnarled, walnut complexioned, thin man came through, carrying a smaller lunchbox. He looked like 14 miles of bad road...The GF said, "The engineer! And a lunchbox with a quart of Jack Daniels!"

We boarded the passenger car. There were three (IIRC). The car was bare wood, no glass just rectangular holes for windows, and rows of bare wood church pews. We stopped, and took it all in...Pax looking at us. The GF went into a airline stewardess spiel "Thank you for flying Gettysberg Railroad, we'll be flying at 10 feet at 40mph. There are oxygen masks etc flotation devices etc..." She had the car in an uproar.

It was a 14 mile (again, IIRC) ride, housewives hanging up laundry, kids playing, dogs barking, then a stop. Nothing much to see, then the train started backing up...All the way back to the station!

It was a fun two hours or so; especially watching the stoker and the engineer getting steam up. The stoker stoked; the engineer just lounged around and watched. The conductor came through collecting tickets, everyone including the station ticket lady dressed in period costume. I seem to remember an oiler oiling the exposed total-loss bearings before the trip but I don't know where he disappeared to.

Always a fun trip; the National Observation Tower was still up back then, you could take the elevator up and view the whole battlefield. There were tour double-decker buses; cassette tape guides; human guides; group tours; etc. In the park proper, you could hardly walk ten feet without bumping into a monument. We always went on off weekends, no re-enactments. There was one hopping bar in town, and our Best Western had a wet bar. It was worth the 9 hour drive just to see, hear, and ride the train.