Nostalgia on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Train

The picture you are seeing is a panoramic view of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado from the vintage coal-fired narrow gauge train as it passed through the section of track called the 'High-Line' by locals. It travels along a cliff nearly 400 feet above the Animas River. The tracks hang on a retaining wall and small ledge over the Animas River. As I was sitting in the observation car marveling at the view, I could not help but travel back 30 some years into my childhood when we used to ride the Howrah-Madras Mail from BAM. The 18 hours on the train would be the highlight of our summer visit to grandma's house. We would board the train in BAM and travel all the way to Chennai. Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada would be the only two stations where the train would stop for at least 15 minutes. The scenery on the way had its own charm. We would pass through small villages, larger towns and cross mighty rivers and wave to anyone we would see along the way. I remember eagerly waiting to hear the unique sound of the train as it chugged along on the bridge over the Godavari River near Rajahmundry. In those days the train had a coal-fired steam engine and by the time we got to Chennai we would have got soot in our eyes umpteen times, our grandpa could not tell what color clothes we were wearing and our grandma would herd us all to the bathroom to give us a good rub-down before we set foot anywhere else in the house. It made me smile when the conductor on the Durango, Colorado train advised us to wear goggles to avoid getting soot in our eyes. I relished my private trip through memory lane. If you would like to see more pictures from my train journey here is a link to my facebook album. Enjoy!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012050&id=1009083429&l=69f92d64bc