Hello Friends! This is the first part of a series that I will call “Tales From the Rails,” where I will talk about experiences that happened to me while working on trains, either as train crew or as engine crew. Most will be from my time in the train crew, as that is where you will usually find me. I have plenty of stories to share and I hope you enjoy them!
This edition’s stories will focus on times when passengers have come aboard in costumes or period dress on days when we were NOT running special events. They are admittedly more rare than costumed riders for themed trains, but that makes them stand out more clearly in my mind.
Keep in mind that the experiences expressed here are my own and may not reflect the views of the organizations I am involved with. That said, let’s climb aboard!
The Christmas Card Family
It was August of 2023, if I remember correctly. I, working as the car host, had just finished helping the trainman and conductor with setting up the train. I was outside by the north end of the station building when I noticed a group of young people about my age dressed in 1920s attire. Accompanying them was a woman (who I guessed to be in her 60s) wearing contemporary clothes and carrying a camera.
Curious and fascinated, I walked right up to the group and asked what the occasion was. One of the group, a young man, told me that they were a family. Every year, he said, the family took a themed photo for a Christmas card. Last year they did a pirate photo, and this year’s photo was 1920s-themed. The mother of the family was the photographer, and the costumed young people were all siblings and their spouses/significant others. I asked the young man his name, and he said “I’m Matt.” I shook his hand and introduced myself.
I decided to give the family the space they needed to take their photo, as courtesy dictated. As I watched from over by the station’s north end, the family posed with their steamer trunks in front of locomotive 40 as their mother snapped photos. I found the whole scene quite charming and heartwarming. It reminded me of posing for similar pictures with my parents and sisters.
Conversations on the Train
The same family that took the Christmas card photos also rode the coach train on the 11am departure. Despite opting for the train ride only, they rode in coach 503 (Car 3), roughly in the middle of the train. In recent years, we had been instructing train-only riders to sit in Car 7, at the rear of the train. Train-and-boat ticketholders were instructed to sit in Cars 3 to 5, with Cars 2 and 6 generally reserved for large groups. Despite that stipulation, they were content to ride in Car 3.
What made that delightful to me is that Car 3 is the car host’s responsibility to monitor. Therefore, I could continue my conversation with the family from earlier, provided they were interested. Sure enough, they were happy to continue talking, asking me plenty of questions along the way, which I happily answered.
The family’s mother had her camera out and ready, continuing to photograph her children and their significant others during the ride, as well as the scenery outside the windows. It was a beautiful summer day, after all. She was getting some excellent shots, which I remarked to her.
At the northernmost point of the train ride, I made a joke about the Chattanooga Choo Choo while describing the Essex Clipper Dinner Train. I said “Dinner in the diner, nothing will be finer.” That often gets a chuckle out of the senior citizens on board. When I spoke to Matt again, he said, “Great reference!” That made me smile.
As the family disembarked at the end of the ride, I bid them all safe travels and said that if they ever wanted to repeat the experience, they knew exactly where to find us.
The Thirtieth Birthday Party
This particular group came aboard the train & boat on the 2pm departure on the last day of operations of the 2024 season. It was my first (and last) day aboard the riverboat Becky Thatcher as a student captain that year. I was standing on the port side bridgewing as guests were boarding when I noticed a group of people coming aboard in 1920s attire.
Because I spent the entire cruise in the wheelhouse, I wasn’t able to talk with those fine people until after the cruise had ended. However, as the boat was leaving the dock, I heard the narrator wish a young lady a happy birthday. I would learn at the end of the trip that the group was celebrating a woman’s birthday in 1920s style. How fun!
After the Becky Thatcher was secure to the dock, I took a good look at the costumed group, who were seated on the starboard side of the bow. One man was dressed as a locomotive engineer complete with wooden train whistle. Another man was dressed as if her were a lamplighter, using a bag of charcoal as a prop. The women in the group all looked like they were headed to a speakeasy. I loved their outfits!
I asked them which member of the group was celebrating her birthday. They pointed her out, and I wished her a happy birthday. I asked how many trips around the sun she had taken, to which she replied “thirty.” I assured her that your thirties are a great time in your life, essentially your “new twenties.” I thanked her and her friends for sailing with us and hoped that they would return next year.
1920s Attire on Little Ones
The year and month was December 2018. I was working as a Character Manager aboard the Santa Special, specifically on the south end of Train 1. It was a crisp day, with the sun out and festive cheer in the air. I was walking through the south end of the train when I noticed a particularly adorable pair of children – a boy and a girl – sitting in one of the seats.
What made them stand out from the other children? They were dressed as if they lived a century ago! The boy was wearing a white button-down shirt with black pants, dress shoes, suspenders and fedora. The girl next to him had on a lovely purple dress that looked as though it had belonged to her great-grandmother. Both children looked to be between the ages of three and four years old.
I was quick to pause and compliment the kids, who gave me adorable smiles back. The adults traveling with them were their grandparents, who appreciated me stopping to say hello. I told the grandparents how appropriate their grandchildren’s clothing was for the time period of our railroad equipment (most of it dates to the 1920s). I also told them that dressing up the grandkids reminded me of what my parents did for my sisters and I as children.
What also stood out is that most of the other children on board were wearing pajamas or ordinary clothes, but not these two!
Conclusion
Dressing up for a special occasion, such as a train ride, is always a fun idea. It doesn’t have to be just on Halloween or for a costume party or formal event, but any day of the year! As someone who greatly appreciates costumes, I will take any excuse to wear one, even it it’s just an “average” day. Sometimes you can even think outside the box, like the grandparents of those two children on the Santa Special. So wear a costume and have fun with it!
As always, thanks for reading!