TRAVEL TO CHILDHOOD BY THE TRAIN TRACKS. WEEK 232

I invite you to get on an imaginary train, to travel with me to the past. I am going to rediscover my childhood. I'm going to dig into my memories so I can write about one of the topics proposed by @galenkp in this weekend's challenge.

What was your favorite toy when you were a child? Explain what and why?

Sixty years ago, I was born in a small town that owes its location on the map to a railroad. The Northern Line links villages in the central region of the island where I live. The railroad station was, for many years, the most important place in my town. In its good old times, in a day, a dozen passenger trains would pass through it on their round trips. Freight convoys also passed through frequently.

The arrival of a train at the station summoned many curious onlookers to greet those arriving or to bid farewell to those departing on their journey. Many others came for no specific reason, just to see the train. The stop was taken advantage of by street vendors who offered their wares to passengers. The sound of the train whistle, announcing its proximity to the station, was the signal for the popular gathering.

My house was located in front of the railroad line, very close to the station. I only had to look out my front door to see the trains arrive and depart. An uncle of mine, worked until his retirement, as station manager. That gave me certain privileges to know closely details of his work routine. When I entered his office, it was like traveling to the railroad in the old western movies.

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I tell you this story because I am sure it is related to my predilection for a toy when I was a child. Trains were always my favorite toys. Especially electric trains, propelled by battery power.

You had to build the track by assembling the fragments that made it up. Maybe a bridge, to assemble along the way, was part of the set. What was never missing was a railroad station.

I remember a metal train that was bought for me and I liked it very much. It was a model of a steam locomotive, with a light at the front. The convoy consisted of its coal car, passenger cars, a tank car, another that was a freight iron, one with a crane attached and the train caboose that closed the formation. It had a realistic design and bright colors.

As an adult I still kept that train in good condition, even with its original box, but it did not survive my children's games. The same fate befell other toys they inherited from me. I guess I kept them, because I was older than they were when they bought them for me, or maybe because I was a more careful child. I would have liked to still have that train as a memory of my childhood. I don't know exactly how many toy trains I had, what I can say is that I was fascinated by them.

I also really enjoyed train rides as a kid. I remember we would take one, of the many that ran through my town, to go to an uncle's house who lived in another province. Actually, the railroad was the best means of transportation on that route available to us, besides being very cheap.

As I write these lines, I realize that I have not ridden a train for a long time. I have been planning a trip to the east of the country, which I would like to take by train, but for one reason or another, I have been putting it off. If I finally do it, I will surely share with you details of that adventure.

Thanks, once again, to @galenkp, for the interesting topics proposed, which seduce us to accept his challenge and sit down to write.

_{✏️ Original content by @leopard0
✒️ Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
📸 Own pictures}