The Train Genius

There were a lot of men who could be considered a genius when it comes to trains.  This is what our big boy genius learned this week:

The steam engine was not the first rail car in America.  The first cars on rails were pulled by horses!  

John Stevens brought the idea of steam locomotives to America.  Later a man named Peter Cooper built the first steam engine locomotive.  But, on his first test run he raced a horse and the horse won!  I am so glad he did not give up.  His invention was very important to the creation of the modern train.

I read a book about a cross country train ride.  A lot of people were gathered across the country to build the train track.  When they met in the middle they put a golden spike on the track.  On the journey it started at a rail road station and the train picked the boy up…All aboard!  While the boy enjoyed his trip, the engineer worked hard to keep the train moving.  The fireman threw “chocolate” [charcoal] into the furnace. 

Did you know there was a toilet on the train that was only a hole going out the bottom?  There was also a cool bed that folded down if you stayed on the train at night.  In the winter there was a stove in the corner to keep you warm. 

I would have been scared going over the tall wooden bridges, but the view would have been beautiful.  Maybe it would have been like one of the views we saw on our road trip.  When they were going up the mountains, the conductor had to add an extra engine.  

The best part of the book was finding out how the train helped the boy get to his dad.  I know how wonderful he felt because I always loved get back to my dad when he left home.

"Only fools want to travel all the time. Sensible men want to arrive."
- Metternick