One of my students works for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway.  This is a historic Diesel passenger train that runs through a national park between Cleveland and Akron.   Another link runs from Akron to Canton.

 

I was invited to ride the train today, but with a twist.  I rode in the locomotive.  It was a really great day!

 

Here is the train at Akron.  The other end is a different engine.  Without a turn around, one engine pulled it south,  the one at the other end pulled it north.

 

 

 

And a shot from inside southbound.

 

 

 

Northbound

 

 

My student,  Alex, northbound

 

 

I have too many pics to post.   It was fantastic.

We have something similar Adirondak Scenic Railway.

Must have been a cool view from the front.

 

My Dad worked for the Erie Lackawanna RR and later the D&H RR.  He was an engineer on both a steam locomotive and later the diesel locomotives.  It was always a thrill to ride in the cab of one of those behemoths.  As a kid he would sometimes take me and my brother for short rides in the rail yard when he was working as a hostler.

 

To this day, I always love riding on a train.  It's sad that our train system has deterioriated to its current state.  I'm sure, with the current state of energy prices, that train travel would have seen a great revival if public train transportation was properly developed.

 

/ RR rant

 

The other thing that really gets your attention is the bridges.  You always see them from underneath, and they look very solid.  But the vantage point of the cab, they look small and flimsy.  Much narrower than the train.  You know they are okay, but on top of one it looks shakey in front of you, and you can't see it at all from the sides.  From the side you can't see what is holding you up at all.   Very weird.

 

View on a bridge

 

 

Over the side of the bridge.   That rail is the train, not the bridge

 

 

 

I would not trade that for the world.  It was GREAT!