(Puffing Billy 2016a)
My earliest recollection of trains are of
Puffing Billy……….
Train to freedom
Train to Freedom©David L Page 2016
Puffing Billy was a train,
but not just any old train…
she was a train driven by steam…
(Puffing Billy 2016b)
She had had a life,
carting logs down
from the mountain ranges
the Dandenongs…
(Puffing Billy 2016c)
By the time I met her,
she had been retired quite a few years,
logging had been called off…
(Puffing Billy 2016d)
and the Puffing Billy railway..
was now for hire..
for families to come and have a ride and see…
what fun it was to ride aboard
a great steam locomotive…
(Puffing Billy 2016e)
Down in Victoria
out of the city,
up on the mountain ranges,
in the Dandenongs
(Puffing Billy 2016f)
The memory is still so strong,
I was on holidays with my Victorian
aunty, uncle and cousins,
I must have been about age 5
(DLP 2016)
I was so excited when I first saw her,
filling her up with all of the coal,
moving her around the yard,
getting her ready for a day out,
up on the mountain ranges,
in the Dandenongs
(Puffing Billy 2016g)
Steam engine blows
smoke goes up,
kids, smile and chatter,
calling out to their aunties and cousins,
others to their mums and friends
“let’s go, let’s go”
(Puffing Billy 2016h)
The conductor on the station platform,
rings his bell and shouts
“all aboard the Puffing Billy –
she’s about to pull out, let’s go, let’s go”
kids, smile and chatter,
calling out to their aunties and cousins,
others to their mums and friends
“come on, we gotta go,
let’s go, let’s go”
(Puffing Billy 2016i)
Steam engine blows
smoke goes up,
kids, smile and chatter,
calling out to their aunties and cousins,
others to their mums and friends
“let’s go, let’s go”
Wheels start a turning
engines starts a chugging..
train carriages jolt, bounce and bang
metal clangs, and metal clunks
as the Puffing Billy’s starts to move along…
(Puffing Billy 2016j)
kids, smile and chatter,
calling out to their aunties and cousins,
others to their mums and friends
“we’re moving, we’re moving”……
they are having the time of their life..
(DLP 2016)
Kids smile, chatter and point
Running from side to side
“look at (this), look at (that)”……
they are having the time of their life..
(Puffing Billy 2016k)
The train – she is a-chugging,
as she winds up the hill,
the kids are still smiling,
and yelling and pointing,
running from side to side
“look at (this), look at (that)”……
they are having the time of their life..
(Puffing Billy 2016l)
As she gains some speed,
the open carriage allows for a breeze
that massages everyone’s smile,
and almost freezes it in time,
for eternity….
Everyone’s hair is blowing in the wind/breeze
as the Puffing Billy weaves
in and out of the trees,
and around the bends….
up onto the mountain ranges,
in the Dandenongs
(Puffing Billy 2016m)
She is really chugging along now,
with all of the wind, the breeze, the steam,
I can still smell…(large breath in)
the smell of the soot coming from her coal-burning steam producing engine,
against the back drop of the rain forest mountain ranges,
in the Dandenongs
(Puffing Billy 2016n)
Kids call out details to their aunties and cousins,
others to their mums and friends……
They squeal, and yell, and shout, and
squeal, and yell, and shout, and
squeal, and yell, and shout, and
squeal, and yell, and shout, and
squeal, and yell, and shout in delight…….
(Puffing Billy 2016o)
The kids are still smiling,
and yelling and pointing,
running from side to side
“look at (this), look at (that)”……
they are having the time of their life..
(Puffing Billy 2016p)
The kids are still smiling,
and yelling and pointing,
running from side to side
“look at (this), look at (that)”……
they are having the time of their life..
(Puffing Billy 2016q)
I am still smiling,
and yelling and pointing,
running from side to side
“look at (this), look at (that)”……
I am having the time of my life..
(Puffing Billy 2016n)
The Puffing Billy…..
my earliest recollection of a train….
that perhaps explains one of my loves…
“Train to Freedom”©David L Page 2016. This audio event represents a developed sense of my recollection of this significant event.
Reflection
As long as I can remember,
trains represent fun times….
…..freedom….
I usually always experienced them on holidays…
times of leisure…
down time…..
For my first experience,
the Puffing Billy experience,
I was away from home,
spending time with my aunty, uncle and cousins
I must have been age five (5)
I was staying in a house
the curtains wide open,
with the sun light streaming in….
the house was filled with chatter,
laughter and cheer
people were talking, and
playing music…
it seemed like all day…
Friends dropped in
to share a coffee and a chat
the dogs would run and chase each other
in the garden
mini-bikes at the back door
my uncle would go running,
some sort of marathon event,
I recall I would go and watch,
running and cheering,
up and down the street
I therefore suppose I learnt to associate trains
with fun and freedom
a new place, a new destination…..
somewhere for some new adventure,
some new experience..
something so different,
to that I was living,
in another stage of my life
a new place, a new destination….
perhaps,
even a new beginning in life….
The train as a symbol
has stayed with me through my life
metaphorically,
moving from one station,
to another …….
going from one place
to another…..
arriving into a station….
a new place, a new destination….
somewhere for some new adventure,
some new experience..
something so different,
to that I was living,
in another stage in my life
a new place, a new destination….
perhaps,
even a new beginning in life….
Trains have been significant
in certain places
such as growing up in Sydney…
an essential part of everyday life,
moving from A to B
getting to school..
getting home…
getting to my music lessons,
on time
In Paris,
in London,
In New York,
in Tokyo too
trains were an essential part of everyday life..
moving from A to B
getting around,
on time
Trains also represent to me,
social equality,
transport for the masses….
open to anyone,
all types of people use them,
from all range of age, social, and cultural backgrounds….
sometimes local,
and sometimes, just new arrivals…..
You can meet all types,
sometimes you strike a few words,
as you move between stations,
but them more often than not,
you say your goodbyes at the station,
and move into another adventure
by one self…
The train as a symbol
has remained with me through my life
metaphorically,
moving from one station,
to another …….
going from one place
to another…..
arriving into a station….
a new place, a new destination….
leading to new adventures,
a new experience..
something so different,
to that I was living,
in another stage of my life
a new place, a new destination….
new experiences..
some learnings, some lessons,
some sadness or some fun
perhaps,
even a new beginning in life….
A number of these destinations
have become……
my
significant events….
Associative memory
Just about every memory I recall
of trains…..
Has the associated smell of charcoal,
or industrial metal…
Just about every memory I recall
of trains…..
Has the sound of cast iron metal on metal……
People chatting….
People laughing….
Kids talking…
squealing, and yelling, and shouting
Perhaps, not surprising one of the first songs
I noticed when I was growing up
was Cat Steven’s “Peace Train”…
Much later in life,
again perhaps not surprising
I fell in love with the cover version
of the Curtis Mayfield song “People Get Ready”
– with Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck
