This is Newcastle, New South Wales pictured around 1895.
Can't you just picture the man standing with his camera balanced on his tripod to get just the right snap?
Newcastle is a coal mining town.
This snap depicts a ceremony of sorts?
The old steam train. This one looks new, shiny and clean.
If you have never travelled in one you could not imagine the soot smudging and messing your clothes.
These proud men standing beside a piece of history they would never imagine could become obsolete.
Engine 361.
I can still remember riding to work in one of these in the 1960's.
We still have a working steam train where I now live in Queensland. They are slow and if riding for hours, extremely uncomfortable, yet a grand old timer of the yesteryear period..
Our Valley Rattler still roams the rolling hills proudly blowing it's whistle and displaying it's grand old-world charm.....
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
I like your photos of the old time steam engines. There is one that runs near where I live in California, mostly for tourists, and I rode in it once. It was very romantic, and our children loved it.
ReplyDeleteHi Terra, I am always thrilled when I see your name... I have probably told you, in Italian it means land and the R's are rolled... (from me, your heart is truely in the earth, you are very special)...
ReplyDeleteOur Valley Rattler is for the tourists also. My daughter worked in the hospitality dining car for a time. It was a special error sadly fading.
Bless you.
I mean ERA!! Lol
ReplyDeleteThe trains look so polished and shiny. Somewhere I saw an old steam engine recently, maybe in a movie, and noticed how much smoke there was. I guess they were dirty, but I loved riding a train (not that I ever rode one regularly - just on several occasions). Thanks for the memories of the old trains.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! A bit of history is ALWAYS in order.
ReplyDeleteYou can understand why so many people love the steam trains.
ReplyDeleteAs well as the Muck, The Smell! I remember as a kid travelling by steam train .The noise, steam & smell flew above my little head.A wee 5 year old........walking into the Railway station,holding my mother's hand.......it was like entering another planet!
black and white photos have that special 'something' about them - I think it's because we have to use our imagination more to think about colours etc and they take us back to era which we can only imagine about... thank you
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab collection of photos! I had never thought about that aspect of train travel with the soot smudging ones clothing. Was that because of the coal? Really fascinating!
ReplyDeleteKat
Love the steam engine pictures. I just showed them to my two little boys. My oldest said, "That's cool!"
ReplyDeleteI love these photos of the steamers and the one with the two men is my favorite. Last Oct. we took a ride on a steam train excursion from Winona MN to La Crescent where we live and back again; it was such fun! And this is why they said, "like carrying coals to Newcastle." Interesting to me because for 40 years we lived in Newcastle, CA!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised to hear there is a Newcastle in C.A? I knew about the one in England. And the C.A. one has coal also?? that's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love the old trains and can remember the smell of coal and oil.
They were like a great hissing angry monster as they rolled into the station, no wonder they were named Iron Horses. Bless you all.
i can imagine taking my grandsons on such a train ride, it would be a real treat to give them a taste of those golden times. i find trains fascinating and still behave like a child every time i'm outside and one comes along the tracks just the other side of my front yard...personally, i think the engineers get a kick out of us, too!
ReplyDeleteThat first tram photo is really wonderful. I am such a sucker for old train photos too, that this was a huge treat for me.
ReplyDeletenice photo's i never tram before...
ReplyDeleteYes the memory of those steam trains is always more romantic, quieter, cleaner, and safer (remember the flying cinders!) than the reality ever was.
ReplyDeleteawesome pics...love that last one the best...
ReplyDeleteThank you for this trip back in time to the land of the steam engine. I like riding the train in California, rocking on the rails. But I can't imagine a steam driven train, and it sounds like we're blessed that they became obsolete.
ReplyDeleteInteresting pictures. Times certainly change. It's always fun to reminisce.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte
These are some great pictures. It's amazing how time change and how fast time goes.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Ginger
Oh what a nice blog. I like seeing all of the trains. I like your old rattler.
ReplyDelete