AROUND THE BEND

By Rebecca Sloan

Scenic train ride conjures up nostalgia

Travel the old-fashioned way is very slow. Even so, it’s still fun.

JEFFERSON — Clad in a Thomas the Tank Engine T-shirt and an engineer’s hat, my 3-year-old son flashed a big grin when he first glimpsed the railroad cars parked on the tracks.

This was to be his first train ride, and he was literally jumping for joy.

“Are we gonna ride on the train now? Are we gonna ride the train now?” he asked in his singsong voice.

Yes, indeed, we were “gonna ride on the train now.”

It was a Sunday afternoon in August, and we were taking the A C J Scenic Line for an hourlong, 12-mile ramble through rural Jefferson in Ashtabula County.

I’d heard about this train trip from a friend, and it sounded like a charming way to spend an afternoon.

This would be my first time aboard a train, too, and although I wasn’t as ecstatic my young son, I did feel a pleasant anticipation as I studied the old-fashioned railroad cars parked next to the historical depot.

Right away, nostalgic images flitted through my mind – John Wayne movies with pistol-packing train robbers, or damsels in distress tied to the tracks and being saved in the nick of time by a hero in a white Stetson.

More modern Hollywood images gripped my imagination as well.

With his black cap and thick moustache, the A C J Scenic Line’s conductor reminded me of Tom Hanks’ character in the popular children’s movie “The Polar Express.”

When I presented him with my ticket, I couldn’t resist asking, “Are you going to punch my ticket like Tom Hanks did in ‘The Polar Express’?”

“Oh, I’ll get to that later,” the conductor replied with a grin.

Once aboard the train, my companions and I chose a booth near the snack bar and spread our picnic lunch on the table.

Picnic lunches are permitted aboard the train as long as they do not include ice cream or dairy products, which can be messy and tend to get smelly if spilled on board.

The train’s snack bar serves popcorn, candy and soft drinks, so if you want hardier, healthier fare, you need to bring your own vittles.

As we munched our homemade sandwiches and waited for the train to depart, my companions and I chatted about what it must have been like to travel by train in the old days.

Was it pleasant or tedious? Scary, perhaps, as the train slid through the untamed wilderness and passengers faced the possibility of being overtaken by train robbers or arrow-shooting Indians.

(I was thinking of those John Wayne movies again.)

I informed my friends that if we’d taken our train trip one weekend earlier, we could have experienced a mock train robbery that’s part of A C J’s Train Bandit Special.

During this special weekend event, the train is overtaken by rowdy robbers. It’s all in good fun, though.

A C J’s general manager, Frank Reuter, had informed me earlier that the train robbing is more slapstick than scary.

“Our conductor is one of the train robbers. Last time he stole a dollar from someone and gave it someone else,” Reuter said with a laugh.

Although there would be no robberies on this day, we did soon get a taste of what it must have been like to travel by train in the old days.

As the steel wheels started turning and our car lurched forward, we discovered that train travel the old-fashioned way is very slow in comparison to the fast-paced modes of travel we are used to.

In fact, riding along at 10 miles per hour in the circa-1930s passenger cars felt sort of like riding in a giant cradle that rocked and swayed and bumped and rattled.

My 3-year-old son responded to the lull with a yawn and leaned against me for a nap.

While the motion made him sleepy, it made another one of my travel companions feel a bit queasy.

“Well,” I said with a laugh, “You can just stick your head out the window if you get sick.”

It was a pleasantly cool day for August, so the train windows were wide open.

As my friends and I watched fields and wooded ravines roll past, we marveled at the rural beauty.

In some places, steep drop-offs flanked the tracks. In other places, neighborhoods appeared, and every time the engineer blew the whistle, we knew we were approaching a highway where cars waited at a railroad crossing.

As we rolled over the crossings, we waved to the passengers in the cars, and they waved back.

Pretty soon the conductor ambled down the aisle to punch our tickets (not quite as skillfully as Tom Hanks did in “The Polar Express) and answer questions from curious passengers.

We learned the train was pulled by a 1941 diesel engine that had formerly been used by a sand and gravel company, and we learned that during the week when this stretch of track is not being used for pleasure rides, it is used for commercial purposes.

The conductor also mentioned A C J Scenic Line’s upcoming special events, including a Steam Train Special on Labor Day weekend.

For this event, a historical steam engine will be trucked in from New York State. The steam engine will replace the diesel engine for the weekend and pull the passenger cars.

The event is slated for Saturday and next Sunday and possibly Sept. 1.

Departure times are 10 and 11:30 a.m. and 1, 2:30, 4 and 5:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $15 for ages 13 and older and $10 for ages 2 to 12.

Reservations are highly recommended, and the final day for reservations is Friday. You can make reservations by calling (440) 576-6346.

The Labor Day Steam Train Special is just one of many special events that occur throughout the year at A C & J Scenic Line.

During the spring and summer, there are Wild West-themed Weekends and a Civil War re-enactment weekend.

There’s also a Kid’s Magic Train ride with a magician who performs slight-of-hand illusions.

In autumn, children can enjoy two Kids’ Pumpkin Train weekends, which are set for Oct. 11 and 12 and Oct. 18 and 19.

During these excursions, kids get a free bag of popcorn and a small pumpkin to take home.

The cost is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $7 for children ages 3 to 12.

On Nov. 2, veterans ride for free for Veterans weekend, and a Santa train event is also being planned for November.

Call ahead for reservations.

If you want to take a “plain Jane” train ride like the one I’m writing about, you don’t need reservations.

You can just show up at the train station at 161 E. Jefferson St. in Jefferson, Ohio and purchase a ticket at the ticket booth.

Tickets cost $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $7 for kids ages 3 to 12. Departure times are 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays mid-May through October.

The ticket booth is located beside Jefferson’s old train depot, which is now a museum operated by the local historical society. You can tour the museum after you ride the train, but you have to purchase a separate ticket.

The A C & J Scenic Line came about in 1990 after the track was going to be abandoned by Conrail.

Reuter said the Rails For Ohio program stepped in and helped save a portion of the track from being torn up.

It’s that portion, about 12 miles which runs from Jefferson to Carson, which passengers travel during their trip.

At Carson, there is a staging yard for Norfolk Southern’s coal operations in Ashtabula Harbor.

A C & J’s train has three passenger cars, and all cars are heated and one car is air-conditioned as well.

The cars seat about 172 people.

Reuter said fall is a perfect time to come ride the train.

“The foliage is really great,” he said. “The leaves are usually at their peak around Oct. 15.”

He also said the train ride is perfect for people of all ages, including kids who might get antsy on longer train rides.

“The time passes quickly, and kids don’t have time to get bored,” he said.

XFor more information visit www.familytrainrides.com.