FROM A RAILWAY CARRIAGE
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever!
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever!
When I originally published this I accidentally posted the wrong teacher's guide to the picture. I have discovered that one reason I made this error is because I didn't scan in the correct guide. Fortunately, I have found the text online here, or at least, all of it except the comprehension questions. I've posted it below the picture.
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The modern passenger train embodies comforts and convenience which were unknown a generation or two ago. It represents a century of scientific research and engineering advancement. Into the modern passenger train are built many of the latest technological developments of mechanical engineers, metallurgists, chemists, designers and countless other scientific experts.
This is a picture of a typical long-distance steam passenger train. In the inset, the conductor gives the starting signal as the happy little passenger in the window wave’s good-bye to the people on the station platform. Perhaps she is taking her first train ride, and we can imagine how thrilled she must be.
Trains of this type run for hundreds or even thousands of miles, frequently traveling night and day, with one or several changes of locomotives and crews en route.
ON many of the large railroads, where traffic is heavy, a typical long-distance, main-line passenger train operating on an overnight run or for a longer distance, may consist of a mail car, a baggage and express car, one or more passenger coaches, from one to several sleeping cars, a dining car and a lounge, club or observation car.
Frequently, when mail, baggage and express shipments each do not require a full car, combination cars (having compartments for mail and express, or baggage and express, or baggage and passengers) are used.
The tender, which carries the fuel and water for the locomotive, is always attached to the rear end of the locomotive. Immediately behind the tender are the cars for mail, baggage and express. Next to them are the passenger coaches, and behind the passenger coaches are the sleeping cars. The dining car and the lounge or club car are usually located about midway in the passenger-carrying part of the train. If an observation car is carried, it is usually the last car in the train.
The modern passenger train may be likened to a hotel or home. The lounge car, club car, observation car or parlor car correspond to the lobby of a hotel or the living room of a home; the dining car is the restaurant or dining room; and the sleeping cars are the bedrooms.
Today’s steam locomotive is many times larger than the locomotive of early days. It is also much speedier and many times more powerful. To support the great weight of the modern locomotive and its heavy train, the railroad must have much stronger bridges than were formerly required; railbeds must be more solidly built; rails must be heavier and stronger.
The modern passenger car is built of steel or other strong alloys. It is fitted with double glass windows. Platforms and passages between the cars are enclosed and protected from the weather. The train is lighted throughout by electricity; and it is equipped with comfortable seats, water supply, toilet facilities, and many other conveniences.
Today nearly every long-distance passenger train in the United States is air-conditioned, so that, regardless of weather conditions outside, the temperature in the train is kept uniformly comfortable and the air is kept constantly fresh and clean.
The railroads operate around 15,500 passenger trains in the United States each day. This means that a passenger train starts on its run somewhere in this country every 5.6 seconds, day and night, on the average.
Many of these trains are powered by steam locomotives; many others are powered by electric or Diesel-electric locomotives, as described in succeeding chapters.
Every city and nearly every town in the United States enjoys the benefits of daily passenger train service.
