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Trains In Belgium, France and Brazil

Jean share her memories of trains in Belgium, France and Brazil and writes:

I have many remembrances of trains when growing up in Belgium as well as France and Brazil. Here are a couple.

Just before WW2, waiting on a platform at Mons with my parents, a very unusual engine went by. It was, in current terms a 0-6-0, with a very tall stack, gleaming copper fittings, a semi open driver position. I have never seen another one like it except in movies of the 1880s in the American West, or pictures of some GWR in the UK

Another one. Between Rio de Janeiro and the summer towns of Petropolis and Teresopolis in the Serra da Mantiqueira, 40 miles north of Rio and as high as 7000 feet (the towns are at about 3000 feet), British engineers in the late XIX century had built a meter gage system (similar to South African RR), called the Leopoldina Railway. From Rio to the foot of the mountain, the track ran across lowlands. At Raiz da Serra ( Mountain Foothill), the trains were broken into sets of two carriages and each set pushed up the steep slope by a cog steam engine. At the crest, about 1200 feet , (sometimes in the midst of clouds) the train was reassembled and another steam engine took it down to Petropolis. For Teresopolis, a similar system prevailed, plus the fact that the track ran in the middle of the main street.

What I found fascinating, coming down from there one day and looking out the downhill side window, in the curves, to slow the train , the engine at point had huge brake shoes on both sides of the central cog rail, which threw plenty of sparks. The engines had a spark catcher smokestack and carriages were open at both ends to a balcony, and looked exactly like the ones in Western movies. There were two classes, First and Second, both very dusty and distinct only in that First had woven straw seats and Second had wooden benches.

A well retold joke went like this, given that the trains would speed up going downhill and slow down considerably going up.

Q: “‘What is the difference between First and Second class?”

A: “When you get to a lombada (hill climb) the conductor will come through and shout: Second class passengers get out and push the train “.

If you would like to share your railroad memories go to http://www.model-railroad-resources.com/memories.html and add your thoughts.

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