Tracking the Past
There
are occasions in life that somehow manage to move certain people to
the heights of emotional depths, and, one such event that is
guaranteed to stir up such feelings is the closing of a railway.
It
happened about a year ago and right here in Vienna. A so-called
field railway that used to chug its way round in the
grounds of a hospital put its engines and wagons away for the very
last time. It was as if someone had died! There was a very deep
feeling of sadness as the driver uncoupled the wagons for the very
last time, and, as the power was turned off, a speech with a moving
nostalgic note telling of the golden times of this narrow gauge
beauty was delivered in a tear laden voice.
This
small railway was built about 100 years ago in the grounds of Lainz,
a very large hospital on the edge of Vienna. And, the job of this
little train was to transport hospital meals from a central kitchen
to the wards which were housed in separate pavilions. And, not even
once, despite two world wars and other great calamities
of note, did these hospital meals of great taste ever fail to show
up!
But
sadly, the hospital decided that other methods of meals on wheels
were better, and so came the close! But, for this little train there
is a life after death! The engines and trucks, now lovingly
restored, have taken their place alongside other greats of the
tracks in a railway museum.
And
maybe this is the point. There is a trace of nostalgia in us
all. Things from the past do have a definite interest. And, even
though, we never used them, or travelled in them, or flew in
them, we miss them badly when they're no longer here! But,
many are still here.
And,
it is all thanks to the many enthusiasts who have both the
time and the talent to keep the past how it was! These are the
heroes of life. It is they who make sure that we never forget.
As
long as the inventions of now are preserved for the future, there
will always be a past to look back to tomorrow!
Vocabulary
alongside
– daneben
calamity
- Katastrophe
chug
- dampfen
dedication –
Hingabe
delivered – (to
deliver/delivered/delivered) - gehalten
despite
– trotz
enthusiasts
– Enthusiasten
even
though – obwohl
field
railway – Feldbahn
knowledge
– Wissen
laden
- geladen
miss
– (to miss/missed/missed) – vermisst
moving
– bewegend
narrow
gauge – schmal
Spur
show
up – (to show up/showed up/showed up) – erscheinen
tear
– Tränen
trace
– Spur
ward –
Krankenstationen
