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Small
Railway Blues - Tracking the Past
There
are things in life that can be very upsetting. And, the closing-down
of a railway is just one of these things. And, the following story
happened just about
5 years ago. A field
railway
in Vienna put its engines and wagons away for the very last time. It
was as if someone had died! With a very deep feeling of sadness,
the driver uncoupled the wagons for the very last time, and, as the
power was switched off, a speech telling of the once golden days of
this narrow
gauge
beauty was delivered
in a very nostalgic and tear
laden
voice. And, the story began a long time ago.
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 terrible world wars, did these hospital
meals of great taste ever fail to show up! This train was
very reliable.
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
this is the point. Things from the past 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 still are.
And,
it's all thanks to the very many enthusiasts who have both
talent and time to keep the past still alive! These are the heroes
of life. It is they who make sure we never forget.
There
are things in life that can move people to tears, and the closing
of a railway is just one of these things. Railways, it seems, have a
life of their own. We don't want them to die.
Tracking
the Past – A railway that's no longer with us!
Vocabulary
alongside
–A daneben
calamity
- Katastrophe
chug
- dampfen
dedication
– Hingabe
delivered
– (to deliver/delivered/delivered) - gehalten
despite
– trotz
enthusiasts
– Enthusiasten
even
though – wobble
field
railway – Feldbahn
knowledge
– Wissen
laden
- geladen
miss
– (to miss/missed/missed) – vermisst
moving
– bewegend
narrow
gauge – Schmalspur
show
up – (to show up/showed up/showed up) – erscheinen
tear
– Tränen
trace
– Spur
ward
– Krankenstationen
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