These are the moments I love most when travelling: the gentle, rhythmic jolt of train wheels on rails; the long, mournful blast on the locomotive’s whistle way up ahead; the feeling of being taken inexorably on a journey, heading somewhere new, yet moving slowly enough to have time to take in the changes along the way.
Frank Gardiner
I am a big admirer of Frank Gardiner, the BBC’s Security Correspondent. He has overcome the challenges of being shot by al-Qaida gunmen in Saudi Arabia in 2004 which led to him being partly paralysed. He has reported from many of the world’s most volatile regions, mainly in the Middle East, and always explains things in detail but very clearly. And he has written several engaging books about his experiences, including the gripping Blood and Sand.
When I read the above quote in another of his books, Far Horizons, I saved it, knowing that it captured better than I could the feeling induced by a train journey, especially one in distant lands. I remembered it again today when I saw Ann-Christine’s Lens Artists challenge, to illustrate a quote.
So here are five memorable train journeys from my travels. I could also have mentioned my first long trip across Europe, from London via Cologne to Prague and on to Vienna. Or travelling from Moscow to Leningrad, as it was then called, in the early 1980s. But I have no digital photos of those.
By the way, I’m not really interested in the trains themselves. Trainspotting definitely isn’t my thing. But the experiences you have on board, especially if you get the opportunity to chat with local people, and the views of the passing scenery, are almost always memorable. So for each of these journeys I’ve chosen one scene that caught my eye as I watched from the window.
Disclaimer: photos taken from moving trains aren’t always of the best quality, a challenge compounded by age!
RAJASTHAN (2015)
At a station in Rajasthan, India
We took a train from Sawai Madhopur (near Ranthambore National Park) to Delhi. It took the best part of the day and as we travelled we enjoyed chatting to the Rajasthani couple who shared our compartment. They told us something about the stations we passed through, enquired about our experiences in India, and even shared some snacks.
The compartment windows weren’t very clean but I managed to get some photos, especially when we stopped in the several stations on route. This lady was sweeping the platform at one of the quieter ones.
GOA TO KARNATAKA (2003)
Rice harvest in Karnataka
The train to Delhi wasn’t our first experience of travelling by train in India. Many years before we had a ‘sun, sea and sand’ holiday in Goa, but of course were far too interested in our surroundings not to get out and explore. One of the trips we did was a several day tour to Karnataka to visit temples and a tiger reserve. We travelled by train and I enjoyed looking out at the passing landscape of rice paddies. It was harvest time and I was especially taken by the colourful saris of the women working in the fields.
My photo was originally a 35mm slide so my apologies for the quality of the image. However it illustrates perfectly the scenes that struck me most back then, when life in India was something of a revelation.
TAKING THE SLOW TRAIN IN JAPAN (2013)
Fields near Nikko
Japan’s bullet trains are justly famous, and we enjoyed travelling on them. But it’s hard to take photos out of the windows when moving that fast. It was on our slower journeys, such as that from Tokyo to Nikko, that I had the chance to enjoy and capture the views of rural life in Japan.
My feature photo however does feature a bullet train, as backdrop to a guard at Odawara Station.
FROM KRAKOW TO LVIV (2010)
View from a train to Lviv
Sixteen years ago now I travelled with a group of Virtual Tourist friends by train from Krakow to Lviv. Although the cities are only about 325 kilometres distant from each other, the journey took all day. The train moved slowly, and at the border stopped for an hour while the carriages were lifted off the bogie and the latter changed to a different gauge. Under Stalin the Soviet Union had introduced the use of a wider gauge than the standard across the rest of Europe, as a defensive measure. Even in the 2010s, with Ukraine an independent country (as it still is and must remain), the wider gauge persisted.
Once in Ukraine the landscape became dotted with small villages, each with its onion domed church.
PERU FROM A TRAIN (2005)
From the rear platform of the Andean Explorer
In Peru we took the tourist train, the Andean Explorer, from Puno to Cusco. This is a more luxurious experience than the others I mention here, with an onboard train restaurant and viewing carriage to make the most of the stunning landscapes. I was only just getting used to digital photography and took fewer photos than I probably would today, but nevertheless I found several to choose from for this post. It seemed only right however to finish with this one that shows the railway tracks.
11 Comments
Marie
You did so well, getting those pictures from the moving trains… That’s a beautiful image from Rajasthan
Yvonne Dumsday
What wonderful memories those must have brought back Sarah. For me, it reminded me of myself, sixty years ago, when I was working my way around the world and was moving from Ottawa to Los Angeles. I bought the thickest book I could find to help me pass (what I expected to be) a long, mainly uninteresting journey. Even though we seldom entered a town (as their railway stations tended to be on the outskirts) I hardly got past the first few chapters in the three day journey. Fantastic experience. 😊
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Yvonne 🙂 Yes, great memories for me and for you too it seems! I’d love to travel right across the US by train one day.
photobyjohnbo
You had me at trains, Sarah! I just watched a YouTube video about an excursion train that travels from Salt Lake City to Denver, during the day, unlike Amtrak which travels through beautiful scenery in the dead of night. It’s the same company that also owns Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer. They stop for the night and have your luggage delivered each night to the hotel they use at each of the three overnight stays.
Not cheap, but doable, the problem… getting back to Salt Lake City and our car after we get to Denver… oh, simple solution, ride the train back. >grin<
Sarah Wilkie
I had a feeling you’d like my choice John 😀 That Salt Lake City to Denver trip sounds wonderful!
Anne Sandler
Beautiful images Sarah. You show the magic train travel can bring, and you did well taking pictures from a moving vehicle. Well done!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Anne 😊 I took these while the trains were moving fairly slowly – and in the case of the Rajasthan station, probably not at all!
margaret21
An inspired idea for the challenge. I’m a huge fan of train travel as a mean of getting about on holiday. As you say, there’s usually the chance of an interesting chat, but definitely lots of people-watching, and train tracks seem to change the immediate scenery less than roads often do – certainly soulless motorways. You’ve picked a good selection here, that could probably not have been taken from anywhere but the track. Well, definitely that last one!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret 😊 The first and last certainly could only have been taken from a train I reckon!
I. J. Khanewala
Great sights. I always try to get some train travel into every trip. It’s the fastest way to see the countryside
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you I J – we don’t manage it on every trip by any means, but when we do I always enjoy it 🙂