Sepia Saturday: Traveling on the Night Train

There's something about the sound of a train whistle in the night that has tugged at my heart for as long as I can remember. Lying in bed, almost asleep, I hear that distant whistle and I am transported onto that train. In my imagination I am elegantly dressed and clinking champagne glasses with other passengers in a luxurious dining car. Another time, I'm curled up in an upper berth, listening to the snoring of the nearest passenger and the rumbling of the wheels on the track below us. Or, I am a young girl, dressed in tattered overalls, my hair tucked under a straw hat, holding the hand of my beard-stubbled father, huddling together in the corner of a freight car, keeping our distance from the other tired hobos as we pass through the midwestern night.

These imaginary journeys have been with me since childhood, each one different from the last one, but every one comforting in its own way.

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt is a picture of a miniature railway. I don't have any old photos of trains, sepia or otherwise, but I do have a newer  one, taken only this past November at a local museum:

The photo isn't old, but the train is. As it turns out, the only train in my photo collection is also a miniature. That's serendipity, I think.

So tell me: what kind of magic does a train whistle work on you?

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This week's Saturday Song Selection is a long-time favorite song about trains. I'm pretty sure it's one you know.

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The song is "The City of New Orleans" by Arlo Guthrie.

Thanks to fender1955 for posting this video on YouTube.

Click here for the lyrics.

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To see how others have interpreted this week's theme,

click on the image below and follow the links. Allllll abooooard!