Fantastic Sunday yesterday thanks a big exhibition of choo-choo trains in my city (Pistoia, Italy)! You have to know that when I was a little child (like many ther children) I loved to play with a little toy train imaging adventures all around the world and trains are always so intrigued for me, more than other transports!
When I read on a local newspaper that in the weekend there was the opening of the storage of the old steam trains I said to my hubby "We have to go there!". Paolo was super excited because he loves so much the old trains and so, yesterday, we went there!
There were many people, many entire families, people of every age who wanted to enter in the magical atmosphere of the old time! Steam locomotives, old electric locomotives, different vagons and also an exhibition of some beautiful tiny model railroad layouts for the joy of children and adults! Those miniatures (dioramas) represented the old rairoad of Porrettana, the railroad that connect from many many years my city with the city of Bologna.
All around the volunteers helped people to understand how that old engines worked and in a specific room there was also the museum of the old mechanics school with some pieces of engines that student studied.
A curiosity: the term locomotive come from the latin loco (from a place) and motivus (causing motion) and so in italian (that is a latin base language) we use the terms locomotiva (singular) and locomotive (plural).
The historic rail vehicles storage is placed close to the station trains and Ive always seen the collection of old locomotives just from a distance, but in the last weekend we could see them very close and some of the steam locomotives was in operation! There was a ton of smoke all around and the smell of the past helped to think to be in the old times ^_^
Have you ever seen a steam locomotive? They are fueled by burning coal (or wood) to produce steam in their boiler that moves the pistons thanks a steam engine. They have beautiful mechanical parts, very fascinating!
The first steam locomotive was built in the 1802 (by R. Trevithick) for ironworks in the Uk and this kind of locomotives were very common until the World War II, when it started the use of electric trains and, after, the use of diesel-electric engine for train.
In time, people who love so much those beatiful steam locomotives, helped to preserve their memories and sometimes they organize short trip using a choo choo trains, like a jump in the past!
It was really a beautiful jump in the past and it was a great opportunity for everyone to connect us with a part of our history having fun!
See ya soon
Silvia