Growing up with trains

All little kids love trains. It's just science. The horn, the smoke, the clackle of going down the tracks just amazes the brains of the little spectators! My love was deeper than the love that my spectating peers had. I grew up just outside of Washington, DC in Prince George's County MD near the Addison Rd Metro Station. Almost daily, my mother would take me on a 4 station train trip to visit my Grandmother in DC. We would hop on the bus in front of our neighborhood and we would ride about two miles to the station. I would sit ride behind the bus operator and watch them accept the money, turn that huge steering wheel, and tap dance on the break and gas pedal with their shiny shoes! From the bus bay at Addison Rd, you can see the platform. Operators sharing a laugh while awaiting their trains, passengers reading the paper and kids like me looking with amazement. As I try to remember my feeling while walking into the station, I'm reminded of a scene from the movie "Titanic" when Rose exits the care before boarding the ship, she looks up and just stares at it. We would enter the station and I would pull my mother to the front of the train so that I could sit directly behind the operator's cab. I watched very closely as the operator controlled the railcars as we roared through the tunnels.

One of my memories aboard the Metro with my mother happened on December 31, 1999. We were rushing to get to my grandmothers house and I convinced my mother to take the metro instead of driving. We made it about two stations before the clock hit 11:45pm. The train operator made an announcement that due to "Y2K" precautions that we were held at Benning Road Station. Needless to say, we brought in the millennium aboard railcar 1111 on the track 2 side of Benning Road. I played my violin for the train operator and my mother.

As years passed, I developed an interest for model trains. Because of this, our Metro trips were a little longer because my mother would take me to Union Station to one of the two stores that sold model trains. I would stand inside the store looking in the glass cases at all of the real looking models. I would specifically gaze at the Amtrak models because my love was specific to passenger trains. I was also able to learn quite a bit about trains. I began to notice small differences between the Metro railcars. I started to notice that some of the external speakers and some had none. Some cars had more seats than others. I began to look a little closer and pay more attention. By the time I was about 13 or 14 my mother began to trust me riding the train alone. I would spend some days riding the trains and talking to WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) employees about the operations of the railroad. Employees that area called "Car Equipment" specifically began to mentor me. The car equipment employees were basically road mechanics. They rode the trains all day and responded to locations of trains having mechanical difficulties. They would teach me about the different series railcars and then they would test me on the spot whenever they saw me. By the age of 15, I was able to stand on the platform and listen to a train with my eyes closed and tell you the year it was manufactured, who the builder was, and where it was manufactured. Employees were amazed by this.

When I was 17, I did my high school black history month project on WMATA General Manager John Catoe (the first African American male to hold the top spot of Metro). I was able to interview Mr.Catoe over the phone and later meet him in person to present the project to him. During the meeting, I took the opportunity to confess my love for trains to Mr. Catoe. I'd like to think I blew his mind with the extensive knowledge I shared about his system. During the meeting, I was also interviewed by Metro Weekly - which is Metro's employee newsletter. Shortly after the meeting, I received an email from the general manager's office inviting me back to the headquarters for a meeting. When I met with the staff, I was asked to fill out an employment application and then I was hired on the spot to work in rail customer service. It's okay.. Take a second and scream with joy. I can assure you that I did as well. I stayed at WMATA for about 7 months before moving on to an internship within the Office of the Mayor for DC. But I regret ever leaving.

When I was 25, I was selected to travel across the country aboard Amtrak on the Passport Express which was a two week journey from DC to San Francisco. The trip was a partnership between Passion Passport and Amtrak. This trip re-sparked my love for rail travel. I felt like a child all over again. The horn, the smell, the sounds, that cackle of the wheels. I was in love all over again. During the trip, I was able to meet some of the most amazing photographers, who were just as excited as I was to be aboard this train! More information about the actual trip can be found at DCportraits.org/journal.

After the trip ended, I met with Amtrak's public affairs team and I was put in contact with the team who is responsible for Amtrak's Ink magazine. Shortly after the initial meeting, I was asked to come in and shoot some content for Amtrak. When I arrived, I told that I was specifically shooting to the cover of the magazine. Long story short, I shot it! :-)

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that trains are a very important part of my life and have been for some time. I can't really explain why I'm so fascinated by them but I just am. One day, I'll leave the Emergency Medical Services field and go back to where I belong but until them, I'll just keep snapping pics of them until you get bored!

I invite you to check out my photography of rail stations and trains by visiting DCportraits.org/trains !