Something New To Do: Let's Go On That Train Hunt!

Posted by Vulnadia on Jun 03, 2011 at 11:03 PM We went on a train hunt the other day. Did you know we have a lot of train stuff locally? It's so worked into everyday life, that I bet most who live here don't even notice it anymore, but it's still here! Yes, I have a train nut in the family, one who is VERY observant, might I add. As we were driving my eldest down to sing at graduation last Saturday, Kai started wigging out, excitedly having conniption fits, pointing & babbling to no end... He had noticed that we have a train station, right in the middle of the city...as of right now, it's called "Central Station" and happens to be a bar by night, but by day it's quite obviously a train station as it was in its former glory years ago...pieces of the train still sit on a closed off section of track right next to the building under the highway above. So, to make a tiny guy happy, I drove him up as close to the train as I possibly could, so he could see it really well...meanwhile, the wheels in my head starting turning. You see, there is another train station at festival plaza, right there in the center. We visited it during the revel, and made another stop the other day so he could see it without all the hustle and bustle of the festival part getting in the way of his sensory problems. You can visit it during the farmer's market in the morning, though, if you are game and want to check it out! We also hit the railroad bridge nearby next to the fountains & sci-port on our train hunt. Then, for the grande finale, I set out to see if something was still out there, something really nifty, often forgotten, but a tradition among area kids of sorts... We headed out to Ford Park by Cross Lake to see if the old train engine was still there. You see, it's been cordoned off by this wrought ironed fence for absolute years...as long as I can remember...back to a time when there was remnants of a zoo out there, when peacocks roamed freely and you could pick up shed feathers for fun while playing at storybook park... Mother Goose rode high above you, suspended in the trees out at Ford Park...only here could you actually ride in Cinderella's Carriage and pretend to go to the grande ball... But the coolest part was that once upon a time, you could see a real train engine, an old bus, and an old firetruck on display at this park. Once, when we were in daycamp at the Y, we went out, hopped the iron fence (yes all 80+of us did this together, the older ones helping out the younger ones with a breach in the fence or to climb over the spikey fence) & PM magazine came out & got it all on video & it ran on the news that night...proof positive of a Shreveport tradition of not just seeing that engine, but getting as close if not right on top of it as possible. I had wondered if it was still there, banking on the idea that it might be (knowing that Mother Goose had long since taken flight & that carriage long since more than turned into a pumpkin) I set out to try and make my kids really happy by finding that train engine. We found the park with little trouble, the kids didn't know what to look at, the winding road that led to the park or the fact that the lake was right there, spread before their little wide eyes... But before I even turned into the drive, my train guy completely lost himself and started bouncing in his seat pointing and then I knew for certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the old train engine was in fact still there as it was from years past, even a time before I had climbed into it. We parked and the kids were out of the van in no time. They grabbed both hands, and pulled me towards that gate as fast as they could (my fingers STILL hurt) with my eldest tagging along swearing he was NOT going to hop that fence no matter WHAT we used to do when I was little or how many before us had done so...nope, not even the gate that protected the old fire truck...(which is also really cool & fun to see by the way!) But once we got up to it, and the kids had already decided that the train must be Hero of Thomas the Train Engine fame and were chattering at how cool it was that Hero the steam engine could retire to a park where he would be happy and get to see all the children as visitors and watch them play, my eldest's tune changed... Funny thing is, that breach in the fence is still there, even after all these years...I know it's been almost 30 years...and it's just big enough for little kids to slide through and go up and hug that train...Yep, my big kid was over in no time, overseeing the train hugging and making sure nobody used the access ramps which have fallen into quite a state of disrepair... It's ashamed...for a time somebody somewhere must have realized that resistance was futile as these ramps hadnt been there when I was a kid...we had been forced to do things the hard way yet still found our way up & over everything... But someone somewhere had thought to build really nice access ramps...the sides of them are still sturdy...but the cross-planks sadly are rotted making it impossible to use unless you really know what to watch for (little kids wont but an adult might.) Husband wants to try & find the right person who will give the okay to fix the ramps again-it wouldn't take much...after all, it's something really nifty to see when you're a kid...or an adult for that matter... But who knows if they would even consider the offer.... But what I DO know, is that the train is still there...still on display, and still a nifty wonderful site for any kid to get to witness. If you are looking for something fun to do, drive out to Ford Park in Shreveport...it's on Cross Lake and there is even a pier accross the street...parks to play in on both sides even, and the best part is that you will get to see a real train engine up close...as well as an old timey firetruck!