Memories of mobility. Happy and scary – not in the middle.
Being stuck in the old slam door train carriage with a mad woman. Nearly being marooned at the cinema in Kilmarnock (The Incredible Journey) because all the bus fare had been spent on sweets.
Vivid fear of being marooned or stuck – out of control.
And the golden freedom of traveling by yourself when you are small.
Some of the small detail and imagery is there forever: the smell of the upholstered seats in the train carriage; the time (0819 – not 0820) of the morning train from Stewarton to Glasgow in the 1960s (for those interested, it is now 0805 or 0832).
I was talking to a lovely woman on the train on Monday and she also recalled these trains very vividly: “Coffin Carriages” she called them.
What is it about the old slam door railway compartments that make them so emotive?
Find out more on the Mobility Stories blog page
Incredible Journey Poster image credit: https://www.pastposters.com/details.php?prodId=33306
Music Credit: Life of a Wandering Wizard by Serge Quadrado
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