My First Train Travel

 I think we are all a bit intrigued by the idea of traveling by train.  My first train trip was in 1966 and it was a long one.

I had gone on wheat harvest with my friend David's uncle, Carl Rice.  I rode my Honda S90 motorcycle to Chickasha, Oklahoma, where Carl and his crew were already cutting wheat.  As you might expect, the harvest starts in southern climes and moves north as the summer progresses.

Cutting Wheat in Montana

From Chickasha, we went north to Dodge City, Kansas, where I decided that the motorcycle was too hard to carry from stop to stop so I left it there at a garage, telling the owner that I would return later to get it.  We then made a couple of stops in Kansas and Nebraska, and eventually into Montana.

After spending a couple of weeks in Brockway, Montana (population - less than 100), we moved to Opheim, Montana, 12 miles from the Canadian border.  Unfortunately, it began to rain and continued for days.  Because we couldn't harvest wheat, Carl and the older guys went off to Saskatewan for several days while I stayed in the trailer.

Our Trailer

After about three days, I got really bored and decided to head home.  I had no money so I called Mom and asked her to wire me some, which she agreed to.  I did have enough money to buy a ticked on the local train and headed for Williston, North Dakota where Western Union would have the money for me.

The train from Opheim to Williston was a true "milk" train.  We stopped at every small town and the conductor would load cream cans onto the train.  At one stop, he came into the passenger area and asked if I could help, which I was glad to do.  As it turned out, he needed help loading a casket onto the train!  I was the only passenger and he and I spent quite a bit of time talking.  The train consisted of a locomotive, a freight car, and a combination mail car/passenger car.

Passenger/Mail Car

I don't remember the timing exactly but I think the trip to Williston took about half a day.  Before I left Opheim, I had lost my wallet in the wheat fields with all my identification in it.  During the trip to Williston, it dawned on me that I might not be able to get the $50 that Mom had wired to me.  The conductor told me that he would go to the Western Union office and vouch for me, which he did.

In Williston, I bought a ticket on the Great Northern Empire Builder to St. Paul, Minnesota.  Because I only had a little bit of money, I was traveling in "steerage".  For much of the trip I was unable to find a seat and had to sit on a stool in the restroom.  I spent a whole night on that stool!  We arrived in St. Paul the next morning.

When I got to St. Paul, I boarded the Rock Island Rocket bound for Kansas City.  It too was terribly crowded and I found no comfortable places to sit.  I don't remember much about that leg of the trip except that we got to Kansas City late in the day.

I had a long layover in Kansas City before I caught the Santa Fe Super Chief headed for California.  Thankfully, this train had plenty of room on it and seats were plentiful.  Since I hadn't slept in a couple of nights, I asked the conductor to please wake me when we got to Dodge City and I went into a deep sleep.

Sure enough, when we got to Dodge City, he woke me up and I got off the train.  Although my train trip was over, I still had a long motorcycle ride ahead of me to Mannford.  Of the $50 Mom had wired me, I had $5 left and that was enough to buy gasoline for the ride home and for a candy bar.  When I got home, I had nothing but a little change left in my pockets.

It was a great adventure but I sure wouldn't want to do it again.  Many years later, Louise and I rode trains around Europe for three days and it was much more enjoyable!