(Source of image: Florida State Archives)

Well, it's a Tallahassee photo, but let's include it here anyway since it's so cute.  These kids are all eyes!  The conductor is speaking to them, but they're looking every which way.  No doubt many were experiencing their first train trip.  Taken on April 25, 1955, the snapshot comes from the days of "Howdy Doody," "Father Knows Best," and "The Mickey Mouse Club." The picture likely shows a school group on a field trip.

How unfortunate that most kids today will probably never ride in a real passenger train.  The journey is more fun the younger you are.  Several years ago, the website manager of JacksonvilleStory.com saw the spirit that a whole trainload of children can generate.  One evening when the sun had almost set, an Amtrak train made its way past the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and San Juan Avenue on Jacksonville's Westside.  The coaches were brightly lit, so it was easy to see inside.  Nearly every railroad car was crowded with happy kids about ten years old.  They hung on the backs of seats, threw stuff back & forth, and looked like they were playing tag.  They were really wound up, and the entire train pulsated with excitement, as if filled with Mexican jumping beans.  As the last coach rolled by, a camera flashed twice when a young girl took pictures of the autos idling at the railroad crossing.  (One neat thing about being a train passenger is that everyone seems to stop and wait for you.)  Although the feeling might have been different if you had to chaperone these lively kids, watching them from the outside took you back to your childhood, when the wonders of the world -- like a train trip -- proved even more wonderful.      

Contact the Website Manager

           -- Suggestions?  Comments?  Broken links?  Need research assistance?

  THANK YOU...  

       FOR VISITING THE JACKSONVILLE STORY,

        YOUR TIME MACHINE TO THE PAST