Ni večjega mesta brez železniške postaje in ni večje železniške postaje brez čisto prave lokomotive. Pa ne tiste, ki še vedno vozi, ampak take, prave, nepremične, ki je le še za občudovanje.
There is no bigger city without a train station and there is no bigger train station without a real locomotive. And not the ones that still drive, but the kind of real, immovable one that is just to admire.
Dobri stari časi, ko so hlaponi še drveli po pokrajinah in za sabo puščali dolgo sled dima. Časi, ko si kurjača takoj prepoznal (če ne zamenjal za dimnikarja), saj je bil najpomembnejši člen na lokomotivi.
The good old days, when vapors were still roaming the countryside, leaving a long trail of smoke behind. Times when you immediately recognized the fireman (if not mistaken for a chimney sweep), as he was the most important link on the locomotive.
Parne vlake so na Slovenskem ukinili leta 1978, a tu in tam še vedno kdaj v daljavi vidimo črno kačo, ki se nam bliža – najbolj znan je Božičkov vlak, ki vsako leto prisopiha na plan in pretegne svoje kosti, da preveč ne zarjavijo.
Steam trains were discontinued in Slovenia in 1978, but here and there we still see a black snake approaching us in the distance - the most famous is Santa's train, which comes to the surface every year and stretches its bones so as not to rust.
A glej ga zlomka, na svetu še vedno obstaja proga, kjer se lahko s hlaponi vrnete v 19. stoletje skozi celo leto. Ena zadnjih avtentičnih zgodovinskih železnic v ZDA poteka med Novo Mehiko in Koloradom, kjer lahko potniki uživajo v počasni panoramski vožnji parne vlakovne kompozicije. Proga je dolga dobrih 100 km in ponuja pravi užitek vožnje in opazovanja narave, saj le-te ne izgine tako hitro, kot se to zgodi pri današnjih vlakih (na srečo so slovenski kar počasni).
But look at it fractionally, there is still a track in the world where you can go back to the 19th century with vapors all year round. One of the last authentic historic railroads in the U.S. runs between New Mexico and Colorado, where passengers can enjoy a slow panoramic ride of a steam train composition. The route is a good 100 km long and offers the real pleasure of driving and observing nature, as it does not disappear as quickly as it happens with today's trains (fortunately, Slovenians are quite slow).
Čeprav smo sedaj vezani na avtomobile, pa otroci neizmerno uživajo v vožnji z vlakom, saj je vožnja z njim nekaj posebnega.
Although we are now tied to cars, children immensely enjoy riding the train, as riding it is something special.
