The Darkest Moment

“The Darkest Moment

It was late in the cloudy afternoon of my mother's birthday on December 11, 1955, when I boarded the train in Stuttgart, Germany. Darkness came quickly and I must admit that my feelings were mixed as I started a 48-hour trip northward. You must believe me. Traveling third class on a long trip is anything but a pleasure. The train was just like the ones you see on some of the old films on TV. On one side of the car there was a long isle. The closed compartments offered no view or suggestion as to identity of the fellow travel companions. Inside my compartment were two bench seats facing each other. Our luggage was squeezed in on the overhead shelves. Three of us sat on each bench facing the three people across from us. Each of us tried to get comfortable. Finding space for my size thirteen’s without kicking others was a difficult task. In a small bag I carried a bottle of water and some snacks. I had read that I should not trust the water available on the train and I had no idea where or when I might find food.

The train raced through the night making few stops. Trains did not go through the cities. The tracks always ended at the stations. The train would pull into the station to allow the departing and loading of passengers. Each stop provided a welcome opportunity to step out of the compartment and stretch the legs. A different engine would slowly back into the station and connect itself to the last car. It would then pull the train away, leaving the previous engine at the station. Thus, our direction of travel changed after each stop. Eventually, the compartment was down to just three passengers and the traveling was a little more comfortable.

The Long Trip Continues

With occasional dozing the night passed rapidly. Then began a long day. During the daylight there were vendors at each station, so I was able to purchase some food and soft drinks. Some stations were enclosed in buildings and others were under open sky. It was a cloudy, gloomy day. In my pockets there was a small mixture of money, some in German marks, some in Danish kroners and some in Swedish kronas. Most of my money was in traveler’s checks. Eventually, daylight faded into darkness and around 5 PM we entered Hamburg. It was a huge, covered station with many tracks with separate platforms. I had to switch trains and had an hour wait. I checked my luggage in a coin-operated, storage compartment and went for a walk. As soon as I reached the sidewalk I realized that it was quite cold, in face, there was a biting cold from a small breeze. I wrapped my coat tightly around me as I headed aimlessly along. My only memory was seeing a man walking two, huge Great Danes. The cold quickly forced me to return to the station. They were announcing train after train in several languages. I started to panic a little, until finally, I heard the announcement of the track number for my train. I struggled with my heavy luggage, but finally reached the train and my compartment. Soon we were on the way in another dark night and the train continued north into Danish Peninsula of Jutland. Some officials came by and checked the papers of each passenger. They glanced at my military, leave papers and promptly returned them. After several hours the train came to a stop and then slowly continued into a large, waiting ferryboat. Inside the boat I could not see anything, so I opened the door and stepped into the isle. A conductor quickly motioned me to return back into the compartment. About that time the ferryboat stopped and in just a few minutes the train was on its way again. Shortly before midnight we pulled into a large, railroad yard. I had no idea where we were, so I tried to walk off the train toward some lights. Again, I was directed back into my compartment, where a twenty-minute wait seemed like two hours. We were in or just outside Copenhagen on the large Island of Zealand. Finally, we were directed off the train with our luggage and walking in a drizzle, we boarded another ferryboat without the train. We were headed for Malmo, Sweden, a little more than one hour away. Rough seas slowed the boat and the crossing took two hours.

The Darkest Moment Approaches

Not many people actually boarded the ferryboat. The boat departed and I walked around without seeing anyone. I found a large, passenger room that was devoid of passengers. It was dimly lighted. So I walked through a door onto an enclosed deck that went from one side of the ship to the other, looping the front end of the boat. It was very dark and cold, with rain and mist outside. Truthfully, I was feeling miserable. There had been no one with whom I could converse. It was dark and gloomy and I was feeling it. Suddenly, I was shocked by the appearance of an Angel! At least she looked like an Angel to me. She was young, beautiful, dressed in a flowing white gown with a red sash and on top of her long, golden-blond hair she wore a crown of burning candles set on a wreath. In her hands she carried a large, festive tray overflowing with cookies, cakes, sweet rolls and napkins. She walked straight to me and offered the treats. Attendants on each side of her served me with coffee. No longer did darkness reign! The room now glowed with light. It was December 13th, St. Lucia Day, and this was an annual celebration. I was elated and my spirits were lifted. It was the most beautiful experience of my life. I now maintain a special fondness for the saint whose feast day marked the return of the sun and whose name itself means "light."

Happy Saint Lucia Day”

“Cool story! Trains are such a long way to travel. I took a train from Orlando to Pittsburgh and it took 23 hours as opposed to 15 hours by car and 2 by plane.”

“Cool story! Trains are such a long way to travel. I took a train from Orlando to Pittsburgh and it took 23 hours as opposed to 15 hours by car and 2 by plane.”

“Whoops!”

“?”

“Thanks, Tango. I still had another 20-hours to reach northern Sweden. The trip got even more interesting, with two girls in my arms, beautiful scenery from a snow and ice storm under a bright, rising sun(return of light on St. Lucia Day) and a close call with death, but that is another story.”

“OK, I don't get this... the train went ON the ferry?”

“My in-laws have a big Saint Lucia Day party every year.”

“Yes. I don't know how many train cars or if the engine was on the ferry, but at least several train cars were on the ferry. It was a short crossing and was probably more like a river crossing.

It can be and has been done, trains on ferryboats:

The Solano plied the straits of California's Carquinez Straits in the northern San Francisco Bay area between Benicia and Port Costa for over 50 years (1879-1930). This all wood ferry served brilliantly as a vital link in the Central Pacific's Transcontinental Railroad and later with her sister ferry Contra Costa for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Often claimed as the largest train ferry in North America, her 412' x 110' 4-track deck could easily hide a football field, extending well past the end zones. The fact that she often ferried 2 entire trains, including their road engines AND also a yard switcher, made her the king ... er, queen ... of train ferries.
Model of the World's Largest Ferry Boat, the CPRR Solano

On the Great Lakes
Old train car ferry boat, now passenger car ferry boat.

It is capable of carrying either 4,200 tons of locomotives and cars, 40 cargo carriers or 18 passenger compartments and 1,360 passengers.
China's 1st Transoceanic Train Ferryboat Reaches Destination

”

“Interesting, Paul!

I know of trains going across rivers on a pontoon bridge. In fact, in the family photo archives I have a photo of either that or a low bridge from Marquette, Iowa to Prairie du Chien, WI. It had the ability to be opened for barges going through.

I'm thinking the shot was of the pontoon bridge, later replaced with a low bridge. Now, there is no train bridge across the Mississippi there. Will try to find and post. It's pretty cool... as is your story. :-)
last edited: 12/19/04 11:18:42 AM”

“Thanks, Lizs. If you ever get near Baraboo, WI, you might enjoy this free crossing of the Wisconsin River on route 113. I've done it several times and my children loved the experience.

Click on the Merrimac Ferry image.

The Merrimac Ferry, which crosses the Wisconsin River between Sauk and Columbia counties, is Wisconsin's only free ferry. It shuttles WIS 113 traffic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, between Okee on the east bank and Merrimac on the west.
last edited: 12/19/04 11:55:15 AM”

“Very cool story, NS! Thanks for sharing.


On the topic of trains, in some parts of the world (Russia is one), they build railroad tracks on the ice of large lakes when it freezes. It allows them to get supplies to villages that are otherwise hard to reach.”

“I remember taking trains rides as a child. We would leave Nashville and take the train to Madison, Wisc.

The train would pull into one of Chicago's two train stations. We would have to take a taxi to the other station to continue our journey. It was always fun walking to the dining car to eat. The porters(they weren't called waiters then) in their white jackets taking your orders. I always found it amazing that nothing would ever spill even with the train rocking back and forth.

One of the things I found fun to do as a kid was to try to flush the toilet as the train crossed a road. Yep where you flushed is where it landed on the tracks.

I remember the great scenery you got to see while riding on a train. We had traveled to Wisc in a car before and you didn't get to see the scenery like you did in a train. It was a wonderful experience.

One of the things I still want to do is to take the train across Canada. Maybe one day that will happen.”

“I've crossed the Mississippi River at both Cassville, WI (goes to an open spot on the river below Guttenberg, Iowa).... and between Canton and La Grange, MO (goes to an open spot on the river in Illinois)”

“Are you sure you had Travelers Checks in 1955?”

“

"Are you sure you had Travelers Checks in 1955?"
Spam

Yes, I bought ten $10-checks for the trip. They probably were American Express traveler's checks. I spent a night in Copenhagen on the return trip. I distinctly remember cashing one check in a bar there. A little while later the waitress returned and wanted to spend some time with me doing you know what. I told her that I didn't have the money. She said, "You have those ... checks." I told her that I couldn't spend those, after which she left me along.

"The first Traveler's Checks were issued by the London Exchange Banking Co. on January 1, 1772. I wonder if they were used to pay for holiday expenses?"
FIRST THINGS FIRST

"Another innovation came in 1891, this one introduced by a long-standing customer of the American Bank Note Company, the American Express Company. The new product was the traveler's check, and it became a field in which American Bank Note soon became the pre-eminent supplier of engraved travelers check forms, incorporating a variety of safeguards against counterfeiting. Today, the American Bank Note Company supplies virtually all of the major U.S. banks with these forms."
American Express traveler's checks

last edited: 12/19/04 4:28:02 PM”

“oops, I should add to that last post of mine, I crossed on car ferries at both locations. The one in Missouri was also used by grain semis! (not when I was on it, though)”

“Ewker - The LaSalle Street Station, the Chicago Northwestern Station and the Illinois Central are the main stations that I used and remember. I believe the old LaSalle Street Station is now part of the Union Station. I used the trains quite a bit until I was out of college.

Sites Near Union Station

The out of town trains used to use CST, even while Chicago was on daylight saving's time, CDT or CDST. Once my aunt from Menominee, MI, used the wrong time, so we missed her train at the Northwestern Station. So I just continued driving north and finally put her on the train at Appleton, Wisconsin, 200 miles north of Chicago. I remember it was 1951 and it was my first car, a 1941, 4-door Plymouth.

Lizs - I was able to locate both crossings on state road maps and using google. I like the free crossings best.
last edited: 12/19/04 5:30:35 PM”