(The following story by Toni Scott appeared on the Oroville Mercury Register website on May 1, 2009.)
OROVILLE, Calif. — Though visitors flocked to see an impressive steam locomotive Thursday and Friday, it was the lasting impression of a historic era that kept train viewers talking.
Visitors young and old came to the Mitchell Avenue railroad crossing to view Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844, with children gawking at the massive vehicle and those from an older generation recalling a time when steam locomotives commonly passed through towns like Oroville.
“I remember when these were so common that no one gave a second look,” said Jim Austin.
The 76-year-old Oroville resident– who obtained his pilot’s license at 60 — said growing up he always wanted to fly a plane and drive a steam locomotive.
He has yet to fulfill his dream of driving a train, but viewing the locomotive was still a treat for Austin, who said he couldn’t miss the opportunity for the up-close viewing of the vehicle he grew up adoring.
Gary Schallenberger, a Paradise resident, also said the train brought back memories of his childhood, recalling steam locomotives running through Nevada, where he was raised.
“I used to live in railroad towns when I was a kid and saw trains like these,” Schallenberger said. “This is a fantastic piece of equipment. I just had to come see it.”
At 74 years of age, Schallenberger, in a striped engineer’s hat, showed just as much enthusiasm for the train as the 4-year-olds, whose small stature paled in comparison to the 80-inch wheels of the train.
Enamored with the shiny connecting rods and fascinated by steam rolling from the cab of the engine, youngsters like 2-year-old Drake Sahagun, alternated between admiring the train and fearing it.
Drake reached for one of the rods Thursday afternoon, but as steam continued to roll out from the engine and the noises of the train got louder, he pulled back, placing his hands over his ears.
Still the boy couldn’t take his eyes off the train, stopping to glance over his shoulder at the equipment Thursday while leaving on his grandfather’s shoulders.
Bob Sutton and Bob Dufresne stood near Drake for some time, in the same awe of the train as the young child.
Though decades apart, the pair call themselves “rail fans” and drove up from the bay area to see the train.
Dufresne’s father, also named Bob, used to work with Sutton at the Western Railway Museum in Solano County.
The museum, dedicated to streetcars and electric cars, was a fine playground for Dufresne, and Sutton first met the boy when he was 10 years old.
“I used to baby-sit him on the cars,” Sutton, who was married on a streetcar, said.
Today the two travel to see historic trains like 844, with Sutton serving as a member of the museum and Dufresne working as a cable car operator in San Francisco.
“We go all over,” Dufresne said. “To see something like this is pretty amazing.”
Yet possibly more amazing, are the memories of a day when trains rolled through towns and countrysides, and cars were obsolete.
“There was a time when trains were it,” Schallenberger said, nostalgically looking at the steam locomotive. “I wish they were still the main mode of transportation. There’s just something to love about trains.”