Classic Tales of Old Dorp: Locomotive steam engines were symbols of power, adventure

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The Daily Gazette is reprinting excerpts of the late Larry Hart's long-running column, “Tales of Old Dorp.” Today, Hart is in memory mode — remembering the sights and sounds of Schenectady’s big locomotive engines. This column excerpt originally was published Aug. 16, 1988.

There must be many folks still living in the Schenectady area who can remember those days when the steam engines went through Schenectady.

We are thinking of the times, while walking in the downtown shopping section, when flecks of soot filtered down and occasionally lodged in our eyes, especially on windy days.

Sometimes, flocks of pigeons flew unwittingly over a train just pulling out of the station and were heaved upward by the blast of steam from the funnel. On cold, wintry days, the steam turned into beautiful white plumes that made perfect news photos.

We were always fascinated with Union Station whenever our family happened to go there. The booming voice of the stationmaster, calling out the names of the trains, their expected arrival and track number, added to the thrill of being in what seemed a very busy place.

We never rode on a train, however, until we entered the service in 1942 on that momentous journey down to Camp Upton, with which so many are familiar. Those old troop trains were not exactly a polished introduction to modern rail travel, but an experience nonetheless.

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