VOA常速英语:斯特拉斯堡通的古老蒸汽火车

The Strasburg Railroad exists as this time capsule, if you will, somewhat stuck in time. We really desire for people to come here and just experience early 20th century steam railroading like they would have back then. I think it’s very historical. It’s very entertaining and educational and I really enjoyed it. And trains are such a part of the fabric of this country, in fact, a lot of nations in the world. So it’s nice to go back and see how the trains operated in history. Well, it’s fun and I enjoy it because the scenery is so different and it just takes you way back in time. The short line railroad is essentially a short connection of rail from one point to another, and in our case, we exist as this short connection between Strasburg Borough and then the mainline. So, the railroad was chartered in 1832, June of 1832. And we’re the oldest continuously operating railroad in North America. So the town people wanted a way to get to the outside world. So they were granted a railroad in 1832 and laid four-and-a-half miles of track, still the same length that we are today. And it was a freight and passenger conveyance until about 1950,when the railroad had fallen to the wayside by truck and airplane, and truck and car traffic, and train travel wasn’t really a thing any longer. People flock to this area to Lancaster County, to the Amish countryside, to see steam locomotives and to see the Amish, both of which we carry out today. It was fun to feel the sway back and forth and the slow pace. It does take you back in time, and it is something that’s unique, and I think everybody should at least have a chance to experience something like this for an old steam engine that you don’t see anymore. And it’s nice to go back.