#i was a railwayman (between the wars)

[brightclothesforwinter]

...my actual official logo, on my actual professional email signature, resembles that last one to a startling degree. (My rainbow is brighter, 6-colour, and the stripes run parallel to the track.)

(I suppose there are only so many possible stylised depictions of a railway, mind you.)

Abba era, I'm sorry

[traintrainingmontage]

Train Family

The folks on Discord really liked this one. :)

Summary: Rheneas' driver Robert Sam is positive that his newborn son, Peter, will become a railwayman as well one day. Rheneas is hesitant, but as it happens, Peter Sam has never been more certain of his path.

Characters: Rheneas, Robert Sam, Mr. Peter Sam, the Thin Controller

Word Count: 1,809

Rating: T

Now on Ao3!~

The year after the Great War started, Robert Sam came up to the two narrow-gauge engines, looking absolutely thrilled. In his arms was a little boy, looking up at Skarloey and Rheneas with wide, curious eyes. "Skarloey, Rheneas," Robert Sam began, "this is my son, Peter. Peter, say hi to them."

The baby gurgled, a smile on his little face. The two engines couldn't help but coo, and off to the side, Mrs. Sam looked on, finding the entire situation absolutely adorable. "He's going to be a railway man one day," Robert Sam said proudly. "I can tell! And then he'll be your driver, Rheneas."

Rheneas managed to tear his eyes away from the baby long enough to frown at his driver. "Robert, I know how enthusiastic you are about this, but you'd best not pressure this boy into doing anything he doesn't want to do. His future is his own, and even if he doesn't come to work the railway, you WILL support him!"

Robert simply laughed in response. "Of course, of course. But I can feel it in my bones; my boy's going to be just like me."

Rheneas rolled his eyes. "Oh lovely," he replied, his tone deadpan. "I can't wait to have to put up with two Sams' worth of antics."

At this, Skarloey and Robert broke into laughter, with even little Peter joining in, and Rheneas couldn't keep but grin—the joy was absolutely infectious.

-----

"Hi, Pop!" called a youthful voice, and Robert Sam alighted from Rheneas' cab to see 8-year-old Peter running towards him, waving wildly. A beaming smile so wide it seemed like it might hurt stretched across his face. "Hi, Rheneas!"

"Good afternoon, Peter," the crimson engine smiled. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Of course I did!" Peter grinned. "I even saw Skarloey go by today, and I waved at him!"

"Oh?" his father chuckled. "I'm quite sure that was us, though. Wasn't it, Rheneas?"

The engine gave his driver a sidelong look, but his smile didn't waver. "Don't involve me in your nonsense, Robert Sam."

In that mercurial way that only children can manage, Peter's earlier grin vanished, replaced by a pout that caused his face to scrunch up like he'd sucked on a lemon. "Yeah! Leave Rheneas alone, Pop! Besides, it wasn't you; I know how to tell the difference between Skarloey and Rheneas! I have to know these things if I'm going to be a driver one day."

This proclamation caused the easygoing smiles on Robert and Rheneas's faces to subtly shift into twin expressions of wonder, both sets of eyes wide in surprise. "Peter... you seriously want to be a driver one day?" his father asked.

"Yeah!" the boy replied, his grin bubbling back up at the thought. "Rheneas and Skarloey are my friends! I want to go up and down the line with them, just like you!"

Engine and driver felt their hearts swell. But before either could respond, there came a call of "Peter!" Mrs. Sam had arrived, ready to take Peter home, and the boy waved at his father and his friend one last time before running off.

"Robert... you didn't—" Rheneas began.

"Not at all," Robert marveled. "He decided all on his own. See, Rheneas? I told you he was like me. You'll have a friend for life!"

Once again, Rheneas rolled his eyes, but the sparks in his firebox felt bright. Maybe these things did run in the family after all.

-----

"You have everything you need, right?" Robert asked, a rarely-heard trace of worry in his tone.

"Yes, Pop," a 16-year-old Peter Sam smiled, seemingly unaffected by his father's aura of anxiety. "I'm all packed!"

The young Sam had quite a bit of luggage, and Rheneas idly wondered how well he would be able to manage it all. Peter was going to be away for quite some time, off on an apprenticeship and volunteer opportunity with another railway. Both father and engine were excited for him, but Rheneas couldn't deny that he also felt somewhat sad.

"Do your best, Peter," Robert counseled. "Ask for help if you need it, accept advice as it makes sense to do so, and while not everyone is your friend, not everyone is your enemy either. Make friends, learn a lot, and please do write to us." With that, the driver embraced his son in a hug, and Rheneas couldn't help but smile.

"Your father's right, Peter," he seconded. "If you are truly committed, then you must give it your all. No being half-hearted about it!"

Peter laughed as his father finally let go, his familiar cheer bringing Robert and Rheneas no small amount of comfort. "Ok, ok! Geez, it's like I have two dads! I'll be alright, and I'll write you when I get there."

Suddenly, a loud whistle sounded as Gordon pulled up with the Express.

"There's my train!" Peter exclaimed, eyes bright as he began corralling his luggage. "Off I go. Bye, Pop! Bye, Rheneas!"

"Good luck!" Rheneas called.

"Have fun!" his father shouted.

And with a bevy of bags and bustle, Peter Sam got himself on the train, waving good-bye to his father and (self-proclaimed) second dad. In a few short minutes, the train pulled out of the station, leaving Robert and Rheneas to watch it go with complicated emotions on their faces and in their hearts.

"...Do you think he'll come back?" Rheneas asked quietly, his words almost imperceptible over the sound of Gordon's grand exit. "He's a good lad, but there's so much more out there than here on Sodor, especially our little railway. Maybe he'll find work on some large railway somewhere."

"Truthfully, I don't know," his driver replied, his anxiety now replaced with a resigned somberness. "But just as you said, whatever he does, we'll support him. And hey... you'll have me for as long as I can manage, old friend."

Rheneas smiled as Robert Sam gave his boiler a companionable pat, the familiar gesture appreciated amidst all of the change.

"And as always, I am grateful for it."

-----

Robert Sam walked out of the Crovan's Gate stationmaster's office with tired eyes, but a wide smile on his face. "Well, Rheneas, it's official! Sir Handel Brown wants me to take over as the next railway controller!"

Rheneas beamed in response, all of his earlier anxiety vanishing like steam in the wind. "That's wonderful, Robert! You'll do an excellent job."

After a moment, however, the engine's good cheer waned as a quiet hesitance took its place, his next words coming out a little slower than he would have liked. "I suppose that means that I'll have to have a new driver, though."

Robert Sam gave his engine an understanding pat. "I know you're not thrilled by the prospect, old boy, but it has to be done. I can't manage the railway effectively if I'm running trains."

"I know," Rheneas replied, his pensive expression once again being replaced by a small smile. "And you've been so good to me for all of these years. I've been quite spoiled."

At this, Robert gave a funny little grin that reminded Rheneas very much of Skarloey. "Well, as it happens, I'm leaving you in very capable hands. We received several applications for who would be your new driver, and it'll ultimately be your choice, but we have a candidate that I think you'll like very much."

This unexpected news caused Rheneas to blink, a look of surprise finding its way onto his face. "Oh? Who did you have in mind?"

Robert Sam chuckled knowingly, a twinkle in his eye. "He'll be out in a moment."

The newly-crowned controller had barely finished his sentence before the office door opened once again, this time to reveal a fresh-faced 21-year-old dressed in a good suit, with a rather dashing demeanor to match. However, Rheneas saw past the costume immediately, looking into the eyes of a boy whom he'd known since the time he was born.

"...Peter Sam? Is that you?"

"Hi Rheneas," the young man answered with an achingly familiar grin. "I'm home."

"So you are," the old engine breathed, willing the water in his tank to stay where it was. "But... what are you..."

"Well, I did say I wanted to become your driver one day," Peter replied sunnily, closing the distance between himself and the crimson engine. Once he was close enough for only Robert and Rheneas to hear, he continued. "And... between you and me, Pop said that if I was going to do it, I'd have to learn some secrets of yours, things that have been rather hard on you."

For the first time, Peter Sam's joy now had a hint of worry to it, a gentle kindness that he hadn't fully realized before he'd left but was so very him. "Pop said he wouldn't tell me what they were until you agreed that I could be your driver, but... whatever it is, I can handle it, Rheneas. I promise. You and Skarloey mean so much to me, and I'd be really happy if we could go up and down the line together. My apprenticeship and volunteer work was to learn how to operate engines, so that I'd be ready to drive one of you one day." Peter Sam bit at his lip, staring at the old engine with cautiously hopeful eyes. "So... what do you say?"

Rheneas was silent for a long moment, simply allowing himself to think back to Robert Sam's statement way back when. A friend for life. He couldn't deny that he'd been skeptical of Robert's bold claim, but looking at Peter Sam, it was clear that the lad loved railways, and that he loved this railway in particular. He'd really meant it when he said he was home. And Rheneas also couldn't deny the warm, fluttering feeling in his firebox at an outlandish declaration come to pass, through neither force nor coercion, all because the Sam family truly was, as Robert had said, a train family. A train family that had decided Rheneas would be their friend forever, just as he had decided to entrust himself to Robert all those years ago.

"Well," Rheneas said at last, a reassuring smile spreading across his face, "I suppose that I could be convinced to let you trial me. I've put up with your father for this long; I somehow doubt you could be any worse."

"YAHOO!" Peter Sam yelled gleefully, pumping his fist in the air before suddenly realizing that he was making a scene. "I mean, thank you, Rheneas! You won't regret this! We'll be great! Hahaha!"

Once again, Rheneas couldn't stop himself from laughing along as Robert also joined in. If there was one thing that he could say about the Sams, it was that Peter Sam's joy truly was as infectious as his father's.

[ianfaulkner1-blog]

​By Roxanne Reid Imagine the foresight it must take to see a bare patch of veld and dream up a fully fledged village and health spa in the middle of nowhere. This is what happened when Scottish railwayman James Logan founded in South Africa back in 1884. Discover why to visit Lord Milner Hotel and in the .

​Imagine too the tenacity of Logan going ahead with his plans to build The Lord Milner Hotel in 1899, in the early stages of the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. Before long some 10 000 British troops were camping around the village and the hotel was taken over as a military hospital, the turret as a lookout. 

The facade of the Lord Milner Hotel

Once the war was over, the town and hotel were restored to their intended purpose as hotel and health spa while the concession at the station did a roaring trade supplying steam trains with water and passengers with refreshments. People who flocked to for its curative clean air in those early days included the likes of writer and feminist Olive Schreiner, Winston Churchill’s father Randolph, colonial empire builder Cecil John Rhodes and writer Rudyard Kipling. That today is a time capsule of the Victorian era is thanks to another visionary who came along almost a century later. Hotelier David Rawdon did such a good job of restoring the hotel and town to their former glory that was declared a National Monument in 1975.

Old fashioned fuel pumps and broekie lace on the main road

​There’s an ageless tranquillity here that’s hard to find in the fast-paced modern world. There’s little traffic so you can wander the streets in peace, admire old buildings and outdated petrol pumps on the side of the road, follow a puff of dust and see where it takes you.

The Laird's Arms pub

When the Blue Train or Rovos Rail stops at the Victorian station, visitors pour out like ants to visit the museum and the hotel, to admire the buildings in a time warp. It’s a frenetic time with lots of foot traffic and clicking of cameras, but things settle down when the whistle blows and the train moves away again on its trans- journey. ​​Then it’s time for those left behind to take tea in one of the hotel’s lounges or order a drink in the pub, to go for a walk across the veld or, later in the afternoon, to watch the sunset and the first glimmerings of what will be a spectacular night sky here in the dry . Relax. Breathe in the clean air. Surrender yourself to be restored and revitalised so you can face a return to city life with equanimity.

train on its trans- journey

Things to do in 1. Download the free VoiceMap app (Apple and Android) as a guide to walk you around the village, point out some of the old buildings and fill you in on the little village’s intriguing history. 2. Take a trip on the old London double-decker red bus. At 18:00 each day except Sunday it takes visitors on a short tour of the village, picking out some of the landmarks like the house where Olive Schreiner stayed and the field where England and South Africa played the first friendly cricket match (James Logan was a great cricket fan). Finish your whistle-stop tour at the Laird’s Arms (see point 5) next to the hotel in time for a drink before dinner.

Old carts and a London red bus outside the station

3. Delve into the past in the museum – all three of them. The Transport Museum has a collection of vintage cars from the 1930s to 1960s, old bikes and train carriages. The Railway Museum on the station platform has a station master’s office dating back to the 1890s and the original signal room. 

Wouldn't you love these see these gents out on the road in ?

Victorian furniture in one of the small, cold rooms beneath the station

​By far my favourite place to get lost for an hour or two is the Marie Rawdon Museum under the station. There are vast collections of everything from kitchen utensils, old cameras and typewriters, to bedpans, dolls and war souvenirs, even a full-on pharmacy. The rooms under the station used to be a jail during the Anglo Boer War; feel the cold and damp and imagine what it must have been like for the prisoners during a winter. 

Collection of bedpans and basins in the museum

Museum collections include cobbler's equipment and woodworking tools

The apothecary, or pharmacy, in museum

4. Walk around the village with your camera to capture memories of the restored old buildings. See the house where Olive Schreiner stayed in attempt to cure her asthma in the dry air, the old post office (now a gift shop) where she used to post her letters. Admire the bank building with its original teller’s counter and banking equipment intact, the pink church that used to be a concert hall and school until the 1960s. 

The old post office

​The yellow courthouse and jail would have been known to Boer hero Gideon Scheepers who spent time in the jail before he was tried for treason in Graaff-Reinet and executed by firing squad in 1902. 

court house and jail

​Visit Logan’s General Store (now a coffee shop) and see the flourmill and mineral waterworks where Logan produced lemonade and ginger beer to sell to travellers. A windmill harnessed the winds to generate electricity – a South African first – and power the mill. There’s a rather nice collection of succulents in the garden today.

General Store, now a coffee shop

5. Spend some time in the Laird’s Arms to soak up its saloon-like ambience. A local character, Johnny, plays rousing honky-tonk tunes in the evenings while you order a drink at the polished wooden bar with its shiny brass taps. It’s a wonderful place to imagine what the atmosphere in must have been like more than a hundred years ago. If you’re here at lunch time, order a pub lunch.

Johnny at the piano in the Laird's Arms

Atmospheric dark wood and brass in the Laird's Arms pub

6. Explore the hotel, its grand staircase and reception rooms for a feel of what those who came here for their health at the turn of the 20th century would have experienced. Take a seat here or there to fully appreciate the moment. 

The grand staircase in the hotel's lobby

One of the sitting rooms at the Lord Milner Hotel

I love the sitting room at the back where the piano is; last time we visited a young couple was enjoying a cup of tea, retreating into the coolness from a stinking hot day outside.

The music room, with its piano and harp

7. Ask the staff about the ghosts that are said to haunt the hotel. On our very first visit we heard about a woman in white who is sometimes seen near the tower. On our most recent visit, we commented on the strange eyes of the blonde-haired child in a painting in the Marie Rawdon Museum. The chap in the museum told us that a visitor had recently taken a photo of it with her cell phone, another with her daughter’s camera. Then she screamed and came scuttling out as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. Turned out the cell phone pic was fine, but in the other there was a shadow over the child’s shoulder as if someone was standing behind her. A ghost? Who can tell?

Painting of the girl who may have a ghost over her shoulder

8. Explore the gardens behind the hotel to appreciate how they survive in the extremes of really hot summers and really cold winters. If you go far enough you’ll discover the swimming pool, where residents can relax on a lounger with a good book.

Rooms set in green gardens

9. Duck into the tiny traveller’s chapel along the river behind the hotel to imagine how perfect it would be for an intimate wedding. Take a moment to appreciate the serenity and listen to the sounds of the tinkling fountain outside. The building’s original use was far less unruffled; it used to house gas-generating equipment to light the town.

Traveller's chapel,

10. See David Rawdon’s house where he died in 2010. It’s the last cottage down the side road where the pink church is. Someone told us he ordered champagne the night he died and the bottle and glass have been left untouched. Someone else told us it was whisky so – as with all good legends – the stories are already getting jumbled. 11. Enjoy dinner in the Victorian-style dining room with its dark antique furniture and heavy drapes. The food is of the traditional variety, with bobotie, lamb shank and malva pudding making an appearance. Service is friendly but slow when the dining room is full, so try to relax and downshift to time.

Things to do in : take a walk on the veld

12. Go for a walk in the veld, to feel the ‘sense of wild exhilaration and freedom’ that Olive Schreiner so loved. There used to be a British encampment with 10 000 men and 20 000 horses here in about 1900, so you might even pick up a relic from those days. ​

The hotel at night

accommodation When it comes to your accommodation, you get a choice between suites or rooms in the hotel, historic cottages in the village, or the lower priced Matjies Motel for more budget conscious travellers. I’ve stayed in a cottage in the village, the main hotel (which I love for its classic style) and the Riverbank Rooms at the motel. The latter aren’t as posh as the hotel but still perfectly comfortable at a lower price, with the bonus of a parking spot close to your door. Like it? Pin this image! 

You may also enjoy Spend a night in jail at Willowmore in the National Park: the ultimate guide Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za