Under the Domes

Shane looked out the window. Wow. What a view. It was the year 1953, and he was traveling from Boston, MA to Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Eisenhower.  Shane squeezed by several people on the way to the bathroom. Because of the monumental event in DC, the train was packed. It was so full that at the stop in Connecticut, three more cars were added to the train, as well as a new crew.  The diesel locomotive was replaced by an electric engine making the train.  Shane checked his watch. Because of this maintenance, this made the train about 40 minutes behind schedule. Luckily, Shane knew the new crew's conductor, Harry Brower, so he was invited to sit in the front of the train instead of squished in a train car for the later of the ride.  Harry was 65 years old had 40 years of experience driving trains. Setting the controls for 80 miles per hour, he was determined to make up for the lost time in CT. 

 "Hold on," he smiled at Shane before they departed. "This is gonna be fast." 

Hitting green lights the whole way to Washington D.C., there was no need to apply the brakes, so they made up time quickly. Next stop: Union Station. Nearing the station, Shane saw Harry reduce the throttle and apply is brakes. He began gathering his belongings.

 "I'll go to see the Capitol first. Maybe I'll have some time to get some sight seeing done before the Inauguration speech," Shane thought.  He looked at Harry, smiling, but Harry wasn't smiling. He looked at Shane. Panic stricken, he mouthed,   

"THE BRAKES AREN'T WORKING!"  Shane's heart stopped. He couldn't think. A 237 ton train was barreling into union station at 80 miles per hour, and the brakes had given out. His life was over. 

"What do we do!?" Shane yelled at Harry. Ignoring him, Harry dropped sand and applied the emergency break still to no effect.

"HARRY! LISTEN TO ME!" Shane screamed. When he still didn't listen, Shane grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!?" SMACK! A pain tingled in Shane's cheek. Harry had just smacked him. 

"Pull yourself together, or I'm sending you to the back, got it, kid?!" Harry warned.  Turning around, he frantically blasted the train's horn whistle, "Keep blasting this!  It'll alert Moyer, the fireman, to the brake failure." He instructed Shane.  While Shane kept blasting the whistle, he watched Harry working under pressure. He was admirably calm.  From the station ahead, Shane heard the powerful pneumatic horns let off by Moyer warning all in its path that the train was out of control.  

"Why can't we switch tracks!?" Shane yelled over the horns.

"It takes too long!" Harry bellowed. "Three minutes at the most." He picked up the phone and telephoned John Feeney in building "K" alerting him that the train was out of control. 

"There's a runaway coming to you on track 16," They heard Feeney alerting the stationmaster on the other line. "Get the hell out of there!" The line ended. 
Harry alerted the passengers to prepare for an abrupt stop.  They had slowed down some, probably to 35-40 miles per hour, but they knew they were going to crash.  In two minutes, since the call to Feeney, the morning rush hour was cleared from the basement baggage, the entire concourse. 

"Get ready for a rough stop!" Harry bellowed while fastening his seat belt. Shane did the same. CRASH! The train bellowed through the solid steel safety bumper, hurled through the iron track gate, and plummeted through the stationmaster's office careening out onto the concourse floor. 

Shane opened his eyes. Looking through the dust, he spotted the clock buried along the wreckage. 8:38. The time of the accident. He smiled. "I'm alive." He looked at Harry. Staring out of the window, a tear streaked down his cheek. 

"We survived," he chuckled. "Forty years I've been driving these trains, and I've never.  This station is magnificent, always busy.  The architecture here was always fun to look at when I stopped at this station. A man named Daniel H. Burnham directed the architecture. You familiar with him?" Shane shook his head no, "Oh, well he was something. He modeled the building after the Beaux- Art style, Baths of Caraculla and Diocletian, and of course the beautiful Arches of Rome.  Union Station's arches signify it to be a gateway of entry.  The station took $25 million to build, and I couldn't imagine with this mess it taking less than $4 million to recover," He whistled long and low. Until the ambulance came 15 minutes later, Harry told Shane the history of Union Station. Surprised at how much Harry knew, Shane listened, taking in his every word.  

The station opened on October 27, 1907 at 6:50 am when the Baltimore and Ohio Pittsburgh trains pulled into the station.  The Station was officially completed in 1908.  He also told Shane that during WWI troops were mobilized through the station, and many prominent women worked in the station's canteen, including Eleanor Roosevelt and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson.  He laughed when he told Shane about how Mrs. Wilson would keep her husband, the president, waiting outside until she finished her duties in the canteen.  When the ambulance came, they took Shane and Harry out on stretchers.  Shane was shocked when he saw the damage the train did to the station. Harry was right, $4 million at the least definitely to fix!  He was involved in a historical crash and lived to tell the story.  What a story to tell his children and grandchildren! 

Metro 

MARC 

I hoped you enjoyed my rendition of the monumental crash in 1953 at Union Station.  Although Shane was a fictional character, the other characters and the information in this story was 100% true! There was in fact a crash that took place at Union Station in 1953, and the conductor was in fact a man named Harry! Now these Amtrak trains aren't the only trains taking off from Union Station.  There are also three others.  In addition to the Amtrak, which is a national train service, there is the MARC, which takes you throughout MD, DC, and WV, the VRE, which takes you through Washington DC, and Northern VA, and the Metro, which takes you throughout DC and some parts of MD.  Union Station was our first stop for our fourth MJ.
 There we met at 10am. We first sampled some chocolate at Godiva, and we spent a good 20 minutes interviewing the workers there.  They were increasingly enthralled by our method of schooling.  It was really refreshing that we were able to change others' minds about homeschooling.  We even reopened their minds to the option! We shared our ambitions and goals, and afterwards they asked us for our information! It was an experience worth remembering.  

amtrak 

VRE

There is a WHOLE mall in the station, so we definitely took advantage of that. S/o to the boys, who kept a positive attitudes when we went into our girly stores....Oh, and s/o to the hunk at UNOS! Can't forget about him! 

After we shopped, we took a break for lunch and then journeyed to the Botanical Gardens. our second stop!  When we arrived, we all received field journals to fill out on our mini tour! I'm not going to give you ALL the answers, but I'll definitely share some history! During the late 18th Century, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison shared a dream of a botanic gardens in Washington DC. This dream was established in 1842 when the Wilkes expedition, a journey to the South Seas, bought a living plants from around the world to Washington DC. The plants were moved to a new structure in DC in 1850, previously occupied by the Colombian Institute's Gardens.  In 1933, it moved to its new and current location located along first and third street.  It's home to thousands of different plants open to the public to tour! 

My favorite part of the gardens will always be the jungle! Yes, it's a little humid, so my hair gives me struggles, but it feels like you've left DC and journeyed into a real rain forest! It brought Ser and me back to our young days when our families went to Rain Forest Cafe on special occasions!  I miss that place.  You should plan a visit to the gardens this holiday as they are beautiful this time of year! If you've been to these gardens, definitely share some of your experiences! What was your favorite part?
This Metro Journey, although had only two stops, was filled with copious amounts of information, and I enjoyed my experiences and the memories I gained! Until next time, loyal readers!