All aboard for train adventure

AuthorPam Coleman Library Engagement Lead
Published date20 January 2023
Publication titleHorowhenua Chronicle
I’m sitting on the train 18318.847km from Levin, travelling from the picturesque wee town of Lanark to the bustling metropolitan of Glasgow watching the snow-covered hills and river stream while I’m reflecting on why so many of our stories feature trains

There is something especially soothing and meditative about a train’s gentle sway.

In literature, trains represent a way for people to escape or daydream. Some of our most well-loved popular titles feature trains, Murder on the Orient Express, Harry Potter, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, The Little Train That Could, to name but a few.

Are they purely functional, carrying their passengers, our beloved characters from one point to the other? As a fan of Sherlock Holmes I was always enthralled when Sherlock and Dr Watson got the train. Arthur Conan Doyle created urgency and often used a train to propel the plot forward. Sherlock and Watson always seem to use their train journey to pick over the bones of their cases. Trains then seemed to be both luxurious and mysterious. The characters in some of our best loved novels appear in the billowing smoke at the end of the platform. “Daddy, my daddy,” exclaimed by Bobbie, the eldest of the railway children, is one of the first lines which made me tear up.

Trains then are so much more than just modes of transport. The sound of a distant train whistle stirs in many of us a powerful sense of adventure. I have the romantic idea that the train is a little self-contained world with all the people, their stories and intriguing possibilities it might hold. Many of us have our own favourite tales featuring a train.

It seems logical that to celebrate summer 2023 and our love of reading, our libraries, supported and sponsored by Steam Incorporated and KiwiRail, have organised a special day out on a steam train for families in Horowhenua. It’s a thrilling day out with a short journey to Shannon with kai, games and of course, stories. It’s the first time our sponsors KiwiRail and Steam Incorporated have supported an event like this. They see how important it is to nurture a love of reading in our tamariki. As literacy levels are falling in New Zealand, it’s even more important for us all to come along on a reading adventure and make reading fun for our kids.

Visit your library this year and get involved with the great activities we offer. All aboard!

What’s OnExhibitions

Birds Eye View, by Horowhenua Heritage & Horowhenua Historical Society, 5 January-20 February, Te...

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