Woodsdale Girls Take the Train

Today I was doing some research on the old B & O station which is now Northern Community College. It reminded me of a trip my Girl Scout troop took on the train to Pittsburgh about 1959 or 1960. The trains stopped running in 1960, so it must have been just before that. What a thrill it was for all of us. Our troop leader, Mrs. Greeneltch was so great in recognizing that some of us had never been on a train and this was historical...taking one of the last passenger trips out of Wheeling. I was enthralled. I remember especially going through the station at Elm Grove (now a Garden Shop).
   Since that day, I have had a love affair with trains and have taken the Pacific line up and down the West Coast several times and even one across from Seattle to Chicago and then on to Pittsburgh. Once I took the train from Pittsburgh to New York on crutches...the swaying of the train was a challenge, but worse yet was that I was in a full cast from hip to ankle so couldn't close the bathroom door as my leg stuck out the door...luckily, a friend traveling with me would stand in front of me when nature called. The people one meets on trains can only be described as "characters" and the seats should be described as "torturous"....but the dining cars, bar cars, and viewing cars with glass ceilings are wonderful.