We don't see many passenger trains in Indianapolis today. The one train most of us knew growing up ran on the Monon tracks, now the Monon Trail visited by hundreds daily in all kinds of weather. Even still, notions of train travel come to mind every August when the Fair Train runs for two weeks. The familiar tooting and rhythmic rumble of train cars rolling along the rails beckons memories of bygone days.

My train experiences began when I was quite young. My mother, sister, brother, and I would travel to St. Petersburg, FL to visit relatives. The overnight trip was quite an adventure. We sat up all night, dozing and eating brown bag snacks Mom had packed. The reward was finally arriving at an open-air train depot and the sight of palm trees, warm sun, and relatives waving wildly.

In 8th grade our Girl Scout troop of 15 giddy, almost teenagers went to Washington, DC on the train. I still remember toting a home-packed snack sack with black olives and mandarin oranges. This spring break trip was highlighted by walking from one national monument or museum to another, arms linked and singing "Pink Shoes Laces" by Dody Stevens. Then there was the train ride to Button Bay, VT for the Girl Scout National Jamboree. Girls took trains from all over the United States to the Northeast. One train would pick up cars in each state along the route to haul excited girls to the beautiful campsite. The country's vice president and Maria VonTrapp of "Sound of Music" fame were the Jamboree's distinguished guests.

Amazingly, my last train travel was during a Chicago blizzard in the late '60s. A chum and I had traveled by plane on student rate (around $25) to visit my sister in Chicago during semester break. The heavens let loose with the most snow I had ever seen. As we were preparing to return home, the plane abruptly stopped its taxi on the runway, and the captain announced O'Hare Airport had closed. My sister somehow managed to come get us and give us money to buy a train ticket. The trip to Indianapolis took more than 11 hours.

Recent years have only included short excursions on the Fair Train, boarding in Fishers and riding to the Fairgrounds - not much of a trip but memories of previous train travel flood my mind as we click through the neighborhoods. Each intersection is anticipated with a shrill whistle. I'm particularly fond of the steam train that belches smoke and of watching people along the way waving and counting the train cars.

Hopefully you'll hear the Fair Train soon and be prompted to recount your own memories, maybe even sharing them with someone who didn't experience riding the rails when passenger trains were in their glory.