Jan 19 2009
French Trains
I lived in France for about a year. One time I took a train from Chambery to Culoz. The inside of the train car in which I traveled was burned into my memory: There were 17 rows. Each bench was covered in orange colored leather. The old leather was worn from many years of use. Every two benches faced each other with a small metal table coming out of the wall in between them. The fading yellow linoleum on the floor was coming off, revealing rusted metal. There was a place for an 18th row, but the bench was missing. Only the rusty bolts on the floor remained, yet they were still black with grease. Later on I learned that all French trains were missing either a bench, a table a window, a door or some other vital component.
