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Travelling Alt Earth

We pull into a Winding Station,
Hand the Attendant our key,
Head into the Station Inn
For a snack and Earl Grey Tea.
In less than an hour,
Our machine being oiled
The tension being adjusted
And our spring tightly coiled,

I slip the motor into gear
And we are off on our way
To the next Winding Station
One hundred miles away.
At Fifty miles an hour,
A once undreamed of rate,
Along the new Travel Road
Such a joy to navigate.

We pass Steam Waggons
Pulling their heavy loads
Along the mostly parallel
Heavy goods roads.
With canals and railways
The country is connected
And once long journeys
Take far less than expected.

The Waggoner with his lad
Pulled by their great Shire
Makes the local deliveries
Always there for hire.
Can this world be bettered
Clockwork coal and steam
Let us travel at speeds that 
Were once but a dream.

Copyright © Terry Ireland | Year Posted 2023

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Tony Hargreaves Date: 12/1/2023 9:54:00 AM Clockwork powered vehicles. Surely zero carbon. But must know where next Winding Station is or you are scuppered. Tony Login to Reply Terry Ireland Date: 12/3/2023 12:43:00 AM They are every 50 miles on the new Travel Road Network. Following a study the next venture is to replace some of the wagons with Clockwork ones and allow them on the new roads. Thanks Tony

Speaks Volumes Date: 11/30/2023 7:30:00 PM So would it just run on clockwork and have to be wound up? Or does or use coal power as well ? I guess we didn't realise back then the addition to our green house gasses and the harm it did to the atmosphere letting loose dangerous gasses every time we burned coal. cause clockwork didnt seem to take off.. . So many things we took for granted in the "good old days " I guess that's what your poem reminds me of Terry Cheers Wen Login to Reply Terry Ireland Date: 12/3/2023 12:45:00 AM No, in the Alternative World clockwork is gradually replacing steam and therefore coal for transportation. There is also some talk of deriving power from the Sun, but many see this as pure fantasy.

Ilene Bauer Date: 11/30/2023 11:54:00 AM i know i'm romanticizing the past, terry, but didn't life seem a whole lot better then? i enjoyed your poem... Login to Reply Terry Ireland Date: 12/3/2023 12:47:00 AM Yes, it did in some ways ilene, but we were young and idealistic then weren't we.

Tom Cunningham Date: 11/30/2023 10:14:00 AM Often used the old steam trains growing up, They were great workhorses, full of character. Used to love the separate carriages with pictures on the walls. Thanks for the memory Terry. Tom Login to Reply Terry Ireland Date: 12/3/2023 12:50:00 AM Oh yes Tom - I remember the majestic black steam engine on my first trip to London. And, on a train journey you had a safe warm retreat from the world. Hate these new open carriages and noisy mobile phone users. They have taken the majesty and joy out of rail travel Thanks Tom