賞葉時(shí)光行

Construction began in 1846 on the Boston， Concord and Montreal Railroad， so business travelers and others have been gazing out the windows of trains huffing north into the White Mountains of New Hampshire for quite some time. Eddie and Brenda Clark only took the idea of a train rolling through tree-carpeted countryside and turned it into a lavish autumn excursion for sightseers in no particular hurry.

When the Clarks bought the line in the 1980s， they originally had in mind a railroad theme park. That plan grew into the Hobo and Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroads， which cover about 55 miles of track in New Hampshire.

The trip“fits that whole image of New England in the fall，” said Emily Clark， Eddie and Brenda’s daughter-in-law， who works for the family-owned Hobo line.

It is one of many vintage (or tourist) railroads—using steam or diesel engines—in the Northeast that do most of their business in the autumn， and for good reason: They take sightseers through woodland faster than on foot but slower than in a car. On the tracks， “you make good progress， but you aren’t flying by， unable to enjoy the view，” said Jim Wrinn， editor of Trains magazine.

Aesthetically， vintage steam or diesel locomotives offer trips back in time. Although the notion of “foliage trains” has been around since tourist railroads replaced some working ones 50 years ago， Mr. Wrinn said these trains retained their popularity because most roll through undeveloped land， like woods and farms.

“You can drive and see the fall colors， but you’re spending 75 percent of your attention on the road，” Mr. Wrinn said， “while with the train， you can let someone else take care of the transportation， and you can enjoy the changing kaleidoscope of autumn colors.”

Some of the rides are open-air， and Mr. Wrinn said that onboard， “there’s a certain joy in feeling the chill of the air in your face—it’s a subtle reminder that this beauty is fleeting and should be savored.”

The Catskill Mountain Railroad， which runs between Mount Tremper and Phoenicia near the Esopus Creek， chugs through a majestic tunnel of tree branches that looks like a cathedral. The Wilmington Western， a 10-mile excursion， travels from the Coastal Plain region to the Piedmont， offering a glorious display of hardwoods with leaves in blazing colors.

Many of these panoramas cannot be seen from a road or are very difficult to access， even on foot. The Potomac Eagle runs along the south branch of the Potomac River， near Romney， W.Va. David Corbitt， president of the railroad， said there was no way a car could get down into the deep valley， locally known as the Trough.

That’s one reason the landscape remains pristine. Mr. Corbitt said， activity around eagles’ nests among the limestone cliffs is at its peak in the autumn. Fox and bear sightings are common. Waterfowl migrate through the area. Paddlers in canoes or kayaks can enjoy the autumn scenery， Mr. Corbitt said， “but that’s aboutit.”

The mood on a foliage train tends to be more serene than it is in the summer， Ms. Clark said， because children have returned to school， and the riders tend to be older. And as leaves thin， rock formations and waterways are more visible.

Those who built railroads like the Boston， Concord and Montreal through the Northeastern United States more than a century ago were simply trying to find a way to transport freight and passengers from one rural outpost to another. Now passengers are looking for a way to move like a slowpoke.

“You definitely get that old-world nostalgia，” Ms. Clark said.

波士頓—康科德—蒙特利爾鐵路的修筑工程是于1846年啟動(dòng)的，所以，早已有商務(wù)旅行者以及其他乘客坐在這轟隆隆響著北上新罕布什州懷特山的火車上欣賞過(guò)沿路的風(fēng)景。艾迪·克拉克和布蘭達(dá)·克拉克只不過(guò)把原本穿行于茂林鄉(xiāng)野的單純火車路線變成了一個(gè)讓游客能夠從容享受的豪華秋游項(xiàng)目。

在克拉克夫婦于上世紀(jì)80年代買下這旅游線路的時(shí)候，他們?cè)镜南敕ㄊ墙ㄒ蛔F路主題公園。那個(gè)計(jì)劃后來(lái)變成了維尼彼薩奇湖區(qū)悠然鐵路游——一段覆蓋新罕布什州內(nèi)55英里（約88.51千米）的火車路程。

艾美莉·克拉克是艾迪和布蘭達(dá)的兒媳婦，如今在這條家族鐵路漫游線上工作。她說(shuō)，這條線路“最適合大家用來(lái)欣賞新英格蘭地區(qū)的秋色”。

與眾多以蒸汽或柴油火車行走美國(guó)東北部的舊式（或旅游）鐵路一樣，這條鐵路漫游線也是在秋天最受歡迎。理由顯而易見(jiàn)：對(duì)游客來(lái)說(shuō)，乘坐火車穿過(guò)林地比徒步要快，但又比開(kāi)車要慢。坐在火車上，“你行進(jìn)的速度并不慢，但你又不會(huì)一掠而過(guò)，錯(cuò)過(guò)了美景”，《火車》雜志的編輯吉姆·懷林恩如是說(shuō)。

論美感體驗(yàn)，舊式蒸汽機(jī)及柴油機(jī)火車頭有種把人帶回舊時(shí)的感覺(jué)。雖說(shuō)早在大約五十年前，當(dāng)旅游列車取代運(yùn)營(yíng)中的列車時(shí)，“秋色專列”的說(shuō)法就已經(jīng)存在了，懷林恩先生說(shuō)，但這些列車如今依然很受歡迎，因?yàn)槠浯蠖鄷?huì)經(jīng)過(guò)未開(kāi)發(fā)地區(qū)，如森林和農(nóng)場(chǎng)。

懷林恩先生說(shuō)：“你當(dāng)然可以開(kāi)車去看秋色，但那樣你75%的注意力都會(huì)在路面上。而乘坐火車的話，你無(wú)需分心駕駛，只管盡情地享受如萬(wàn)花筒般變化萬(wàn)千的秋色。”

有一些車次是帶露天車廂的。懷林恩先生說(shuō)，這樣，游客在車上“定能感受到寒氣撲面的喜悅——這也暗暗提醒人們：美麗稍縱即逝，要好好珍惜”。

在特倫普山和伊索帕斯溪附近的腓尼基之間運(yùn)行的凱茨奇爾山鐵路線上，火車嘎嚓嘎嚓地在林木“隧道”之間穿行，兩旁枝葉攀高相觸，看似一座莊嚴(yán)的大教堂。而威爾明頓與西部鐵路線則是一段長(zhǎng)達(dá)10英里（約16.09千米）的觀光線，從海岸平原地區(qū)一直開(kāi)到皮德蒙特，游客沿途可以看到那色彩絢麗的闊葉林。

許多這些優(yōu)美的全景在公路上是看不到的，或者說(shuō)要開(kāi)車靠近也很困難，甚至于步行也做不到。波托馬克鷹號(hào)列車沿著西弗吉尼亞州羅姆尼附近波托馬克河南邊的支流奔跑。鐵路公司的董事長(zhǎng)大衛(wèi)·科比特說(shuō)，汽車是不可能去到河谷谷底的，谷底深處被當(dāng)?shù)厝朔Q之為“大溝槽”。

那就是這里的原始景色得以保持的其中一個(gè)原因?？票忍叵壬f(shuō)，到了秋天，石灰崖壁上的鷹巢附近最有看頭，經(jīng)常有狐貍和熊出沒(méi)，水禽遷徙也經(jīng)過(guò)這個(gè)地區(qū)。游客劃獨(dú)木舟或皮船涉水便可以欣賞到這里的秋天景色，科比特先生說(shuō)：“但也就只有這樣的方式才能如此接近了。”

克拉克女士說(shuō)，在觀賞秋色的火車上，人們的心情通常比夏天更恬靜，因?yàn)楹⒆觽円呀?jīng)回學(xué)校上課了，乘客大都年紀(jì)比較大。隨著樹(shù)葉不斷地落下，鐵路兩旁的巖層構(gòu)造與河道變得更加清晰可見(jiàn)那些一個(gè)多世紀(jì)前在美國(guó)東北部修建波士頓—康科德—蒙特利爾鐵路的人們只不過(guò)是想找一條在鄉(xiāng)野小鎮(zhèn)之間傳送貨物和旅客的途徑。而如今，旅客們則是期望找到一種慢條斯理的前進(jìn)方式。

“你定能感受到那股往日情懷，”克拉克女士如是說(shuō)。