Tuesday, January 07, 2025

The little engine that could

This is the petit train (literally "little train") touristique that we took from St.-Trojan on Oléron to the beach I've been posting about. I looked up petit train on Wikipedia and found a surprise. This is not a petit train at all. It's a real, albeit small scale, train in that it runs on rails. A petit train, or tram in English, does not normally run on rails, but on a road surface, often in large parking lots (think Disney). I think the term petit train is commonly used for any small train or tram that carts tourists around. I don't think anyone would question the use of the term for this vehicle.

Choo-choo! Ile d'Oléron, May 2008.

As I feared, the landscaping crew canceled yesterday. The wind was just to much. They're coming back this morning and, although rain showers are predicted throughout the day, I think they'll be able to work.

I didn't make the king cake yesterday; we had a lot going on in the kitchen. But I plan to do it today. I'll try to remember to take some photos!

4 comments:

  1. Cute little train. Maintenance of the tracks must be a constant battle.

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  3. I think that if a tourist-transporting thing like this is not on tracks, we'd likely call it a trolley... although, technically, I guess, if it's a streetcar trolley, then the trolley has cords it's attached to, above, and tracks LOL. Still, I know that we use the term trolley for something that's really a bus, but looks like this... you know? So, darn it, go ahead and use petit train , is my point LOL.

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  4. mitch, yeah, it looks a little sandy.

    judy, in SF, buses with rubber tires, powered by two electric wires overhead and connected with two poles, are called trolley buses.

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