The Autopian is nominally a website about cars. I mean, “Auto” is right there in its name. But we love all kinds of vehicles that make the world move, from semi-tractors and cargo ships to planes, trains, motorcycles, and bicycles. What vehicles do you love that aren’t cars?
My primary love has always been cars. I still trace the beginning of my enthusiasm to when my uncle gave me a Pontiac Firebird Matchbox car back when I was a toddler. If you’ve read my work, you know that I can find good in any car, from the Chrysler Pacifica crossover to even the Chevrolet Aveo. With exceptions, I’m one of those people who believe that there’s no such thing as a truly terrible car.
Yet, while my life has largely revolved around cars, they’re hardly the only form of transportation that I’ve been obsessed with. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved planes, ships, and trains. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched James Cameron’s Titanic. When I was a kid, my favorite scenes were before the ship hit the iceberg, and the camera sometimes panned around the majestic vessel. It’s also why I adored the opening scene of the 2006 version of Poseidon.
Big ships still capture my imagination today, and one of my bucket list items is to take a ride aboard a cargo ship. Admittedly, my love of big ships is why I bought one of the lamps that was aboard the SS United States.
My love of heavy machinery is why I also frequently visit the Illinois Railway Museum, even though I’ve now been there about a million times. As a kid, I loved watching Metra trains thunder out of the Fox Lake, Illinois station. When I started going to the Chicago Auto Show as a teenager, I always took a Metra train to Chicago just for the fun of it. I still do, actually.
When I was a teenager with infinite time, I also used to go to a park next what was a Wisconsin Central line that snaked through northern Illinois, and I just watched trains roll by. Today, that line is run by Canadian National, and once I spotted a freight train that had an incredible line of eight locomotives leading an absolute monster down the rails.
If I had to assign a vehicular love that’s second to cars, it would certainly be aviation. I was a kid when I learned that the Boeing 747 existed, and that changed everything for me. In my eyes, the 747 was like an ocean liner, but one that had glistening paint and flew through the sky at 600 mph.
Then, I discovered that all sorts of aircraft are wonderful, from the slick and sporty-looking Canadair Regional Jet line to the hot rod Boeing 757 and all points in between. As a teenager, I remember watching the film 2012 and absolutely adoring the movie’s “Antonov 500.” I was blown away that the real-life Antonov An-225 was somehow even cooler than the fake movie version. I had made it a dream to get a ride in the Mriya, somehow. Sadly, that one might be on hold for quite a while.
Now, as you’re soon about to read, I’m once again working to satisfy my childhood dream of becoming a pilot. How about you? What vehicles do you love that aren’t cars?
Top graphic image: ERCO
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