Class act: All aboard for the senior express

It was the last time she'd taken the train -- nearly 30 years ago -- and what 83-year-old Darlene Lanz remembers most about that trip to Minot, N.D., was the dining car.

"White linen tablecloths and napkins," Lanz said from her home in Big Lake, Minn. "Just beautiful. When I think of the train, that's the image that comes to mind."

On Saturday, Lanz and 84 other seniors took a different kind of ride, as they learned how to navigate the Northstar commuter rail line. Northstar has no white linen on tables designed for laptops. No dining car, either. For that matter, between stops, the seniors had little time to let their imaginations wander to a different era of trains.

Class was in session.

Groups of seniors from Big Lake, Minneapolis and Elk River have scheduled "All Aboard the Northstar Train" training sessions this month, allowing Metro Transit officials to answer the same pressing questions that commuters and Twins fans have asked since Northstar began running in November:

• Are there still places to camp in Elk River, as Phoebe Brustad, 83, of Edina, recalled doing years ago, when her kids were very young?

• If you're heading to the airport, as Raye Jacobs, 70, of Becker, Minn., is considering, is there room on Northstar trains for baggage? And how do you transfer to the light-rail Hiawatha line?

• Does anybody, wondered Louie Fennema, 78, of Big Lake, really understand these new computerized ticket machines?

Meet the mayor

"Seniors do get a little nervous. They can't interact with the operator of that train the way you can with a bus driver," said Lowanda Aaron, a customer advocate for Metro Transit who works primarily with seniors.

Aaron answered questions for 85 seniors who left from Target Field at 10:40 a.m. Sunday and arrived at 11:29 in Big Lake, where they dined at the Trails Grill & Sports Bar and met Mayor Lori Kampa before returning to Minneapolis at 2:09 p.m. This Saturday, the Elk River Parks and Recreation Department and Northstar will team up for a similar educational round trip, between Elk River and Minneapolis. The station stops, usually 45 seconds, will be extended, allowing novice Northstar riders to board more easily, said Annie Deckert, Elk River's economic development assistant. That event is full, with a waiting list of more than 100, but more classes will be scheduled for Elk River seniors this year, Deckert said.

There will be goodie bags with train and Twins schedules, discussions about safety features and senior discounts, and lessons covering use of ticket machines and Go-To cards, said Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons. The seniors from Big Lake transferred to the Hiawatha line, went one stop, and then ate at the Loon Cafe, a few blocks from Target Field.

"They asked a lot of questions, wanting to know when the line would be extended to St. Cloud and if there would be more special trains for Twins games," said Pam Steffen of Metro Transit's customer-service department. "We're trying to get the word out to seniors and the disabled community that it's easy to commute with confidence."

Don Leners, 78, of northeast Minneapolis, said he appreciated the class, but, frankly, he was just along for the ride.

"I'm sure I could ride the train without any education," he said before his ride. "My wife and I are taking it for a nice day trip. It's a lark. And we're going to meet the mayor of Big Lake."

Something new

For Phoebe and Lloyd Brustad, 85, it was a chance to "do something we've never done."

"We've got to try this," Phoebe Brustad said.

Aileen Edwards, 81, of Big Lake, used to ride trains all the time. Her late husband, Don Kueten, was a brakeman and switchman for Burlington Northern and the Sioux line. But she'd never ridden Northstar before Saturday.

For folks like Edwards and the Brustads, the class was also a social event, a chance to connect with friends they've met through Minneapolis Community Education, a co-sponsor of Sunday's event.

"It's nice for friends to get a chance to go for a ride and enjoy a meal together," said Shirley Williams, 65, of Minneapolis.

For Donna Eddy, 86, of Big Lake, Saturday's ride was her first time on a train since 1946. She was a cadet nurse and made the three-day trip from Minnesota to a San Diego naval hospital by train.

"I learned how to drive after that," she said.

She became interested in the Northstar class when it was discussed at her senior citizens' club. She doubts she'll take the train much, if at all, because she rarely gets to Minneapolis anymore.

But Eddy is a Twins fan. She says she watches every televised game and has fond memories of driving to the old Met Stadium and games she attended at the Metrodome. She's never been to Target Field but was reminded that Northstar's biggest station is at the new ballpark.

"I thought it might be some time before I used the train," she said. "But maybe, with the Twins there, well, there might be a chance."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419