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pinto

(106,886 posts)
Sun Jun 15, 2014, 08:00 PM Jun 2014

I hear the train at times

I hear the train at times.
Coming down the grade,
Curving into town.

I've come to know
Each conductor's whistle blow.
Some long, some slow.

It comes and goes.

I hear the train at times.
And go up to the track to look
As the train comes in.

One thing remains the same.

It comes and goes.

It comes and goes.



11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Purveyor

(29,876 posts)
1. My mom grew up on a farm where the train tracks were about a 1/4 miles south
Sun Jun 15, 2014, 08:06 PM
Jun 2014

of the farm running from Chicago to Detroit.

I loved spending the nights there and hearing the train whistles in the night and you could even feel the vibrations from the train rumbling through.

My grandpa knew their schedule and I guess he knew one of the conductors because sometime in the afternoon, a train would pass and he would look at his pocketwatch and proclaim "yep, ole 'milky' is on time today".

Barely remember he as he died when I was about 4 but cherish those memories.

pinto

(106,886 posts)
2. One of the Amtrak trains that went through a narrow pass between New Mexico and Colorado
Sun Jun 15, 2014, 08:20 PM
Jun 2014

went by a house near the tracks. A woman was on her front porch every time to greet the train as it went through. The conductors knew her routine and would give passengers a heads up to wave. The engine crew did a triple whoot, whoot, whoot as we passed by.

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
8. I was in the audience for this version back in 1970
Mon Jun 16, 2014, 02:26 AM
Jun 2014

sitting in the front row on the left side, right in front of Jimi at the Berkeley Community Theatre.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
4. I've lived most of my life now where I can hear the trains.
Sun Jun 15, 2014, 09:56 PM
Jun 2014

I'd miss it if it was gone.

It speaks to me of possibility.

marzipanni

(6,011 posts)
7. Trains go by about three blocks from our house
Mon Jun 16, 2014, 02:03 AM
Jun 2014

I'm so used to it I don't hear them much except if I'm awake during the night. Some engineers blast their horns excessively, some are considerate and blow a few long crescendo - decrescendos on the horn.

A few times we've heard a steam whistle when old engines were passing through on their way to celebrations of old trains somewhere.
I'd love to hear that sound more often-

http://www.sounddogs.com/sound-effects/2708/mp3/454400_SOUNDDOGS__st.mp3

 

whistler162

(11,155 posts)
9. My uncle remembers the coal train whistles
Mon Jun 16, 2014, 01:44 PM
Jun 2014

as they moved through the hills near Warren PA.. This was during the summer when he, and later my mom, were visiting from Brooklyn.

I live about 1 mile from a small railroad and 4 or 5 miles from the main Buffalo to Albany line. So trains are no stranger.

fizzgig

(24,146 posts)
10. we have several train tracks running through town
Mon Jun 16, 2014, 03:46 PM
Jun 2014

including one right behind the apartment. they're just a way of life here.

pinto

(106,886 posts)
11. Yeah. Two "helpers" come into town ~ 3AM. They're used to help pull freights over the hills.
Mon Jun 16, 2014, 03:56 PM
Jun 2014

I hardly give them a second thought. And the conductors are really good, they just do one required beep at crossings coming into town.

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