Train Spotting
So much about trains stirs the soul.
For a boy, they are loud, big, fast and scary. Boys need loud, big fast and scary every bit as much as they do vegetables, vitamins, puppies that nip their heels, fascinating bugs, Saturday morning cartoons and, of course, their momma, particularly when things get too intense.
But to really experience a passing train, one needs to go to a small country town, where crossing guards hold back farmers and ranchers in their pickup trucks, where the urban distractions can't detract from visceral punch.
When I was a kid growing up in Houston, long before beltways and gargantuan interstates, I could lie in bed at night and hear them about two miles away as they moved alongside the Katy Freeway. I rarely got to experience them up close, and when I did, it was usually in a long line of cars full of hurried, impatient people who preferred to not have to wait for a train.
Today, those tracks are long gone, replaced by an ever-expanding freeway project, one that didn't need to happen had Houston voters and city leaders had the vision to prevent their horrific traffic problems through one simple solution: trains. The ever-busy Beltway 8 and Katy Freeway have ensured that even if the old trains were still there, their lonely whistles wouldn't stand a chance against vehicular traffic's constant hiss.
As a nation, we've neglected the train and all that it can do for us. We fell in love with the automobile, and it becomes a bigger, more expensive mess every passing year. Imagine if we were like Europe and could use an all-inclusive pass to take advantage of an extensive, high-speed rail system that could whisk us all over the nation without the ridiculous air-travel costs and hassles or the time, dangers, expense and inconvenience of driving a car.
Alas, commercial trains dominate the U.S. railroad system, and passenger service has become a sad, tired, underutilized shell of its former self.
But that doesn't mean trains still can't be romantic and awe-inspiring, particularly for a young boy.
Every school day morning, I drive my son, Curt, from Pinewood all the way to the small town of China. It's about a 25-minute drive, no matter which route you take. There are lots of routes to take, but I'll save that story for another day.
These days, the primary drive-time topic is whether there will be a train. The trains along U.S. Highway 90 don't seem to be on a regular schedule, so we never know whether we'll see one.
Several times, while crossing the tracks near China, we've spotted a train way off in the distance. So we'll pull up next to a crossing and wait, taking in the experience, which goes in the following 10 steps:
1.) anticipation.
2.) first glimpse.
3.) hear the first horn blast from a little ways off.
4.) crossing guard goes ding-ding-ding as it goes down.
5.) ear-splitting horn blast.
6.) frantic waving at the conductor, who usually waves back.
7.) train loudly rumbles by.
8.) last train car passes.
9.) crossing guard goes ding-ding-ding as it goes up.
10.) we roll up the windows and head off for school, talking about train speed, loudness, size, etc.
This morning, we enhanced the experience by getting out of the car. The train became louder, bigger, faster and scarier than ever before. The conductor waved like crazy at us. I even found a couple of rusty, discarded railroad nails to keep as souvenirs.
Following a round of high-fives, Curt and I hurried off to school, excitedly talking about the train the rest of the way.
The experience underscores myriad reasons why we moved to the country. Here, folks take simple pleasures in what city folks too often take for granted as they rush from Point A to Point B, selfishly blabbering on their cell phones as their kids sit in the back seat and mindlessly stare at video screens or lose themselves in addicting video games.
That's why we don't have - and never will have - a DVD player in the car. If the kids need something to keep themselves occupied, they can look out the window, engage in conversation, play made-up games or bug each other.
That way, when a train, a hawk sitting on a powerline, an interesting patch of flowers, a bloody pile of road kill or some highway oddity comes along, they will neither miss it nor take it for granted.
For a boy, they are loud, big, fast and scary. Boys need loud, big fast and scary every bit as much as they do vegetables, vitamins, puppies that nip their heels, fascinating bugs, Saturday morning cartoons and, of course, their momma, particularly when things get too intense.
But to really experience a passing train, one needs to go to a small country town, where crossing guards hold back farmers and ranchers in their pickup trucks, where the urban distractions can't detract from visceral punch.
When I was a kid growing up in Houston, long before beltways and gargantuan interstates, I could lie in bed at night and hear them about two miles away as they moved alongside the Katy Freeway. I rarely got to experience them up close, and when I did, it was usually in a long line of cars full of hurried, impatient people who preferred to not have to wait for a train.
Today, those tracks are long gone, replaced by an ever-expanding freeway project, one that didn't need to happen had Houston voters and city leaders had the vision to prevent their horrific traffic problems through one simple solution: trains. The ever-busy Beltway 8 and Katy Freeway have ensured that even if the old trains were still there, their lonely whistles wouldn't stand a chance against vehicular traffic's constant hiss.
As a nation, we've neglected the train and all that it can do for us. We fell in love with the automobile, and it becomes a bigger, more expensive mess every passing year. Imagine if we were like Europe and could use an all-inclusive pass to take advantage of an extensive, high-speed rail system that could whisk us all over the nation without the ridiculous air-travel costs and hassles or the time, dangers, expense and inconvenience of driving a car.
Alas, commercial trains dominate the U.S. railroad system, and passenger service has become a sad, tired, underutilized shell of its former self.
But that doesn't mean trains still can't be romantic and awe-inspiring, particularly for a young boy.
Every school day morning, I drive my son, Curt, from Pinewood all the way to the small town of China. It's about a 25-minute drive, no matter which route you take. There are lots of routes to take, but I'll save that story for another day.
These days, the primary drive-time topic is whether there will be a train. The trains along U.S. Highway 90 don't seem to be on a regular schedule, so we never know whether we'll see one.
Several times, while crossing the tracks near China, we've spotted a train way off in the distance. So we'll pull up next to a crossing and wait, taking in the experience, which goes in the following 10 steps:
1.) anticipation.
2.) first glimpse.
3.) hear the first horn blast from a little ways off.
4.) crossing guard goes ding-ding-ding as it goes down.
5.) ear-splitting horn blast.
6.) frantic waving at the conductor, who usually waves back.
7.) train loudly rumbles by.
8.) last train car passes.
9.) crossing guard goes ding-ding-ding as it goes up.
10.) we roll up the windows and head off for school, talking about train speed, loudness, size, etc.
This morning, we enhanced the experience by getting out of the car. The train became louder, bigger, faster and scarier than ever before. The conductor waved like crazy at us. I even found a couple of rusty, discarded railroad nails to keep as souvenirs.
Following a round of high-fives, Curt and I hurried off to school, excitedly talking about the train the rest of the way.
The experience underscores myriad reasons why we moved to the country. Here, folks take simple pleasures in what city folks too often take for granted as they rush from Point A to Point B, selfishly blabbering on their cell phones as their kids sit in the back seat and mindlessly stare at video screens or lose themselves in addicting video games.
That's why we don't have - and never will have - a DVD player in the car. If the kids need something to keep themselves occupied, they can look out the window, engage in conversation, play made-up games or bug each other.
That way, when a train, a hawk sitting on a powerline, an interesting patch of flowers, a bloody pile of road kill or some highway oddity comes along, they will neither miss it nor take it for granted.
posted by Brian Pearson at 9:07 AM
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