What you may not happen to have or be

[michaelboy]

The scent of cinders, slag and creosote -
balancing from rail to rail, signal flares and
the green glass of telephone pole insulators

* * *




I always dreamed of making a small rail riding car that would be powered by a lawnmower engine. It wouldn't have been elaborate -- simply a platform with a crude set of controls. Even today, I imagine how it would be made and more importantly, you beside me on the seat. When I see a railroad company pickup truck that has been retrofitted with rail wheels, I get excited. I guess my soul is dazzled by trains and you but I don't really understand much of the reasoning for it.

I may never make the rail riding car, but that's really not so important.

Comments

[tactilemuse]

The sounds of trains passing is one of the most calming sounds for me and funnily enough I've been watching some videos on youtube of people building railcars of either motorized or human powered movement. Mostly being used on disused tracks, but interesting all the same.

[michaelboy]

Where we used to live in Pgh (in Moon), we could hear the trains down in the valley along the Ohio River. Miss that sound...the airplanes, not so much.

[tactilemuse]

Yeah, I lived by an airport out in Missouri and I did not love that the same way I loved the train tracks either.