Phantom Train

I hear a faint rumble in the distance.  The sound increases in intensity, then the blow of the whistle sounds.  I love the sound of a train's whistle.

                           AUDIO HERE IF I CAN GET IT TO UPLOAD  - UGH!

      I have tried to upload most of the day now with no success - these blogs are challenging to get the photos and verbiage just right, but adding movie segments are almost impossible - cross your fingers!

                          I hear the train  now at 11:00 PM - the smile is on my face.

A train is passing, approximately one mile from our farm, out of sight but not out of earshot.  I smile when I hear the train and I visualize it passing by the farm, in a manner of speaking - a phantom train. 

I do not know, for sure, how often a train passes each day; but I can hear it regularly, and at times, I must block the sound out - I guess it all depends on what I am doing at the time.  On certain days, I can even hear the wheels rolling, metal against metal, over the tracks - almost as if that train ran right past my house, in my yard,  rather than that mile away.  The sound is that clear.

The mellow sound of the whistle makes  me think of the days of yesteryear as portrayed in old movies - when trains were the fashion for most traveling long distances. I have used train travel, myself, about four times in my lifetime. The most memorable experience of each trip was in watching another's world go by, seeing how other people live, as I looked out the large train windows - not being a part of this world, only a passerby - almost like a 'peeping tom', but so interesting.  Now, freight seems to be the main passenger.  Fortunately, trains are still a viable part of our lives, our economy. 

The train passes through the small, nearby town of Vesuvius, going north or south.  I hear the whistle blow as the train thunders through the intersection of Route 56.  I can imagine the striped gates down to warn vehicle traffic from crossing the tracks just prior to the train's arrival.

I have only been in Vesuvius twice, over the past 23 years, when I have actually seen the train pass by (Can you believe that?) - deafening, the wheels clanging along the metal rails.  One by one, the connected train cars quickly pass - almost in a blurr.  As the engine moves further down the tracks, the string of cars following seem to slow down.  Watching and wondering what each railway car carries, the train keeps moving - destination unknown.

And, I will continue to take pleasure in the coming and going of my phantom train on my farm - smile on my face!