Trains

This weekend, Jennifer and I went on a day trip, or rather, a two-day trip. We drove to LaGrange, Texas, to visit a small town. We like going to the local museums, and the ones in and around LaGrange did not disappoint. After a wonderful meal at a barbecue place, we decided that Ice cream was in order. Jennifer found a place in the nearby town of Winchester called Winchester Depot and Ice Cream Junction.

When we were almost there, a train was parked across the railroad crossing, blocking our path. We stopped and noticed that the car behind us turned right onto a road that paralleled the tracks. We backed up, then turned right to follow them, thinking that if they were local people, they would know of a detour around the parked train. After about a quarter mile, we crossed the single track. The road curved back in the direction from which we came. We stopped at the Depot and Ice Cream Junction, which was next to the railroad crossing that was blocked by the stopped train.

When we walked through the front door, it was like stepping back in time. The store reminded me so much of my grandfather’s store back in the 1960s. The young lady behind the counter asked us what we would like. Jennifer and I each ordered a single scoop of ice cream. After paying for our order, we walked outside to sit at one of the tables. It was a nice evening, and the sun was setting. I could hear the train idling. Then I heard the air compressor start up inside the train engine. It pumped for about a minute, then, with a hiss of air at the brakes, the compressor kicked off. That is how close we were to the train engines. The large diesel engines inside the lead engine and the one behind it seemed to take on a musical beat as they idled.

After a few minutes of enjoying our ice cream and the late spring sunset, I heard another train horn about a mile away. I could tell he was moving fast by the way his horn sounded. Jennifer and I looked at each other, knowing the track we crossed was a single track, and there was a parked train just a hundred feet away from us. Jokingly, I said, “We may get a front-row seat to a spectacular train wreck!” Jennifer said, “Surely they will not hit.” I responded, “We crossed a single track less than a quarter mile from here, and that other train sounds like it is really moving.” The other train was getting closer by the second and was moving fast. We finally saw the second train, moving at about 50 miles per hour, heading for the parked train. When it was near the parked train, I really thought there would be a head-on collision, but the moving train kept going as it passed. The horn of the moving train echoed as it moved away from us, and a long line of train cars followed. After about a minute or so, the moving train was gone.

We noticed a white SUV pulled up to the train on the road on this side of the crossing. The rear hatch opened as two guys climbed out of the rear seat. They grabbed a backpack each and started walking towards the parked engines. I heard the air compressors start up again as the two walked along the tracks. The front door on the train engine opened, and two more guys carrying backpacks came out and then climbed down the steps onto the tracks. The two sets of guys walked past each other. The ones leaving the train engine walked over to the SUV, threw their backpacks into the back, then climbed into the back seat. The two guys who got out of the SUV were now climbing the steps at the front of the engine, going through the front door, and then the door closed behind them. So, they were making a crew change. I made a lot of crew changes when I worked on the tugboats; these guys had the same enthusiasm we did—just another day for them.

A few minutes later, the headlights on the train came on. I heard the engine RPMs slowly rise, the airbrakes hissed at the wheels, then the train began its laborious effort to move. Inches at first, then slowly the train moved a little faster. As the train approached the crossing where we had crossed about a quarter mile away, he blew his horn. These guys were starting their work night of driving the train. I was amazed by the graffiti on almost all the train cars as they passed us. Some of the artwork was impressive. The white SUV slipped away in the dark.

By this time, Jennifer and I had finished our ice cream and decided to make our way to our hotel. We crossed the railroad tracks and saw two side-by-side tracks at this crossing. “I sure thought those two trains were going to hit!” I said. Jennifer agreed. She said that would have been scary to watch, especially since we were so close. I went on to say, “I would have had to climb aboard the flaming wreck to save the Engineers, maybe even save their lives.” Jennifer looked at me as she drove, “Sure you would.” I went on to say, “Then you could pull them to safety as I climbed through the wreck looking for more survivors.” I could not see, but I think Jennifer rolled her eyes.

It was a fun evening, enjoying ice cream while watching what we thought might be a spectacular train wreck. I am glad they did not wreck.