“Dinner in the Diner, Nothing Could be Finer”!

I’ve always had a fascination with trains. I’ve been known to speed up to a train crossing if I know a train is approaching, just so I can be first in line at the crossing arms. Once I’m there, I roll down every window, turn off the radio, and just wait to hear and feel the raw energy of the approaching locomotives as they crash through my world right in front of me. The sound of a locomotive horn blast is enthralling as it rattles my eardrums, and I wait for the Doppler shift in the horn’s pitch as it approaches and then recedes. Then, as the thunder from the iron horses disappears down the rails, I will let my mind settle in to the steady, rhythmic clickety-clack sound of the train cars as they obediently follow behind. I might even lay my head back on the headrest, close my eyes, and just let the sounds relax me until the last car fades away in the distance. Here’s a recording I made of one such encounter:

Fawn and I will leave Wednesday evening for a 34 hour, 1632 mile journey on the famous Amtrak “Sunset Limited” from Houston to Los Angeles. Although I did travel by rail a few times as a child from Amarillo to Fort Worth, this will be our first such adventure together, and I’m not quite sure what to expect! I’m expecting to have plenty of time to document our experiences here with notes and photos. So if you’re interested, check back here later this week!