First In Line!

Kim put a picture on Facebook of her grandson Thomas standing at a bridge railing over the train yard watching the activity below. Seeing the picture immediately took me back to my youth and the countless times Nana and I stood on various vantage points to watch the hustle and bustle of switching and building trains in the old Frisco yard near her house. I loved trains. I could - and did - spend many hours just watching the trains slowly move around the yard as the switching locomotives built the trains for their journeys off to unknown places.

Bob Ward, Nana and Papa's tenant, then neighbor, was larger than life when I was a kid. He was a Brakeman on the Frisco Lines, back when the railroads still had brakemen monitoring the train from the caboose that brought up the rear of every train. It was always a thrill when Bob was in the caboose of a passing train.

I still love trains.

One of the highlights of my time spent working in video production was a shoot we did in the GE Locomotive plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. I stood in the factory where the mighty powerhouses of transportation were born. I still remember that day with great joy.

I have written before about what ranks up there as one of my favorite Father's Day celebrations watching the mighty Union Pacific Challenger when it made a trip to Milwaukee.

I simply love trains!

I have many strange habits that drive people around me nuts, but perhaps none quite so blatant as my driving behavior when trains are involved. Whenever possible, I adjust my speed when I see the lights go on or see a train approaching a crossing in an attempt to time it so I am first in line when the train arrives. There are few driving experiences more fun than being the first car at a train crossing so I can see and feel the power as the locomotives rumble past, and watch the progression of cars; each carrying precious cargo that represents our economy in action.

I suppose the people in the cars behind me may be a little peeved at being "stuck" by a train, but I think it is wonderful! For those few minutes; it's just like I'm a little boy again.

Seeing Kim's picture reminded me that there is still something magical about little boys and trains - even when we become big boys.