One thing I’ve heard a lot in the last few nights working outside after dark, and again while I was sitting outside listening to the rain, are the train whistles off in the distance.
Talk about a legendary and well-earned trope, the touchstone of countless country-western ballads. That lonesome call off in the distance, a few million metric tons of freight heading off through the night to an undefined someplace off over the horizon.
The proximity of this neighborhood to two separate main rail lines between SoCal and points east was a big factor on choosing it for me. There were a handful of other houses we looked at which were NEXT TO the train tracks, and while that had a certain attraction, really FEELING them rumble by and having the horns rattling the windows, I was also conscious of some of the potential downside to that after the novelty wore off.
Here we’re about two miles away in separate directions, there are railcams online where I can see what’s coming and going, and I can hear them off in the distance, even when I’m inside. It’s a comforting sound as I’m falling asleep at night, and a little source of joy repeatedly through the day.
And again, tonight when I was out on the porch, sitting and listening to the substantial rain shower pounding on the tin roof of the porch, running off into puddles out on the turn and rocks, it was wonderful to hear the train sounding off.
It’s one of the little pleasures.
Gotta take ’em where you can find them!
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 