I Hear The Train A Comin'

I still have grainy memories as a 4 year old running to the end of my yard trying to catch a glimpse of the freight trains passing through town. It's amazing to me that trains like are still running to this day. When I recently saw the Providence And Worcester Railroad  train crossing the river to enter Portland, a wave of nostalgia came over me. For just a moment, I felt like I was a young boy back in 1968 again. 

 In a time when so many people are under the hypnotic control of their "smart phones" these old freight trains seem like mechanical dinosaurs but I find it comforting that pieces of our past still exist. 

This swing truss railroad bridge has got to be pretty darned old. It stays open most of the time but when a train needs to cross it turns to make the connection just as it did decades ago. It was featured in the 1993 Billy Joel video "River Of Dreams".

Even though the area near the bridge is an industrial area, there are still some nice birds in the area. During the year I find Peregrine Falcons, Common Ravens, and in this case, a Savannah Sparrow perched on the  top edge of a large dumpster.

A couple of years ago I found some fox kits wandering near the train tracks as their parents were hidden in the grass watching over them.

Here's a short video clip of the train.