There's a train track that still runs east-west through Black Mountain. And sometimes you get stopped by a train. Fortunately I had my phone camera out, and was at the front of the line the other day.
Since the depot has become a shop for arts & crafts, there was no interest in stopping in Black Mountain.
This train going west had come down the mountain pass from Old Fort...and was carrying open cars full of river rocks. I don't know where they came from, nor where they were going. I was just glad it was a relatively short train!
I glanced over to see town crew members decorating the light poles with greenery and wreaths...and sometimes candy canes. They posted flags along State St. for Veterans Day last week, and they are still out.
Trains stopped running here more than a decade ago. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteWhen my windows are open I can hear the toots at the nearby crossing, which is required by law. I can sometimes hear a clackity clack as well.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteIt has been awhile since I have had to wait for a train to go by. I am glad it was a short one! It beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with all the decorations going up! Take care, enjoy your day!
At grade RR crossings can be dangerous. I assume there was a bar that lowered to keep you off the tracks. When we lived in MD at the house we built there was a RR crossing like that. Unfortunately the wait was long when a train came by. It was coming from WV usually with a mile long amount of coal cars going to the Baltimore Harbor. Or returning with empty coal cars. We could hear the train whistle from our house which was always a neat sound. I need to do a google search and see where Black Mountain is.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been stopped for long trains in my lifetime, and usually turn off the engine of my car.
DeleteFound you on the map - just east of Asheville. I recognize the name Swannanoa. Isn't there a college there called Warren Wilson College? I know my Dad had some connection to that at one time but it's escaping my memory what.
ReplyDeleteYes, Warren Wilson is in Swannanoa...and I had heard of Black Mountain before moving here from a young church member in Tampa who attended WW college. Somehow my liking of her influenced me that this would be a good place to retire to, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.
DeleteAlways nice to see the trains. We once took Amtrak from Seattle to Los Angeles. It's a wonderful way to travel.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I haven't had more train experiences as an adult...riding on them, I mean. It seems that era has passed already.
DeleteAs a kid my grandmother used to take me on trains during the holidays. It's one of my favorite memories.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great memory, Bill. I rode my last one when I was just married, back in the 60s.
DeleteWhere I grew up I remember trains off to the south, and one would occasionally hear their whistle.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember any as a kid. When I was a teen we would go visit my Texas relatives from St. Louis...a very long ride.
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