NIGHT TRAIN: TALES OF THE RAILROAD

INTO THE NIGHT....“Doesn’t the railroad run any trains during daytime?” That was a question I asked myself many times during a long career in train, yard, and engine service. You saw the sun go down, you watched it come up again.Remember how it was? Afternoon gave way to evening and it was lantern time. We spoke with strange patterns of light – the silent language of the rails. Midnight jobs plowed the rail yard through long hours of darkness. Sometimes an early quit meant being home in bed, asleep, while still on the company nickel. Those nights were golden.Working as brakeman on long-winded road switchers required showing up with a lantern in one hand and caffeine in the other. Late into the night we moved like shadows, pulling and spotting industrial districts. On through freight trains the moon and the stars were our companions. We fought to stay awake in the warm locomotive cab where the rhythmic chant of the diesel engines was sleep inducing.Darkness brought a mystique to the railroad. Memory awakens to the lure of rolling wheels and the romance of running night trains. Once more in dreams, I see the shining rails of steel, my hand upon the throttle, our headlight probing the darkness, the clear signals that beckon us onward.Ever onward, into the night.ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 50 PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR Read more