Can anyone recall the sights and sounds of rail trains in the 40s and 50s?

When I was growing up we could hear the midnight train passing in the distant, at least in summer when the windows were raised. I would lie in bed and wonder where the train was going and wished I could go too. It sounded so lonely rumbling down the track.I use to wonder if hobos were on the train and what it must feel like riding in an open car like we saw in the movies. The sound of that train passing in the night always lulled me to sleep. Poppy

There is a track about a couple of blocks from my house. Occasionally I hear a train whistle or horn as they pass through.

I love it. In my small town, in the 40's and 50's we heard trains frequently. The passenger "streamliners" had a certain sound, the freight trains another. I had several opportunities to ride the train from Kansas to Chicago as a youngster. I loved the stations, Union Station in KC, don't remember the name of the Chicago station.

The station in our town was a beautiful stone building , a big platform with those huge carts one would load their bags on to be loaded onto the train. I remember riding through the countryside at night one late December in a sleeper car, mother and I would look out the window and see farm houses with lighted Christmas trees in their window. For me it was all magic. To now hear the horn or whistle of a train always evokes wonderful memories.

The old station in Ottawa KS is now a museum.

I hear a train right now as I sit here.

I was about two when I took my first train ride with my parents and my dad's mom. She came along to watch over me. I spoke quite well and entertained some sailors in a passenger train car going to Idaho to

see an aunt and uncle. The bumpity bump of the train tracks was very noticeable. Especially when I was put

to sleep in a berth in a sleeping car. I was on a top bunk, and felt very claustrophobic for the first time. As

small as I was, I noticed the lack of space from the bed,to the top of the wall unit. And it was hard for me to

get to sleep, being afraid to sleep.

When I was a young person, I traveled south on a delayed honeymoon of sorts, to meet and stay with my inlaws, in Las Vegas. We didn't have a sleeping car, and had to sit in our seats for two days and one

night. I wore a nive knit suit that got so stretches out moving around in my seat over the hours, that I chose to never wear it again. I barely slept that night on board. The more I wanted to, the noisier the

rails below made more noise.

I believe that the noisiest run, was on a 'milk run' train that took me to Seattle, from Portland, Ore. And

I heard every squeak and rattle and bump. We also stopped at every little town along the route to drop

off mail to the post offices there, and maybe we did pick up can's of milk, hence the name of the run.

There was no way, you could take a nap, for the jarring and noice of that train.

The smoothest ride I ever had, was on a round trip 'stream liner' going from Portland, to Seattle. And we sat in the second level of one of the viewing cars. That was the most pleasing train ride I ever took, before or after. Since my youth, I have not ridden in a train since, as I switched to flying. And now, that is

no longer an occurance, since our retirement. But still fresh are the memories. And I do remember the

early steam engine when I was a toddler as well as those when I was grown. It was an adventure, every

time I rode the train. And I'm glad I had the experiences I had.

Yes I can. Our parents used to take us down a lane where we could watch the trains go by. We became very excited at the sound and the smell of an approaching train. The line was way up above us just where it went over a bridge and we were down below but the drivers always knew to look out for children and they would always wave to us. Those were the days.

The Southern Railroad ran beside our house. The sound of distant train whistles and the wheels chugging down the tracks were my lullabies. Seeing train headlights through fog is a hauntingly beautiful sight. We put pennies on the tracks and watched as the trains smashed them, we thought it was so funny. And we loved to stand in the street and wave to the engineers and brakemen. They always waved back and we were so thrilled.

I remember the sounds and smells of the trains transporting coal from the mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky to the other regions of the country.

As a child,I did not have any problem falling asleep as the rail travel was very relaxing and comfortable.The swaying of the cars.Plus people did not have portable sound devices either for entertainment.

I can still remember the steam engines in the Hudson Valley, actually the steamboats too, like the Robert Fulton and the Alexander Hamilton.

this was before my time but live in front and beside the rails i hear them all the time and a lot of old time music was written with the rhythm of the train. I hum tunes as they pass

i love that sound except the horn it makes me have panic attacks if i am to close to them when they sound

we should bring them all back the 18 wheelers are costing us to much and making it unsafe to drive

Jaw harp or Juice Harp: AKA Jaw Harp, which failed to originate in the Jewish lifestyle or the Ozark mountains of the U. S.. that is pointed out in oriental utilization around the 4th century; in spite of if, there's no reason it ought to not have been used even in the previous. that could be a single notice tool held in the mouth with a plucking lever controlling a single reid. Squeezing reasons sound version. adjustments in mouth shape and respiration can effect a distinction in sound. yet, no count what you do there is in basic terms one notice emitted, this is why i like its unique sound this is often changing and ever a similar. It became into favored with the aid of Bob Dylan in many poetic numbers. i think of everybody ought to play it in the event that they practiced.

My big sister and I rode a passenger train from Denison, TX to Temple, TX in 1953 (about 205 mile trip) to visit our Aunt, Uncle and 3 cousins. I was 9, big sister 16. We each had a small cardboard suit case and sack lunches. Daddy and Momma drove us to Denison from our small rural home town. The station was beautiful, so big and bustling with people to get "all aboard". Our coach was not air conditioned. Just wide open windows.

There was a lay over for over 2 hours in Dallas on our journey dropping off and/or adding on cars. We decided to explore the other cars and found an air conditioned one, so we retrieved our suit cases, sack lunches and moved right into it. Ahhhh. (Texas gets pretty hot in the summer you know.) We didn't have refrigerated air conditioning at home, so this was a real treat in itself. Thinking back now, for all we knew, what if it was a car that was going to be switched to another train headed to who knows where.

I'll never forget trying to get my "land legs" back after we finally arrived in Temple. If you walk around on those old moving trains, you had to walk spraddle legged to keep your balance !