The wrong side of the tracks
Most people don't like living near a railway line but I do. One of the places that I lived in as a kid was a small farm of a couple of acres. We had chickens, a large vegetable garden and an orchard of peach and apricot trees. There was a fence at the bottom of the yard and a railway line on the other side of that.
In those days locomotives were still steam-powered and had real whistles. As soon as I heard the whistle as the train passed the level-crossing over the main road, I knew that I had about a minute to run to the bottom of the yard and watch the train go by. The engine-drivers all knew me and would wave and so would some of the passengers. I dreamed of being an engine-driver when I grew up.
I have not lived near a railway line since that time until 5 years ago when I bought my farm here. Our local railway line isn't on the other side of the fence. It's about a half a mile away running through the dunes parallel to the ocean shore. It only carries freight trains (which take our timber to Eugene) and the locomotives are diesel. Instead of whistles, they have loud horns which are not as pleasant.
It took me a while to get used to the horn which was blown at the local level crossing at 6 every morning when a train headed south. The dogs never did get used to it and would start howling. At 8 pm the northbound train would blow it's horn and I would listen to the clackety-clack and the squealing of the wheels as the train negotiated a curve.
I'm talking about the train in the past tense because last September the railway line was closed. At first the owners of the railway blamed the decision to close the line on three unsafe tunnels through the mountains between the coast and Eugene. Then they changed their tune and said that they were not making enough profit to keep the line open. So I was surprised to read this:
Railroad company puts up $24 million to save Neverland
In those days locomotives were still steam-powered and had real whistles. As soon as I heard the whistle as the train passed the level-crossing over the main road, I knew that I had about a minute to run to the bottom of the yard and watch the train go by. The engine-drivers all knew me and would wave and so would some of the passengers. I dreamed of being an engine-driver when I grew up.
I have not lived near a railway line since that time until 5 years ago when I bought my farm here. Our local railway line isn't on the other side of the fence. It's about a half a mile away running through the dunes parallel to the ocean shore. It only carries freight trains (which take our timber to Eugene) and the locomotives are diesel. Instead of whistles, they have loud horns which are not as pleasant.
It took me a while to get used to the horn which was blown at the local level crossing at 6 every morning when a train headed south. The dogs never did get used to it and would start howling. At 8 pm the northbound train would blow it's horn and I would listen to the clackety-clack and the squealing of the wheels as the train negotiated a curve.
I'm talking about the train in the past tense because last September the railway line was closed. At first the owners of the railway blamed the decision to close the line on three unsafe tunnels through the mountains between the coast and Eugene. Then they changed their tune and said that they were not making enough profit to keep the line open. So I was surprised to read this:
Railroad company puts up $24 million to save Neverland
The parent company of an Oregon railroad operation that shut down the rail line from Eugene to Coquille has paid $24 million to help pop singer Michael Jackson keep his Neverland Ranch, The Associated Press reported Friday.What? I am completely befuddled by this.
That’s $1 million more than the estimated cost of repairs to the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad’s line — and $19 million more than the company has offered to pay to fix it.
The rail line is owned by RailAmerica, whose parent company, Fortress Investment Group LLC, signed a “confidential” agreement that allows Jackson to retain ownership of his property, AP reported.
Jackson had gone into default on the 2,500-acre ranch in Central California, and it was being put on the auction block until he signed the refinancing plan with Fortress.
In late September, RailAmerica closed the railroad that shuttled lumber, propane, steel and other materials on the tracks.
posted by Joubert at 1:01 PM
The Alliance
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