A railroad (freight only) goes east and west thru our town. There are 12 different crossings within the city to get across. There is only 1 underpass. Today, I left the house to go downtown at 12:05. I finally arrived downtown at 12:20. A train was stopped across 10 of the 12 crossings. Traffic was either at a standstill, or people were driving like they were nuts diverting down side streets trying to find a crossing that was open. I, knowing my way around town, went thru the city park, where the only underpass is, and slowly made it to my destination, which at any other time would have taken me about 3 minutes tops. When I left downtown, a friend told me that the 2 West most crossings were open, so I circled back, went west on the south side of the tracks, crossed, and then slowly made my way home. What would have taken me about 5 minutes, took 45. In a small town like this, we need better passage when a train derails or hits something or has to be stopped. The town was more or less at a standstill until after 2:00 PM. It's a good thing we have fire stations on both sides of the city, and a police substation, too. People were frustrated, and rightly so, and were driving crazy, even going the wrong way on a one way. Semis were trying to make their way down our narrow city residential streets. It was ugly. We have two major state arteries running north and south thru town as well as one US highway running east and west. What a mess! But I made it home safely!
Peace,
JE
2 comments:
That sounds like a pain. We only have two or three street crossings. It doesn't matter because the track is being removed.
Sometimes trains are an inconvenience but I still fondly remember when they were the major method of transportation for ordinary folk and people weren't so hurried.
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