This is my hometown.....SIX

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My entire childhood was spent living 2 blocks away from the railroad tracks. The railroad tracks were a place of danger, wonderment, excitement, and maybe a bit of mystery. As a youngster when I went out with my friends, I was often told: "Stay away from the tracks". Because of this, I lived in a little fear of the tracks as well as a great deal of respect for them. To this day whenever I drive across the tracks, I don't just double check, I at least triple check before gunning it across.

I don't know how many times I would ride my bike down the road and count the number of engines, cars, and cabooses in each train. There were days when it seemed they were too short other days it seemed to take forever. Especially if I was on the West Side of the tracks and needed to get home. Sometimes staring at the train I wondered where it had come from and where it was going. I looked long and hard to see if there was ever any hobos "riding the rails" like they did on television. But I never saw anyone besides the Union Pacific conductors and the other workers riding in the caboose.

Sometimes we would put pennies or dimes on the tracks, just to see what the trains would do to them. It never ceased to amaze me how flat the pennies would become. They were so smooth and shiny. It was never super exciting, but it was always interesting.

The sound of the trains coming through, the whistle blowing and the engines chugging is one of those comfortable sounds. It was one of those sounds that I was used to hearing and to be honest, it is one of those sounds that helps me sleep. In fact, when I don't hear it, I don't sleep as well.

Railroad tracks have always been a part of my family. As a matter of fact, my mother grew up in Juab (the city not the county) and the picture below shows part of the foundation of the house she lived in, until they moved to Nephi. If you notice the foundation is right between two different tracks. I know because mom grew up literally next to the tracks, we have a greater respect for them. My mother's dad worked for the railroad until his retirement, I am certain this helped to contribute to our respect.

I do love the tracks and I consider them to be a great part of Nephi.