A Train Runs Through It

One of the fun things about chasing trains has been getting to see some places where those trains seem incongruous. One such location is La Grange, Kentucky, where the railroad mainline goes right down the middle of Main Street. Street running is fun to photograph, but not so much so for drivers who have to share the road. It always makes an interesting story as to the how and why such a situation came to be. Sometimes there just wasn't enough room for both tracks and road. Sometimes the railroad put down tracks first, then the town built around it - in older areas the reverse might be the case. In most instances the tracks are some branchline that sees little train traffic. Not so in La Grange. This is the mainline between Louisville and Cincinnati. A lot of long, heavy trains split the town every day. Although you'd think the merchants would be unhappy about the situation, the storekeepers I talked with didn't seem too concerned.

La Grange is where I bought a digital watch. The one I had been using died, so I decided to take the time between trains to replace it. I found I had a choice between a $3 watch that didn't have any way to set the time  or a $5 watch that did, and came with a lifetime guarantee. If it ever failed, you could send it along with $5 back to the manufacturer for a new watch. Such a deal!