Landscape, Olympus OM-2, Poetry

by Patrick JenningsJan 9, 20167:00 am

Heavy Rail

Route 66, Mojave Desert, California, United States of America

Surprised
I am
As always

While steel rails compress
Concrete ties depress
And the ground rumbles
Trembling underfoot

Squealing wheels grind
Steel on steel
Bearing massive loads
On thin metal ribbons

There am I, immersed
In a cacophony of senses
Reminded, once again
Just how heavy a train is

Route 66
Mojave Desert
California, United States of America

Taken during travels, 1997

Inspired by Weight(less), today’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge

7Comment

1

A Wandering Memory on Jan 9, 2016 at 8:55 am
Reply

Lovely photo – great entry… Thew weight these can carry is astonishing – so I can’t imagine what they actually weigh

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- 2
  
  Patrick Jennings on Jan 9, 2016 at 9:28 am
  Reply
  
  Thank you!
  
  Yes, astonishing is a great word for it. They are pretty much solid steel. I try to recall just how heavy even a small piece of steel is — say something as mundane as an old bicycle frame, or a mechanical car part — and then multiply that by 10,000 or 100,000 or so… Nope. Still cant imagine!
  
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3

A Wandering Memory on Jan 9, 2016 at 9:32 am
Reply

Hey pat. Our paths keep crossing! Love your interpretations and photos. You have a great eye for it mate. I love those freight trains! The first time I saw the real big ones on Australia and USA my eyes lit up. We don’t really have them in the uk remarkable bit of kit really

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- 4
  
  Patrick Jennings on Jan 9, 2016 at 10:13 am
  Reply
  
  Heh… Like when travelling, and you keep running into the same folks in the hostels and backpackers from one place to the next. 😉
  
  Interesting…. I had never noticed the UK freights were smaller scale. I suppose that has to do with the relative shortness of the haul distances.
  
  On a drive across Canada, I was just exiting the Alberta badlands into the vast Canadian prairies when I noticed a freight weaving through the grassy hills. A half kilometer or so away, it looked exactly like an HO scale model, in some model train enthusiast basement. I had to remind myself of moments like these, standing adjacent to the tracks as the behomoth moves by.
  
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  - 5
    
    A Wandering Memory on Jan 9, 2016 at 10:18 am
    Reply
    
    Good analogy. It’s like virtual traveling: yes they are a much smaller scale in the uk! We didn’t see many when we lived in Canada but do assume they are huge also. It’s just come to my mind the sleeper trains in China that were just huge also… Remarkable when you think how long the technology has been around. Yes the vastness would be a defining reason.
    
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6

Elusive Trope on Jan 15, 2016 at 9:12 am
Reply

eloquent capturing of the viceral sensation of being next to a passing train, how it turns in our minds, contemplating measurements of heaviness and lightness.

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- 7
  
  Patrick Jennings on Jan 17, 2016 at 11:53 am
  Reply
  
  Thanks! I really am so very fascinated by these things. Love the transition between a visceral experience of them in proximity and a romantic vision of them from a distance.
  
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