Railroaders' Nostalgia > Low Light @ Buckeye Avenue

I did a lot of my 1960s growing up while watching trains & engines running back & forth on the very tracks seen below. My Grandma’s house was out of frame on the right, about a block away. I absolutely loved watching as long cuts of cars were being switched. And that switching would have the engine(s) occasionally blocking the main drag, Buckeye Avenue. Just like what’s happening in this image. Sometimes I would notice cars honking, and could imagine irate drivers yelling at the stupid train. There were even times when our family was in the car heading home to Manhattan, only to be blocked here at Buckeye by some movement Santa Fe had going on. My Dad never quite yelled at the trains, but I could tell when he wasn’t a happy camper! Me? I was thrilled to see a Santa Fe train up close for a change!

After 1978 I became one of those Santa Fe crewmen on trains that would occasionally block Buckeye. We didn’t do it purposely! It was just part of the job. And I remember a time or 2 when irate drivers would yell at us to “move that stupid train”. We would clear the crossing as soon as we could...

Now that I’m retried and my RR career is over, it’s all come full-circle. With my camera I will occasionally see & shoot trains blocking Buckeye Avenue. The lines are longer now because sometimes there are 2, but usually there is only 1 other crew member doing the ground work. That means more time is usually needed. That means the lines of stopped cars are even longer than before. And that means there is all the more likelihood that irate drivers are yelling & screaming at the stupid train.

But nobody can hear them from 3 blocks away, right? That means things are better, no???

1. BNSF 3770 points a Superior, NE bound grain empty at Buckeye Avenue in Abilene, KS. In this telephoto view from the Cedar St crossing the train has stopped right on the crossing for some station work way on back there. It’s 7:59 PM on August 28, 2021.

Thanks for yelling!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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Nice stopry and shot, Lance!

RC Lundgren