Yup, I've ridden that Durango-Silverton train a few times, myself! It's pretty amazing how they built those tracks on a narrow ledge of a cliff. I hope that thing never derails!!
I've been nuts about trains ever since I was a kid. But, for a few months this last winter, I had to move my trailer to a campground to be nearer to work, because of the shift I was on. This was in the Kent valley part of Seattle (you NW BOMBers probably all know where the KOA Kampground is on 212th St. ) Just a few blocks east of there are the BNSF and UP main lines, paralleling each other. All I heard were train horns all... night... long!!! They just about drove me nuts, I don't know how anyone can live there. There are so many grade crossings, and the tracks are so busy, that it's just non-stop horns! I hardly slept at all. There are many houses that are actually between the tracks that are a block apart from each other. I don't see how they can stand it. I mean, like I said, I love trains, but man, that was too much for me! Some of those engineers seemed to go way overboard with the horns.
I would love to live within earshot of the tracks, but I want to make sure I'm far enough away from any grade crossings so I don't have the horns jarring me awake. But it is a neat feeling to be snug in bed and hear the deep humming of those engines rolling through the night.
My favorite railroad memory was of just that situation, in a campground in Banff National Park in Alberta. The Canadian Pacific tracks go right through there. I remember sleeping in my sleeping bag in the bed of my truck and hearing the trains off in the distance, straining to pull that load up the Rocky Mountains. That is something I'll never forget.
Andy
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
