Travel...coming to an end

Somewhere along the line deserted railroad tracks became feared and associated with seedy behavior. I guess it makes sense since these former "highways" usually are left to become dark corners of towns, overgrown with weeds. As I discovered the other day, that idea doesn't always have to become the reality.

I came across this railroad track running right through the center of a small town, just a few yards away from an historical exhibit - and a few farther yards from the currently used railroad track. Granted, I was passing by in the middle of a beautiful summer day, giving me no reason for concern, but I still had the feeling that this particular area was more a reminder of a town's storied past, instead of any current seediness.

Imagine what used to travel along these railroad tracks:

Was it a passenger train carrying residents from the small town into the "big city"?

Was it used to transport raw materials from a local farm or factory to a bigger facility, where it was used to manufacture some other product?

Did a steam engine travel this rail or maybe a diesel (any train experts out there...can you actually tell by looking at the tracks...I've always wondered?)

I tried to imagine what the area looked like 50 or 6o years ago when this track was probably in use. The surrounding gravel lot was probably full of travelers saying hello or good-bye to loved ones; or trucks emptying large cartons of materials to be loaded into a boxcar. The quiet that I experienced would most likely have been replaced by laughter, tears, honking horns, and loud train whistles...

Then I wondered how it all came to a stop...as I mentioned there was a different track not far away, so I wondered what happened to make the rail that I stood near obsolete - so obsolete that a railroad tie was placed across the width of the track. I think that is my favorite aspect of this picture: to alleviate any doubt as to whether or not the track should be used, despite the fact that it literally ended once it hit the road, a huge railroad tie was placed across the middle. What better way of saying "the end" than to literally block the path. A dramatic end to what could have, possibly, been a very dramatic story.

That's the Golden Perspective...what's yours?