Riding the rails or a dream comes true…..

I have had a long time love affair with railroads. Something draws me to the rails like a moth to a flame. I love to watch a big freight come roaring by through down town West Point, Georgia. I have often made clandestine rail trips via grain cars. Today was a real treat and legit.

Today, after riding over to the car shop, I stopped by the local rail yard to watch the Friday local pick up the empty lumber cars. I was just mulling about when a switchman asked me the magical question……”You want to take a ride?”

“You sure bet I do!” I replied.

“We are headed down to Opelika to pick up some loaded lumber cars and bring them back up to West Point. You can get back off here.” He said.

“Are you sure? I won’t get you in trouble, will I?” I asked.

“Hell no, fuck CSX, they don’t know their ass from a hole on the wall.” He said as he patted me on the back and laughed.

“You sure the engineer wouldn’t mind?” I asked again. I didn’t want to get in trouble.

“You ride in the second unit in the cab. You have nothing to worry about.” He replied.

I walked up to the second unit and climbed up the steps. It was a GP38-2 locomotive made by EMD. I sat in the engineer’s seat and reveled in my surroundings. The air conditioning felt good. There was a fridge on board filled with bottled water. I took out a bottle and drank a long draught. I was in heaven. This was a dream come true.

Before long, we hooked up the last string of cars and waited for the green signal light. A big through freight passed and we were on our way. The sound of the big locomotive was deafening. My heart raced as we picked up speed.

I got to see all the back parts of town and the long stretches of countryside beyond the city limits. You see things differently from a train. We finally made it to Opelika after about an hour and picked up a big string of loaded lumber cars filled with pine wood. I just sat in the engine watching the men work. Before long, we were headed back to West Point.

I hated to get off. This was a dream come true to sit in a real locomotive and enjoy the trip in comfort and not at the back of the train trying to hide myself. I got off the train and said a big thanks to the switchman. He just waved and said goodbye. At least, my wanderlust for the moment has been quelled. I had a great time and wish I could go back out tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe next week, they will let me ride again. I pray and hope so.