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May 28, 2015

"We still have whistles in the night"

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A Gorgeous Photographic Elegy to the Last Great Steam Train- - Steam engines, Reevy wrote to me, were "highly reflected in our music, our folklore, and our art.
Perhaps due to its animate appearance (seeming to breathe, with an air pump that sounds like a heartbeat and so on), the steam locomotive added a richness to the American cultural scene that the diesel locomotive does not." In losing steam power, America lost that particular artistic inspiration, that icon. "At least," Reevy reflected, "even with diesel locomotives, we still have whistles in the night."

Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 28, 2015 8:22 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

A horn honking, be it on a smart car, a Mercedes, an 18-wheeler, or a diesel-electric, is nowhere near as gripping as a locomotive steam whistle, day or night. When I was a kid, we lived among 'em. Walked the tracks most of the way to grade school because that was the shortest route. Had a lot of company too.

Posted by: BillH [TypeKey Profile Page] at May 29, 2015 7:14 AM

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