Oh yes, Tom, I have a long history with trains. I lived in a small town in Quebec province and rode the Canadian Pacific Rail in to Montreal for school every Monday as a kid. We had a "train gang" who grew up together riding the rails; a couple of boys would bring guitars, and one French-Canadian kid would sometimes do a traditional dance called the rig-a-jig in the aisle, to the delight of the passengers. Eventually that line was taken over, and we were treated to the train that originated in the Maritimes and continued on down into the States--complete with a dome car with café for breakfast, but there were also a lot of drunks after the overnight trip from--I'm thinking it was--Halifax.
Our yard in Iberville, Quebec, was bordered by the CPR/CNR train track AND a river, so my day was never complete without hearing that whistle blow as the trains approached the bridge and then went thundering by.
I still take the train from NYC to Montreal to visit my old pals. Sure is a pretty ride up the Hudson Valley... sometimes I see wildlife along the river.
Nice to hear you all talking trains on the forum! I made some nice friends at Amtrak in Wilmington DE when we made the video.