Only a turkey hunter knows.

We live within earshot of the Pan Am Railroad. Two kinds of trains pass by, passenger and freight.

The Amtrack Downeaster, the passenger train is the Jake. The whistle blasts are short and lack volume. It passes through town quickly with one station stop. The train bell yelps as it attracts riders. Their schedule brings them through town many times a day like a jake haunting the outside perimeter of a mature birds strutting zone.

Then there is the mighty freight train. With the wind right you can hear the whistle blow at RR crossings a town away.

It does not stop on its journey north or south as it passes by old brick warehouses with siding that serviced a town a century ago. When the loaded cars of lumber come south from Maine you can feel the ground shake like a thunderous gobble.

On warm summer nights and cold dry winter days I tilt my ear to the distant rumble of an approaching train.

Is it a Jake or is it a Tom?

Only a turkey hunter knows.

Good comparison. My are usually run away trains, headed the other way.


Earl