*smiles back... I also figure Marm will like it...

V.

When big things fail, they fail big.

Bunners

that they do... always have...

*hugs...

V.

I was confused at first as to how sand could derail a train. Now I know, and it sounds awful. When I think of it, I imagine lots of similar circumstances could cause the same problem.

wow...

V.

it was a new one for me too... looking at the picture you can see the engine is awful top heavy too...

V.

Usually when something almost arrives on time, they're a few minutes late, not a few yards short...

bad bad bad bad... heeheehee...

V.

Very good. The logging railroads had to deal with much the same... only it was water carrying the sand and rocks to the tracks.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense...

V.

I thought you'd like this one... *hugs...

V.

I always loved the cowcatcher on the front of the really old engines...

V.

This reminds me of what my uncles father told. He worked on the engines themselves, where he live was notorious for keeping steam in the locomotives that had just got done with their run, this was because there was a lot of heavy grades around the town. Because of the steam still in the locomotives, they would tend to run a lot. So to fix them from having them run into the main line, because there wasn't a turn table in front of the sheds where they kept the locomotives, the decided to install a siding just big enough for a locomotive. At the end of the little siding was a mind of dirt . As you can a imagine what troubles it would cause. Since they would always throw the switch when they past it, that way if they did have a run away it would just go into the siding. He remembered going to work being surprised by what one locomotive did. " Yes you may have some that end up on their side, some at a weird angle, but one he had to laugh at. It had hit it just right to where it ended up sitting on its belly with the wheels kept turning as if it was riding on some imaginary rails."

*laughs... now that would be a site to see...

V.

He did say that there was chuff, chuff, chuff, chuff coming from it. Besides he was also a crane operator for the yard, and he had to operate the crane to get back on the rails safely

that really completes the picture... thank you...

V.

Reading that made cold chills run down my spine. Brrrrrrr.

Great work my friend.

*smiles kinda big... thank you...

V.

I presume you read the original lyrics....

nope... I have no idea what they were. I did look up 'how to write a ballad' just to be sure, and it said (I love this) 'tell a story' - so - I listened to some country music, learned about drinking beer and evil women, and then put pen to paper, so to speak.

V.

You're so full of it I can hardly believe you. LOL I'll email you Stanley's lyrics. You were both on the same track, just different viewpoints. Your ballad gave me chills, Stanley's made me sad.

Same track! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Good one!

Thanks - I look forward to the reading...

V.

I have a deep fondness for trains myself, and this is good, a
bittersweet, melancholy way. Props for using Johnson Bar
as well.

There's only one, minor correction I'd make, if you don't mind.

I don't mind at all... please tell... by the way, my son was a steam train engineer at Disney World for some five years.

V.

That sounds like the third coolest job. You'll have to tell me about it, sometime.
As for the correction, it's a minor rule of thumb I learned from an RL writer's
club I'm part of. Don't use the same word in quick succession if you can
help it. The intro has recorded twice in the same sentence.

ahhhhhh... I missed that one. My editor's eye usually catches double use of words. I appreciate the heads up.

*hugs...

V.

The tune that played in my head as I read the poem had an interesting juxtaposition against the disaster I knew that was going to happen. Like it was surprisingly jaunty and lively in spite of "yeah this is going to be a LITERAL trainwreck..."

*laughs... true, true, sometimes that does happen.

V.

I think you intended it! Get this tune out of my head, lol!

*chuckles and offers her a candy bar... that should do the trick...

V.