The following was sent to me by Richard Palmer; originally printed in an old Trains Magazine
The Country Trains
What happened to the country trains
That traveled from town to town?
What happened to the old worn rails
And the ties that held them down?
What happened to the whistle and
The old-time string of cars?
What happened to the engines too
I wonder where they are.
What happened to the depots that
stood snug along the tracks?
Now we see them falling down,
And our thoughts go wandering back
To that railroad bed beside the track
Where once the old train stood:
It's bare of all the telegraph poles
And the cross arms made of wood.
Remember the old chime whistle as
It echoed through the dells?
I'd like to see those trains once more
And hear the ringing bells
But the trains are gone from the country towns
As far as the eye can see,
And we reminisce of other days
When our trains made history.
They made this country great and fine,
Reaching far and wide;
Through the hills and dells they cut the trails,
But, alas, they now have died.
Modern times have changed them all,
They've vanished from our sight.
To see a steam train once more
Would bring us sheer delight.
The trains they reached from shore to shore,
Like the passing of the noble great,
How we'd like back once more
To carry passengers and freight.