The recent stories of railroading besieged by severe weather are quite
picturesque and memorable. One always tends to recall in vivid detail the
circumstances of times when one felt threatened with, or experienced an ordeal
of the elements. Most often, it is winter which presents such a threat. This
subject is a good line to pursue and I hope more listers will contribute.
My own special memory is of a time in the 1970s when I was working in downtown
Kansas City at the Jackson County courthouse. I lived in midtown and my route
to work each day took me over the tracks of Union Station. At the courthouse I
had a sheltered parking space in the basement garage.
One day in mid-December the morning was cloudy but mild and I had no difficulty
getting to work. However, during the day a cold front arrived and collided with
the moist, warm air, producing snow... and snow... and more snow. By late
afternoon there was 6 inches on the ground and it was still coming down.
My residential parking lot was uncovered and difficult to negotiate in bad
weather so I decided to leave my car at work and take a taxi home. During the
busy, darkening rush hour we passed over the tracks near Union Station. Always
a magnificent sight when the purple gloam of evening becomes accented by signal
lights, this time it was spectacular as soft, golden flames from the switches
de-icing burners, fighting the elements, bespeckled the oncoming night.
Being a passenger for a change, I took the occasion to contemplate the hour. It
was raw and cold and threatening. But there was something warm and comforting
in what I had just seen.
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