Ramblin Around - Trains

I have always loved the sound of a train's horn and my favorite has long been the howl of Amtrak as it pulls into or out of town in the mornings and evenings.  I always check my watch when I hear the sound to see if they are running on time or running late.  Amtrak Cascades pulls out of Eugene promptly at 9:00 AM and is supposed to return home at 9:00 at night. "The Cascades is running late" is a common comment on any given evening. Then there is the Coast Starlight that is supposed to go through about noon and 5:00 PM.each day.



Turns out I am not the only one who loves that Amtrak "whistle".  Fred W. Frailey in a Trains Magazine online article entitled "Blues in the night: The whistle to end all whistles" recounts his love for the "beauty of an Amtrak whistle". From coast to coast there are those sharing their love of the horn on YouTube.

From Florida there is "Great Horn Salutes By Amtrak" and from California there is "Why Do We Love Amtrak w/ Awesome K5LA Horn Action"

 With it's title, Dee Brown's epic history of the building of the transcontinental railroad, "Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow" reminds us of a long American love affair with train whistles. Hank Williams sang about the lure of the whistle in his song "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow".  Johnny Cash liked it enough to do a cover of the song in 1957.  Bobby Darin  performed a great version of it in 1973 and more recently Beck has covered the song as well.     (Lyrics)
 

Back to Amtrak's horn. The horn as noted above is the Airchime K5LA. There appears to be a basis for my liking the sound of this horn. The "whistle" is an actual musical cord: D# (sharp), F#, G#, B, and D#,  a B Major 6th. Can't wait to have the wife pick it out on her piano just to hear how it sounds.

Ramblin Around Town - Eugene

Eugene Oregon is my home Ramblin range. I am Eastern Oregon born & Bred but have been here for a quarter of century now and love most of what Home has to offer.

Courtesy of University of Oregon Libraries

I really love the history of the city and wish more of it had been saved. Unfortunately most of our downtown core has been lost to Urban Renewal.  One place that was spared however is the Smeede Hotel building. Located at 767 Willamette Street, this Italianate style structure designed by George H. Park,  is the oldest  commercial building left to the city. Built in 1885 as the Baker Hotel in 1892 it became the Hotel Eugene and then the Hotel Smeede in 1907. In 1914 it was renamed again as The Smeede Hotel. The Hotel Smeede ghost sign on the north side of the structure dates from some time between 1907 and the 1914 renaming of the hotel.

As the only 19th century structure that remains in the downtown area of Eugene it really is a jewel and realization of this led to the sites addition to the National Historic Register in 1974.

Courtesy of University of Oregon Libraries