Locals Blow The Whistle On Monster Trains

MORNING MIST hovered lightly over the small city of White Rock where we drove down a hill recently to the promenade by the water's edge.

This charming seaside community once had a functioning train station from where travelers set off to other coastal areas and inland destinations.

Freight trains rhythmically chugged down the tracks transporting goods to ports and towns where they were needed.

Nowadays the idyllic scenes and also hardships of the past can be rediscovered at the station transformed into an entertaining and educational museum.

The tracks that held adventure and noble purpose now feel the brunt of excessive runs with aging tanks and boxcars often loaded with hazardous materials.

Some routes that made perfect sense in days gone by have become unsustainable in modern times.

Mile long monster trains rumbling through heavily populated areas and, in some places, blocking off people from emergency access is clearly not a safe situation. (I wrote earlier about the effects on nearby Crescent Beach in the city of Surrey.)

Due to a recent disaster in the eastern Canadian province of Quebec, more people are waking to the risks that a neighbourhood railway entails.

The bold suggestion to relocate portions of the track has provoked passionate debate.

Changes are needed and creative solutions are hopefully around the corner. Despite the challenging circumstances, a sentimental feeling still washes over me when I hear a train come whistling down the track.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

See more BC scenes at Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride.