TheBanyanTree: train tracks in God's country

[Julie Anna Teague]

We went, on an impulse, on an adventure on Sunday. We decided to find 
the railroad trestle, which we'd heard existed in the next county over. 
Maybe this would not thrill others, but I like trains and I like views 
from high places. We would've been smart to look it up on the web 
before we tried to find it, but as I said, this was sort of on an 
impulse. We knew the general location, so after a lovely breakfast at 
Cafe d'Jango, we drove to Greene County and started asking people. I've 
found this to be a pretty good method of getting to obscure places--aim 
yourself in generally the right direction, and the closer you get, the 
likelier you are to get accurate directions.

We met all kinds of nice people who were happy to give directions. 
Unfortunately, every person we met had a different way of getting there 
(because, honestly, there are forty ways to get there), and after six 
sets of directions we still weren't sure where the hell we were going. 
We saw a lot of Greene County, which is lovely valley-and-rolling-hill 
country, I have to say. Someone I met who owned their piece of heaven 
and a double-wide trailer in Greene County once told me it was "god's 
country" out there. One helpful fellow, in his truck in the middle of 
nowhere, after giving us his version of how to get there, said, "Now if 
you get lost, just come and ask me again. I live in that blue house up 
the road." We hadn't seen a blue house anywhere along our route. Still, 
it was a nice offer. Another older guy we'd asked earlier, also through 
his truck window, got this real serious look on his face and said, 
"Yep, I know exactly how to get there." He leaned in a little more as 
if he was about to tell us a tragic, true story, and added, "Now listen 
reeeeal close...." The last part of his directions were, "Take the very 
next right and then you'll see the pertiest thang you've ever seen." Ah 
well, I've seen the Eiffel Tower, but by gosh, this train trestle was 
darned awesome, too, I have to say.

We scrabbled up a steep bank and got to the top of it. Freaky high. I 
decided right off that I'd like to know more about the train schedule 
before I ventured out very far because if a train came, there is no 
option but a hundred foot-plus splat to the ground or try to outrun the 
train. Trying to outrun a train is never advisable because 1) a person 
can't run faster than a train and 2) a person could very easily get her 
foot wedged between the ties, and then she would be run over by the 
train for sure. In an earlier time, I actually hopped a moving freight 
train. They haul ass when going through open countryside. Trust me on 
that. Any angle you look at it, you are going to get run over by a 
train if you are on that trestle when a train comes. Those things don't 
stop on a dime. Or even a cow.

This morning I did a little more research on the Greene County Viaduct, 
as it's called. It is the third largest structure of its kind in the 
world. It is 180 feet high and 2,295 feet long. Six or seven trains 
cross it a day. I want to take my son out there so he can see it, and I 
also want to get some awesome pictures. But I can't say I will think 
about trying to cross it anymore.

For some good pictures, see the bottom of the page at:
http://www.nlcs.k12.in.us/oljrhi/brown/viaduct/viaduct.htm

Julie