Sunday, June 10, 2007

Long Island Railroad Track

I was visiting a friend in Astoria last week and we went for a walk through the Astoria Park before heading out to dinner. On the way to the restaurant, we came upon this structure, which is one of the foundations for the elevated Long Island Railroad (LIRR) tracks high above.

Notice the tip of an apartment building at the middle left of the photo? We wondered how noisy it was living under the railroad tracks. Then a train roared by and it was deafening. The residents who live here must not get a lot of sleep especially during the day when the trains come by every 30 minutes or so.

Most Americans do not use the train to travel from one state to another except maybe in the northeast of the country. I have never been on a train until I moved to New York City. And the longest train ride I ever had was the 10-hour trip from New York City to Toronto, Canada.

Have you ever been on the Orient Express?