I found this to be a particularly pleasing metafilter post. I recently moved across the street from some train tracks in Atlanta. I'm sure there is an argument that it sets an upper bound for the value of the place, but I love watching the trains go by. They are a connection to the history of this city and of technology. Far more interesting than many views that I could have had. I'm quoting a post from the thread:
When I was 20 I bought an old house in Atlanta that backed up to the railroad yard. My Dad laughed at me when he saw the excitement in my eyes looking at those tracks. He said that made the property worth so much less. I thought of the tracks as a bonus. Sitting on my hill, watching a train pull through was fun, but what really got me was the sound.
It was a symphony of cacophony. Some of the sounds repeated, as each car hit the same bump between track sections, ca-chunk-ca-chunk, ca-chunk-ca-chunk, while the soaring solos of squeaky wheels panned in stereo as they screeched by. The grind and clang of loose metal parts slowly complained out an odd measure.
I wanted to record that, to share the experience, to let other people know about the secret symphony. But I realized that you literally had to be there; that the tall golden grass and the painted cars and the heaving rails were all part of the experience.
