The new sign at the entrance of the Frisco Trail illustrates several photos taken by The Salem News. A more detailed history of this spur of the Frisco line can be acquired by reading “The Salem Branch of The Frisco” written locally by the Stotler Family. A new brochure at the Tourism Center by Jay Anderson describing the various photos on the East and West sides of the sign. Each are fascinating historical reads about railroads, a childhood interest I, my children, and cousins acquired in our youth from our parents.
My brothers, my children, and most of my cousins experienced the joy of Christmas train sets early in life. They were elaborate train tables initially created by our fathers and later added to each year by us children, some of whom later worked for the U.S. railroad system. This interest in trains was not just a Christmas thing; later, and even today, it involves counting train cars at railroad crossings. An interest my grandchildren and I still enjoy as we observe all the fascinating graffiti painted on box cars. Engines now, both push and pull cars, sometimes a hundred in number. The sounds of the train whistles are still heard in some towns. To me, they are pleasing, but for others, they may not be. As a little boy, my dream of hopping on a train to a faraway place was never a reality, but for some, it was, and for others, it was the creation of songs still heard.
