Late Saturday Morning at the Historic Kensington Train Station and Farmer's Market
Last Saturday, while walking around Kensington, I, my wife, and several friends stopped at the Historic Kensington Train Station in Maryland which also happens to host a small, local farmer's market that's open every Saturday year-round, from 9 AM to 1 PM.
We were hoping for a nice cup of coffee but, as luck would have it, the coffee vendor was a no-show.
So we settled for some fresh-squeezed orange juice and some cranberry/orange scones from the Great Harvest Bread Company.
One thing I haven't seen anywhere are these crossing flag holders on each side of the street right across from the train station. When you want to walk across (in either direction), you can take an orange flag out of the holder, cross the street with it, and then deposit the flag in the holder on the other side of the street.
I also had some time to wander around by the train tracks and I photographed some hardware left along the side of the track bed from some long-ago maintenance or repairs.
I knew that freight trains use these tracks and I was determined to wait until one passed by. So I positioned myself on the platform and waited to hear the familiar sounds.
I didn't have to wait very long. But what I didn't know, and was unprepared for, was that this freight train would blow by me at such a speed that the wind it created felt like it was going to blow me away or, worse, suck me into the train.
I went back to look at the timestamps on the images from beginning to end of that freight train:
- First image: 11:02:22 AM
- Last image: 11:03:25 AM
So it was a little over a minute of deafening noise, smoke, and intense wind from the freight train that had to be barreling along at least 60 mile/hour. But it was still pretty exciting to be that up-close to it.
All in all, it was a nice way to spend an hour on a late, sunny, Saturday afternoon!
All images @cognoscere and taken on Saturday 02/18/2017 at the Kensington Station in Maryland (Sony RX100 V)
Amazing the freight train cranks through town so fast. Gonna run somebody over. And thanks for the post. You always seem to have fun, no matter where you are. (Life is never boring, when you have a camera). I enjoy your photo/travel forays. Keep up the good "work".
Yeah, I was squatting down on the platform awaiting a slow moving freight train to saunter on by, but I was unprepared for what was going to happen. For a brief moment, I thought I might be the recipient of a Darwin award.
Yes, you want to stay away from those Darwin moments...
Some interesting viewpoints in those pictures, a bit too risky 😨. I'm glad you didn't get squished!
Thanks @opheliafu. In hindsight it wasn't one of my best ideas ;-)
Hi @cognoscere, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thank you for the kind words @shadowspub and thanks for the shout-out. Followed.
You're welcome @cognoscere and thank you for the follow
Very nice photo essay... brave of you to stay so close to a freight train barreling by; don't think I'd have had the nerve. I like that photo of the old rusty rail parts, too.
Thanks @denmarkguy, yeah I like photographing old abandoned stuff like that.
I'm always amazed at how much railroad debris is left alongside their tracks, like all those spikes and plates. Enjoy those crocus, all of spring -- and maybe next time, a cup of good coffee! ; )
Yeah me too, I attribute it to laziness. That stuff is heavy! I don't follow the going price for scrap iron, so I guess the it isn't valuable enough to shop lift.
Railroad stuff is always so heavy. And it seems that everything lasts for a long time, too. "Industrial strength", for sure!