One of the curious things about Bismarck is that there is a train track that goes right through the centre of it. That in itself is not unusual. This track however crosses some of the main thoroughfares of Bismarck. Some are bridges, but there are many level crossings too.
The trains come through in a sporadic, yet steady stream all day and night. Every time they cross a bridge, or a road they hoot their horn. I bet the drivers derive great satisfaction at driving a train through town in the middle of the night hooting their horn for all they are worth.
It seems like the biggest impediment to the smooth flow of traffic in Bismarck is not cars, but trains. These trains are pretty long. I think 100 trucks is not unusual. So, when they come through town during a busy time, then they can stop traffic downtown for a good 5 minutes.
There was once, on my way home from work when a train crossed one of the main roads and then stopped with the train still blocking the road. They then fooled around for a few minutes doing I don't know what, then they very slowly reversed the train bac the way it came.
Holding up traffic while you shunt - that has to make the job a whole lot more fun.
A bit closer to normal, at least for now!
3 years ago
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