Lucy Cowles Butler was a lass of five when the first train came through Meriden in November, 1838. I suppose it blew some sort of a whistle, an air whistle or steam trumpet, as these were invented as early as 1832.
Lucy, my great-great-grandmother, lived in Meriden as I do. Her father, Henry Cowles Butler, according to family history, brought her to the center of town to witness the passage of the first steam locomotive, which he saw as an important event. She told the story to her grandson, Robert Allan Squire, who told it to me over a century later—I am his grandson. He also brought me downtown to see the last scheduled steam engine pass through town around 1948.
My family has been enjoying the sound of train whistles ever since, and we have lived within easy earshot of them. It’s a sound that connects to the past when railroads were the stuff of romance on the cutting edge of technology.
I bring this up because some people in Meriden today actually object to the sound of a train. These are people who live in homes fairly close to the tracks; they don’t like being startled or woken by a passing train’s blast on the whistle. Stuff and nonsense: trains were here first. Not that such a logical condition seems to deter modern objectors. Any number of people have built or purchased houses near Meriden-Markham Airport, yet complain that planes fly overhead, even though planes were using the airspace before residents were breathing it.
Some of these folks are petitioning to make our town, and neighboring Wallingford, too, “quiet areas.” In a quiet area, trains would not sound their horns as they approach grade-level crossings. Instead, flashing lights, bells, and gates would be installed at two of the four quadrants of the intersection.
Given the mass of a train engine alone and the propensity of modern drivers to ignore plain warnings, this proposal seems to me to be a very stupid thing. I would hate to count how many times I’ve seen antsy drivers go right around warning gates near the station downtown. On the other hand, it’s been suggested that cars and truck cabs are so well insulated today, or so noisy, that drivers can’t hear train whistles. The sound is apparently louder inside at least some nearby homes so perhaps a quiet zone doesn’t really matter.
Go figure.
I happen to enjoy the sound of the whistles.
But in any case, this train question has assumed some importance due to plans, which I completely support, to create a commuter service on the New Haven to Springfield line, which might bring as many as fifty trains a day (plus freights) through the center of downtown Meriden. Given the number of grade crossings in Wallingford and Meriden, that’s a lot of whistle-blowing.
A problem far more challenging than whistles comes with this increase in train traffic: congestion.
In both Meriden and Wallingford, trains pass directly through town center. Naturally, each passing train causes the gates to go down and traffic to stop until the train moves on. Now, downtown Meriden isn’t what it was in 1950 when trains regularly caused traffic to jam up all the way up the hill past St. Andrew’s and City Hall. But 50 trains a day could become a real problem.
When I was first writing for The Record-Journal in the late 1970s, there was talk of building an overpass at the East/West Main crossing so that car and truck traffic would not be interrupted with every train. It seemed expensive and improbable to officials at the time; although it seemed a reasonable solution to me, train traffic declined and a one-way circulation system—still in use—was devised for street-traffic.
It’s time to trot out the overpass idea again. If we are serious about railroads, we need to avoid creating congestive heart failure of our city streets every time a train comes through. If we are really serious, like the French and the TGVs, we’d build a whole new line between New Haven and Springfield, sinking it thoughtfully below grade so that motor vehicle and pedestrian travel would not be impaired.
We’re not that serious, of course: when the “high speed” line was being created New Haven to Boston, every grade crossing closure caused issues for communities along the way.
One overpass in downtown Meriden and one in downtown Wallingford would go a long way to alleviate concerns over a serious commuter rail service between New Haven and Springfield.
I wish I lived closer to the tracks, like my cousin Dan. His home for many years has been a former carriage house which stands just above the busy rails in downtown Bethlehem, PA. Nights there are wonderful, trains and all.
In case you'd like to hear a 19 second clip on steam train whistles, just click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ST2Z_AQdc
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