Railroad Tracks at Talleyrand Park, Bellefonte

I had a work commitment in the middle of the day in Bellefonte, about a 15-minute drive from the building where my office is located. And so before my event, I seized the opportunity to make a quick visit to Talleyrand Park, a lovely little park with a gazebo and lots of ducks; and at the edge of it, the big spring that provides 15 million gallons of sparkling-fresh drinking water per day to the surrounding area.

As the daughter of a railroad brakeman, I am particularly fond of railroads and railroad tracks. And so one of the delights for me, when visiting there, is the set of railroad tracks that runs along the edge of Talleyrand Park. The tracks are largely unused, except for the several-times-per-year trips organized by The Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society.

I walked along the railroad tracks and across the little metal bridge over Spring Creek that leads to the historic Match Factory buildings. From there, I admired the bridge and took numerous photos in both directions, some looking down the tracks at the Match Factory, others looking back up the tracks toward the main train station building, near which several rail cars are on display.

For this photo, my back was to the Match Factory; in the distance, on the left, you can see one of the train cars and to the right of it the red building that is the train station itself. To the far right are a few of the huge, green trees that line the spring run. (You've seen part of Talleyrand Park's spring run once before on blip; also, the main spillway and one of the bridges.)

You know that I can never resist the opportunity to post a link to a Bruce Springsteen song with my blips. And this day is no exception. :-) The song to accompany this picture, Land of Hope and Dreams, by Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band, is a song about a very special train, and it gives me goose-bumps every time I hear it. This train, my friends, carries saints and sinners. This train carries losers and winners. This train carries whores and gamblers. This train carries lost souls . . .

This song was originally performed by Springsteen and company during their 1999/2000 reunion concert tour, and it was the final encore they performed when I saw them live for the very first time, in February of 2000. I saw them perform it again - this time without Clarence - last November, and I have to admit the way they sang it would have made the bleakest sinner want to holler out Hallelujah!

The song appears on the band's latest CD, Wrecking Ball, and it includes tracks of Clarence Clemons on the sax, perhaps the final time the sweet sounds of Clarence's sax will grace any album. So in honor of Clarence, the Big Man of the E St. Band, the version I include is the one from Wrecking Ball. Climb on, friends. This train has room for us all. Just get on board . . .