Chariton News

Hello,

Saturday afternoon we learned that there had been a train derailment in town. On my way to the library I took a different street than the usual and walked up to a lot of activity with trucks, lifters, train police, guys moving around apparently randomly, and on-lookers. It was quite a sight to see the engine front end up in the air. It was at least high enough for me to walk under it. Then there was some track up in the air as well. I asked one of those purvayers of the scene for some particulars. They said, “Maybe the track moved a bit. There are eight coal cars that tipped their full load on either side.” That explains all those lifters with scoops. There must be a better name for those machines, but at this moment it is not coming to mind. By Saturday night the trains were once again running on both tracks. It was quite a remarkable job of getting things orderly again. Is there a crew whose sole purpose is to right the wrong on the railroad? Seems to me they must have done it before this considering their efficiency.

As I was going home a large bird flew out of the Catholic Church yard just ahead of me. It was quite magnificent. I must consult the bird book, but it seems to me to be a hawk, maybe even a red-tail. How strange to see such a bird inside the city limits. I think of them as rather shy animals glimpsed from the air even on the farm. Because of the brown tail the bird book only has the red-tail looking like the bird I saw. A mature hawk can be 18 inches long and have a 48 inch wing span. That comes close too, although this one was probably a little smaller than that. I was about 15 feet from the spot when it flew up startling me. What is a bird this large doing in town? Finding rabbits to be easy prey? Someone’s escaped pet?

Paula