What began as a stressful Christmas mishap turned out to be a reminder that trains — and time — move at their own pace. I had just finished shopping at “Bed Bath & Beyond” (how I miss that store) when I realized I had locked myself out of my car, with the engine running and the windshield wipers swiping back and forth.
I called a cab and went home to get the spare key. On the way back to the store, worried about the state of my car, I heard a train whistle. The gates went down, and a mighty engine appeared, pulling freight cars right in front of my eyes.
As I waited for that seemingly endless train to pass, I started thinking about the sound of those horns — so familiar in Lake Oswego that they are part of our town’s soundtrack. You can hear them from practically every corner. There are nine public railroad crossings and one pedestrian crossing next to Millennium Plaza…