Sounds I remember as a child..... When I lived on Gold St. In Norwich, I remember the milk man and the sound his horse and wagon made on the street surface. The milk man never had to touch the reins as the horse knew the route by heart and would stop at each house that had delivery. I remember the O and W steam engine sounds that made. Wired, noisy but beautiful sounds to a young mans ears. The steel wheels spinning on the track trying to get traction. The release of air from the breaks. The eerie whistle in the middle of the night. The crashing sound when two cars were coupled together. I remember the noise the rain made on our metal roof at the old house on West Hill. Mom always said it put her to sleep, but it keep me awake most nights. Maybe because I slept upstairs and was closer to the roof. I remember, during WW 2, the sirens blowing and everyone had to close their curtains and shut off most lights. This was in case of an air raid although I can't imagine any enemy bombing Norwich, NY. I remember the sound of Grandpa shoveling coal down cellar to feed the furnace. And the noise when coal was delivered to the house and sent down a metal ramp to the coal bin. The delivery man would keep it moist to keep the dust down. I remember the beautiful sounds of nature as I would hike through the woods. Birds singing, crows cawing, the farmers machinery running in the distance and if you sat still, you could hear chimp monks and squirrels rushing through the leaves. I remember the great motor sound that playing cards made when hooked on bike frame and rubbed on the spokes. The more cards the better the noise. I remember the great sounds of the farm. Each individual noise from cows, chickens, goats and ducks. Our dogs barking whenever a strange car drove into the driveway.
I remember the sound of rain on the metal roof outside my window as a child. I still like to hear rain falling on the roof, it helps me to fall asleep. I listen to a cd with nature sounds now.
I can remember the sound of my Mum's humming, while she prepared meals in the kitchen, and the sound of the wooden screen door slamming shut!
The cards on the bicycle brought back some memories, Dave. I cannot call if he had a horse or just pushed his cart, almost every day there was a man yelling "Buyyyyyyyy it." I think he was a sort of mobile pawn shop.
I'm just about old enough to remember steam trains running. They were phased out in Britain in the 1960s and I can recall going to London on one when I was about five or six. I'm not a rail buff or trainspotter, but there was something pleasing about the chug of a steam engine.
I remember the sounds of the steam engines and the lonely sounds of the whistle blowing. I loved watching the steam engines, and I remember being totally amazed the first time that I saw a big old yellow diiesel engine pulling the freight train. Little did I know back then that soon all of my beloved steam engines would be gone, and replaced by the ugly yellow monsters. The little town where I grew up had a "10 o'clock whistle" that sounded every night, and that is what we all set our clocks by if they were not right on time with the whistle. It was actually one long blast of the fire siren; but it was just called the Ten o'Clock Whistle by everyone in town. Theoretically, it meant that all of us children were supposed to be off of the streets and either inside or playing in our own yard by then. Mostly, we weren't. As long as no one was causing any problems, which we usually weren't; they didn't much mind if we kids were still out playing cowboys and indians after the whistle blew.
I live right next to a railway line on the east coast of Scotland and we get the occasional steam train go by, especially in the summer when there are special excursion trains. Just for a few seconds, you are transported back to a different era. Who says there's no such thing as time travel?
We lived by the O and W railroad tracks back in the 50s. It was a time when steam was being replaced by diesel trains. Got to see both up close and personal. Our gang would always wave to the engineer and after awhile, you could know who would wave back and those that would not. Flattened many a penny on the rr tracks too.
I remember the pumping sound our old water pump made while pumping water from the well house. I remember the crackling and popping sound certain wood made in the old stone fireplace in the living room. I remember the steady clacking on the wheels of the train I would take to Utica to visit my Dad. The noise the steam whistle made as we approached each small station on the way. At a difficult time in my life, I remember the strange noises my grandpa would make when he came home drunk. It was very scary at the time but as time went on, he stopped drinking and turned into one sweet guy. I love you grandpa. RIP I remember the frogs singing in harmony when we stayed at camp at Plymouth Reservoir. The bass frogs would start and then the tenors chimed in and later the peepers started their two cent worth. The hoot, hoot of the old owl always added to the fiasco. I would lie there and try to identify each sound. I remember the sound when you opened a glass bottle of soda on the openers that screwed to the wall. Pop, sizz and a big gulp. I wonder how many people today know what a church key is? I remember the sound of kicking the can made under the street lights on Gold St. We boys would play this game many a night until our moms would call us in. I remember the moans and groans in the movies us kids made when the cowboy hero kissed his gal. We did not want to see that mushy stuff. After all, he was our champion along with his horse. I remember the giggling us boys made at the Abbott and Costello movies or Ma and Pa Kettle.
I can remember the sound of a "ghost" train in the night. This was not really a phantom of course, but we lived more than half a mile from the rail line and I never heard any trains pass in the daytime. Only when I was awake at night did I hear the sound of a train, which seemed very spooky to me. I can remember owls hooting in the trees at the end of the street, which is all built over now and the owls have moved out. I can remember when men would whistle while they worked outdoors and the calls of newspaper sellers on the streets shouting out the latest headlines. Also I remember stopping with my parents at small town where every evening a watchman would come out, dressed in a black tricorn hat, bright red coat and long black leather boots. He used to ring a big brass bell and call out the latest news. It is possible that the tradition continues to this day as it became a tourist attraction, but it is many years since I last went there..
When I lived in Elsa, Texas, the railroad crossing warning signal would go off every now and then. The problem was that that section of track had been discontinued for several years, and the railroad hadn't even retained the right of way. The track itself had been removed in places, as ownership reverted to the property owners on each side of the track. However, the audible signal had never been removed and something would set if off sometimes. We called that the ghost train.
I remember the day we were working near a rural RR Crossing, next to a ramshackle old house, that squatters used to live in. We were there to cut off the gas line, and just as I noticed that we had parked our truck under the crossing arm, and asked my driver to move the truck....the signal and flashing lights started. My driver's eyes got as big as pie plates, and I told him "don't move". After awhile, some men came walking around the bend and it was a work car by itself. They reset the signal and things settled down a bit.