while i was in pittsburgh, i wanted to capture the sound of a far away train going by during the evening hours when all else was silent. someone close to me said that this train was a memory from his childhood, he heard it late at night while going to sleep and early in the morning hours before rising from bed. i asked his family about the train. i wanted to know what time was the best time to capture it. none of them seemed to know the schedule of the train, it just comes sometimes early in the morning and late at night when everyone is sleeping soundly in bed. they all knew about the train, though no one had ever really mentioned being able to hear it. i noticed that on the previous night i heard it near midnight, and hoped that on this night it would come again near the same time.

a little before midnight, i began to wait. three of us in the living room, listening for the sound of the train. for a few moments we would chat but mostly we were listening and waiting. i began to think it might not come. the schedule might be different depending on the night. last night was a weekend night, technically speaking this was a week night, so maybe it wouldn't come at all tonight. we continued to wait and listen. after some time i began to think i could hear it, just a little sound far off in the distance. there was something, not the familiar train horn, but a kind of rumbling. everyone thought they might be able to hear it a little, but no one was sure. after listening to silence for so long, your ears begin to play tricks on you. finally, convinced that it would be coming soon, i went outdoors and put my minidisc player on the brick windowsill. then i went back inside and impatiently waited some more.

finally the train came, though it seemed a little softer than the night before. i didn't know the area and wasn't sure of the train route. maybe this train was on train tracks farther away or maybe it was the sound reflecting off the valley before it rounded a corner. this train seemed to pass by. i waited longer though and with time either another train came along on tracks that were in better proximity to where i was recording or the same train rounded a corner allowing me to hear the distinct whistle better.

with the sound of the louder train, what had been a calm still night, suddenly turned windy. as the wind picked up, the sound of the train became louder and louder, as if trying to overpower the voice of the heavy wind. as the louder train recedes, the wind too seems to back off, and suddenly, there is a torrential downpour of rain.

listen 1 is the entire 15 minute file, which will take some time and bandwidth to download. listening to it is somewhat of a commitment, but if you have headphones, a little bit of time, and patience, this file is well worth listening to.

the other files are file 1 broken up into 5 minute increments. listen a is the first train barely audible in the background of the night with the occasional police siren making an appearance. listen b starts out on the quieter note of the far away train and ends with louder train whistles and the wind picking up. listen c is the loudest of the files and after the train goes by the wind dies down and the rain begins.