The sounds a train makes

I wonder if, because of the railroad’s historic presence here, Spokane is populated with more people than elsewhere who understand the sounds a train makes.

Maybe we have a lot of great-grandfathers with discerning ears.

OK, we’ve all heard these noises countless times. But simply hearing a metallic screech or clanging isn’t the same as understanding it.

Is it the train’s wheels pressing against the rails? The sound of braking? The chain reaction of cars’ couplings absorbing a change in speed, one after the other?

There are those who know.