Amtrak Window Watching and Finding Things That Go Vrooom

Take a look at the wide variety of mechanical machinery one can spy while looking out the window of the Amtrak train as it makes its way through the heart of Texas. If you pay attention, you can spot old classics, military has-beens, work trucks, construction machinery, and lots and lots more. 

Without a lot of comments, here are some of my finds as I travelled from San Marcos to Fort Worth.

The 1965 (approx) Ford Econoline van/pick up was a rarity even in it's day. This one was spotted in Taylor, Texas, close to the train tracks.

Big Kirk has a big bar-b-que stand. He serves central Texas, and he caters, according to the info on the side of his trailer.

Here's a boat parked on the side of someone's house. It must be used or moved fairly often because the grass underneath it is not dead.

Salesmen/women at small car lots often have to spend the first part of the morning blowing up balloons and putting them out where they may help attract the attention of car buyers. These balloons also caught the attention of your humble blogger as she looked out the window of the Amtrak train.

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized brands in the whole world. I wonder how many trucks are in their world-wide fleet. A million, perhaps? It wouldn't be outside the realm of believability, I think.

Do you want to buy a used pick-up truck? Many folks prefer to buy from an individual, rather than from a dealer. They think they will get a better price, I suppose.

And then there are the unique and wildly inventive contraptions built by people who think on a whole different plane than most. All you have to do is look at this trailer built from the back end of a chevy pick-up to see that this is true.

If you sit on the left side of the train as it travels north, you can see the collection of old military planes and helicopters between the Austin and Taylor stops.

Pick-ups seem to be the most common form of transportation for Texans for day to day use, but there are lots of folks who love to ride motorcycles for pure fun. It is interesting to note that the state of Texas has madatory seatbelt laws for car passengers, but there are no mandatory helmet laws for bikers. It doesn't make sense, but then who expects our elected officials to enact legislation and regulations that make sense, right?

Ahhhhh, the peaceful and relaxing ride on a good lawn mowing machine….there is nothing like thinking about the mysteries of the universe while cutting the grass.

Here's another pick up truck….

I am not sure about the make of this old car. One passenger on the train said it looks like an old Rolls Royce. Maybe, I don't know for sure, though.

I love spotting rusty old wrecks sitting out in the sun in fields and back yards. I wonder what their stories are, why they are kept, who loves them, what they looked like back in the day and if they will ever run again.

This looks like the bus yard for some small school district.

And here are a couple of service vans waiting to be used.

Oh my. Is this an old Ford Thunderbird? I can picture it cleaned up and shiny, and ready for a hot Saturday night date. Yeah!

I see quite a few trains on my trip. They pass us regularly on the tracks. It can be a little unnerving when a train travelling sixty or seventy miles an hour passes, travelling in the opposite direction. It seems like there is only ten or twelve feet between the two trains, though I imagine there is a little more space than that.

This corvette has great lines, but the paint job is a little rough, haha. I'll bet it still runs fast, though.

A fleet of trucks wait for their load at a yard somewhere along the train lines.

And finally, for all the road construction going on, here are a couple of big rigs hard at work.