That's a great description Paul. It really sums it up for me also but in a different part of the country. From where I lived I could hear trains on two main lines and I would lie awake at night and try to guess the class of loco. The sound of a Super D on a heavy freight or a Stanier Pacific on an overnight sleeper would travel for miles.
Nowadays, If I have the window open, I might just about hear a Pendolino
