I found this on a HAM radio list today:
In the 1930s, my parents and older sisteer lived in Tracy (California), where Dad worked for the railroad. He said that crickets swarmed in the
summer to the point where you were crunching them underfoot as you
walked down the street in the evening. It also seriously affected the
stopping distance of trains. When enough covered the tracks, trains
had to approach the station much more slowly than usual, as well as
making heavy use of the sanding gear. At such times, a normal stop
would result in the train sliding well beyond the intended stopping
point.
In the 1930s, my parents and older sisteer lived in Tracy (California), where Dad worked for the railroad. He said that crickets swarmed in the
summer to the point where you were crunching them underfoot as you
walked down the street in the evening. It also seriously affected the
stopping distance of trains. When enough covered the tracks, trains
had to approach the station much more slowly than usual, as well as
making heavy use of the sanding gear. At such times, a normal stop
would result in the train sliding well beyond the intended stopping
point.
