I doubt people think it's strange since the trains move along just as the regular traffic does. You see sometimes it's easier to let the railroad move goods, including right down main street, because it's easier than relocating an important service. You see relocating the railroad in some cases is too expensive for both the city wanting to do that plus the railroad even with government assistance to do so.
The biggest users of street running are industrial lines, although that has been dwindling sadly over the years.
Up until the early 1970s, this was very common in many big cities including Boston Mass. In Boston the Union Switching Railroad, a New Haven subsidiary, did its mostly nightly duties switching the Boston waterfront along Atlantic Avenue, into the North End, and across the Fort Point Channel to Rowe's Wharf, Fan Pier, what is now where the World Trade Center is, and other places in that industrial district. This little railroad used small 44-tonners and small box motors to move their freight around. Today, the railroad is long gone, but there are still little signs here and there of their former existence such as the old tracks still embedded in the pavement across the now disused Northern Avenue bridge and in and around near North Station over in the west end. The company also ran a tugboat service across Boston Harbor to East Boston to serve the docks and industries over in that area as well. I remember seeing this service as a kid a short time before it all disappeared.
Lawrence, Lowell, Holyoke, and other industrial cities had a vast network of industrial tracks. These lines, some of which are still used today, served the many, many mills and large factories located along the various canals, and busy streets. Today, most of the tracks have been paved over as the mills gave way to arson, apartment lofts, and empty lots. In Lawrence, Canal Street had a whole network of tracks on both sides of the North Canal with some complex trackage, bridges, and unique switching to serve the various industries and warehouses. This branch line was used extensively until the mid-1970s, but as some mills closed, burned down "accidently on purpose" or not on purpose, the rails were cut back. There are still some signs there with cut-off switches, an odd angled Warren Truss bridge, and stubbed crossings.
Lowell's lines lasted quite a bit longer into the mid-1990s and today, even though the track has been clipped from the Pan Am mainline, are still used by the National Park service. Instead of abandoning the tracks and paving everything over, the city in conjunction with the NPS, setup a nice trolley network. The residents and UMASS Lowell students enjoy a nice trolley ride from Tsongas Arena, near the Lowell Spinner's baseball stadium to the downtown, and residents of now condos found in the various mills have a nice trolley ride to Market Street and other locations. The city's trolleys are a combination of new ones built to look old as well as some that are on loan from the Seashore Trolley Museum located up in Kennebunk Port, Maine.
Holyoke still has quite a bit of active track, although that too is dwindling. These lines serve a hydroelectric plant and other industries located in the area along the canal and within that industrial area.
Other cities had such operations such as Brooklyn, NY once had an extensive network in and around the navy yard and along their industrial and waterfront areas. Today, there's a small bit of switching still done there, but much has been sadly replaced by trucks for any industries that are left. The rest of the buildings have become NIMBY uppity and uber-expensive apartments and condominiums and empty parking lots.
The list goes on with many other short lines, industrial railroads, and even branch lines belonging to Class I systems.