The picture above is of the railroad tracks that run through campus. Everyone hears the sound of the train as it comes through campus and can easily recognize these tracks. When going on a tour of campus, I remember the the tour guide telling me that JMU was one of the only campuses with a lake, creek, and railroad tracks all going through campus. I found these railroad tracks very unusual for a college campus but they did not bother me. One would assume that these tracks are very separate from campus, and students and faculty would live their lives around them. That is not the case, these tracks are very embedded into our campus. Many see the tracks as an additional sidewalk to Greek Row or the Treehouses. If you look closely, you can see that the tracks actually say, "No Trespassing." While taking this picture multiple students were walking along these train tracks.
Thoreau states that the railroad tracks are necessary for man. He also implies that they are a negative thing, and are not helping nature. I would tend to agree with Thoreau, but not in JMU's case. The railroad tracks are surrounded by nature and the campus. They do not disrupt campus as much one would believe. They are apart of our campus and we make us of them. I mean, who hasn't used the excuse that, "The train stopped me," for being late to class?
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