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The way I understand it, they put their ear to the track to listen or feel the vibrations of the train coming, sort of like when a doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to your body.

Allow me to add:

A train track is a solid piece of metal sometimes as long as 1000 miles. a train can weigh 2-12 million pounds. this creates a lot of kinetic energy that will be felt many miles in both directions. it can also tell you if a train is coming closer or going away from you. This doesn't work with stagecoaches though.

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13y ago

What else can I help you with?