Rusty Leaves and Rusty Rails

In my youth I carried boxcars,
Flatcars, coal and pig iron...
Cattle for the stockyard,
Powerful tycoons of big business.
I was the path of the Empire Builder.
Straight, fast, dependable... true.
But the sun is setting on the empire now
And the rust of Autumn is upon me.
Like the green leaves of Spring,
Rusty rails are soon forgotten.