AUBURN — You know how sometimes an unfortunate turn of events can bring out the best in people and it turns into a good time?

This wasn’t one of those times.

Horns were honking and voices were raised late Friday afternoon after a train stalled on the tracks across Auburn.

When it rolled to a stop at about 4:45 p.m., boxcars blocked a number of key intersections — and some of the most heavily traveled areas in the Twin Cities.

Court Street, near Denny’s Restaurant, was blocked. So were the intersections of Academy Street and Elm Street at Minot Avenue. All of this occurred during the height of the commuter hour — and on a Friday, when people are particularly eager to get where they’re going.

“Oh, what is this now?” one man sputtered, pulling out of Denny’s and trying to head down Court Street toward Lewiston. He ended up driving across Court Street and into a parking lot, hoping to find a back way to his destination.

Sitting her car, just a few feet from the tracks, a young woman sat way back in her seat and poked at her cell phone.

“I’ve only been here a few minutes,” she said, “but a friend called and said the train has been stuck there for an hour now.”

The woman said she would just wait it out. She was comfortable and in no particular hurry, she said.

Others were not so amenable. Several drivers sat for two minutes, or three or five, before turning themselves around and heading for alternate routes. Fortunately for many, Spring Street was clear and the tracks on Hampshire Street, around the corner, were not blocked. That prevented more tie-ups, as did word of mouth. News spread quickly across social networks that Court Street in Auburn was an area to be avoided.

Although some didn’t hear about it in time.

“I sat there, trying to be patient,” Adam Smith of Auburn said. “Gave up and hit Hampshire Street. Kept telling myself it was a virtue and patience would make me a better person. I think I lit up the tires when I gave up and eventually turned around.”

By 6 p.m., the train started to move again and the intersections opened. It was believed that a mechanical problem caused the train to stop, but by later Friday night, the exact source of the problem was still being investigated.