I just had my old Railimages album/gallery deleted, and I just reloaded my railroad's logo to the "New Railimages", at least partly so I can use it as a sig on various bulletin boards. Thought this might be a time to re-tell the story of the Railroad of the Holy Cow. Some years ago, when trying to find a name for the "big-city terminal" on my dream model railroad, I thought of the Santa Fe's southwest, mission-style stations and and of the number of Southwest Spanish-flavored town names on the Santa Fe with some religious connotation. Vacaville, California had been in the news about a prison controversy, and the name "Santa Vaca" suggested itself as a Spanish-sounding name that didn't refer to any specific actual place. But "Santa Vaca" means "Holy Cow" doesn't it? And my model railroading started with the electric train set under the Christmas tree, so there has always been at least an indirect connection to Christmas. The various elements melted together into: [size=+2]The Legend of Santa Vaca[/size] At one of the early Spanish missions, the priest was trying to explain to the native Indians why they should give what they could to God even if they didn't have much. He used the example of the cow who gave up her feeding stall temporarily to become the crib of the baby Jesus. Her gift was humble compared to the gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by the Wise Men, but it became the very center of the Christmas scene. "See how God uses your simple gifts," the priest said. But the Indians took the story to refer to a bovine spirit in their pre-Christian mythology. The church tried to correct the error but it stuck and gave the village its name, Santa Vaca. And to this day, in the stained glass window of Santa Vaca Cathedral, in the background behind the images of the baby Jesus with a halo and the Blessed Mother with a halo, is the cow with the halo. (Or maybe the stained glass window will be in the mission-style station. The city of Santa Vaca won't be built on the layout until the "deluxe train building" can be financed and built.) Several years after I started the Santa Vaca & Santa Fe, I sent out a "corporate Christmas card" for my Santa Vaca & Santa Fe (Model) Railroad, with the "legend of Santa Vaca".
Great story! Reminded me of the "Nip and Tuck" Fat Farm on a layout. It was a sign over the offices for the Fattening Pens to a Packing Plant!
Love the story and the logo. I hope to model a piece of rollinig stock with the Santa Vaca logo to commemorate our friendship.
When you have a great story to match a logo, it makes that logo even more significant. Way to go. Ken "Floridaboy" Willaman
