I like what I watched as I grew up. I guess that it has to do with youth, good times, and the innocence of those days. I grew up a couple of blocks from the CB&Q. I could hear the trains off in the distance. When the familiar horn would sound, I could stand in the yard and watch a wide variety of trains roll by. As I grew a bit older I was allowed to ride my bicycle track side to watch the trains. Once I heard the sound, I would jump on my bike and head for the tracks! It was an industrialized area at that time. I could go to a number of industries and watch the action. There was a freight yard, a train order operator based at the depot, a Railway Express Agency and an assigned switch engine working in town. Switching moves and mainline traffic. Then, the BN merger came along. My affection for trains stepped up a notch! The "Rainbow Years" of the early BN provided some colorful trains to watch! But my affinity for the Cascade Green was firmly in place. I used to carry a borrowed cassette recorder and would record the passing trains. I still listen to those recordings today. I like that "green crap"!!!:thumbs_up:
model railroads I'am 65 now,and fell in love with in love with trains when I was about 4,while my Dad was in WWII I lived with my mom and grandma and grandpa in a place called"Capendereia"(spelling) in California,we were about an half mile up the hill from the SP coast line.I used to stand on the porch and watch the daylite every time I herd the whistle,what a sight.It is still my fav train.when we moved to Artesia Cal,There was an branch line just across the creek from our house,I watched the end of Steam and the start of deisel.When I was 12 years old I ask for an train for Xmas and got it.An Tyco "HO" saddle tank and some cars,Wham!! I was hooked,Ever sense I've had one lay out after an anthor,never finished any of them.In the service for 23 years work,family,life and so on!!I had an HO almost finished and my youngest son(35) came home three years ago,so HO in storeage,and working on an "N" scale now in the corner of the master bedroom."S.P.forever" JIM
Let's see... I'll start off with the Missouri Pacific; I live near Austin, Texas, and one of the major roads we travel to downtown is Loop 1, or Mopac. From several blocks west of downtown for several miles north, there are 7 "lanes" of traffic, 3 lanes north, the railroad tracks, and 3 lanes south. Never was alive when the Mopac existed as a separate entity, but saw several MP canaries, and wanted to know more about the railroad that gave the road its name. So started my long journey into the world of the Eagles. :teeth: My interest in the Southern Pacific is due to the railroad tracks at the entrance to my subdivision being the ex-SP Llano Branch, along with the fact that the Austin Steam Train Association's main locomotive is an ex-SP (T&NO) 2-8-2 Mikado, #786. My ATSF interests stems from those wonderful Warbonnets, especially the Lionel F-units, and from the fact that my dad grew up in Lometa, Texas, on the Gulf, Colorado, and San Saba Lampasas Division. And then there's the fact my mother lived in Bowling Green, KY, a Louisville and Nashville division point. D&RGW and the C&TS because of my visits to the narrow gauge, and seeing dirty Rio Grande units all across the Union Pacific empire. And my newest favorite railroad, the Nevada Northern Railway, because of RailCamp 2006! :shade:
I think I saw a photo with you in it during a presentation at the Gulf Coast Chapter NRHS by a guy we sent to the same camp. I can't remember his name right now, something like Brendon Nikson.
Yeah, Russ, he was in my "group" of three people during our three-day rotations! Was it an interesting presentation?
Yes, it was a Power Point slide show with lots of photos of the shops and the train rides to the end of the line and back. Next time I am out that way, I will have to check it out in person.
My Dad was a signalman for EL & Conrail. Once he explained how it was two different railroads and me being a kid was like "well what was it before that"... the Erie. I was with him many times as a kid picking up his pay check at the yards in Sharon PA, and Youngstown, OH. Got to go up in the towers a few times too. I was born in Youngstown OH and lived in nearby Hubbard OH with the old Erie mainline right out my back window. There was a bridge there too so as a kid I though it was cool to watch trains cross a bridge from the window. Later I moved to Niles, OH. No old Erie tracks in my backyard, but they were only a few blocks down the street. Now I live in Warren, OH and the old Erie mainline is a few hundred feet from me right now. I noticed last time I was back to Hubbard the bridge was gone and replaced with a new one. Oh well, the old one was in Model Railroader a while back though. ( Feb 1987 pg.74 )
This has been fascinating reading. We are all from varied generations and it's real interesting to see the contrasts. I enjoyed mikecyc72usa's description of the railroads in New York that were long after I left there. Most of them were the New York Central when I lived there right alongside the tracks and rode the NYC. My dad worked for the Railway Express and met all trains that stopped in our little home town. I therefore developed a love for the Central, now a fallen flag. Like Ironhorseman stated about the SP, he didn't realize any other railroads existed. Neither did I. We both sure do now that we are over 60. :teeth: Hank, how did you get to be a B&M fan living there in the Hudson Valley?
I grew up near Wong Wien Yai-Mahachai line for 26 year. That was incubating period for the love of SRT, then I stumbled upon a website called "Rotfaithai" which is a huge community of Thai railfans. Now I'm really crazy about Thai trains and its quirks.
I lived in Hoosick, NY between the ages of 12 and 18, very formative years in foaming terms. Hoosick was a flag stop on the B&M Fitchburg Division, about 20 miles northeast of Troy (B&M's westernmost passenger terminal), and the double-track main between Mechanicsville (Rotterdam Jct.) and Boston. Being right after WW II, the freight traffic was heavy, fast, and all diesel with FTs and F2s, and eventually F3s. Three or four times a week, a local freight came out of Mechanicsville turning at Williamstown, MA. This was hauled by a Mogul (I think?) for 3-4 years until replaced by either an Alco S2 or an EMD SW?, I don't know which as I have seen photos of both in the M'ville yard. Also Hoosick had a mail crane for RPO service to Troy. (I realize, while writing this, that mail bags were dropped only from westbound trains. This raises the question as to why mail "to" Hoosick came Massachusetts, but mail "from" Hoosick went to Troy.....one of a teenager's eternal mysteries?) Hoosick is about 6 miles south of North Hoosick where the Rutland interchanged with the B&M, and about 8 miles south of Eagle Bridge where the D&H interchanged with the B&M. (I caught trains bound for GCT at both locations.) Also the Rutland Corkscrew Division passed within 1/2 mile of town on its way between Bennington, VT and Petersburg Jct., NY where it crossed the B&M. The Corkscrew supported two daily freights known to Central folks as the "Rut Milk". (The Rut Milk was handed over to the Harlem Div. at Chatham, NY every afternoon around 6 for transit to "The City". The empties returned to Chatham every morning around 6 and were handed back over to the same Rut crew from the night before.) Needless to say, it was an exciting time and place for a teenager, but the BIG Maroon and Gold E's and F's were most impressive.
Take it from me- if you're a 26-year-old woman who likes railways, your basket is full as far as I'm concerned. I'll bet Alan and Matt feel the same way.
Considering where I've lived in my life, my first and only favorite should have been Union Pacific circa mid-1960s, followed closely by Rock Island, CGW/CNW, and (I hate to admit this, I really do) Penn Central. However, our family settled in northeastern Oklahoma in the early 1970s along the Frisco's Cherokee Sub, and I got used to hearing trains roar thru town at all hours of the day & night, plus watch the Afton Sub trains stop & change crews at Afton en route to either Ft. Scott or Tulsa. Living in Ft. Smith, AR and watching Frisco action there sealed the deal. Were it not for Frisco, I'd probably be a full-goose-bozo KCS or MKT modeler (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Tractor Girl, In the words of most people around my neck of the woods we would say your a marring type girl. My wife helps me model and it cant get any better. I cnat believe the variations of poeple and ages and distance,all comming together in this place. It seems this hobby has no limits or specifications to bind it. Tony:teeth:
PC isn't so bad. If you're a fan of interesting diesel rosters and consists (as I am), it offers a lot, with around 80 different models, most in service at the same time thanks to PC's short life.
I'm aware of PC's roster of motive power, but deferred maint. on track, etc doesn't allow for decent running of anything. Were the railroad better managed without the Red vs. Green Team squabbling, the physical plant in better shape, and the railroad able to trim down excess trackage & adjust to the declining industrial base, it may have lasted longer. However, PC's woes (it needed massive amounts of cash loans to stay open, much less running), plus the decline of Northeastern railroading in general, led to the formation of Conrail, which after time and capital investment became a much more solid railroad. The large amount of diesel models, while interesting to railfans, were a headache to the railroad in so many ways (large inventory of parts, closed locomotive manufacturers). Consolidating locomotives of various makers at certain points helped to an extent, but still there were an awful lot of worn-out diesels and electrics on the line. Well-maintained locomotives, regardless of builder (Alco, f'r instance) are nice to look at, chase & shoot. Which accounts for the A&M shots I have..........
PC was doomed from the outset. The New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad were bitter rivals in the passenger business. I'm not sure that either road's management accepted the fact that the passenger business was dead, even though it was, long before the merger. Industry was dying, too, eg the steel industry in Pittsburgh. Conrail's people were evidently more aware of the market opportunities once they took over. :sad:
PC was adoomed venture but I do believe it could have made it if there wasnt as much arguing and the Gov bailed them out verses the big blue can opener!!:angry: which is now defunked as well. I miss the 70'sin the Jersey Pa area just for all the great lashups and colors running around.It was a sad time for trains but made for some great railfanning.
That's an easy one to answer, My Grandfather Nicholas and my Uncle Lloyd worked for the Milwaukee Road. Let's just say it is in the BLOOD!
Penn Central I was a Sales Representative for the Penn Central during its entire existence - February 1, 1968, to April 1, 1976. First, the management was very much aware of the demise of the passenger business, but it took the PC's bankruptcy to get the government to allow the formation of Amtrak. The merger was poorly planned, because I think most of management at both PRR and NYC, except at the very top, thought the ICC would never permit it. As a result, the computer systems were completely incompatible. Both railroads used "oddball" computer systems no one else used, although at least PRR used an IBM mainframe. NYC's was made by Collins Radio. Cramming the New Haven into the disfunctional PC on January 1, 1969, only exacerbated the problems, as New Haven was a huge cash drain. Losses were running a million dollars a day when bankruptcy was declared. If your computers can't speak to one another, you cannot bill customers for services in a timely manner. It was taking up to six weeks to create a freight bill. What always fascinated me was that Zachariah Chaffee, Chief Economist for the PRR and PC, stated in the bankruptcy that it would take about 10 billion dollars and ten years to create a smaller, profitable railroad out of the mess. He was pretty darn close... So, not everyone involved was clueless, it was just that governmental regulation severely restricted what action could be taken. I think many have fogotten how highly regulated railroads and airlines were before 1980. You even had to report how many rolls of toilet paper you used to the ICC! mg:
