Train ride....in the engineers seat....

[Freightrain]

I had covers made years back, don't recall what I paid for them.  Still have one on the truck as I removed the second battery box a few years ago.  I had original covers til I hit one of our wonderful bridge expansion joints and it threw the one cover off.  Nearly through me into the roof.   No sense in trying to save it.

Once I get the air start installed, not sure if I will sell the boxes/covers or keep them around just in case.

[BillyT]

Got a Lionel set when  I was six ,two union Pacific A units,received an animated car every Christmas for about five years,cattle unloading car,rotating beacon car, barrel unloading car, etc! My first set was my grandpas diecast 2-6_2,steamer with a tin tender from the thirties! Had the smaller transformer with the horizontal controller, but I recall the big one Ranchopper mentioned,had a vertical handle on each end! When I was about 13 HO was the big thing, so I sold the whole Lionel set and bought an American Flyer HO, BIG mistake ! Kept the thirties steamer tho!

[ranchhopper]

The old stuff is always the best I had signal stands too they worked like the ones you see at the grade crossings they made some great stuff when we were kids I feel sorry for the plastic generation their stuff will be long gone in the landfill way before they have kids.

[Lmackattack]

That had to be Fun Larry.  Nothing like having raw power at your fingertips. I live near the IRM and go there every year for the car shows. im very lucky to live near it and able to see all the old Iron that shows up there.

 

2 years ago I was at a R/C construction event in Monticello IL.  The town has its own RR museum so I stopped in on a early Sunday morning to look around. Its kinda in the middle of nowhere but just off the interstate. While taking photos of the depot one of the museum locomotives moved out of the shop and slowly crept up on me.  The engineer stopped with the steps right next to me, leaned out the window and asked if I wanted to go for a quick trip.....Im 35 years old and I was like a kid in a candy store.   I climbed up into the cab and off we went!.... He was heading out to pick up some grain cars that the museum interchanges with other class 1 railroads. They do this to generate income for the museum. We went north a few miles and picked up a string of about 30 grain cars, had to walk the train to release the hand brakes on the cars . then brought them back towards the museum where I jumped off so they could head into town to drop them......Spent about an hr and a half with the engineer. This was in a old IC GP11 with the classic EMD engine. It was a memorable day for sure!

 

 

[Freightrain]

Going back to mid 70's, I was about 10 yrs old and I was with my Dad and maybe my sister too?  We were down by Atwood Lake, coming home from something?  There was a train parked in town(likely for lunch?) and we stopped to look at it.  The engineer asked if we wanted a ride(don't recall any details of where he was headed).  Dad unfortunately had to tell him we had to get home(don't recall why).   Ugh.   You don't get those kinds of offers these days.

There was a local group, back in the late 80's?  The acronym was "STEAM", Silver throttle.....sumthin.  They had the little steam engine from the local city part(Mother Goose Land).  They were storing it on some back space at one of the Timken plants in town and working on restoring it.   I don't ever recall what happened to the organization or the engine?

This group in Cleveland is about an hour drive for me, so it's close, but not close enough for a quick trip.  I'll try to make some time to get involved.  With their involvement with CSX  you can get your schooling to be Conductor, brakeman, engineer, etc.  The two young fellows working with me that day were working on their hours.