Memories

Great memory, Don. Wish I had been there. My best was a trip from Philadelphia to Cleveland via PRR to visit relatives in 1947. Even at the tender age of 12 I knew all about being able to see the entire train going around Horseshoe Curve. The westbound trip revealed a pair of K-4s on the head end; nice, but no big deal. But on the return eastbound I was delighted to find myself riding behind a then-new T-1. As fate would have it, that was my only trip ever behind a T-1.

Walt

My first rail trip was on the B&O Cincinnatian in 1948. Washington, DC to Athens, Ohio. I'll never forget that trip. In the mountains of West Virginia, the big EM1 2-8-8-4s double heading the coal hoppers helpers in the middle and on the back...smoke galore...going about 5 mph with the five car Cincinnatian with it's streamlied 4-6-2 passing at about 15 mph! Later that Summer, we went from DC to Wilmington, Delaware on the PRR with GG1 as power. I was 13 at the time. Ah, yes, what pleasant memories!

Thanks, Don for bring back memories of the old days!

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OK. Me, too.

We had just arrived back from Japan in 1958 (Dad was with Lockheed building T33 and P2V's in Japan) and we took the SP San Joaquin Daylight from LA to Lodi where my grandparents lived. Don't remember what the locomotive power was, but as we sat in the full length dome cars, who should come and sit next to me (age 11) and my brother (age 10) was Annette Funicello on her way to some deal in Sacramento.

We had just seen the Mickey Mouse Club for the first time a few week before, so we were unsure of who she was. She was nice, talkative, really interested in our experiences in Japan and very friendly I still remember she was intrigued that we boys didn't really know who she was because we hadn't seen much of the MMC. We figured out who she was later and I'll always have fond memories of her and the way she interacted around some regular folks.

Ed. in article snipped-for-privacy@mb-m17.aol.com, OLDFARHT at snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote on 7/25/03 1:00 PM:

way to an Air Force assignment in Monterey,.California. One of the first things that impressed me was a little thing - the handrails to the dome were lighted plastic, and I thought that was very cool. Up to the dome and watching the signals change as we sped accross Illinois. What a great way to travel.

I have a few memories to share.

During WW2, we lived in Evanston, Ill but regularly traveled by pullman to Waterloo, Iowa to visit Grandparents. I was only three so don't remember to much but was told later that I knew all the stations by heart.

We moved to Denver, Colo in 1946--lived at the Oxford Hotel across from Union station. I recall playing on loading docks and around boxcars--6 years old at the time.

During College years in Yellow Springs, Ohio I rode the Denver Zepher many times across the plains. Typically we'd leave Denver in the late afternoon and race through the night to Chicago. I'd spend the whole night in the dome car. It was especially interesting to see people meeting the train at all hours of the night, and see their headlights snaking away from the station as we silently continued on our way.

In Chicago, I had all day to spend, often at the Museum of Science and Industry. Then an evening train to the South. In the winter I recall we had many delays because of frozen switches leaving Chicago. I do not recall which railroad we were on. We had to change trains somewhere to go East to Xenia, Ohio and I recall many times standing outdoors on a cold platform--the station was closed -- waiting for that connecting train.

Anyone have a notion as to where we were and what rail line might have been involved?

Another memory will soon follow. :-))

Bruce West Main Street Heritage Models

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A perusal of ca. late 1950's maps suggests the Pennsy south from Chicago to Union City Indiana, with a switch to the B&O for the ride to Xenia.

Don

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snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com moderator: snipped-for-privacy@yahoogroups.com co-moderator: snipped-for-privacy@Yahoogroups.com

Don replied to my query:

station was closed -- waiting for that connecting train.

With:

Union City Indiana, with a switch to the B&O for the ride to Xenia.

Thanks, Don, for checking your maps. 1958-1961 when I made those trips is but a faint memory. I often wish I had better recall regarding details. So many of my memories are little more than snippets of small parts of bigger events.

Bruce

I remember in about 1950 going to Lake George, NY on the NYC/D&H connection. On the NYC part of the run our loco was a Hudson. I remember being disappointed that we didn't have a nice new diesel! The two cars (I think that's all there were going to Lake George) made the final leg of the trip behind an Alco road switcher.

A year or two later we went to Miami on the Silver Meteor. That's still the nicest train I've ever been on. Es on that run.

Also went to Buffalo / Niagara Falls on the Phoebe Snow and returned on the Empire State Express. That trip marked the first time I saw PAs.

Yes, my father was a fail fan. :>))

Den

I don't remember the rides in the 40s as much as I remember standing on the platform (in Louisville KY) and watching the big old L&N steamers pull in and out. They're very large to a 5-10 year old :-).

The funny thing is I can still remember the smell. Coal smoke and hot steam with a tinge of oil.

BTW, that's quite a station for a town the size Louisville was when it was built :-).