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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2015 5:29:08 GMT -8
That's good news that Athearn has offered Lehigh Valley modelers to replace the shell due to the paint color issue. I remember the discussion on it in the past months.
Cheers, Jim
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Post by WP 257 on Jan 7, 2015 5:49:17 GMT -8
Glad to see Athearn come through with the shells...might even buy one LV unit (they're easy to find around here, as the dealers still have them).
As far as the "social" aspects of train shows, my wife doesn't care to go to them, and the particular crowd I used to hang out with, travel to and from shows with, etc. just doesn't do that anymore. The one guy became sales manager of a very good train store (and now only attends the big national shows with the company); one guy went to jail for odometer fraud which kinda cut his ties with some of the guys; one college professor came home from his weekend "fishing trip" (with the other woman we didn't know about) to find all his possessions--including trains and a bunch of brass trains--laying in a pile on the front yard, then he moved away from the area; another guy passed away...and many of the dealers we knew, including some fine brass dealers and just great people like John Glaab, have basically either retired or in a few cases passed away. One other guy from our "crew" charged $30k in brass on his credit cards, then never played with it much (never really paid the cc cards off), and acquired a Harley-Davidson habit instead....
I was the youngest member of the "club" by many years on any of the guys...and I haven't ever found other "train guys" to hang with...moved away from the home area because I had to in order to get a job in my field, but I think I've moved into Lionel train "purgatory" as that's what is popular around here. I just don't happen to know any serious modelers nearby who are other than "lone wolf" types anymore. A few guys who have layouts, but aren't into modeling a particular railroad or two...
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2015 8:33:49 GMT -8
Sure understood. I've always understood many wives are not keen on trains or the hobby. I enjoy chatting with folks in the hobby too, but don't have many close ties. Of course there are all kinds out there - sounds like you knew a few of those "kinds". What is the old saying, choose your friends wisely? =D
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Post by WP 257 on Jan 7, 2015 8:57:49 GMT -8
Oh--and it may be partly a generational thing. My interests, at least in the eastern US, run toward the Pre-Conrail era, and most of the folks I meet and talk to in train stores nowadays are into the latest thing: they want NS, CSX, UP and BNSF.
Now there's nothing wrong with those roads, and I'm not here to 'dis those modelers, but I just can't relate...in some ways will never be able to accept certain railroads.
So in a way I'm caught somewhere between the "older" generation of modelers who still crave steam and diesel zebra stripes (of one color or another on black diesels for many roads) and the "young" generation that wants the latest thing operating on the big Class 1's of today.
While the last poll about time period modeled seemed to reflect a more even distribution among those on these forums, in the average train store, I think the average people tend to want the "latest thing".
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2015 13:09:54 GMT -8
I'm a kind of a fish out of water living on the east coast by liking D&RGW and SP - which is because I lived in California as a kid - adult from 1967 - 1984. I always thought the RR era of interest tended to be somewhat based on someone's formative years - I was a teen in the seventies and twenties in the 80's so my favorite time frame is 70's and 80's. That isn't a strict rule but it seems to be a pattern.
For people of my generation, I've heard on another forum some say "it's all crap now". I can understand their feelings as watching trains is really different now - giant wide cab diesels pulling patched and graffi'd freight cars or long strongs of 45' and 53' containers and trailers. I still stop to watch trains go by where I go walking with my wife - so I'm not totally lost to the past - but for modeling purposes -it's all pre-1990's. I too am caught between the "older" generation and the young "modern" fans.
I've noticed manufacturers tend to lag a little behind on producing models of the in-between generation like me - and freight cars from the 70's and 80's still have some holes to be filled. Thankfully Exactrail is thinking of us and have been producing a good number of 70/80 era cars.
Still badly needed are early enclosed autoracks or late versions of the open racks with side panels added - covering the late-1970's thru late 1980's. Walthers and Intermountain racks are really late 1980's and newer creatures. We also need more HO TOFC trailers from that same time period. Athearns Fruehaufs seem to cover the earlier end of the 40 footers or the stretched 45's, but need late 40' FRP trailers and as-built 45' trailers too. I can't complain to much really - we've had some lovin in the past 15 years with all the PC&F and FMC and many other box cars, and coal cars!
Like you said, I can't dis the modern folks as people like what they are/were exposed to in their formative train watching years - so like I was back in the day, that's how many are now - hence the popularity of models representing the past 15-20 years. It does seem like there is a lot of demand for modern stuff. I do think the inbetweeners are catching up as the old guard is aging out now, and us 70/80's guys are slowly becoming the new "old timers!"
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Post by wmrdgfan on Jan 7, 2015 13:36:12 GMT -8
I guess I'm in the same boat as you guys. I like the pre conrail era. I lost my railroad buddy a few years back, and it took me a long time to start working on my railroad again after that. AS for Athearn replacing the LV shells... I am so happy they are taking care of this. I sent all of mine back today. Huge THANK YOU to Athearn!!!
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Post by Spikre on Jan 7, 2015 13:44:15 GMT -8
James, being of a certain age does make current trains look trashy. caught a train inbound to Richmond the other day,3 SD40-2s up front,very clean and possibly with Admiral cabs ? not sure,but it was 3 SD40-2s for a train that one RS-3 could have handled. maybe the train back to Crewe would need the locos to climb out of the James River Bottoms ? but most of the cars were Tagged,the newer covered hoppers not as bad as the 70s Railboxes and IPD boxes,most of them should be sent to Peck for scrapping. the Tanks ranged from almost clean to grimey,but not as much artwork on them,maybe they were an odd bunch pulled from behind fences somewhere ? the ex-N&W Caboose/Air Regulator was maybe the worst of the train,even the art on it has Rust coming thru. out side of New cars or freshly shopped cars,most cars were very bad looking. like watching trains,but do long for the 60s thru 80s cleaner look. Spikre
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Post by atsfan on Jan 7, 2015 14:40:10 GMT -8
To remember mainline steam you have to be over 60 at least. PRR at least 55. Heck Santa Fe fell a generation ago. Time marches on and so does modeling tastes and interests. There is a reason we see so many GEVO models now.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 14:58:28 GMT -8
...I always thought the RR era of interest tended to be somewhat based on someone's formative years - I was a teen in the seventies and twenties in the 80's so my favorite time frame is 70's and 80's. That isn't a strict rule but it seems to be a pattern.... ...Like you said, I can't dis the modern folks as people like what they are/were exposed to in their formative train watching years - so like I was back in the day, that's how many are now - hence the popularity of models representing the past 15-20 years. It does seem like there is a lot of demand for modern stuff. I do think the inbetweeners are catching up as the old guard is aging out now, and us 70/80's guys are slowly becoming the new "old timers!" The emphasis on modeling the "formative years" as you put it also showed up clearly in a couple surveys I've completed. When we were approx age 15 to 25 we began driving (railfanning), having money to spend on film, models, travel, etc. There are many exceptions, but modeling or studying the era when you were 15 - 25 is very common. I've also noticed that many people model the "transition" periods: the classic one circa 1950 - 1960 when steam was replaced by diesels is well-known. But I see a 2nd transition period that could be a considered an echo of the first- the period of approx 1968 - 1975. Here you have a transition fron 1st generation diesels to 2nd generation. The end of PAs, end of Alco, a sharp decline in F, E, Baldwin and other minority builder units, transition from boxcar (esp 40 ft) to TOFC/COFC, the end of private passenger rail, and the beginning of EMD's -2 line, plus a huge shift in the overall culture. So there's two clear "bumps" in the popularity v. time chart independent of the "formative years" factor- the 1950 - 1960 hump is shrinking as the people modeling that period pass on. The 2nd hump at 1968 - 1975 is alive and well as "we" are in to or entering our retirement years. Years where the big bucks are spent. I model 1970 specifically because it includes the last of SP's F units and early BN with all the variety, but before Amtrak.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 15:03:18 GMT -8
... like watching trains, but do long for the 60s thru 80s cleaner look. Spikre I agree. Even though graffiti (aka criminal vandalism) is a fact of life today, I refuse to model it. So that means refusing to model most post-1990 railroading. I dislike it and the criminals that do it that much.
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2015 16:00:50 GMT -8
... like watching trains, but do long for the 60s thru 80s cleaner look. Spikre I agree. Even though graffiti (aka criminal vandalism) is a fact of life today, I refuse to model it. So that means refusing to model most post-1990 railroading. I dislike it and the criminals that do it that much. That's one of the advantages of modeling pre-1990. Also largely pre-ditch lights, pre-most wide cabs, cabooses. Yes, 1970 is very tempting as a transition echo and have extended my modeling time from back enough into the 60's to actually capture some of that "rainbow" period, although my main focus is mid-70's thru mid-80's. One problem for 1970 for me is personally remember very little from memory of that time. I really started watching trains closer while living in Davis/Sacramento starting in the mid-1970's so I can actually remember seeing braces os SP SD45's and tunnel motors coming through town and over the Causeway (Hwy 80) over into Sacratomato. So it's that personal memory which drives my focus a little later although I love F units too - some day I want to get a few black widow SP F's and mix them with bloody nose F's! Hah hah!
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Post by fr8kar on Jan 7, 2015 16:33:08 GMT -8
... like watching trains, but do long for the 60s thru 80s cleaner look. Spikre I agree. Even though graffiti (aka criminal vandalism) is a fact of life today, I refuse to model it. So that means refusing to model most post-1990 railroading. I dislike it and the criminals that do it that much. I don't really care about the people doing the vandalism one way or the other, but with very few exceptions I hate graffiti. About 15 years ago I modeled more modern times and had a few models that I painted graffiti on, but eventually I settled on modeling as late as 1991 and all the graffiti pieces had to go. I'm glad I made the change to modeling the 80s. Like others, I was a teenager then and I was able to spend a lot of time railfanning, but it's also a time when you could still see pre-merger UP power, Mopac, Katy, Rio Grande, SP/SSW and so on. I can find something to like about nearly every railroad from that time period, so I can indulge in "run through" power from just about any railroad and be perfectly justified in doing so. It's not inexpensive to do it that way, but it sure is fun.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 16:37:41 GMT -8
I agree. Even though graffiti (aka criminal vandalism) is a fact of life today, I refuse to model it. So that means refusing to model most post-1990 railroading. I dislike it and the criminals that do it that much. That's one of the advantages of modeling pre-1990. Also largely pre-ditch lights, pre-most wide cabs, cabooses. Yes, 1970 is very tempting as a transition echo and have extended my modeling time from back enough into the 60's to actually capture some of that "rainbow" period, although my main focus is mid-70's thru mid-80's. One problem for 1970 for me is personally remember very little from memory of that time. I really started watching trains closer while living in Davis/Sacramento starting in the mid-1970's so I can actually remember seeing braces os SP SD45's and tunnel motors coming through town and over the Causeway (Hwy 80) over into Sacratomato. So it's that personal memory which drives my focus a little later although I love F units too - some day I want to get a few black widow SP F's and mix them with bloody nose F's! Hah hah! We must be about the same age. I started driving aroung 1973-74, so between then and 1978 were my prime railfanning years (I went to work for the RR in '78, sort of took the fun out of it). It was SoCal so I remember tons of SP SD45s, 39s, 35s, UP DDs, etc. But I've always liked cab units, 40' boxcars, Baldwins, and Portland OR. Plus I lived in Portland for a couple years- should have taken more photos! So I go back a few years and focus on 1969-71. I used to be all over the place, both era and railroad but Portland circa 1970 allows for SP, UP, MILW, BN, NP, GN SP&S, CB&Q, and PT.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 16:57:57 GMT -8
I agree. Even though graffiti (aka criminal vandalism) is a fact of life today, I refuse to model it. So that means refusing to model most post-1990 railroading. I dislike it and the criminals that do it that much. I don't really care about the people doing the vandalism one way or the other, but with very few exceptions I hate graffiti. About 15 years ago I modeled more modern times and had a few models that I painted graffiti on, but eventually I settled on modeling as late as 1991 and all the graffiti pieces had to go. I'm glad I made the change to modeling the 80s. Like others, I was a teenager then and I was able to spend a lot of time railfanning, but it's also a time when you could still see pre-merger UP power, Mopac, Katy, Rio Grande, SP/SSW and so on. I can find something to like about nearly every railroad from that time period, so I can indulge in "run through" power from just about any railroad and be perfectly justified in doing so. It's not inexpensive to do it that way, but it sure is fun. I just re-read my copy of the Fall 2008 UPHS "Streamliner" last nite. Big article on UP pool power thru North Platte: SP, WP, CB&Q, CNW, MP, SLSF, N&W, MILW, plus visiting BN, SOU.... When I was working the UP L'A. hump around 1982 I saw a train come in with five road's power on the point: UP, CNW, MILW, SP, and either MP or N&W. Of course no camera and I didn't write it down. Friends got full-time jobs, married, or moved so that meant less railfanning after age 25. I was never a good photographer, but if I could go back in time I'd be taking WAY more photos. I don't know about other professional railroaders, but working at RR I lost a lot of interest in railfanning, and in the early years working the extra board didn't help. ALSO, back those photos up. I lost 90 percent of my prints, slides, & negatives over the years (various reasons), and a computer crash around 2007 cost me 80 percent of everything digital.
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Post by riogrande on Jan 7, 2015 18:04:57 GMT -8
]We must be about the same age. I started driving around 1973-74, so between then and 1978 were my prime railfanning years (I went to work for the RR in '78, sort of took the fun out of it). It was SoCal so I remember tons of SP SD45s, 39s, 35s, UP DDs, etc. But I've always liked cab units, 40' boxcars, Baldwins, and Portland OR. Plus I lived in Portland for a couple years- should have taken more photos! So I go back a few years and focus on 1969-71. I used to be all over the place, both era and railroad but Portland circa 1970 allows for SP, UP, MILW, BN, NP, GN SP&S, CB&Q, and PT. Darn close! I would have gotten my learners permit in 1974, graduated from Davis HS in 1977 although I was more of a casual rail-fan, I didn't chase trains that much and didn't shoot hardly any film. Looking back I really regret not photographing trains back then - it seemed they'd always be there huh? But, mostly I just watched SP trains around Davis, Sacramento and occasionally from the road up Hwy 80 over Donner Pass. The SP beat racks passed by my neighborhood as they went north from Davis up to Woodland on what I later learned was called the West Valley Line (no longer a through line). As I recall they were pulled by Cadillac SD9's. Around 1979/80 the SP GS-4 came through town going south and sometime later returned north and went back up to Oregon on the west valley line. I remember it's whistle was like a low ghostly steamboat style whistle! The Coast Starlight used that line for a while to. Fall 1977 I started college at California State University Sacramento and interestingly, my sophomore year I had a roommate who had worked for the WP for a short stint - his father and grandfather were both WP career men but Rich was a math and history major and ended selling insurance and made a career of it - just as well as the WP folded into the UP not long after. I imagine Portland would have been an interesting place. A high school buddy moved up there and still lives there AFAIK - I went up to visit him around 1981 but didn't know the rail lines so I didn't really see any trains. Heck all this reminiscing makes me miss the SP of my youth! I made trips from California to Colorado in the the 80's and that's when I got sucked into the standard gauge D&RGW.
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Post by WP 257 on Jan 7, 2015 19:51:00 GMT -8
I graduated high school in 1986, and my main railfanning years were 1988-89, when I was at PSU Altoona Campus...at that time our railfan efforts still focused on the pre-CR roads, as some of that rolling stock was still in the Juniata dead lines. We used to sit at Horseshoe Curve at night to watch the Broadway which still had Heritage Fleet equipment then, too...that was when you could walk up for free except the park was supposed to be closed at night...took girls up there too but not to watch trains One night I ran the steps up to the Curve, or well, most of them. That was a killer! I will always be able to see "Satan's Engine" (ex-EL SD45-2) CR 6666 and its sisters, including mainly 6657, in my mind's eye as they were in the area all the time as helpers then. My older non-college friends were pretty much pre-CR, so I guess that era rubbed off on me though I only have very vague memories of seeing Reading green and yellow diesels.
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Post by Paul Cutler III on Jan 7, 2015 20:48:17 GMT -8
I just turned 40 (today!), and I strictly model the New Haven which disappeared from the railroad scene 46 years (and 7 days) ago. I don't model graffiti, ditchlights, beacons/strobes, Amtrak, or anything else past 1968.
My dad is a railfan, and I've been going to railroad museums and fantrips since I was in a stroller. We also walked the tracks and railfanned all around Eastern Mass., RI, and CT. Yet what I can recall from those days has no interest for me. I remember CR B23-7's, Amtrak F40PH's, MBTA F40PH's, and that's about it. Ho-hum. But when I learned that things used to be much busier in the old days, I wanted to know more. After a few magazines and books, I was hooked on the NH in 1990 and have been ever since.
FWIW, here in New England I'm not certainly not alone in my Fallen Flag dedication. If you come to the Springfield Show, you'll see far more old New England Class I's than modern day Class I's. Not to say there aren't modern Class I modelers here, but compared to the rest of the USA, there isn't nearly as many.
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Post by fr8kar on Jan 7, 2015 21:03:22 GMT -8
Happy birthday, Paul!
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Post by llxlocomotives on Jan 7, 2015 21:34:14 GMT -8
Boy has this tread taken a left turn. To contribute to the new focus, I agree, initially you model what you remember, because it is what you know and it brings back a special time. It is your passion for the hobby. What has not been said, but has it influence is the place trains have in society, today and in by gone times. The 1950 'a and 1960 'a were a transition time much beyond steam to diesel. Prior to this time, everything went by train. The interstate law was signed on 1956. Prior to that roads were terrible. People drove long distances, only if you had to and could take the time . They had trucks, but only about 10 percent of what you see today. The same goes for airplanes. Because they were so much a part of life, you paid a lot of attention to them. They are still there, but a shadow of what they once were, not in size, but in the publics eye. Larry Llxlocomotives.com
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Post by Brakie on Jan 8, 2015 3:38:13 GMT -8
I won't model what I remember since the 60s was the railroads decaying years.The 60s wasn't pretty Ike's trucking industry Interstates was slowly chocking the railroads to death and most was living on Government bailouts just to survive.Dirty short passenger trains was the norm as well as trains having 15 cars,15 restless riders 3 conductors and 25 sacks of mail.For the proof read Trains Magazine of that era.
If I was going to model the current era I would do so by weathering my cars and simply omit the nasty graffiti--the joys of modeling licenses is not outdated when it comes to such things.
I model three eras,the IPD era 78-80,85-87 and 94-95.
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Post by atsfan on Jan 8, 2015 3:56:29 GMT -8
I don't understand the railfan years were discussion. I watch trains wherever I am near the tracks. Maybe a little less frequently than some other time, but not over.
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Post by riogrande on Jan 8, 2015 4:38:05 GMT -8
If anyone wants this split off and put into the Crew Lounge, let me know.
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Post by bnsffan on Jan 8, 2015 6:03:53 GMT -8
I am the odd duck here. I will be seventy this year; however, I have no attraction to the transition era or the Staggers act era. What I do like is the modern era. I model the BNSF and the CP/DME/ICE where they cross in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Respectfully, BNSF Fan
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Post by stevewagner on Jan 8, 2015 7:18:20 GMT -8
I'll cite two grand old Latin maxims: "De gustibus non est disputandum" (There should be no arguing about tastes) and "Suum cuique" (To each his own).
That said, when asked about the "era" I model, I say "my lifetime", and I was born in 1946. My family didn't have a car until 1960, so I grew up riding public transportation in Philadelphia and its suburbs and riding the PRR, NYC and D&H to Whitehall, NY for summers of camping on an island in Lake George. I got interested in modeling the Delaware & Hudson about 1962. Trips to Canada from 1961 on made me like the CN and CP. The Boston & Maine became my second favorite road after I moved to Massachusetts in 1968. I divide my rolling stock roster into two parts: "steam era" (up through 1956, when the B&M last ran steamers in regular service) and "modern" (since then). I don't have many models representing locos and cars more recent than 1980. The only graffiti on my cars are "Moby Dick" on a white whalebelly tank car, a spouting whale on another, and "Help! Jonah" on a black one.
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Post by riogrande on Jan 8, 2015 10:05:11 GMT -8
On hind site, I wish they would had still been teaching latin when I was back in school. Would have been more useful than I originally assumed.
For sure not every one fits the mold for how they like what they do. And even though because I don't have unlimited funds to model all era's, and have chosen the the 70's and 80's, when I go train watching there is still something about hearing the rumble of train long before you see it and the drama of big steel on rails that captivates me at a gut level, despite some of the less attractive visual features of the past 20 years.
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Post by WP 257 on Jan 8, 2015 10:31:37 GMT -8
As I live near Enola Yard, and pass it sometimes multiple times per day, I do get to see a lot of stuff. But the modern stuff-especially the sea of NS black diesels, just doesn't do much for me...some of us even find ourselves missing Conrail blue.
I always look at what's there when I go by, but I don't go railfanning anymore per se. There's very little of the stuff I'm interested in still on the rails in service. On nice afternoons I see plenty of photographers trackside along the former PRR Middle Division, but I'm not one to join them.
One night a few years back I did see the ghostly apparition of an actual Alco C-420 low nose sitting in Enola, near the diesel facility, and it was confirmed the next day to be a genuine trashed out (all windows broken out) former L&N C-420 still in grey. Just like the article in August 1981 Trains, 1:58 AM at Wishram, there are times late at night (on the way home from the gym, in my particular case) when your eyes play tricks on you and you think you see ghosts of past railroad equipment...On that one occasion, the grey ghost turned out to be real.
(NS has changed the lighting over the yard, both in type and color. Some nights it is virtually pitch black over much of the yard, so one can only see stuff on the closest few tracks to US 15. Other nights, the high mast lighting may be on and things are well illuminated, so there's considerable variation in what one can see on a drive-by.)
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Post by gevohogger on Jan 8, 2015 11:55:09 GMT -8
Being a railroader, there isn't any longer any time for railfanning, and probably not much more for modelling. Like RSD5 above, I see a lot of fans, but don't feel inclined to join them. That said, however, I've mainly been collecting a handful of modern GE and EMD locomotives for whatever layout time I get eventually. All the stuff I see regularly - BNSF, NS, CSX, UP, CN. Modern col and grain hoppers too. Can never have too many!
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Post by atsfan on Jan 8, 2015 15:49:55 GMT -8
As I live near Enola Yard, and pass it sometimes multiple times per day, I do get to see a lot of stuff. But the modern stuff-especially the sea of NS black diesels, just doesn't do much for me...some of us even find ourselves missing Conrail blue. I always look at what's there when I go by, but I don't go railfanning anymore per se. There's very little of the stuff I'm interested in still on the rails in service. On nice afternoons I see plenty of photographers trackside along the former PRR Middle Division, but I'm not one to join them. One night a few years back I did see the ghostly apparition of an actual Alco C-420 low nose sitting in Enola, near the diesel facility, and it was confirmed the next day to be a genuine trashed out (all windows broken out) former L&N C-420 still in grey. Just like the article in August 1981 Trains, 1:58 AM at Wishram, there are times late at night (on the way home from the gym, in my particular case) when your eyes play tricks on you and you think you see ghosts of past railroad equipment...On that one occasion, the grey ghost turned out to be real. (NS has changed the lighting over the yard, both in type and color. Some nights it is virtually pitch black over much of the yard, so one can only see stuff on the closest few tracks to US 15. Other nights, the high mast lighting may be on and things are well illuminated, so there's considerable variation in what one can see on a drive-by.) The bridge at the north end of Enola was a hot spot way back in the day. And there was the "railfan McDonald's" across the way from the yard. Is that still there? The NS Pittsburgh Line is still a good location to see steel wheels on steel tracks. With all of the spots that no longer even have trains, don't take for granted those still busy mainlines!
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Post by bnsf971 on Jan 8, 2015 15:57:30 GMT -8
As I live near Enola Yard, and pass it sometimes multiple times per day, I do get to see a lot of stuff. But the modern stuff-especially the sea of NS black diesels, just doesn't do much for me...some of us even find ourselves missing Conrail blue. I always look at what's there when I go by, but I don't go railfanning anymore per se. There's very little of the stuff I'm interested in still on the rails in service. On nice afternoons I see plenty of photographers trackside along the former PRR Middle Division, but I'm not one to join them. One night a few years back I did see the ghostly apparition of an actual Alco C-420 low nose sitting in Enola, near the diesel facility, and it was confirmed the next day to be a genuine trashed out (all windows broken out) former L&N C-420 still in grey. Just like the article in August 1981 Trains, 1:58 AM at Wishram, there are times late at night (on the way home from the gym, in my particular case) when your eyes play tricks on you and you think you see ghosts of past railroad equipment...On that one occasion, the grey ghost turned out to be real. (NS has changed the lighting over the yard, both in type and color. Some nights it is virtually pitch black over much of the yard, so one can only see stuff on the closest few tracks to US 15. Other nights, the high mast lighting may be on and things are well illuminated, so there's considerable variation in what one can see on a drive-by.) The bridge at the north end of Enola was a hot spot way back in the day. And there was the "railfan McDonald's" across the way from the yard. Is that still there? The NS Pittsburgh Line is still a good location to see steel wheels on steel tracks. With all of the spots that no longer even have trains, don't take for granted those still busy mainlines! Yes, the MacDonalds is still there, or was last February, last time I was there.
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Post by Brakie on Jan 9, 2015 3:37:43 GMT -8
I think I will mention my other railfan pursuit..I like visiting and photographing short lines. Where else would you find such things as these?
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