I guess I was born a little late. Most of the trains are gone now. Maybe it's not that I was born too late.. just that I have acquired an interest in them too late. I can barely remember our sixth grade class going to Washington DC on a train out of Wheeling. Truth be known I don't remember anything at all other than some confusion in DC about several kids possibly missing the train for the return trip. But that's not unusual because I don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning either. Now days all of my train experiences consists of excursion trains and trips to railroad museums. Most recent trip was to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum In Baltimore Maryland. A very nice Museum featuring a completely restored Roundhouse which houses some really rare Steam Engines and cars. But my interest was more in the cars and engines that are outside in the yard.. though some are beautifully restored, a lot of them are in the same condition as they were when taken out of service. I think you get a better feel for the times when these monsters ran by looking at the "rough" versions of these cars. At any rate it was a fun trip and a great photo opportunity. Other recent trips include a ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad.. an old logging railroad in the mountains of West Virginia that uses the old Shay type steam locomotives on a switchback trail that reverses several times on it's way up the mountain to "Bald Knob" ( a fitting destination ) Both were nice relaxing trips.. nothing like the beach at Cancun, but nice none the less. A fathers day gift of a train ride in Nelsonville Ohio was another nice weekend trip and family outing. Next trip, when I get a little time , is the Strasbourg RR in Pa.....hopefully this fall.
I'm not sure what started this new found hobby other than a resurrection of a couple of old train sets from my youth which also started a quest for older Amerian Flyer trains, a couple of which are shown in my FB photo. Collection is growing.. wallet is shrinking , but what the heck ..your only young once.... ok .. twice. Hobbies keep me sane (somewhat) so it's a small price to pay. Who knows .. maybe Railroads will make a comeback and after retirement I can fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a carefree hobo.
But then where would I store my trains?
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