Greetings Arnold, of all people, you're asking a Dallas born Texan if he is ever in a New York state of mind? Fact: I was raised on my grandparents little farm north of Dallas in Farmers Branch. A couple miles north, The Katy, Frisco, and Cotton Belt crossed each other on a unique three way crossing at Carrollton. Until replaced by automatic interlocking, it was protected by Tower 77. As a kid in 1951 I well remember Katy steam on the Denton Branch which ran near the farm.
But back to New York, I almost forgot what you asked. How silly of me. There's no place in the universe that can beat New York, New York! But hey, I like all of the railroads of the Northeast. MELGAR asked if the Long Island counts? You bet it does! Once upon a time in the Northeast, it was even part of the Late Great PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD, and like the Strasburg Rail Road that operates in the Keystone State, the "Rail Road" in Long Island is two words and not combined!
When I die, and meet my Maker, I want to board the Heavenly Express. I'll travel First Class all the way. It will depart on that secret underground track below Grand Central Station and will stop at the Roundhouse in the Sky, that's found just beyond the Big Rock Candy Mountains, where I will detrain. There I will be greeted by all the railroaders, railfans, and model railroaders, who have befriended me during my lifetime here on Earth. I hope to see y'all there too, you hear?
In these troubled times, please PRAY FOR PEACE, ON EARTH, GOOD WILL, TOWARDS MAN! We're all in this together and must symbolically hold hands and give thanks that we will endure without another terrible world war that can, in fact, destroy all human life on this planet. We owe it to our children and their children's children as well!
73
Joe
