I was born in 1947 in Hoboken, the western terminal for the Lackawanna (Ferry service went across the Hudson, to their NYC terminal), and shortly later, in the 1950s, my aunt and uncle and cousin moved to Tannersville, PA, about 10 miles from Stroudsburg, on the Lackawanna main. We didn’t have a car most of my growing up, so my mom and I would take the name trains to Stroudsburg, and my aunt or uncle would pick us up. I loved the Lackawanna Limited, and later the Phoebe Snow. (My dad was a Hoboken fireman, and couldn’t always get time off). The train took about and hour and 59 minutes from Hoboken, and it was great. Tannersville was quite rural back then. When my younger brother came along, he loved it as well. My dad bought my first Lionel before I was born, and we had about a 5x9 layout we set up every year for the holidays, and beyond.
Once I was able to drive, I often drove out to the Secaucus yards to railfan, took lots of pictures, especially of the newer motive power (SD45, SDP45, and GP35’s). I still loved coming across E8’s, beeps, and RS3’s, and the switchers. I also hung out at the Hoboken terminal with friends most days. Great memories led me to a lifetime of modeling.
Artie
