a picture a day....

Happy July, summer has come, it's nice to have an inside hobby.....The pictures above me, Moonson, and many others are simply awesome....Wow...

Last week I rode the Hiwassee Loop 3 and a half hour ride. It's depot is located ina small town in Etowah, TN. Here is a few of the depot itself.

By the way the shiny stove with silver decor is for sale ...$4000.00������

Larry

phlashgrdon posted:

O gauge guy, I bought the fencing from an dealer in the white hall at the York TCA meet this past spring. I don't recall his name. I thought it was quality plastic fencing that would have lots of uses. He did tell me alot of slot car guys by it too.

 

Wow. Slot car people. I never thought of that. Thanks for the tip phlashgrdon. I jumped onto Google and it looks like some slot car people do some nice modelling. With slot cars being 1/32 scale, any fencing just looks a little more 'high security' when placed in a 1/48 environment.

Here's my first photo of the day for July.  It's a Santa Fe photo, but it has no train in it.  Let me explain below . . .

While in California during June, I arranged this get-together in Fresno, to honor Jack Elwood.  Jack is 98 years old, a retired Santa Fe Road Foreman of Engines and former Los Angeles Division Engineer.  Jack is spry and very sharp, walks to daily mass to begin every day, and still has a good life.  Margie and I went to daily mass and surprised him after it had ended, took him to breakfast, and then surprised him with this gathering.  We really reached back into the past and spent the entire day telling stories about Santa Fe and some of its people we all knew.  What a great day!

Left to right:

Stan Kistler, 84, noted photographer of western trains, especially Santa Fe, beginning in 1945.  Stan not only took photos, but made friends with numerous Santa Fe engine crews, and has known Jack since he was firing steam engines on passenger trains in the late 1940's.  Stan and I have been friends for over 35 years.

Dan Elwood, 61, Jack's son, formerly a Santa Fe Valley Division Engineer.  Dan is one of Jack's two sons, both of whom are retired Locomotive Engineers.  I got to know Dan at our get-together, and have now found another good Santa Fe friend.

Jack Elwood, 98, who entered Santa Fe Mechanical Department in 1939, and became a Fireman in 1940.  Jack was the Engineer on Train 75, with Alco-GE PA1's 61L and 51C, which was wrecked when it hit a truck loaded with Rock in 1965.  From late 1965 until around 1990, Jack was a Santa Fe official at Gallup, New Mexico, and Fresno, California.  I first met Jack in 1992, when he was the Engineer on 4-8-4 3751 and I was the Needles District Road Foreman, riding the engine over my territory.  However, decades earlier, I, as a 19-year-old, had heard over the radio in my 1955 Ford, about the wreck of No.75, and had driven over to look.  I got there after the injured had been removed and before the wrecker arrived, and (in that more innocent era) walked all around the wreck, up close, never realizing that the injured Engineer would later become a good friend.

John Herndon, 71, who began as a Bakersfield Switchman in 1966, transferred to Engine Service in 1973, and was a Road Foreman of Engines at San Bernardino and at Fresno, retiring in 2007.  John and I have been friends for over 40 years, and had many great adventures together on the railroad.

Tom Campbell, 70, (Yours Truly), who started in Los Angeles Division Santa Fe Engine Service in 1970 - 30 years behind Jack - and was an official from 1984 until 2007.

All of us personally knew a lot of the same Santa Fe Coast Lines railroaders and have a lot of fondness for that late, uniquely great railroad of the west, which has now been gone for 22 years.

Tom

Best picture yet!

time for some trains outside,  and a "Bud wei ser"

maybe sit back and watch the 3 pond frogs practice their lines.....

have a great 4th of July !!

uh ohhh ! ran out of Bud.......

back up on the way !!!!!

here come the snacks.....

Larry Sr. posted:

Tom

Best picture yet!

Tom,

I agree with Larry!  That is a great photo of old Santa Fe friends!  

Here is my newest photo.  I just received this Legacy N&W Train Master in a trade with a fellow Forum member.  It looks and runs great!!

Nice Train Master engine Mark! 

Thank you N5CJonny!  And those are some nice cars as well!!

Thanks Mark.

Here's one for today.  It is a PS2 Baldwin AS-616.  I bought it thinking it was very much like the Fairbanks Morse Train Master.  And so it is, but once I got the Train Master, I saw it is larger, both models are scale, and I checked the prototypes lengths as well.  I like them both!!

delivering the snacks for the holiday !!

Here's another thing your can do with the fencing. It's real easy to cut with a exacto knife & straight end.

With the sound of Willie Nelson's voice in the background....On the road again...(for the holiday weekend)...

Have a happy and safe 4th o' July! Everybody!

FrankM.

Yes Frank, I can hear Willie singing!!  Great photos!

Mark Boyce posted:

Yes Frank, I can hear Willie singing!!  Great photos!

Thanks, Mark. It's always nice to hear from you.

FrankM.

Moonson posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Yes Frank, I can hear Willie singing!!  Great photos!

Thanks, Mark. It's always nice to hear from you.

FrankM.

Thank you Frank!  Hopefully things have settled down some for you, and I will post more often.