"Total Trains Art"

In the mid 1970's, I repaired and restored both postwar Lionel O and prewar Lionel standard gauge. Also collected original Lionel boxed standard gauge 8, 10 and 318  sets.

Started my love affair with LGB in 1978, and presently have a nice small collection of like new original German made LGB.

Presently downsized to one four-car dark green repro state set (three MTH Tinplate Traditions and one Lionel Classics 1414) pulled by an MTH Tinplate Traditions dark green 408E with twin BAL motors. Also have several smaller tinplate structures, and an MTH weigh scale with an LCT 216 red hopper.

Oh, and formerly owned a train depot/home, Bear Creek Junction, on the former Graham County Railroad in Western North Carolina for 23 years.

Having done mostly all gauges plus a long stint on this forum (since 2001), I still want to participate in this hobby, even when there are brief interludes of ennui. :-)

After 16 years of renal hemodialysis and seven cardiac artery stents, plus having survived a retro peritoneal hematoma, I consider myself at 78 a survivor, indeed! LOL!

All I can say (and I'm sure others will agree) is WOW!

I was also fortunate enough in the late forties and early fifies to have visited the Manhattan showrooms of both Lionel and the Gilbert Hall of Science and the famed Madison Hardware, all within a few blocks of one another. There was also Polk's on 5th Avenue and Carmen Webster's Model Railroad Equipment Corporation on West 45th Street. Savoy Merchandise was located on West 23rd Street and they stocked a lot of Gilbert S Gauge Flyer. Those were the days! :-)

I also rode behind LIRR steam locos (G5's and K4's) from Jamaica to Hicksville in the late forties and early fifties to visit my grandfather.

Another adventure in my teens was to ride the ferry across the Hudson to the Hoboken Terminal of the Lackawanna Railroad. Those dark green electric MU cars with pantographs were so cool looking, and fun to ride! I once rode the fabled Phoebe Snow from Hoboken to East Stroudsburg, PA for a Poconos vacation.

Tinplate Art, I was born and raised in Hoboken in 1947, so rode the ferries to Manhattan with my parents, and also rode the name trains to East Stroudsburg, as my aunt and uncle and cousins lived in Tannersville, about 10 miles from there. As a teenager, we would sometimes hang out in that beautiful Hoboken Terminal, and took the MU’s to Crestwood Lake to go swimming. Unlike the Phoebe Snow, and other streamlined trains, the MU’s were not air conditioned, so it was windows open all the way. Also the toilets just opened to the tracks! (“Do not flush toilets at station stops”). A great time.

The Hoboken Terminal was a great station and those Lackawanna MU's were very special and I remember one long trip to Dover. The open windows were OK in the spring and summer. We had relatives near Lake Hopatcong.

I thought you were talking to yourself there for a minute, Art. Seriously, you've had a great "train life" and I have always enjoyed your posts on the forum since the days of Beowulf and Howenwald.

Ah, I remember Bob Coniglio well and Hohenwald, TN where there is actually an elephant sanctuary. Visitors are not allowed but they can view these magnificant animals by means of video cameras. The whole Hohenwald bit on the Forum was very witty!

I should add the support of my spouse, Kay, over our almost fifty-years of marriage has been phenomenal. She has participated in twenty-years of steam excursions and many train meets in multiple states. She is quite knowledgeable about steam locomotives and the hobby in general. I cannot express enough gratitude for her gracious support of both our railfanning and the model/toy aspect.

Art.......I have always loved your stories from the Beowolf days till now. The stories of PostWar New York City have always warmed my heart.  I cannot believe how the time as passed ....16 years since you started dialysis......I remember clearly when you started!

I also fondly remember when I was serving on a technology committee for HCA (circa 2003-04) and was in Nashville for a conference..... You took me to lunch and and showed me your favorite Nashville train store....where has the time gone!

My best wishes for continued success in your battle with End Stage Kidney Disease, so that you can continue to enjoy your trains and the love of your family and friends.

Peter

You'll always be Beowulf to me... and your posts much enjoyed whichever "handle" you use!

Jon

Now where's Bear?

THANK YOU, Peter and Jon for your gracious comments! And Peter for your helpful advice during my early years on dialysis! Still rocking a 2.2 clearance with my current access! URR always 80 or greater.

@Tinplate Art posted:

THANK YOU, Peter and Jon for your gracious comments! And Peter for your helpful advice during my early years on dialysis! Still rocking a 2.2 clearance with my current access! URR always 80 or greater.

Outstanding numbers! Good work!

Peter