GOT MY HAND ON THE THROTTLE TODAY

Always nice to see pictures of the real thing, Alex, thanks for posting.  Looks like a lot of fun.  Does an experience like that give you a new "perspective" or a greater appreciation of your trains when you go back down to your layout?

 

- Mike

WOW,Alex great pictures,what a blast that must have been.

Way too cool!  Looks like picture postcard type day.  Glad you enjoyed it!

Alex....You and I have the best wives on the planet!! ( I am sure other forum members do too!!).  You are one lucky guy...Dina, you are the best for doing this for Alex!  The pictures look great and it sure looks like you had the time of your life.  One thing for sure, you didn't derail the locomotive like someone else we know did on a similar trip....

 

Thanks for sharing this special day with us Alex...

 

Alan

Very cool Alex, looks like you had a great time. You also have a very cool wife, Dina is the best. 

Alex, 

 

Great pics, I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you. I am glad you had a good time.

 

Bill

Alex,

 

What a great way to spend a day!  And the weather fully cooperated.

 

I hope Eliot notes that at the end of your run all wheels were still on the rails!

 

Steve

No doubt about it, you guys had fun alright.  What a thrill being at the throttle of a steam locomotive and a Mikado too boot.  Thanks for posting the photo's and video.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Man,  some ducks have ALL the luck!

 

What a great gift from a  great wife...

Alex you must have been as happy as a kid going to camp in the summer. They are good people down there in Essex and you had a great day weather wise as well. Wish I knew you were going to be there today. I would have driven down to give you that project that you will be doing.

Dina that was probably the best Birthday gift he has gotten.

Happy belated birthday Alex.

Very Cool! They would have had to pull me off that Whistle!   Looks like you had a blast!   Happy belated birthday.

Alex,

 

I am sure it was a a lot of fun. What is the name of this place and where is it at?

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

Alex

You have to learn how to have them pay you to operate the train  LOL

Alex:  Great experience!  Wish I could join you one of these days.  Operating a steam locomotive is still on my "bucket" list.

 

Paul Fischer

Alex,

 

Great job.  Thank you for posting these great pictures.  Dina  is the best for doing this for you.  I love to see guys who have a great Wife who shares the hobby.  Great post.

Alex,

   Wow great shots of a great day, can I ask where this was it looks like a great day 

trip.

 

Tin 

Alex, that was terriffic!!!  And Happy Birthday to you my friend...

 

Some guys have all the luck - a wonderful wife that feeds him well, takes him for train rides and then photographs his fun - what a GREAT bride!!!  She's a keeper for sure Alex, treat her well (and I know you do )

 

All the Best,

Dave

Alex,

That looks so awesome!!
Dina is the best!
I know you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting all the pictures and video.

Mike R

Ps...nice job upgrading the smoke unit and 4 chuff upgrade on the 2-8-2 Mikado. Lol!

Wow guy's thanks for the great comment's !!!!!!

 

Mike, yes it does give me more appreciation for my trains.

 

Thanks Kevin, and Dave B.

 

Alan, Dina and I thank you very much, luckily I didn't derail her, and we were moving pretty fast.

 

Thanks Dave.

 

Bill, yes you would have heard from me, but I was in my glory. LOL

 

Steve thanks, luckily she stayed on the rails !!

 

Tex Steve, it was a blast. Had the time of my life.

 

Sam thanks, It was a lucky day for me.

 

John thanks, sorry I forgot to mention I was going there today. You could have met me there, it wasn't to far from you.

 

Chris thanks, That sure was an awesome whistle

 

Richard and Tin, it's called The Essex Steam train, valley railroad company in Connecticut

 

Ben, You're right LOL

 

Paul thanks.

 

Marty thanks, we are lucky too have ladies in our lives,there enjoy and share the hobby

 

Dave thanks very very much.

 

Thanks MikeR, yes I had some time to upgrade the Mikado's smoke unit and make it 4 chuffs LOL

 

Once again we thank all of you,

 

Alex & Dina

 

 

 

I'm so glad to see that you had a great time Alex. I know that you were looking forward to this day. You are indeed a fortunate fellow.

Best wishes to you both. 

Alex:

 

Thanks for sharing.  I'm glad you had such a great time and agree that this should be on everyone's bucket list.

Alex,

Glad you had a great time running a real train. That is wild.

 

Alan Graziano

WOW!!! I'm jealous  …..and you kept her on the track!!!

NICE!!!

 

Alex thanks very much for sharing those picturs and videos. Definately on my "to do" list. Can you have Dina email MJ with the details

 

Looks like a outstanding day Alex. Dina that was a home run.

 

Paul

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Great pictures.

Awesome ALEX!!!!  It does feel good.  Wish the video was a bit longer, would of liked to see the BIG GRIN on your face.

And you did it without wearing some goofy hat and overalls!

Nice, very nice.

very nice Alex. Dina, please talk to Michele for me

Thanks Alex, I'm in New York so it's close enough to me to make a day trip.

I think you should get like I did a Olympus Pen E-P3 camera, it's small and light

and does great video.

 

Tin  

What a great day for this, Alex. It was a beautiful spring day, so the weather was 100% on your side. This was some kind of a railroading experience and Dina is really special to make this happen for you.

 

You will remember this for a long time. Not many can say they have had time behind the throttle. 

The title says it all, they really let you drive this engine the entire time, you do it all from start to finish. The feeling of being in this engine felt amazing, I enjoyed every minute of it, hoping it wouldn't come to an end.

 

Happy birthday..... Did you get to use the train brake? How fast did you get her going? What a great present.

That is WAY cool Alex, and a beautiful day for the experience!

 

Congrats Alex. I told you it would be a blast.

 

Here is the info for Your Hand on the Throttle.

 

http://www.essexsteamtrain.com/throttle.html

 

 

 

 

Alex,

 

 I, have done race cars, on the Petty Enterprise, programs,  so

 

How far does the train go,  how, many cars are you pulling, do these trains

have passengers, ( like do you stop, and let off),  what does it do , go circle

or make an actual switch,  I would like to try, son probably also !!!!!

&&&& ,  would anybody know of this style program , In the SOUTH, I kinda

figure all of you VA, and NC Experts, might know of, such...............

thanks

Looks like you had a GREAT time. A wonderful thing for Dina to do, and the weather was beautiful yesterday.

 

Alex, all of your stars aligned. You deserve it.

 

Gerry

The trip is approximately 6 miles each way. At the end of the 6 miles you simply back the train all the way to the station. You don't pull any cars, just the engine and the tender. Obviously this is because of liability concerns.

 

You get to control the throttle, brakes, reverser, headlight and whistle. On my trip, I was allowed to make a couple of stops practicing with the braking. It appeared to me that the more knowledgeable you are with the workings of a steam locomotive, the more they will allow you to do.

6 miles,  that is pretty nice little Jaunt in the wild

 

That would be nice if 1 box car was on the move , but !!!

 

(Joe),  your info, even makes it more inviting, for the mtns in VA!!

 

thanks

Alex,

    Looks like you had a great day and the weather was nice for a change. Very proud that you kept the engine on the rails. Dina sure gave you a nice gift.

 

JohnB