Happy one year anniversary, Rich and everyone!
I have a very special post for the anniversary edition of Switcher Saturday. I'm a third generation railroad enthusiast in my family. My grandfather started it all, he got my father interested and then my father hooked me. One of my father's favorite locomotives was the Lionel 228 Pennsylvania B6sb which he received for Christmas in 1941. At the time, the Pennsy 0-6-0, along with the New York Central 700E, was among the most well detailed and realistic of Lionel's offerings and, as my grandfather and father, were very prototypically minded three rail O gaugers, the locomotive became an instant favorite and saw a lot of service on their railroad. When Lionel introduced more realistic rolling stock after the war, they had the locomotive converted to knuckle couplers to make it compatible with the new generation of equipment. The locomotive has been extremely reliable during the ensuing decades. In fact, other than running inspections and maintenance, I can recall only one instance in which it required a trip into the shop for repair. That's longevity.
Unfortunately, we lost Dad on New Years Day. He had a long, fabulous life and, thanks to our passion for railroading, he and I developed a bond which not many parents and children have a chance to experience. In fact, he and I were a real life example of those father and son scenes in the Lionel catalogs. My father was a rail enthusiast of the highest order and our hobby has suffered a tremendous loss with his passing. That said, as our community's elder statesmen continue to pass on, there must be one heck of a model railroad and steam excursions running every day of the week waiting for us on the other side. 
So, in honor of my father, I present to you pictures of his B6, received by him for Christmas 1941. Here we see the 8976 being prepared for the day's work. In the third and fourth images, the crew has backed in under the water plug to fill the tank. Note the tender still has its original front truck as it was not replaced when the locomotive was converted to knuckle couplers. A K4 waiting to back down to its train can be seen in the background to give the picture a true Pennsy feel. An enthusiastic PRR fan, my father would approve!
This post is for you, Dad. Thanks for everything.
Bob ("Robert" to my father)
