Tex,
When I said I had been in the hobby since AEC was new, I meant the postwar version... That puts it about 1958-59.
You know, back when they thought that the atomic waste could be moved on rails and stored in caverns! The AEC is no more, and now we have the NRC. But again, this is all fantasy land for Lionel... not that there's anything wrong with that. I lean toward considering my trains to be Toys and not models. Doesn't mean that toys can't reflect the times though. That's my point.
OK, here's another operating car I'd like to see: Based on a real life experience of my grandfather who was a mail clerk on the Soo Line in Wisconsin. One foggy night the number two train on which he was working, heading southbound missed its turnoff to the siding, required to allow number nine, a Northbound, to continue unimpeded. Rather than backup, the engineer on number two decided to proceed past the other end of the siding and then backup into the siding.
Around the bend came number nine through the fog, and while the engineer and some of the crew on number two were aware of the danger, my grand-dad was not and was busy sorting mail. When the others heard the whistle of number nine, they knew they were in imminent danger and all but my grand-dad jumped off! They hollered to him, but it was too late.
The engine of number nine drove the tender of number two halfway through the mailcar pinning my grand-dad to the rear wall. He survived (or I would not have be here, as my Dad was not yet born...) but with severe injuries.
So what was my idea?
How about an ejector mechanism for the loco and mail car that would have all the crew bailing out whenever a train appeared to be heading for a head on with another! LOL!
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