Here is some back story on why I am a fan of the Penn Central.
For me, it all began with the train that got me into electric railroading. I think I was three years old, and every time we visited at my uncle's house I would go to look at the Lionel MPC Penn Central GG1 on his bookshelf. He let me hold it a few times and the sheer weight of it made a lasting impression.
Then there was my grandfather. He worked for the entire lineage of Pennsylvania through Conrail and Amtrak as a track man. This is where my uncle got the train bug from, and I in turn got it from him. When I really got into trains my grandfather gave me all the railroadania he had saved, and most of it was from the Penn Central. There's the picture of him next to Penn Central Alco S-2 #9850, hence my screen name.
So, as you see, for me it's a combination of nostalgia and familial ties to the railroad. I actually hadn't known the Penn Central was a big mess until I was old enough to comprehend business, and that was many years after the events I described above occurred.
