"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

Jon: I always enjoyed and appreciated your thoughtful observations and replies over the last two decades on the forum!

Kay and I took a multi-mega mile Amtrack trip in 1981. We booked full bedrooms on both the older heritage fleet equipment and the new Superliners. We started out on the City of New Orleans from Cairo, IL to Chicago, then took the San Francisco Zephyr to Oakland, then a bus to San Francisco. Overnight stay in the "City by the Bay", and then took the Coast Starlight to Seattle. For some reason, we had a large Superliner handicap suite on that trip. Overnight stay in Seattle, then Empire Builder to Milwaukee. Highlights there were dining at the famous Mader's German restaurant and a tour of the Pabst Brewery. Overnight stay there and then caught a Turbo Train to Chicago next day. Return on City of New Orleans to Cairo, IL. All first class with great dining car meals, and spectacular scenary. Had an early Bearcat scanner with crystals for each road we traveled over, and I monitored all engineer, conductor and dispatcher communications. The then new Superliner accomodations were comfortable and the heritage bedrooms on the City of New Orleans were also very nice. A great trip done in nine days when Amtrack was still young!

Kay and I also attended two small scale (gauge 1) live steam meets in Diamondhead, MS in years 1996 and 1997. We all ran live steam locos on 45 mm gauge layouts set up in the lobby of the Day's Inn. Everything from fabulous Aster's like the Big Boy and GS-4's to smaller British tank locos. Lots of dealers on hand for parts, tools and accessories. One night in the piano bar in the motel, a gent was playing "Long, Long Time" and I said that sounds familiar,  and he replied that Linda Ronstadt made it a big hit for him! The songwriter was Gary White and he was a fellow live steamer. Another interesting guest who flew in on his own plane was the late Rick Runyon, who created the red and purple FedEx corporate logo. He famously ran doubled-headed Aster GS-4's at top speed on one of the lobby layouts!

@Tinplate Art posted:

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

And 'Beowulf' was kind enough to invite me to his "depot/home, Bear Creek Junction" for the weekend many many years ago.. We even got to indulge in some NC BBQ and bluegrass music.. I can never thank you enough!! For those of you who have never met Art in person, he is a very kind, accommodating person!!!!! AND indeed has a wealth of railroad knowledge!!!!!

Woodson: WOW! A BLAST from the past! That was a fun visit and I am glad you all enjoyed it! :-)

This forum has been a great and well moderated venue to share information and tips about our hobby, and for that I am most grateful!