Hey gang:
We at the Hamlet Depot Museum embarked on a major undertaking a few years back. We're bringing Seaboard Air Line's flagship passenger train, the Silver Meteor, back to Hamlet -- in O-scale 2-rail, at least. Maybe ya'll will enjoy following along on this journey; hence the motivation for starting this topic.
We were inspired by the fine work of PRRTRAINGUY, who built a fabulous 12-car version of the Silver Meteor, or the "Meter" as we often refer to it. Our first thought was to scratch-build the train ourselves, relying heavily on the talents of our master modeler, Sam Hill (yeah, as in "Who in the Sam Hill is that?").
We were knee-deep into our first car, Seaboard's sun lounge Hollywood Beach, when much to our delight, Scott Mann announced his intention to offer the Meteor with an E8A in Seaboard mint livery to boot. Huge thanks to Scott for this, as well as Bob Delbridge for his role in making this dream of ours into a reality.
Without a penny in fundraising to our name, we jumped in on faith alone and are making huge strides every month. Best of all, we're having a blast and making friends as we go.
Our idea is to create a permanent static display at the Hamlet Depot Museum that features the Silver Meteor as it might have appeared in the mid-1950s. Fueled by the excitement of our donors and well-wishers, our project has expanded to not only honor the "Meter" but also one of our Depot Board members as well, plus a beautiful Art Deco Hamlet landmark -- a Seaboard bridge that still stands today.
Hope you all enjoy the posts that will follow to document this special undertaking. Chime in with ideas, tips and your stories about the "Meter." And come see us in Hamlet.
Thanks,
Bill Matheson
