Like many fellow forum members, I am sure, I would like to go see special excursions–NS’ F-units, UP’s steam engines, other excursions, etc.–but I do not have the time to really follow every engine and often find out after the fact that a particular train came within driving distance of me and I missed it.
Trains could set up a special forum listing where members, and/or trains.com itself, could post special excursions.
Just an idea . . .
Gabe
I mentioned this same basic idea in the last year. It would not be too hard to do. Join that part of the website, enter in your zip code and the radious you would travel and then you would get automatic alerts via email say when UP 3985 or any special engine is coming to your town. If I had the money I would start my own website doing this. Friends of the 261 have a forum but I have not checked it in a while. For some odd reason they don’t seem to want to broadcast widely the times the engine comes out on the rails. Do they not want us Foamers jamming up roads along the track, causing traffic jams, possible accidents or ? I have had internet since 2000 and I have missed several occaisons of special engines coming through the Twin Cities. One of them was the UPs DD40x coming and going.
Been here ,done this, I used to look to trains for info other people had long before I would hear about them…Just like the NRHS mtg in FT.Wth Tx. this yr,Trains never mentioned it…
Just for your information, UP3985 will be on display in South Saint Paul, MN from Sept. 27 thru Sept. 29. The following links are to the UP steam sites and have details of the trip: