The East Broad Top railroad brought coal from the Rockhill Coal Co mines to an interchange with the PRR. My mother grew up in a Rockhill company town, where the company built the town, the houses, etc for the coal miners and their families. My mother’s father, uncles, grandfathers, etc were Italian immigrant coal miners. As a little girl, my Mother also rode the EBT to go to doctors and such.
My little fictious railroad has the EBT surviving (barely) into the 1980’s, and the interchange is now with Conrail instead of the Pennsy. I also have a small industrial complex that I am building.
Same here. My Grandfather, who died a couple years before I was born, was a Car Repairer (Carpenter) for the GTW back in the 40’s and very early 50’s. So that’s what I model, although over the years it’s become less of the GTW and more of the CN and the fallen flags it has absorbed (GTW, IC, WC, DW&P, and even a little DM&IR).
I grew up next to the abandoned right of way of the Bethel-Felicity Railroad, a very short line branch of the short line, Cincinnati, Georgetown and Portsmouth that I sort of model in the late 50’s to early 60’s. They went out of business in 1933 and 1936 respectively.
My friends father, Tom Dill (the railroad author) had a huge layout in his garage. Being a conductor in Oregon for 20+ years. I dont remember right off if he had themes his twords any specific Oregon run, but I have been seriously eye-balling a few areas in Kalamath Falls.
my mother worked for the sundries store next to the Union Terminal in Jacksonville and my dad owned the St. Charles railroad hotel across the street
so any train that ever ran thru the Jacksonville yard is fair game for me.
How about this. I work for CSX, so I make it a point NOT to model it.
But as I hired out with Conrail, as did my father and grandfather (PRR), I’ll always have a soft spot for Big Blue and the Standard Railroad of the World. Both of which make appreances on my D&H/Canadian Pacific layout.
I’m modeling the California Western which was owned by the Union Lumber Company. My dad worked for the Union Lumber Company but I didn’t know it until after I told him about modeling it.
I model the Maine Central because both my father and grand father worked for the Maine Central in its HQ in Portland, Maine. I was lucky enough to have a father that loved his job, and would sometimes bring me to the office with him. I spent many days around the yard in South Portland, watching the MEC, B&M and Portland Terminal bring train after train into and out of the yard.
That’s a very interesting question you ask. My grandfather, whom I never met, worked as a fireman on a RR in Missouri or Kansas, but I don’t know which one. My grandmother worked as a RR telegraph operator in Marietta, OH, at that ripe old age of 15 years old. (That’s how she and my grandpa met.) Grandma was 16 when they married; my grandpa, 31. After that, Grandpa worked in furniture refinishing to be closer to home.
I know close to nothing about my grandfather. If I did know what RR he worked for, I might possibly be VERY eager to learn as much as I could about that particular line and model it. [:)]
My grandfather-in-law was a conductor for the C&EI. Unfortunately he passed on way before I even knew my wife existed. We do have his old kerosene C&EI lantern and other memorabilia. I have some freight cars lettered for C&EI. I have plans on painting a F7 in C&EI colors (already have the decal set).
My grandfather was an engineer out of Bellfontaine, Ohio from the 1930’s well into the 50’s. Not sure if he was with NYC or NKP so I just went with the NYC with lots of NKP rolling stock. Figure that aught to cover it. At the time we lived in upstate NY and took the NYC to visit often.
Terry and WILMA for now
You bet! MY Great Grandfather, Grandfather and Great Uncle worked for PRR, PC, CR. My Great grandfather retired in 1960 with PRR. My grandfather retired in 1976 with PC, and my great uncle retired in 83 with CR. My great uncle is still living. He sends me all sorts of stuff he and the other two used while working when he finds it. Seems I’m the only family member that cares about that history. Sad really, but I do have some neat artifacts.
I’ve been trying but even my mom doesn’t have much information on him. I even tried to find out which particular lines ran through Marietta, OH. My grandma and grandpa would have married in 1902. I’ve even done some geneological background research on Ancestry.com but didn’t make much headway. This may spur me on to research it more. Thanks, Chip! [:)]
My Grandfather worked at the El Paso roundhouse for the Southern Pacific in the late 30’s. I would love to model that roundhouse, but I’m really set at having my layout during the 1967 period during the last year of the PA’s. I mostly have the grey and red scheme which started in 1958, but at that time, steam had vanished. I have some SP steam also, so this is going to be an interesting if I can pull it off. One regret was I never had a chance to discuss with my Grandfather of his work place. This would have been very helpful. He passed away in 1985. [:(]
My Grandfather worked as a conductor on the Belfast & Moosehead Lake RR in the 30’s and 40’s with a short break for WW2. I have been, up until recently, working on the Autumn’s Ridge Railway & Navigation Company which is patterned after the B & ML.
Lately work has halted though because Uncle Sam wants my house. What Uncle Sam wants, Uncle Sam gets. So now I’m moving.
We’ll just have to see what happens as far as a new house is concerned. Maybe the ARR&Nco. will be able to expand! [:D]
