I’ve been thinking to myself about this upcoming issue, and wondering if there should be some sort of tribute paid to Union Pacific 844, the steam engine which was never retired. If I was Jim Wrinn, I believe I would put 844 on the cover. Anyone else have any thoughts about putting 844 in issue 844?
That sounds like an excellent idea, Dale. Put a bug in the boss’s ear, Matt!
Second!
I can’t wait until issue 3985…
[:D] Yes, that engine shows how good it was made. I seriously doubt there is a diesel that is as old as 844 with the same amount of horsepower still running, doing the same work as 844. Good equipment lasts and endures.
Respectfully, Cannonball
PS Will any of todays diesels be here 65yrs ?
I don’t recall seeing anywhere in the magazine that issues were numbered this way. But this is the correct date for the 844th issue. It might be interesting to have an all-844 issue (save for the news columns and some commentary), and let most folks wonder what in heck’s going on!
And they can reprint the issue when number 8444 rolls around!
I think there might be some 65-year-old diesels currently in service (possibly as museum pieces). UP’s E9s are getting closer to that age, though they’ve been rebuilt. I’m not sure how many vintage diesels are out on the main line covering hundreds of miles in a trip, though.
(Willy’s got a ticket to ride behind the 844 in November!)
Let’s see…8444 minus 844 equals 7600; 7600 divided by 12 (issues per year), would give us 633.333 years until that issue “prints” (doubtful printing will still be used). So the June 2643 issue will be something special!
Will there still be trains then?
And if so, will some of the more venerable EMD’s (SD40-2, GP 7, etc) still be around?
And what will be their power source? Nuclear fusion? Solar? Trilithium? Soylent Red?
And will there still be NIMBY’s screwing up every effort towards progress? (Maybe by then they will all have been transported to a different planet where they can wear loincloths and live in caves. Or maybe they will be put on the “B” Ark)
Will there still be tresspassers?
And dolts driving around gates (or levitating around force-fields)?
I wonder what the retirement age will be…
Were you previously known as Zager?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNM2K8cmU8
I’ve never seen the issues counted that way either, but I did notice this coming about a year ago. November 13th looks like pretty good timing for the February issue.
What was on the cover of #666? A Dash9?
[:-^]
Ed
Please, save steam for CLASSIC TRAINS. It had its day – a good long one – but the rails we know and love would have been taken up long ago if the diesel hadn’t come along to keep them in the game until deregulation could happen.
Was this locomotive named Desdemona? Or simply The Beast?
Trivia for today:
In Greek and Hebrew gematria, every letter has a corresponding number. Summing these numbers gives a numeric value to a word or name. Some more obscure uses of gematria have been projected onto modern leaders, and even non-human entities, such as the abbreviation for “world wide web”, “www”, which in the Hebrew alphabet is ווו, and in Hebrew the letter ו (waw) used as a number means 6.
Originally, Trains Volumes were dated November to October. One year they decided to be annual and put 14 issues into one volume. Are the counts taking this oddity into account? (I’m too old to count, anymore, just ask a politician!)
Art
I think the continued editorial policies concerning STEAM and HERITAGE and DONATIONS is driving most of the people I know not to renew their subscriptions. Seriously!
I agree. I think this is a done deal for sure!
TRAINS is for all of today’s and tomorrow’s railroading, and steam that runs today and will run tomorrow is part of that railroading and should not be confined to CLASSIC TRAINS.
844 was the featured loco on the cover of the 65th anniversary issue in 2005. That was the “never retire” issue.
Jay