This will be a little lengthy, so bear with me. I am coming to you all from the home of the great Horseshoe Curve, which ALL railroad enthusiasts should know…Altoona Pa.
My great-grandfather, grandfather and father,along with other family members, have been employed by the railroad.
I fell in love with trains since I can remember. Every Christmas my dad had a platform with the Lionel and a couple of HO trains. I always called the Lionel mine. It was “unofficial”, since I had two brothers.
When I was about 10 or 11 my brother and I had a nice set up in the attic with what kids our age could afford. HO scale. Then in '85 we had a major house fire. 2nd floor and attic were torched. Every bit of my beloved Lionel was gone…everthing BUT the locomotive. We lost every toy we had. Just about every matchbox and hot wheels made were gone. Our attic platform was now just a charred 2x4 frame.
I just couldn’t believe that Lionel loco made it through! It is a #2037. It had some rusting from the firemen plus all that heat and smoke. Dad tried it and that thing,while looking like crap, sparked and went nuts and smoked like crazy, but it RAN!!! Dad took it to a local guy who cleaned it all up. Replacement parts??? Liquid smoke pod installed to replace the pill style and a new light bulb.
Here I am at 37 and it is sitting behind me with 7 MTH PRR passenger cars hooked to it. When I run it I feel 5 years old again. Many things make people remember their childhood, but few can actually take them back.
I have my dad to thank for that. And the whole railroad industry in general. And while the diesels are cool, they just can’t compete with an “Iron Horse”.
I just won a bid on Ebay and my #2035 is on its way. I just hope it’s as nice as described.
Glad you finally made it. This is a great forum with some real Characters…check out the Pot and meet some of the fellas. You will find that we are a pretty laid back bunch, but there is still some North vs South, Grits vs things that taste good, rivalry…but all in good fun.
Wes
Welcome[#welcome] to the forum, and please stop by the pot. You have a great story and glad to see the toy train fire inside is rekindled, despite the setback from your homefire.
Hi! One of my favorites is the #2035. I’m sure you will like it. This “older” guy doesn’t travel too much but I have seen “The Curve” on the tube. Maybe, someday I’ll get to see it in person.
You’ll find a lot of great guys and gals on this forum. Glad to have you ‘aboard’. If you ever have a question, don’t hesitate to ask. Have a very nice holiday season.
I have only seen the Horseshoe curve on TV or in photos. What I do know about Horseshoe Curve is that it was a four track main when the Pennsy was operating. Have heard a story about how the Nazi’s were planning to take out Horseshoe curve during WW2, but one or two were caught and turned the others in to the FBI. Also during 9-11 when the four airplanes were hijacked by terrorists, I thought that the fourth plane was going into Horseshoe Curve when I heard it landed near Altoona PA.
Also my grandfather worked for the Reading Company as a building maintenance person, got a good retirement out of them.
I lived in Reading PA when I was younger, before graduating high school. When I lived there the Reading had four tracks going through Muhlenberg Township(north Reading) between highway 61 and highway 222 and the Pennsy had two tracks. Reading used to have two tracks at Center Street in Leesport at the crossing, now just one. Since ConRail took over the tracks are down to two and one respectively. Also ConRail took out one of the old railroad bridges at Heister’s Lane on the north side of Reading. Another thing is that the road to knowwhere as it was called is now complete, runs from highway 222 in Tuckerton out to hwy 422 in Shillington.
Welcome to the asylum forum. Would love to see a picture of your ol’ 2037 - post 'em if ya got 'em. This is a great place to find and share info, plus meet some of the inmates members.
Hey Wildhorse, it’s funny how our childhood train experiences come back to nearly all of us as we get older. Like Lee, I have some powerful memories of the Reading RR, since I had relatives that lived in that area. My grandparents lived close to the Lehigh Valley hub in Sayre, PA so there’s a powerful influence that has never gone away for me. Though after awhile of watching the Big Blue and the Big Black, Conrail and Norfolk Southern have fond places on my layout too.
Funny how so many modelers have strong references for the Pennsy and NYC. I have more visual memories of the Penn Central. When I got back into trains, I was buying what was affordable and then decided to repaint to get the roads I desired. I wondered, what if the Penn Central hadn’t been so cash-strapped… what might they have done for a paint scheme. I’d see a photo of an experimental PC passenger loco done in yellow and blue I believe. So I decided to come up with my own “what if” version…
Sorry, I’ve tried for about 45 minutes to get this photo to post without luck. Just one of many reasons why I will NEVER put command control anything on my layout. Anything that has to do with computers on my layout… no way. I run trains for FUN not frustration. I get enough frustration with this computer toi want to completely ruin my train running experience. So obviosly I’m a 100% conventional operator all the way. It always works, no fuss, no muss… nothing I can’t fix or figure out myself.
Forgot to mention that I have photos posted on www.photobucket.com under username kookooclock027. Somewhat like brianel027, not fully computer knowledgeable or able to post photos on here as I find it most difficult to post photos on here.
Welcome Wildhorse, a great story. Growing up along the northeast corridor, it look me a while to realize trains pulled freight. I would love to see Horseshoe Curve someday. Maybe I can pick you up on the way, Chuck!
