My name is Steve Ball and, at 62 years young, I’m getting into trains. The cause? I’m a (currently unemployed) accountant by day and, perforce, an Internet bookseller by night. The interest in trains is due directly to a bulk buy at some estate sale I don’t even remember. Waaaay down in the bottom of one of the boxes were about 20 old “Steam Passenger Service Directory” books from the mid-70s through the early 90s. There are photos. Fascinating - I never realized there were so MANY different kinds of locomotives!
Anyway, just wanted to say high, and I guess now I will lurk a bit and look over the discussions.
Yep - look around - you’ll no doubt find something - and likely much - of interest !
Regarding steam locomotives and those museums etc., you might want to start with the ‘parallel’ “Steam & Preservation” forum here, at: http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/740.aspx
If you want to find $numbers, those are mostly on this Forum, though not always under the usual topics.
I guess I be one of the attending attendants. Welcome!
If you’re interested in trains in general, and not only the varieties of steam locomotives you may have seen in those old directories, let us know where you are, and what you might be especially interested in knowing about. There are people here from just about anywhere who would/should/could be familiar with your neck of the woods.
Welcome aboard, Steve. You might like to wander over to the Classic Trains forum if you like the period of streamlined trains and multicolored engines. There’s more activity here but both are worthy of attention!
I see the attendents, porters, baggage masters, engineers, conductors, ticket agents and ticket punchers have greetied you. But please remain in your seat…there are more…
Steve, welcome [#welcome]. Have you stopped by the Flatwheel Cafe and sampled cherokee woman’s offerings and looked in on the Trackside Lounge (bring your own refreshments)? I hope you will enjoy the interchanges between the regulars, and join in, yourself.
[#welcome] Steve ; hope you enjoy the ride here. As fore mentioned, the folks here are very good at what they do. Also , if you live in or near Colorado there is two live steam tourist trains that have little changed from original. One is in Chama New Mexico and the other one is in Durango Colorado. Use with caution as these are very addictive HEH HEH.
If you are interested in steam locomotives, you might check out the Classic Trains forum also. You don’t say where you live, but you might check into the list of active steam locomotives that appeared in Railfan and Railroad magazine very recently. There are about 150 steam locomotives still active in North America. The R & R list will tell you where the are. You might want to make a field trip to see one of them.
Yes, welcome. I want to echo the plea that you join a local rail group/museum/tourist line/etc. They are all great resources for education and fun. Please consider volunteering somewhere.
Also, please support TRAINS Magazine, Railfan and Railroad Magazine and some local railroad historical society. They are all working hard to keep the history of rails alive.
This is a great time to be interested in railroads. They are the only transportation system that is growing and paying its own way. More transit systems are under construction than existed 5 years ago. And the railroads are carrying more freight than ever. Railroads are hiring employees and paying taxes. (Most other big companies have avoided both).
Ask questions and if you see an interesting topic in the discussions, chime right in.