Now if only my 40th wasn’t like 6 years away!!! Well, six years to work on the wife to let me drive it [:P] Hehheheh… actually my wife is VERY understanding and supportive… I do lots of 24 and 36 hour shifts at the hospital, so she is VERY willing to let me have my free time and spend some money. Of course, it goes both ways [:)] Man, flying on a bomber…wow… very jealous here. The closeset I have come is getting a tour of a nuclear sub, and soon, of a nuclear aircraft carrier for free, well, not really. I had to testify for the military at some hearings (child abuse) and well, since good ol’ Uncle Sam can never figure out how to reimburse me for mileage, parkinge, etc., I now have learned to ask for tangibles that the wonderful military folks are always willing to give when I help out.
You are very lucky, my friend. Driving a real locomotive is on my list of things to accomplish in my life. When I was a child, I did get to hang out in a MBTA F40PH cab while it idled at Boston South Station, a Climax steam locomotive’s cab on a tourist line in New Hampshire, and a Guilford six-axle’s porch picking the brains of an engineer (I want to say it was an SD26. Maybe that’s why I like them so much…). I’ve never been in the cab while the locomotive was running, though. I’d venture to guess it’ll be a lot harder to get opportunities like that now that I’m 21 instead of 7.
I’ve driven a locomotive…didn’t pay for it. GP38-2 working the local sattelite yard. No officials around, and I’m not going to say any details! There’s also no photographic evidence. it’s as if it never happened [;)] It did though, and it was a really fun time! I stopped short of the first couple joints, but caught on quickly (With the hogger watching me carefully)
These are things that money sometimes can’t buy [:D]