The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of America's independence

Railfan & Railroad magazine’s website shows four semiquincentennial scheme locomotives: Nevada Northern, Pennsylvania & Southern, Wheeling & Lake Erie, and East Penn Railroad.

"“By the rude bridge that arched the flood… the shot heard round the world”.

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True. Somehow 250 years doesn’t seem to compare with centennaries (100, 200…). And try saying semiquincentennial three times quickly!

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Just say demisemimillenial.

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I have pictures of my kids standing on the bridge. My sister-in-law lives in Acton and her husband mentioned that the first casualty on the American side was from Acton. She also said there was a re-enactment of the battle on the 19th.

It was interesting to see the actual battlefield and hear details about the battle some 4+ decades after learning about the battle in Jr High and High School history classes.

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Concord bridge was one of my favorite places in the Boston area for a picnic along with nearby Walden Pond.

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Lexington’s village green looks astonishingly the same today as it must have in 1776.

Concord has a beautiful bosky cemetery where the graves of R.W. Emerson and H. D. Thoreau attract many visitors.

Massachusetts must be given great credit for doing so much to preserve its own and our nation’s history so well.

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“Just say demisemimillenial.”

A demisemimillenial sounds to me like a word for a really short person born about 2001.

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Beside which runs the main line of the Fitchburg railroad, astoundingly close. Thoreau said of the locomotives “it seems as if the earth had got a race now worthy to inhabit it…”

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Nice horns (or whistles?).

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Currently there is nothing in the budget for 2026 unless they do a supplimental appropriation. The only reason the big hoopla over the Army’s 250th anniversary is it was long ago budgeted and the parade was planned on a smaller scale a while back as well. In 1976, railroads jumped on board because they knew in advance the country had budgeted a big celebration years and they did so for marketing reasons. I believe the 1976 celebration was budgeted in 1974 or 1975. Do not remember which but back then they could get an appropriations bill passed long before the FY starting.

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Here’s something to consider for all of us. This nation regardless of what political beliefs you have is still the longest lasting democratic republic in the world. For over 230 years now we the people have made the choice of whom we want as president or as our representatives in congress. We’ve outlasted the British French Spainish we’re older than Germany as a nation itself along with Italy. We’re not perfect at all but we are still seen as that beacon of freedom people strive for.

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Nicely put.

With respect to comments about Walden Pond, my SIL’s husband pointed out that there was a landfill about a quarter mile away.

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I spotted East Penn RR GP10 No. 1776 yesterday in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

I like that little keystone herald on the end of the long hood. Never seen the East Penn use that before.

DFF

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Nice photos with good sunlight! I think this decal would sell well. However, I can’t paint these grab irons.

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Paint the grab irons before you mount them or buy a seperate grab iron part from the manufacturer. You can use paint on the edge of a toothpick for the locomotive step edges.

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The East Penn people thought the same thing, I think – that’s why only the outer ‘handhold’ part of the grabs is white. You could do that with a Q-tip… :joy:

The fun is going to be those cut levers. They are white but their pivot retainers are blue… and the actual yoke to the coupler pin is also blue.

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