My son came home from school with his latest project on the go. He asked me “if I could go back in time and witness anything in the past ,would it be the C.P.R. being built”? I chuckled and said " I thought that would be pretty boring watching navvies swinging hammers all day" I had to come up with something for him though, so I said I would like to witness the attack on Pearl Harbor. But from a safe distance. Then he asked where I would like to go for one day in the past and what I would like to do. On the grand scale of the planets history it might be a little lame but, I would like to drive a Selkirk with a long train of heavyweights from Calgary through the Rockies on a picture perfect day. Maybe around late 1920s. It would be awesome indeed.
So if you could drive a train for a day what would it be and where and when?
I’d like to drive several: A Southern Pacific AC-6 cab forward 4-8-8-2 over the “Hill” (Sierra Nevada’s) between Roseville and Truckee, CA.
And definitely drive one of those big Missabe M-4 Yellowstone 2-8-8-4’s, especially when they were on loan to the Rio Grande during the winters of WWII. From Denver, up the Front Range toward Moffat Tunnel. That would be a REAL treat!
And just for kicks: One of the old Virginia and Truckee 2-6-0’s up the winding, steeply graded mountain from Carson City to Virginia City in the 1870’s.
Great answer! Can I be the fireman (as long as we need to make a water stop!) Seriously, I’d be happy to run any steamer. There’s a clip of Johnny Cash riding in the cab of a steam loco (it’s in the Hurt video) and he’s got a smile that ain’t just put on for a photo op.
5000 series Rock Island 4-8-4.Illinois div. Chicago to Silvis. Or even better Any Rock Island and Peoria train from 20th st Rock Island to Peoria.Now we are talking!
T-1 duplex,Q-2 …Oh bigboy and challanger!!! I did get a in the cab of the N&W J 611 in 92…during an excursion run…the enginener did let me blow the whisel alot…awsome exsperiance
The Pacific steamer they have at Steamtown is the “currently operating” one I’d like to drive BUT it is going into it’s teardown/rebuild phase so it won’t be “currently operating” for awhile yet.
The one that is static I’d LOVE to drive is PRR Mountain they have on static display at the RR Museum of PA at Strasburg. When I saw her, I fell IN LOVE with her. More than any other loco I’ve met.
It is probably a combination of nice paint and camera/lighting/angle. It is Floquil ‘rust’ on the siding and Poly Scale ‘railroad tie brown’ on the main. I won’t use the latter again…it looks too grey/green. Roof Brown is the way to go based on some nice rails others have posted.
As a brakeman I operated a 3 unit consist of GP9s with 60 loaded hoppers-the engineer was standing behind me,talk about the company,union and safety rules being broken!- down a mine branch at 15 mph!
I would like to run a C&O G9 2-8-0 on a local to see if they are as good as those old C&O herders I worked with said they was…[:O]
