An evening with Sask

[Big_Boy_4005]

Recently there was a topic over on the Trains Magazine forum asking if anyone had ever met another forum member in person. I replied no, but I had spoken to a couple on the phone.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from one of the regular forum contributors, saying that we was coming to the Twin Cities, and asking if I would like to get together. I replied immeadiately yes, of course, and invited him over to visit and see the train room.

The appointed hour arrived last Friday evening, and the doorbell rang. There was Mitch (Sask Tinplater) and his parents. After a tour of the house and some small talk, we ended up in the train room. Even though there were no trains to run, there was plenty to see and talk about. Mitch has seen a few photos that I have posted over the months that I have been a member, but I don't think any of them expected what they saw.

We went upstairs and and looked at the photos Mitch had brought along. Stories that we had shared online sprang to life. This "kid" knows more about the toy trains of the world than I ever have or will. He's 17, and I'm 43.

Then I put a video on the big screen. I think even his parents were impressed. I told my story, and shared some photos, and before we knew it two and a half hours had passed. What a fun evening, and what a wonderful young man!



If anyone is ever in the Twin Cities, and wants to visit, just drop me an email, and we can make arangements.

[Anonymous]

It's truly a hobby with no boundries. If I'm ever in the twin cities I'll make sure to try and get in touch with you. i have talked to many forum members via E-mail, instant messenger and phone but never in person. We need a specail code or handshake so when we meet somoeone at a train show we can know they are a member of this forum. I've thought about making a nametag with my screenname. Hopefully one day I'll get to meet one of you off the forums, Maybe even the infamous mookie.
Andrew

[Anonymous]

Mitchell is a great guy. Not only do we email each other but have traded items through regular mail. It seems like it takes forever to get a package up to him though.

Oh, and one of my most prized wall hangings is a picture he drew for me. It has 3 different Canadian steam engines. I have it framed and hanging in plain view. I am very impressed with it and him. [;)] [:)]

He is a super young man. [:)]

Oh, and I forgot the video he made for me. One of these days I am going to copy some of it and add to it. Others have said they want in on the project too and will add some to it also. We were waiting for summer and better weather to do it, but now that summer is here I am kinda busy. But I will do it as soon as possible and start it around. People in the US and Canada have already said they want to take part in the video so it might be a "best seller" even though we are just showing ourselves, our layouts, our town, trains, and other items of interest.

[philnrunt]

When I joined this forum, i assumed most of the members were in their 30's or older, and it shocked me when I found out some were still in their teens. Their posts show a maturity beyond their years, they answer as many questions as they can, they are sociable and fun to talk to. Noah, Christopher and now Mitch all come to mind.
In my job, you don't see too many decent people, much less young people, but these men give me hope for the future.
It's great that you two could get together, the only generation gap amongst railroaders is steam or diesel.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TA462

Well Big Boy, maybe your right. I never looked at it that way before. Thanks for opening up my eyes for me, its amazing what I can see now. Your right, I am a Leafs fan and I hope we have a season next year. If I'm ever in the area I'll look you up for sure.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Some of the other Canadians and I had a great conversation here back around the time of the NHL All Star Game. As a matter of fact, the original question was directed to our young friend. Here's the link. I had a little trouble finding it, so I did an advanced search using "Red Green", I tried "Stanley Cup", but it didn't work.[:p][;)]

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11939

The internet can be a very impersonal place if we let it. Part of the beauty of this forum is that it brings people with a common interest together. I only wish it was around 30 years ago, just like Antonio said.

Behind all of the screen names, are real people, and potential friends.[^][8D]

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to see that that picture turned out. It was really a pleasure being able to meet Elliot and Tammy! It's really something being able to meet someone face to face that you know from the internet. I had known a lot about the story of Entertrainment from Elliot's posts and the magazine articles about it, but to actually hear the whole first-hand account of it from the man behind it all was really something else! I even got an Entertrainment cap and postcards.

His layout is really looking good. I know that it's going to make it into CTT once it's finished. I'm going to definetly go back again to see it once it's done (although, I suppose, no layout it ever truly finished).

The rest of the trip to the Twin Cities went very well. I took in a lot of train-related things and came home with quite a few trains as well.

It was great meeting you, Elliot and Tammy and I hope to see you again sometime!

[Anonymous]

I have had a similar experience. Several years ago, I joined this model railroad chat room called "Rail Chat" I have developed many a good friendship over that medium and several of the members ended up meeting. I met up with this fellow from Springfield Illinois, when he wanted to come to Wyoming and tour the Powder River Basin. We met up and I gave him a very grand tour indeed. We covered all the spots in central and north-eastern Wyoming. It was such a grand tour, I ended up taking 92 rolls of film. (I shoot film like crazy) I have a few pictures scanned, and when I get my website up and running I will start sharing them with you.

James

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Student of Big Sky Blue

It was such a grand tour, I ended up taking 92 rolls of film. (I shoot film like crazy) I have a few pictures scanned, and when I get my website up and running I will start sharing them with you.

James

Thank God for digital cameras!!!![swg] The money you save could buy a lot of trains!!![:p]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
[Thank God for digital cameras!!!![swg] The money you save could buy a lot of trains!!![:p]

Digital Cameras. Ick. Over hyped, over gageted, and worse of all, over teched. [;)][8D][;)]Classic silver hailaid for me please. [8D](Plus I will still be able to look at my pictures after doomsday wipes out the power grid[:D][:D][:D][:D])

James.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Actually, they have advantages and disadvantages like everything else in this world. I'm just about to hook up a new photo printer, so I can rewiew my pictures by candel light.[swg]

One big disadvantage is slow recycle time, but I don't have a fancy camera like Bergie and Mike. Maybe one day, I entered the sweepstakes. Only a few days left to try and win one.

[CP5415]

It's always great to meet others in the hobby!!

Hey Dave!!!

I'm just down the road in Oshawa!

Gord

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TA462

That was a great post Elliot, great picture of the Cup. Funny I'm going to Peterborough Thursday because Cory Stillman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a native Peterborough guy is bringing it to town. I wish I was here when that post was going on.

Dave

As much as I love trains, that sounds like fun too!!!

I saw something from Robmik on here a week or so back. He and I had an email conversation about Bertuzzi long before the incident that brought all of the attention. I suspect that the summer has Mike doing other things, and he will be around more as the weather turns. Same with Fergie, he's in the Coast Guard, and on duty. The Vancouver contingent has been a little quiet too. I'll bet most of them snuck down to Seattle for the NMRA convention and train show.

Summer is definately the slow season for trains, unless you do garden. I thought I would get a lot done on my layout, since my basement was nice and cool. WRONG!!! Lawn to mow, garage sale to have, etc, etc, etc.[swg]

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CP5415

It's always great to meet others in the hobby!!

Hey Dave!!!

I'm just down the road in Oshawa!

Gord

Hi Gordon, I meant to tell you great video of the Empress!! I had a few techincal problems trying to view it, but I got them worked out, and it was worth it.

Did you see the topic "It ain't easy chasin trains"? I posted a bunch of photos of the double head with Milwaukee Road 261. It isn't a perfect picture, but it's one of my favorites. Actually Tammy had the camera for this shot as 2816 flew past at over 50 MPH. We were standing less than 15 feet from the rails, in the rain.



I can see why you love this train, she's very pretty.[:X][:p][:D][^]
I think I'm in trouble, Tammy's hooked on steam.[:0][;)]

[CP5415]

Thanks Elliot!

I see that hey dropped the D&H tender off for the trip. I guess it wasn't a very long trip or did the 261 do most of the work?
I haven't seen the topic yet, I'll look for it though!
It's not easy getting good pictures of steam at track speed. A few of the stills I got with my 35mm camera didn't come out too well.
You are more than welcome to post pictures at my yahoo group Elliot. Any thing steam is welcome.

Gordon

[CP5415]

Hiya Dave!!
Not any I want to join. Too many rules for me & they run dcc only.

Gordon

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CP5415

Thanks Elliot!

I see that hey dropped the D&H tender off for the trip. I guess it wasn't a very long trip or did the 261 do most of the work?
I haven't seen the topic yet, I'll look for it though!
It's not easy getting good pictures of steam at track speed. A few of the stills I got with my 35mm camera didn't come out too well.
You are more than welcome to post pictures at my yahoo group Elliot. Any thing steam is welcome.

Gordon

Actually gordon, it was along for the ride. I did get the impression that 261 was doing most of the work, and was wondering how they could access it way back there. I think that for the kind of running they were doing, the look of the engines together was most important. If they needed more tractive effort, they could call on the 2 Amtrak engines. They were required to be there even though they looked out of place. Insurance, and electricity were the main reasons. They came with their own crew, and the lead conductor was an Amtrak regular. She was the boss.

Here's a shot where you can see everything.



What I should really do is create my own web page, and then post the link with your group. If I did that I would probably put the link with my signature here. I still like to post the photos here with the text, because they really add to the conversation.

I see that the forum has played "matchmaker" for you two neighbors. Thats's so cool!!! In a way this topic has almost come full circle. It started out as a story about me meeting Sask. We can all be buddies here, if we just take the time.[swg]

[CP5415]

Hiya Dave

Not sure how DCC works, but I'm sure someone here can explain it.
My only problem with it is that it's expensive to get into it especially if , like me, you have a large quantity of locomotives & cannot afford to put the boards in all of my locomotives at once and/or do not want locomotives sitting while they wait for boards to be installed.

But if ya want to get together sometime, give me a shout.

Gordon

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey guys, DCC is actually a fairly simple concept, and from what I've heard the manufacturers have made it almost ready to run. That's a far cry from 20 years ago, when you practically had to be an electrical engineer to assemble and maintain the equipment. The best part is that it makes the trains operate more like real trains, no more selecting blocks, just run your train. Two trains can operate on the same section of track independently of each other. This is done by having a receiver in each engine, and a coded signal on the track. Pretty slick stuff.[swg]

[CP5415]

No problem, I usually cheer for the winning team anyways! [;)]

I must warn you though, I only have a couple of passing tracks on my mainline right now.

Gordon

[CP5415]

Dave, do you have any locomotives or rolling stock?

Gord

[Big_Boy_4005]

Gordon and Dave, you two are so close, why don't you just pick up the telephone?[swg]
Of course I don't mind if you want to use this topic to chat. I think this is a perfect illustration of what can happen here on the forum. Meeting people and making friends.[8D][^]

[CP5415]

It's long distance!
But the thought had crossed my mund

Gordon

[Big_Boy_4005]

Sorry Gord, thought you were closer than that. The way you were talking I thought you lived on the same street. [swg] I didn't check my atlas.

[CP5415]

No problem Elliot!

It's about a half hour's drive along the 401 in-between Oshawa & Port Hope.

Gordon

[Big_Boy_4005]

I have the map out now, and I see it. That isn't very far for long distance. I'm spoiled though, our local calling area has 4 area codes. Plus, I can actually call some numbers in western Wisconsin toll free because I live so close. 5 miles west of here they can't do that, and the people in Wisconsin may not be able to call here, but I'm not sure.