Not many people can say that their employer played a large role in their childhood – family business tycoons excluded. It is one of the perks of working for Trains (and down the hall from Model Railroader). This week, though, I was able to draw a link from my career back to my childhood thanks to some office cleaning.
I started subscribing to Model Railroader in grade school, an annual gift from my parents. Soon thereafter, Trains was added to the tab, too. I still recall a lot of what's in those old magazines, even though they haven't stayed with me through my many moves.
One issue still sticks out in my mind, the May 1993 Model Railroader with a story on the Burlington Northern's Bayard, Iowa, branch. Fifteen years later, in fall 2008, I was finally able to go see the line, by then under BNSF Railway ownership. That remains one of my favorite railfan trips to this day, and I doubt that I would've had any knowledge of that line without my childhood subscription to Model Railroader.
So this week, when various departments were doing some fall cleaning, I was able to bring home a stock of old Model Railroader bound volumes for my collection, including the first half of 1993 with that May issue and the Bayard branch story. It'll be a great way to relive my childhood – through my career – this winter.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.