What railroad(s) did we grow up by?

[Anonymous]

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway!! Well i'm am growing up and this is what i usually see when i see a train http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=86415 and http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=75601 .

[camarokid]

CB&Q in Nebraska. Two blocks away and in the 50's. Mom now lives by the double track CNW-UP in lllinois. I never get tired of hearing those freights roll by every 20 minutes or so.

[Anonymous]

Well when I was growing up Chessie System ran right by the house. now its CSX and
the occasional NS train. the N&W also ran by my grandmothers house.

FAdkins
Route of the Rockets

[rfross]

Pre and post merger Pacific Northwest (Seattle area) BN including GN, NP, SP&S. Also a little Milwaukee thrown in.....

[douginut]

Grew up in Chicago, on Buena Ave.
Walking distance from the Buena Interchange from the Milwaukee Road to the CNS&M and the yards of the CTA.
Could walk to the CNW commuter station at Wilson Ave.
Rode all of the L's and subways after was permitted at 12 and larger than my dad by a bunch.
Rode the Burlington on the annual Cub Scout treat day to Starved Rock State Park.

Since moving to Utah have regualrly ridden the Traxx LRV downtown and watched the landslide in the canyon on the last runs of the California Zephyr.

Have taken the Amtrack Zephyr to Sparks Nevada. (then awful, but delightful now).

Doug, in Utah

[Anonymous]

My back yard ended at the Right of Way of the NKP and Wabash Joint Line out of Toledo to the split south of Maumee. Saw lots of Alco RS-11's EMD GP-7 & 9's in NKP paint and the Fabulous Bluebird F-7's and Passenger GP-7's in Wabash. Along with various visitors the Toledo Terminal and C&O.

After the N&W takeover we were visited by relettered NKP-WAB units and new NW units along with occasional WM F-7's.

Rick

[SpaceMouse]

Maybe it is a coincidence amybe not. When I was 5 I lived right on the tracks. My back yard ended at the bedding. When I picture the trains I seem to remember E7 freights Southern Pacific.

My first locomotive that I purchased for myself is an E7. The line I'm modeling is Southern Pacific.

[GerFust]

I grew up near the Chesapeake and Ohio running through Mid-Michigan. I remember when the B&O merged/acquired C&O. It was stange seeing the Chessie kitten on a B&O engine!

-Jer

[wesleyl849]

I watch the MoPac in Austin, TX. I remember those big beautiful blue engines pulling through town. What a great site.

[Ibflattop]

I started railfanning at the age of 4 yrs old. My Grandmother and I would drive out to the NKP yard at New Haven Indiana and go thru it to see all the railcars. This was 1966, and by this time the NKP and Wabash was sucked into the N&W. We use to pick Grandpa up from where he worked at along the NKP mainline. I would go ovet to the fence and wave at the train as it passed by. My cousins grew up along the PRR mainline to Chicago west fo Ft.Wayne. We would hike back to the line and wave at the Engines as they went by and when they got like 4 or 5 cars away from us we would chuck rocks at the passing freight cars. Then as the Caboose got close to us the rocks would go behind our bodies and we would wave to the Conductor and the rear brakeman. That was cool, the roads still had Cabooses!!!!!! :-)
Then PC came into the picture,
So I seen NKP,Wabash, N&W, the GR&I (Pennsy), NYC, PC, Conrail and NS in my time. Heck, I even hired out on NS for a couple of years running to Chicago. That is when Model Railroading took a backseat to the real stuff!!!!!!!
Kevin

[Anonymous]

Mine is the UP's 'Yelowstone Branch' . The UP ran north from Idaho Falls, Idaho to West Yellowstone and had a few branch lines serving the agricultural areas of the upper Snake River Valley. This was single track mainline, built before most of the communities were there so the towns grew around them. Daily trains in the 60's and early 70's were hauling beets, potatoes, cattle, and lumber. This line is now the Eastern Idaho Railroad.

Dane

[rogerhensley]

In Anderson Indiana, I grew up by the NYC, PRR, PC, CR, CSX and NS and also the CI, CIW. Same rail lines, just different owners. :-(

See more of this on my Railroads of Madison County at: http://madisonrails.railfan.net/

[Anonymous]

I live in rural Saskatchewan beside a CN line. There is around one train every two hours. The VIA train goes by every four months or about that . It's always empty heading into the saskatoon passenger station, but nevertheless the whole family runs to the window!

[CPPedler]

The London and North Eastern Railway ,latterly British Railways between 1946 and 1969 here in Cambridge U.K. In the days of steam . Remember the British use buffers between each rail vehicle and the sound of clanking buffers and three link couplings as stock was shunted (switched) at 2'o clock in the morning is forever etched on my memory. But I woundn't have missed it for all the world, I believe that kids today have missed an important part of railway history. ... Here I go , get the violins out .. PLS

[Robert Langford]

Union Pacific, Denver & Rio Grand, I grew up in Park City Utah, there was two trains a day one U.P. from Ogden, and one D&RG from Salt Lake. As a kid my dad would drive us to Weber Canyon and watch the BIG BOYS pull a hundred cars up the hill.What a site! A ride to Ogden and watch S.P. switch and turn on turntable and roundhouse. If I had only had a camera.
BOB

[GDRMCo]

Queensland Rail

[Train1725]

Grew up a few blocks from Pennsylvania's Sunnyside yards, closer still to the #7 Train El. As a New Yorker my main fascination was with subway trains, I remember as a kid riding in the first car with my dad. Now that i moved i wish i spent more time than i di railfaning Sunnyside yards. Moved to Mansfield, MA...Boston to Providence main line runs through town, along with a few industry branches and some railroad history, so still a good railroad town!. I plan to model Sunnyside Yard and Hell Gate Bridge (NYCRR) on a future layout.

[trolleyboy]

I grew up in St Catharines ontario which was and still is a auto manufacturing town and therfore remember fondly being stopped by CN locos pulling auto parts down the middle of my street right in front of my house as a matter of fact! Also being in the niagara peninsula a ten min drive to Niagara falls brought you CP rail and some Conrail and before the CP take over the high hood geeps of the TH&B. TB

[Anonymous]

It started out Santa Fe, then became BNSF, now it's the Timber Rock RR. The tracks, which are about 50 ft. behind my house, are still owned by BNSF, but, it's leased to WATCO as the TIBR (Timber Rock).[:D][8D][:)]

Robert

[challenger3802]

The ex-LCDR, then ex-SR, then ex-BR, now South Eastern line runs through Gillingham. The carriage sheds still stand but the large locomotive depot has long since gone (my apartment is built on the site!) The station approach is through a deep cutting to the west, the station is a 3 platform affair handling fast and semi-fast expresses to London and the Kent Coast (Ramsgate and Dover). It's also the terminus for trains from the North Kent line via Gravesend. Up until 1984 it also provided the link to the royal naval dockyard (to the North of Gillingham), hence the need for a large locomotive depot. The dockyard may have closed and the volume of traffic decreased but the line is still in heavy use to this day with excursions adding to the passneger and occasional freight movement.

LCDR = London, Chatham and Dover Railway (c.1890 - c 1930's)
SR = Southern Railway (c. 1930's - 1948)
BR = British Railways (1948 - 1998)

Ian

[jspinner]

Grew up in Bedfrod, Virginia area, NW steam, mid 1950s.

jspinner

[halifaxcn]

Grew up in Arlington, MA. next to the Bedford branch of the then Boston & Maine. The line saw two RDC passenger trains, in bound to Boston at 7:45 AM and out bound at 5:45PM. The freight was a local that did some switching at some locations along the way. It was a monday through friday job.

On some weekends my parents would take me to South Station to watch the trains of the then New Haven, some NYC and the REA next door was always great to watch.

Now live in Attleboro, MA about 1/2 mile from Amtrak's NEC and about 7 miles from P&W small yard in Cumberland RI.

Regards

[Anonymous]

CPR tracks were running in my backyard.

[jwr_1986]

Nearest Rail Road is thirty minutes away. It is the NS. I don't know what line but it is the one that goes through Callicoon and Narrowsburgh NY. There are a few nice places to watch it. The only problem is that the odds of seeing a train are worse than winning the lottery.

[passengerfan]

Grew up in Seattle not far from from the Seattle Portland line that carried the GN-NP-UP pool trains plus the Milwaukee Road mainline. Besides these mainline railrodas one also had a choice to Vancouver B.C. of taking the CPR Princess liners on a day trip to Victoria or overnight trip to Vancouver before the night boats were discontinued. Pretty good choice of logging railroads were stiil operating not far away such as Rayonier on Olympic Peninsula and Weyerhouser at Enumclaw.

[Todd McWilliam]

I lived in a town that had 2 railroads run through it. The Chicago & North Western and the Milwaukee Road. My town had 2 eat depots and a cool interlocking tower. All of them are still standing and are currently being restored.

[Anonymous]

Like Chris (Torino GT390) I grew up not too far from SP's Taylor Yard, although I was about ten or twelve miles north (maybe a little more). I used to see quite a few freights roll by on their way north towards Tehachapi, since all that was between my house and the tracks was a usually empty schoolyard (it's full of temporary classrooms now). The other line about two miles south headed west towards the coast, and when I saw trains on that line they would be either SP freights or Amtrak's coastal train. I vaguely recall seeing the freedom train going past in 1976, but can't remember much about it. I've moved from the area now, and am about 40 miles from the nearest tracks, except those on the models!

[ericsp]

I grew up mainly by Southern Pacific and to a slightly lesser extend the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe. In my teenage years San Joaquin Valley Railroad came along, ATSF and BN merger, and UP swallowed SP.

[locomutt]

I 'grew up' in eastern Ky. almost all C & O.(some L & N )
Now I live in the Louisville area(30+yrs) and it's basicly
all CSX,NS, P&L,L&I.

[SP4449]

[bow] SP Coast Line [:D] San Luis Obispo, CA, last three years of high school and a couple of years college. Even got to ride the old FM switcher in the flat yard after school some days. The Noon Daylight made appearances both north and south bound every day. And the Lark at Midnight, both directions. The engine facility had a turntable to turn the helpers for Questa Grade and a roundhouse. I was fired from my first real job because I could see the mainline out one of the plants windows. I thought I was really sneeky but the boss could tell I was watching the trains instead of stuffing the boxes. [|)]