What railroad(s) did we grow up by?

[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!

[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]

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

[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

[wesleyl849]

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

[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

[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.

[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

[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

[rfross]

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

[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

[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]

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 .

[johncolley]

I grew up in Oakland, CA with the SP and the wobbly (WP). My stepdad was a 22 year conductor on SP til he passed away in '48. Then I rode pass until I was 18. I worked on SP oiling freights at night my last year of HS, then went apprentice car knocker for 2 1/2 years. tried firing until we were eliminated. Got into the food industry in plant engineering and retired from that in '98. Now live in Port Townsend, WA and model GN in '47/'48. I might entertain the possibility of modelling the WP-GN interchange at Beiber,CA. Go figure?

[Anonymous]

C&O (former PM) just west of Detroit, MI. My family used to go to the cider mill in Northville, sit in the parking lot eating candy apples while watching 4-unit GP9 consists thundering by (THOSE were the days![:p]).

Moved to suburban Washington DC (actually Rockville, MD) in winter of 1968, had a birds-eye view of the B&O's Metro Branch. Lotsa F- and E-units. I remember being totally amazed when I saw a C&O geep pulling a work train (at 13 yrs old, I didn't know much about mergers and acquisitions). 6 months later, moved to Annapolis --- ZERO trains[:(].

After getting my drivers license, did lots of railfanning on the B&O and Western MD in Baltimore, Brunswick and (occasionally) Cumberland.

[BRVRR]

I grew up in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
The first road I remember is the Milwaukee Road. I had an uncle who was an auditor for them. I remember seeing the steam powered Hiawatha's when I was about 6. Then came the NYC, IC, MC, IHB and other NYC subsidiaries. Now it is NS, CONRAIL(CSX&NS) CSX here in Northeast Ohio.
I remember seeing the Santa Fe Chief ( or at least a red & silver liveried diesel) when traveling with my dad as a kid.
I'm sure there were many others that I saw, since I traveled the lower 48 States with my father from age 4 to about 13.

[Anonymous]

As a boy in the early 50's we lived about a mile from the Florida East Coast mainline in Biscayne Park, Florida. A buddy of mine and I would hang out by the track, placing pennies in the rail, and so forth. The only steam we'd see would be an occasional 2-8-2 or 4-8-2 pulling a work train, although there were still 0-8-0's in the Miami Buena Vista yard. In the summer of '55 I visited the boneyard in New Smyrna Beach, Florida- long lines of 4-8-2's and 0-8-0's. Very sad sight! They were all scrapped shortly thereafter.

[Sunset Limited]

I live in El Paso, Texas. Grew up watchin the Southern Pacific. The neat thing at the time was seeing Mopac/Texas & Pacific screaming eagles going through the freight yard. Further downtown you would see Santa Fe and their freight yard. In Northeast El Paso, I used to see Southern Pacific-Rock Island lash ups! Rock island engines made SP engines look 'Brand new'. (Unless it was painted in 'The Rock' colors).

[PennsyHoosier]

As a kid, I used to ride the Chicago and Northwestern from Geneva into downtown Chicago to go to the hobby and guitar shops. Best times of my life.

[jextra]

I live and grew up in Delavan, WI where a Milwaukee Road line came thru. A few times a week big long freights mostly eastbound would come thru, and just about every M-W-F afternoon a short freight would serve some businesses in the area. In the summer all the time I would ride my bike to the tracks and just hang around and wait for it. Some people must of thought I was crazy. One time when they were switching cars they let me come up for a ride in the engine. It was a GP-30. The swItch guy even gave me a Milw Rd hat pin. It was the biggest thrill by far that any kid could have. The train crew guys were always the same ones and always recognized me and knew I was train crazy. I tried to collect everything I could when I could afford it, of the Milw Rd, for my model train collection. The tracks eventually deteriorated after the RR went out of bus. A few years back the Wisconsin and Southern RR refurbished them and they come thru a couple of times a week, and now me and my son rush up to the tracks whenever we can when we here one coming, and even drive to the nearby towns on nice days to watch them shuffle lumber and grain cars. Now he is a WSOR fanatic! My dad told me he did the same thing when he was a kid. He remembers and likes steam of course. So I guess you could say its in our blood!

[PASMITH]

Harrington Park, NJ on the tracks of the NYC West Shore division. Where Herb Chaudierre first stared recording the sounds of steam locomotives , Fred Icken had his custom built locomotive shop a block from my house and Richard Stoving was president of our high school model RR club. How could you not become a model railroader ?

Peter Smith, Memphis

[Anonymous]

I grew up about 17 miles northwest of Evansville,In. next to the IC/ICG Browns,IL.to Evansville line.
I remember most green diamond geeps and later Paducah rebuilds. later vists included gp38-2s before
Indiana hi-rail took over the line.
-
Ralph Cheaney, Evansville

[jim h]

I GREW UP AND STILL LIVE IN PERU INDIANA. GROWING UP I SPENT MANY HOURS AT THE WABASH ROUNDHOUSE AMOUNG THE STEAMERS. THERE WAS THE NICKLE PLATE AND ALSO THE C&O TO WATCH . THE THING I REMEMBER THE MOST WAS THE RIDE ON THE WABASH CANONBALL. MY WIFE'S GRANDFATHER WAS THE CONDUCTOR. I STILL MISS THE STEAM WHISTLE IN THE NIGHT AIR.
JIM H. [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

bnsf / atsf
and up

I now live next to the UP container / switching yard in Fontana

oh yeah can't foget about the narrow guage steamers about 45mi away.... Disneyland RXR

nearly forgot about Metrolnk and Amtrak

[Anonymous]

In Columbus Ga it was the Man of War , Central of Ga as I recall. One day in the late 60"s when picking up my mother, who had missed the train it came in with a US minute man missile unit ( two cars, luncher and control) just behind the engines and me with no camera.

[Anonymous]

About 100 yard in front of the old farm house I grew up in was an abandoned narrow guage track. Just this week I have been reading David McNeil's "Railroad with 3 Gauges" and learned that it was the Felicity & Bethel RR a short (9 mile) branch off of the standard guage Cincinnati, Georgetown & Portsmouth RR. The F & B died on July 1 1933, the CG&P followed 3 years later. I am considering building a layout based on them.

[Anonymous]

The MA&PA

[Anonymous]

The Southern, and I miss those hi-short hood diesels in the tuxedo black, white and gold, running long hood forward.

[Anonymous]

I grew up a block south of the Missouri Pacific main line through Maplewood, MO. I guess I'm older than a lot of you guys on this forum. I grew up watching F3s, FA2s, GP7s, etc. on freight, PA1s and/or E units on the Eagle; and dirty black switchers shoving cars around by Manchester Iron Works. Within an easy bicycle ride there was Frisco's Lindenwood Yard. Black and yellow FA1s and other such goodies. Ah, the good ol' days!

[dwRavenstar]

Lived in Huntingdon, Pa (30 miles east of Altoona and the Horseshoe Curve) along the mainline between Pittsburgh and Philly.

Turning 50 this May. Conjugate the changes from the old Pennsy thru and including the Norfolk Southern buyout of Conrail. (I can still hear the local battle cry "Let Conrail be Conrail")

Spent many an hour up around the Juniata loco shops in Altoona.

On a side note: On page 114 of the MR Feb/05 issue there's a picture of a well done model of the East Broad Top. Says it's representing the Mt. Union interchange. Mt. Union is 12 miles from Huntingdon and the EBT is located in Orbisonia. Does anyone know if the EBT ever actually ran the whole way down to MU?

Dave (dwRavenstar)