WoW! I am so Happy!

[countershot]

My name is Ben i am 14 years old. i love trains ALOT. i have only stood and watched the trains go by and wonderd what it was like to ride in the cab of one of those massive locomotives.

Today my mom and I went to seattle via the Sounder so we sat in the cab car at the front of the train. it did not take long before my face was plasterd to the front door seperating the crew from passengers, it did not take long for the conductor to noticed me. so he open the door and ask if i'd like to come in and watch. i said " YES! " that was so cool to ride there i was stunded that i was actruly doing this. i watched the engineer move his controls very carfly not to miss a thing. when we arrived in Seattle sadly it was over and i contenued the day with a total shocked feeling.

FACTIOD>the Locomotive was a F59phi # 909
And the train was going backward with the end car foward AKA (Cab Car)

But wait theres more[;)]

The day in seattle was comming to a end i thought that all the excitment was over. I got on the sounder sat down and looked out the window. behind me the conductor was checking tickets, he looked at me a said "you again? the engineer told me to look for you and he would like to talk with you"
so i walk to the locomotive ( Now #911 also am F59phi is the seattle mariners paint sceme) climed up and knocked on the door and went in, there the engineer was sitting at his controls, he looked at me and said would you like to RIDE IN THE LOCOMOTIVE THIS TIME? i was like yes yes yes yes yes. and i am forever happy with my day to Seattle. i learned alot by the man on the controls and sorry for not giving all the details this would be like ten pages long. feel free to ask any Q's.

after todays events i orderd a hole Athearn sounder set. one loco one cab car and five coaches.[:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]

[Anonymous]

thats a fun experience. every chance i get i chat with a switchman, bug an engineer for a moment of his time to ask a few RR questions. im 14, and you would look at me and the last thing to come to mind is "railfan"(long wallet chain, wearing all black, pointy hair, you get it.) yet have been luckey enough to get in the cab of a historical steam train, and a desil loco. no cab rides, but just short tours. amazing how just pulling the dynamic brake lever 6 inches makes your blood pressure skyrocket when your around trains. do you have a model railroad?
have fun railfanning.
GEARHEAD426

[Anonymous]

Ben,
Sounds like you had a wonderful time, Congrats

Bob

[countershot]

Thanks and yes i realy do love model railroading.

[TrainFreak409]

I remember my first true in-cab experience in an actual locomotive, other than one that was sitting in a museum. But this wasn't any ordinary locomotive, it was Loram's RG311 Rail Grinder! I got to sit in the engineer's seat, learn all the controls, and even blow the horn! It was awesome. Quite a rush, isn't it?[:D]




I'm sure you are feeling the same as me...YOU WOULD LOVE TO DO IT AGAIN![8D]

[tstage]

Cool, Ben! What a terrific expereince for you...and for anyone whose ever gotten a chance to do what you did today! I'm sure the engineer must have seen it written all over your face. You know what, it was probably as much fun for him as it was for you. [:)] Thanks for sharing that with us. [tup]

Tom

P.S. Ben - While it's still fresh in your mind, I want to encourage you to write the entire experience down in your computer before you start to forget it. (Trust me, you WILL begin to forget it!) I guarantee you that you'll reread it years from now and say to yourself, "That's right! I had forgotten all about that part!" DO IT! You won't regret it...

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by countershot

My name is Ben i am 14 years old. i love trains ALOT. i have only stood and watched the trains go by and wonderd what it was like to ride in the cab of one of those massive locomotives.

Today my mom and I went to seattle via the Sounder s

Boy, Talk about getting the kids involved!!! That's a RARE oppertunity these days.. Glad you had so much fun.. I've only been on a train twice, Amtrak, to Kingman AZ from Detroit MI and then returned from Denver CO.. The train was 8 hours late getting into Denver from the west coast so I almost missed the last connection in Chicago at which time they would have put us on a bus. It was an experience, I'll give it that, but not one I'll repeat anytime soon.

Jeff
[8D]

[railroadyoshi]

Awesome, you are soooo lucky! I was able to sit in various locos including a SD70MAC and walk around the shop and various locos at the BNSF shops at Northtown Yard in Minneapolis (wctransfer knows where i'm talkin about) I hope next time I ride the MBTA they are like that!

[davekelly]

Ben,

Way cool!! Don't forget to thank your mom. With out her this experience wouldn't have happened at all.

Dave

[ICRR1964]

That's great!!!! Glad you got a first hand look at what its like to sit in the drivers seat and see it from the engineers veiw. I had mine many years ago with my great grand father, it was on a Sunday morning that him and I planned to take an engine and 12 flat cars full of track ties to Kankakee and move them into a switch yard, he was not the engineer but was a section forman at the time. I wished we had digital cameras back then! The engine was a IC GP9. It was an older unit that had allot of track miles and was just used for transfer and switching, the trip was almost a 100 miles round trip. I got to sit with the engineer and hold the throttle and blow the horn! It was a blast, I have never forgotten that time and will remember it forever, so cheri***he moment!

[icmr]

Very cool Ben.



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

[Train 284]

Sounds like a lot of fun!

I remember my first cab expirience. Actually, I ran the train! It was not 1:1, but rather 5:12 or 5 inches to the foot, 5 inch scale 15" gauge. Did I also mention it was a steamer? Yes I volunteer on a 15" gauge railroad in Orland, CA about 60 miles from where I live and I had the opportunity to run (many times in fact) the 4-4-0 #12 the Sonoma

[howmus]

Way, way, cool, Ben. [8D]

[Anonymous]

Very cool - one tip: write it up, and file it somewhere. Chances are you'll have to produce a piece of descriptive writing of one sort or another during your school life, and this is the sort of thing that can get you a good mark.

[countershot]

I realy realy wish i had my camera then. did i metion how loud it is when you are going 85mph. one more thing.......................... I did get to blow the horn[:D] while going of a crossing -------------- --------------- ----- --------------- two long one shot one long. very loud and was the highlight of the highlight.

Ben

[JohnT14808]

Way cool.....I see the Amtrak commuter go whizzing past Olympia and Tenino in my part of Washington state and they do look cool. I've gone down to Portland on the commuter several times, but never in the engine. I'm too old to give the engineer a "puppy dog" look, so I have to try to just "chat up" the crew and maybe get some cool looks before the trip begins.
A memory to treasure. Write it down so you don't forget the details.

[CP5415]

Most excellent Ben.

Man I keep wishing for an opportunity like that!

Although I've never actually rode in a cab, I was lucky enough to be in the cab of a full size steamer while the fire was lit last year.

Gordon

[Janafam]

Enjoy and remember the great experience. Mine was at the Georgia Train Museum. It was a cool misty day, I took time to drop in. I was the only non-employee there at the time. They asked me if I wanted to ride "the train." As I was getting ready to hop up on the caboose, the engineer said to come up front in the old switcher. Like you, they had shown me all the controls and then sure enough, they asked me if I would like to try it. I have that memory burned in.

[SchemerBob]

That sounds like HEAVEN! Wish I could do that sometime. Not actually traveling on trains much, though, because all that's around me is Amtrak and it costs lots of $$$, not to mention you can't just look at the engineer the whole trip, like on commuter trains. Still, it would be an awesome experience.

Hey, this is my first response on the MR forum...

[tatans]

Lucky devil ! ! Cruising around the Northwest at the front of a train---the envy of everyone here. Sounds like you are one lucky guy----Now,( don't get too excited) about the spelling, ouch ! ! I did make a list of the words, grammar and punctuation too. the key word for today is: dictionary.

[wairoa]

Congrats, sounds like you had a great time.[:)]