What is your avatar?

[edblysard]

Please Zug, listen to Murphy…no Honey Boo Boo…please…

Mister Squiggly maybe, but no boo boo.

Murphy,

SWMBO took the photo, thinks all that white and grey looks good, and insisted I use it, so….

And Mookie’s is right on target!

[Murphy Siding]

zugmann

Murphy Siding

zugmann-  Why no original art?

Haven't been doing much art lately.  Focusing more on the model RR side of my hobby for now. 

Plus I've gotten in the habit of putting up whatever show I'm watching at the time.  Though I may keep Rigby for a while -  he's awesome.

  Please don't watch Honey Boo Boo. 

[BroadwayLion]

Deggesty

Nice red beard you have. I see that it is beginning to fade, sad to say, as mine did about twenty-five years ago, though. You'll wonder where the color went, when you keep on aging and need Fix O Dent. (with apologies to the ancient jingle, "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent") My wife's version was, "You'll wonder where the wiggle went, when you fix your teeth with Fix O Dent."

Eh, That picture was taken about 20 years ago. Now the beard is a distinguished white beard, and I just put my new Medicare card in my wallet yesterday!

ROAR

[Modelcar]

.....Just me enjoying my patio...with my "watch dog"...

 

[zugmann]

Murphy Siding

zugmann-  Why no original art?

Haven't been doing much art lately.  Focusing more on the model RR side of my hobby for now. 

Plus I've gotten in the habit of putting up whatever show I'm watching at the time.  Though I may keep Rigby for a while -  he's awesome.

[CNW 6000]

Mine is a screenshot from ATCS Monitor of CN's Neenah Sub at the Oshkosh Bridge, pinned shut for the winter.  Hence 'Wintermode'.  I just thought it was neat.

[Paul of Covington]

    My avatar is a locomotive that belonged to my great-grandfather.    Back when I was about 12 years old or so in the  early 1950's, my grandmother and one of my great-aunts used to tell me about Valentine Sugar Plantation and refinery which their father built and ran along Bayou Lafourche in southern Louisiana.   They told me that he had built a railroad to transport the cane from the fields to the refinery.   About 30 years later someone in the family came across some old very much faded photographs of the plantation.   Working with copies of copies, I scanned them and greatly increased the contrast.   I love this one.

set 72157626021256880

[Deggesty]

BroadwayLion

Mine is well er... A LION! I thought that was fairly clear.

Here is another picture of the LION. Can you tell me what he is playing with?

Here is I in the cab of an R9 which I ran on the tracks of the Branford Trolley Museum.

And here is the LION surfing a subway train, I use it elsewhere as an avatar:

Nice red beard you have. I see that it is beginning to fade, sad to say, as mine did about twenty-five years ago, though. You'll wonder where the color went, when you keep on aging and need Fix O Dent. (with apologies to the ancient jingle, "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent") My wife's version was, "You'll wonder where the wiggle went, when you fix your teeth with Fix O Dent."

[Rikers Yard]

Mine is a NS helper set descending Horse Shoe Curve that I took on one of my wife an I's picnic trips there.

[Mookie]

BaltACD

My son is fast, I am only half fast.

  Groan!

[co2716ehp]

Mine is tractor with hopper of bone meal. Didn't think I was moving, came across in front of me. Don't know why he thought i was blowing for the crossing if I wasn't moving. Made a smelly mess.

[john_edwards]

Mine is the inside of the cab of Wanamaker & Kempton 0-6-0.

[Murphy Siding]

Interesting.....

zugmann-  Why no original art?

Ed B- I'd be afraid to post a picture of my face.  Who wants to risk scaring people?

Paul-  I always figured it was an extenda-boom forklift

Mookie-  That's what I'd get, of I let my wife do an avatar for me.  We have 3 cats

selector-   I always assumed that was a photo of a real train

Brian, Carl & FordV10-  CNW 1995 in stereo!

BaltACD-  I'm a Walter Mitty about racing cars.  As close as I'll ever get is in the summers, when I race in a go-cart league with a group of guys young enough to be my kids.  My best finish has been 7th in an A feature.  That tells you how half-fast I am.

Sam-  In our town, we have cement trucks painted like American flags.  That's kind of what I thought yours was for the longest time.

Chris-  Are too!  Your avatar photo has real movement to it.  It makes me think of the publicity shots of Daniel Day Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans, running toward the camera at force.

BroadwayLions-  Do I denote something of an obsession?

[selector]

rustycoupler

I dont know how to make an avatar.

Favourite/appropriate digital image of your choice, downsize using photo manipulation software to about 50 Kb, enter your profile and settings on this site (click on your user name anywhere it appears), and find where you can import an avatar.  Follow the instructions, and don't forget to save at the bottom of that profile page before you click out of it.  Within a minute at most, you can refresh and you'll see your new avatar showing at the masthead of each of your posts and beside your user-name at right in the column next to this post.

Crandell

[rustycoupler]

I dont know how to make an avatar.

[mudchicken]

View from a mudchicken's (railroad surveyor's) perspective. In this case:

ATSF BR 650.12 (BNSF BR 88.6) over Fountain Creek,  on the Joint Line in this case, with a southbound coal load. (somebody has to help take care of the physical infrastructure that the shiny things run on!)

 

PDN: It still amazes me what certain railroad supervisors and engineers think those big pieces of track machinery do and are capable of. They probably are also the ones that take GPS/GIS systems a little too literally while driving as well.

[schlimm]

Mine is the C&NW herald which I saw daily growing up in Wheaton, along with the CA&E and on the north edge of town, the CGW.

[BroadwayLion]

Mine is well er... A LION! I thought that was fairly clear.

Here is another picture of the LION. Can you tell me what he is playing with?

Here is I in the cab of an R9 which I ran on the tracks of the Branford Trolley Museum.

And here is the LION surfing a subway train, I use it elsewhere as an avatar:

[fordv10]

Mine is the CNW 1995 heritage unit.I grew up in Fox River Grove and watched the CNW  commuter and frieght trains. Ever since then I have always liked the yellow and green!!!

[chutton01]

Mine is one of several such actual (and large) regulatory parking signs attached to a chain-link fence at the corner of Calcutta and Export Streets in Port Elizabeth, NJ (PA NY&NJ).
If you look at the Bing link of the area, you'll realize why the sign states "No Train Or Truck Parking Any Time" (although the linked view does seem to show 2 truck tractors parked in front of the fence).  The signs were up as of March 2011 (stopped by on the way back from the WGH show at Edison), don't know if they still exist.
The "NO" circle superimposed across what appears to be a cab unit coming toward the viewer is bizarre enough to rate (OTOH, the NO circle-over-truck symbol is rather common) - somehow I don't think that train symbol is in the current MUTCD...

[CopCarSS]

Murphy Siding

     My avatar is a drumhead(?) from a train *I think*(?)  in the Colorado Railroad Museum(?).  The significance is, that I'm a dummy and don't know how to put an avatar on my account.

Indeed it is. It's the drumhead on the ATSF Obs. Car, Navajo. Here's another view that shows the context a little better:

Flickr Link

So,  I asked  the best photographer on the forum for help.  Chris- CopcarSS kind enough to give me a nice, colorful avatar

*Blush* I don't think I'm quite worthy of that title, but thank you very much!

As for my avatar, this is what it looks like:

Flickr Link

This was the first time that #346 was rolled out of the roundhouse after her rebuilding. I consider it one of, if not the best rail photo I've taken.

[samfp1943]

My Avatar is a photo of the UPRR's Miniature Train Transporter ( used to haul the UP's #956. A 900 series E unit, and train cars, )

http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/mini-train/about_956/index.htm

FTL:"...The locomotive number UP 956 was chosen because the miniature locomotive was patterned after a 900-series passenger locomotive and built in '56. The locomotive was made from a tow tractor used to pull luggage wagons at large passenger train depots. A "flat-head" four-cylinder gasoline engine powers the miniature train locomotive. The locomotive and rail cars run on rubber tires so the train can operate on any solid surface.

Until 1998, the miniature train traveled around the UP system in a pair of matched boxcars numbered UP 903014 and UP 903015. Each boxcar was stenciled with "Miniature Train Service." Today the train moves to each event in a custom trailer built exclusively for the mini-train..."

 

It seemed appropriate for an Avatar; After all;  I retired, having spent 30 years in the Trucking Industry,  as a driver and traveling rail fan,  

[senshi]

Mine is one of the logos used by the Northern Illinois University Huskies.

NIU is my alma mater.

Now if you don't mind I have to get back to my Orange.

[BaltACD]

My son and I racing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.

On track racing is a hobby my railroad profession has financed for the past 25 years and I am honored that my son, after a number of years of participating in oval track racing, including stints as a fabricator for a couple of NASCAR teams, has seen fit to participate in the same class as the old man.

My son is fast, I am only half fast.

[adrianspeeder]

Mine was taken a few years ago heading to a dirt strip in Iraq to recover a for lack of a clearer description a "crashed" bird.

Adrianspeeder

[CShaveRR]

Mine is of Union Pacific 1995, the Chicago & North Western heritage unit, on its first revenue run, westbound through Lombard. 

The picture was actually taken by my wife Pat, who bravely got out of our car in traffic, went into the middle of the intersection, and nailed it for me.  I was too far back from the crossing to do it myself.  The crossing is Elizabeth Street in Lombard, the one nearest our house (0.62 miles away).

What you can't see in the picture is that it's followed by the two remaining C&NW-lettered Dash 9s, 8646 and 8701.  Those two Dash 9s are still in their CNW paint and numbers, and currently working together between Proviso and West Chicago.  I happened to see them yesterday, very close to this spot.

Johnny:  go for it!

SJ:  It still fits you!

Brian:  I think you got yours on the same trip (for the locomotives) as I got mine.

[switch7frg]

  2179- Y6b at  Roanoke, in 1956. Picked this off Rail Pics. In my early years in S.E. Ohio I  saw this engine coming up from Portsmouth to Columbus. Sometime 2179 was inthe lead, other time it was trailing. WhenI was track side I could wave at the engineer and he would wave back. This was in the days  before it was not allowed to wave back. When I saw this engine  on Rail pics,  Avatar perfect.                                  Y6bs evergreen in my mind.

[K4sPRR]

Its a PRR K4s.

[blhanel]

Mine is UP's CNW Heritage #1995 on one of its first trips through Cedar Rapids, IA back in 2005(?).  I got a picture of it crossing the Cedar River with two of its CNW bretheren right behind it pulling a mixed manifest to Council Bluffs.  I must also give credit to Carl (CShaveRR), who alerted me to its pending arrival. 

[richhotrain]

The bascule bridges at 16th Street in Chicago spanning the south branch of the Chicago River.

Rich