Who Sang the Central Fan ?

[Anonymous]

FYI: Steeley Dan attended William & Mary college in Williamsburg, VA. You can get an idea of how much they loved their alma mater with another one of their hits, "I'm Never Going Back to My Old School."

But to topic: The Wolverine was a bus line that used to run from the Northern Virginia suburbs ("Annandale") to points south.

I am at a bit of a loss to explain the name because as far as I know, the Commonwealth of Virginia never has had any wolverines, unless zoos count. Fresh-water otters, yes, and perhaps some badgers, but no wolverines. Nonetheless I have the Wolverine bus line's derivation on good authority by a resident of Annandale who was my residence advisor at the U. of Va.

And more than one alum of William & Mary has told me they're never going back to their old school.... you can get an excellent undergrad. education but the socializing is close to nil., I've been told.

Sorry if I've gone on too long but we don't get that many Steely Dan fans here.....

[gabe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomtrain

"I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes when you put me on the Wolverine up to Annandale."

er... what's a Wolverine?

Always have liked the Hudsons and Niagras, the boulevards of steel, the high line, the Hudson River, and North by Northwest. The flexivan trains were neat, too.

It is a fierce carnivorous animal closely related to the weasel that is usually black with a brown band on each side of its body. They are indigenous to Michigan and other areas where there is tundra.

Gabe

[CopCarSS]

They were all alienated after the Penn Central Merger. All the NYC fans thought it should have been the Central Penn Railroad. Why did those upstarts with the Keystone get top billing? [:P]

Seriously though, I liked the central. The Hudsons were OK for those most part, and downright spectacular with the Dreyfuss styling. The 20th Century was definately a cool train, and one I would've liked to have ridden. There lwere ots of cool diesels in attractive paint schemes. Yeah, the Central was a pretty good road.

However, I've always found myself attracted to the Pennsy, though. Maybe it was the paradoxical way of running the "Standard Railroad of the World." There was a lot of non-stnadard on the "Standard." Belpaire fireboxes, duplexes, very little articulated stuff, no Northerns (well...I guess the T1 was sort of a 4-8-4...but not really),4 track mains, etc. For a long time, the Pennsy seemed to thrive on doing the opposite of everybody else.

Raymond Loewy, Pinstripes, GG-1's, J10's, T1's, K4's, Q2's, I-1's, the Broadway Limited, Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, etc. etc. etc. How can a railfan not be a Pennsy fan? Unfortunately, I think the NYC, though a great RR, sometimes resides in the shadows of its arch-competitor.

Just my [2c] of course.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but there's nary a railroad I don't like.

[adrianspeeder]

Looks like another Central fan made it to my list of people to take out...

Adrianspeeder

[Anonymous]

"I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes when you put me on the Wolverine up to Annandale."

er... what's a Wolverine?

Always have liked the Hudsons and Niagras, the boulevards of steel, the high line, the Hudson River, and North by Northwest. The flexivan trains were neat, too.

[gabe]

I think this is a good topic. I am one of you "other Central fans" as I would rather read about the Illinois Central or the Wisconsin Central. However, I have always found the Pennsy more interesting than the NYC.

I do, however, think the Niagras are marvelous machines and I really lament the fact that none of them have been saved. I also am kind of interested in the Peoria & Eastern (a subsidy of the NYC).

Gabe

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas

I shot the Central fan...But I did not shoot the Pennsy..[;)]

heh heh heh.....

[chad thomas]

I shot the Central fan...But I did not shoot the Pennsy..[;)]

[nanaimo73]

There are a lot of Wisconsin Central fans on this forum, and several Illinois Central fans as well. Where are the New York Central fans ?
As Conrail turned into a modern NYC in the 1990s, did NYC fans turn into Conrail fans ? We have lots of PRR fans, which is a good thing, but why can't we talk about the NYC ?
The T1 is a very popular topic, but perhaps it was outperformed by Kiefer's Niagaras. Was the J3a the best North American passenger-only steam locomotive ? Was the 20th Century Limited the best passenger train ?
If there are any Central fans out there, what is it about the NYC that you miss ?
I do not want to start a NYC-PRR war or anything like that. I would just like the Central to get some space on the forum. It is well deserved.