Are you a Fallen Flag Railfan/Modeler

Stourbridge Lion Jun 28, 2006

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Which Statement best applies to you...

  1. Railfan of one or more Fallen Flags

    22 vote(s)
    7.4%
  2. Modeler of one or more Fallen Flags

    65 vote(s)
    22.0%
  3. Both a Railfan & Modeler of one or more Fallen Flags

    200 vote(s)
    67.6%
  4. Neither

    9 vote(s)
    3.0%
  1. jtomstarr

    jtomstarr TrainBoard Member

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    I am both a railfan and a modeler, if it weren't for my mother introducing me to the Nypao - ERIE RR / EL and the Jamestown Westfield and Northwestern and having H.E. Salzburg's Secretary as my mothers bestfriend had another influence on my choice of hobbies. IF this didn't happen I would have stayed my course Tall Ship building!
     
  2. Doorgunnerjgs

    Doorgunnerjgs TrainBoard Member

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    I grew up with CRIP. For most of my first 10 years, I lived on the 2nd floor of an apartment building with a porch overlooking CRIP mainline tracks at 6800 south in Chicago. This was about 1945-1955. Then moved to a house across the street from CRIP commuter station at 10300 south in Chicago. Then half a block from the same line at 9800 south until I joined the Army in 1963.

    My dream layout though is Northern Pacific with its great monad and Lowey paint scheme.
     
  3. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Looks like someone resurrected an old thread. So in case I missed it the first time.

    The original question by the OP can only be answered in plural. I'm a "Fallen Flags," rail-fan and modeler. How I grew up and in what environment has already been stated here and on BarstowRick.com.

    My main interest is in the Santa Fe, followed by: Western Pacific, Denver and Rio Grande Western (Any railroad in Colorado), Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Great Northern, the Norfolk & Southern, Norfolk and Western and others. You'll find models of trains listed here that operate on my model railroad.

    Why limit yourself to one railroad or a moment in time. Celebrate the passing of all of them and allow them to continue to operate be-it in miniature on your model railroad. Variety is the spice of life.
     
  4. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Modeling a fanciful recreation of the Boston & Maine wandering through 60+ year old memories of northern New England. The only things that are true pre-1953 B&M are the Maroon & Gold Minute Man FTs I saw every day, and the open-vestibule coaches I rode in behind a 4-4-0 Atlantic up to Ashland, NH.
     
  5. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    If I had a way to do it, without spending a batch of hours, it would be interesting to see a summary of this. To break out interests by railroad, region, Class I, Class II, etc. It would not prove anything, but just be some good fun.
     
  6. Ocklawaha

    Ocklawaha New Member

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    ABSOLUTELY! I've been chasing the ghosts of Florida and SE Georgia rails for all of my life. Modeling is more a side light just to get a feel of what some of the roads might have looked like in 3-D. From Florida's greatest traction system in Jacksonville to the early 60's and earlier along the ACL, SAL, FEC and SOU. In my heavier modeling days I wanted to model those Florida lines circa 1960, but short of modeling downtown Jacksonville couldn't figure out how to pull it off... Then while working for Dan Curtis Productions in Hollywood CA, I stumbled across an old map of the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad which ran from Palatka-Rodman Jct-Orange Springs-Ft. McCoy-Burbank-Silver Springs-Ocala. The OV connected with all four trunk lines, the only railroad besides the Jacksonville Terminal to do so... Okay so the OV vanished in 1923 (illegally no less) but what would it have looked like in 1950 or 60? I had found my prototype and a few hundred models later had captured scenes of it in 3-D.

    A new house in Howey-in-the-Hills has me chasing the history of the Yalaha and Western/ACL branch as well as the nearby Tavares and Gulf, ACL, SAL branchline network some of which is known today as the Florida Central.

    For what its worth, I was the last first class passenger to ever step off a Florida East Coast passenger train, thanks to a friendly conductor who held me back intentionally.

    I've authored 4 books, and always love to chat about railroads in the Sunshine State or the more obscure pikes in some of my other haunts anywhere in the South and some other locations such as Oklahoma, California, Oregon...
     
    badlandnp and Doorgunnerjgs like this.
  7. Doorgunnerjgs

    Doorgunnerjgs TrainBoard Member

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    You will probably find many kindred spirits here! Welcome.
     
  8. Ocklawaha

    Ocklawaha New Member

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    Thanks Doorgunner, I also got to ride the very early version of the Northcoast Hiawatha from CHI-SEA before Amtrak figured out they could split trains for PDX. One chair car was about 120 degrees inside in February! I was nested in a former (still in green) NP dome car that was quite nice. The trip westbound was stunning and I was impressed by 'the landing' as we rolled into Butte. Saw a lot of MILWAUKEE action from the vestibule.
     
  9. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Did you take any photos of this trip? Things sure have changed here...... :(
     
  10. MaxDaemon

    MaxDaemon TrainBoard Member

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    I'm a railfan as much as can be for a fallen flag - not much left of GN around, but I still run across the odd boxcar or the like. I tend toward railfanning BNSF now, it being the only thing left in my area!

    I'm on the mainline between Seattle and Portland, so I see quite a bit of traffic. BNSF has been known to get the 4449 fired up and used for an employee picnic, got some great shots a few years back of that.

    And I got some great video of the 4449 in Leavenworth Washington for the Washington State Centennial in 1989.

    My first taste of GN came from seeing the Big Sky Blue on a UBoat in a hobby shop. My dad bought it for me and started - completely accidentally - my lifelong obsession with GN. That would have been about 1969 or so, and no doubt there were a few U25's running around GN's trackage at that time.

    I gave up model rails about 20 years ago, but starting tomorrow, I'll see if I can transition back into modeling again in addition to railfanning. I can't wait to see what Amazon delivered for me while I was on vacation! Should be a DCC equipped locomotive and a DCC starter set controller. Now to just haul out that 20 year old equipment .. where DID I put those boxes ..
     
    Kurt Moose and BoxcabE50 like this.
  11. badlandnp

    badlandnp TrainBoard Member

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    Max - Welcome back to modelling! There's quite a bit of GN stuff hiding out along the line in northern MT. Havre has a 4-8-4 and a caboose. Williston, ND has a 2-8-2. There are other freight cars scattered all over along the backroads and a couple of passenger cars near Ft. Peck. It's a LONG way from where you are, but well worth the trip. As well as the new museum in Great Falls.
     
  12. MaxDaemon

    MaxDaemon TrainBoard Member

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    I'm actually in Wenatchee, WA, so we have a fair amount of memorabilia around. For instance, the "railroad park" has a GN locomotive sitting there - might be a Pacific, but I'd have to look at it again.

    I was in Snoqualmie a couple years back - it's very sad that there is a whole line of rusting Shays sitting there in the rain - just silently returning to the earth. I suppose they were part of Weyerhauser's logging operation - just seems "someone" should be looking at preservation. Or at least something to keep them from deteriorating as much.

    I didn't know about the Great Falls museum - sounds like a great summer trip to give the 'Vette some exercise!
     
  13. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    That changed some years ago. The line of stuff sitting has shrunk and continues to do so. There should only be one Shay, if any. It came from a logging operation in Oregon. My last trip home, (that was 2010- I am a native of that Valley), things were much improved. It all takes money. Unfortunately, a huge amount of it. :(
     
  14. MaxDaemon

    MaxDaemon TrainBoard Member

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    Hey, nice to hear. And yea - a "couple years" was probably not very accurate - the older I get the longer ago "a couple years" is!

    Are they going someplace there reasonably local? I know there is a tourist train that runs in that area - are they administering it?
     
  15. scottmitchell74

    scottmitchell74 TrainBoard Member

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    B&O, C&O, Conrail, Akron/Canton/Youngstown
     
  16. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Here is their web site: https://www.trainmuseum.org/ Possibly a few answers in these pages?
     
    Doorgunnerjgs likes this.
  17. Ocklawaha

    Ocklawaha New Member

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    Sorry about the delay, got caught in a rabid armadillo stampede along the banks of Florida's Palatlakaha River.

    Yes I have photos of the trip on the North Coast Hi, They are pretty poor thanks to youth, a lens malfunction and dirty windows on early Amtrak. I am in a move so it might be summer before I can dig them out. I'll be happy to post them if y'all would like.
     
  18. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Please do share them. :)
     
  19. SuperGoat

    SuperGoat TrainBoard Member

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    I'll add to this, since I've jumped back into N scale I'm focusing my efforts on the Great Northern and Northern Pacific just prior to the BN merger.
     
  20. MaxDaemon

    MaxDaemon TrainBoard Member

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    I couldn't give up a few things, like a bit of Amtrak and a few BN locomotives, so I've hedged my bets with modeling around 1972 or so - I can have just about anything GN, CBQ, SP&S, NP, BN and Phase 1 Amtrak without it raising too many eyebrows.
     
    SuperGoat likes this.

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