The Time Warp

One of the best things about digital images is that you sometimes come across them in folder and get to enjoy a quick look at the past.  They're buried on the PC somewhere, or in the cloud, or wherever and occasionally you just run into them while looking for something else.

There is always something in those folders that makes me smile.  Here's NS 212, the Atlanta, GA-to-Croxton, NJ daily piggyback train on April 29, 2006.  Back in that era, conventional cab leaders were fairly common on 212, and today's had NS C39-8 8655 leading.  This was awesome back then and even more so looking back now.  

This image was made very nearly 16 years to the day from my first experience trackside at Pattenburg, NJ.  Pattenburg had quickly become a favorite place for me to spend time.  Those 16 years seemed like a long time back then.  Today I realize that April 29 2006 is 19 years from 2025!  A lot has happened. Time plays tricks on us and making images of railroads is one of the portals where time can seem to bend in our minds.  

This scene is similar today but the C39-8's are long gone from the NS locomotive roster.  I am glad I made time to make this image, and glad to run across it today browsing for some documents at lunchtime.  

Good thing there is plenty more to find!

The Long View

This hobby of ours is a long-view hobby.  At least for my case, it has stuck with me my whole conscious life, while other hobbies have come and gone again.  This long view requires diligence and a commitment to mindful appreciation of what we are modeling.  But, it's endlessly interesting and fun, too, so it doesn't feel like something to rush through.

Part of a longer game is that we remember things that impressed us even from decades past.  In the pages of Model Railroader magazine, I recall having seen some beautiful maintenance equipment on Michael Tylik's modules, one shot even on the cover of MR.  Years later I was told those models are from a company called Custom Finishing, a tiny firm whose kits were hard to find and even harder yet to assemble.  

A few months back, though, I came across a collection of them by Jerry Britton, and Jerry was downsizing his collection.  I made an offer which was accepted and the models now live on the OC.

 Here's the scene now, after some painting, weathering, repair and modernization of the cast-metal ballast tamper and tie handler crane.  Add in some Mt. Vernon shops decals, and we are set!

With fabulous 3D printed models coming on strong and with secondhand brass models like the single-track Jordan plow behind the tamper, these little cast metal kits complete the scene.  It's been more than 30 years in the making to get them on the Onondaga Cutoff, and seeing that come to life has been a really rewarding part of the long view.  

Don't be afraid of long term goals!  Keep your eyes and mind open, and you get your chance finally to make it happen.