I was 17 then, proud holder for 10 months of my first driver's license. I owned the old family minivan, and the world was full of wonder, excitement, and optimism, despite shadows on the horizon. The road was wide open. And we went trackside!
Onondaga Yard was being worked. Yardmaster Al Tillotson, in the background, directs Gordy Robinson on the WAON-14 job. This is the yard switcher, who is busy today with a full slate. Gordy is the NMRA President, visiting from Orkney in the UK as part of his trip to the big Amherst Railway Society show in Springfield, MA.
Meanwhile, Pete is over by the M&E, excited for ME-2 to start up...and excited for snacks!
Teddy joins the fun too and comes down with Uncle Al while ON-14 works the Niagara Propane distributor at the west end of Onondaga Yard.
The railroad is starting to hum as guys grab a drink and enjoy time between jobs. Jim Homoki, Joe Cook, Ryan Gerhardt, Tom Schmieder and Ralph Heiss all get a kick out of some sort of (definitely wholesome) conversation.
Marty Jenkins, from Gold Coast, Australia, is working ML-403 west past Onondaga Yard while Ross Medine gets paperwork together for his first train. The B36-7 leader chugs like the GE it is as Marty heads into dynamic brake mode for the trip down the hill.
Marty this year brought along Aussie friend Rod Clifton who resides north of Perth, in Western Australia. This is Rod's first international trip, proof that life is still going on for people willing to learn and adventure despite doom and gloom media. Rod's guide on his first OC train is Ryan, always willing to pitch in and enjoy some time running trains!
Night has fallen, and railroading is different at night. Dylan Waddell and Joe Cook are working train ELSE at Onondaga off of the main track, making a set out and a pick up, in different spots in the consist. This is challenging work and especially at night! But this crew nailed it, which was satisfying to them, me, and everyone working around them. Part of the reward of operations is a prototypical puzzle well solved.
And there is a theme to it all - no one works alone on the railroad. Even if you're by yourself, you're working with others to protect you, or working in service of others. Railroading is a team experience with a primary driver of camaraderie.
Neat signal aspects, long after sunset. This was a pleasure for me in my youth, and seeing this 'Medium-Approach-Medium' aspect is just as cool now in miniature as it was in 1995 on the prototype.
There is a magic to operations, amplified as we work into the night with radio chatter and working signals. And we all got there at this session.
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