Buzzers that are also railfans
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I can fix anything.....where is the duct tape?
I LOVE trains and traction. I'll be riding the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge RR in a few weeks. I can't wait!
I live in an apartment and so do not have much room to work with. I do have a Z scale setup inside my coffee table.
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"If the beats were made of meat then they would have to be me ..." - L.L. Cool J
For a long time I couldn't understand why I liked rollercoasters so much until I realized, "it's a train!". I love trains so it makes sense...rollercoasters are very exciting trains. I have a large HO collection that I don't have room to assemble (40+ engines, 100+ cars, tons of track and accessories) but someday I will. I recently rode the Amtrak California Zephyr from Omaha to Reno. It was great.
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PLEASE READ: This post wasn't meant to offend or anger anyone; I apologize in advance if it does. So please don't post a reply just to rant about it. :)
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Whats life if you never get to the Po!nt?
I was a railfan long before I was an amusement park fan.
I have a SNBO HO layout in my parent's basement (along with a SBNO amusement park). I've currently got an N scale layout set up inside my coffee table.
I haven't been railfanning real trains as much as I would like to these days. Limited time and too many other interests! I'm very interested in short lines though. I used to chase Morristown and Erie Alcos pretty frequently back when I lived in NJ.
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everything's better with a banjo
I have been a railfan since I was born I remeber seeing N&W 611 and 1218 thunder down the old Wabash when i was just a kid.
I railfan a lot and have thousands of pictures all across the country. Dave and my vacations always deal with either trains or coasters and sometimes both. I also collect HO engines and detail them. I am currently building a small N scale coffee table layout that I would love to incorporate part of a small park into.
I love three (well 4 if ya count Jen) and those 3 all have to deal with tracks. Coasters, Trains, and Racing. My house is covered in pictures and posters from all three of those things.
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1989, 9 years old bawling my eyes out because I didn't want to ride Magnum. I did anyway and look at me now. Why did ya make me do it Dave? ;)
I'm more of a railfan than a coaster enthusiast. I was an operator for the Scenic Railway at SFGAm for 2 seasons. I'm also a member of the Riverside and Great Northern Preservation Society in the Wisconsin Dells. Back in the 40's thru the 70's the Sandley Light Railroad Works was there, building small scale (15" thru 36") LIVE STEAM trains for zoos and, you guessed it, amusement parks! If any of you have been to the Milwaukee Zoo and ridden the train there, you have been behind a Sandley built locomotive. The business went out in the 80's, then in 1990 the group purchased the land and remaining coaches, and were able to get ahold of a locomotive from the zoo, and now operate daily at the facility. Visit them if you are in the dells. It's awesome! Or better yet, become a MEMBER and they will train you to be a conductor or an engineer. Visit them at www.randgn.com
I like the parks that have live steam, namley the Magic Kingdom where they have commercially built (not built especially for a park) locomotives that were salvaged from South America. Great trains. But any park that has a steamer is good. Crowns seem to be the most prevalent, but I have heard a rumor about the Crown at SFStL being removed? Any word on this at all?
I love CP's real coal burning Baldwin engines. Real not purpose built steam power there. The only other "Real" park locomotives I can think of would be Knott's and Disney's. Knott's are ex Rio Grande i believe and the Goose is Rio Grande Southern.
Are there any more engines out there in parks that were not originally built for the parks?
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1989, 9 years old bawling my eyes out because I didn't want to ride Magnum. I did anyway and look at me now. Why did ya make me do it Dave? ;)
I was always into the railroad thing ever since I could remember. My Grandfather worked in the B&O roundhouse in Hamilton, Ohio while I was growing up, so I must have inherited the bug from him. I always looked forward to the trip down to see grandpa at work. It usually meant a ride in some type of switcher locomotive (usually EMD) while he serviced it. Always a spin or two on the turntable was included as well. So at a very young age I decided that is what I wanted to do.
After college I started volunteering at the Whitewater Valley Railroad in Connersville, IN. I learned how to be a brakeman and conductor as well as started working in the track maint. and mechanical departments. Oh there was a couple other reasons for spending my time there, well three to be exact. They have three Lima-Hamilton diesel switchers located in their collection. 1 ex Cin. Union Terminal Co., 1 ex Armco Steel from New Miami, OH (that is where I grew up and saw this engine work) and 1 ex B&O that my Grandpa had worked on over the years in Hamilton. I currently am on the Board of Directors and the Museum Curator.
With this I applied for CSX and was hired to work on my grandfathers former division. I am currently working as an Engineer out of Cincy North and West.
I really didn't get hooked on coasters until my junior year of high school. That is when Three of my good friends literally dragged me on to the Beast during a physics day. They said something about checking the wind drag on a coaster from someone screaming. All I can say is that I was hooked.
So it is natural that I look at a parks railroad just as I do their prize coaster.
William
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CBCon Quote "We didn't even get wet"......30 seconds later you hear plop, then splash!!!!
MagnumForce said:
I have been a railfan since I was born I remeber seeing N&W 611 and 1218 thunder down the old Wabash when i was just a kid.
I rode behind both of them when I was little, before they went into semi-permanent storage. It was quite an experience. I think between the two I like 1218 better, a real workhorse engine. At any rate, operating the engines at SFOG really gave you an idea why diesels replaced steam. Steam is a real pain in the a**.
If you're ever around SFOG visiting, make the drive to the Tennessee Valley RR Mueseum in Chattanooga, less than 2 hours north or Atlanta. Lots of displays, and a 6 mile round trip track that goes over some bridges and through a pretty long civil-war era tunnel (ex Southern). Downtown is one of the largest HO scale model RRs in the US, at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Also when you're in Chattanooga, you can visit Lake Winnie. ;)
And if you can't make it to Chattanooga, there is always the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, a few miles NE or Atlanta.
Happy railfanning!
MagmumForce, CP no longer owns a Baldwin locomotive. The only one they owned was #1 "Maude L", which was traded to Disney for a Davenport built locomotive. The CP&LE has relied upon the products of Vulcan and Porter almost since the begining, with the #3 "Albert" a Davenport (now out of service) and the aforementioned "Maude L" being the exceptions.
The trials and tribulations of the former "Maude L" can be found through this site http://www.trainweb.org/parktrains/. You have to sign up for it, but once you do you can access the archives. We have both enthusiasts and people in the business past and present here.
*** This post was edited by Dutchman on 7/17/2002. ***
Kneemeister, I have that same exact interest in knowing about older lines and following them. I haven't done that in a few years, but still like to look at maps and chart out areas of research for some of my model RR layout. I figure the best way to model realistically is go to the source! Disney is also heaven on earth to me, because Walt had a strong interest in railroading, and knew it would play a vital part in his vision of a theme park. Those who visit California Adventure will be awestruck at the amazing recreation of the Western Pacific streamliner (only the engine cab and nose are authentic). The day I take up permanent residence in Orlando or Anaheim will be the happiest day of my life! Of course, they need to accomodate one more stick figure artist first!
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Brad's California Adventure: 8 days, 18 parks, 55 coasters, 2 TV shoots & a winner, Matterhorn!
Model coasters and rides
We just did Thomas the Tank Engine a few weeks ago in Connersville,IN at the Whitewater Valley RR. ***Rumor Alert*** During the event I was told that Disney was looking at buying Gullane Ent. Evedently Disney is very interested in aquiring the Thomas name. Does this mean we will see Thomas and Percy at the Magic Kingdom in the Future? This comes from a somewhat official source.
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CBCon Quote "We didn't even get wet"......30 seconds later you hear plop, then splash!!!!
*** This post was edited by lumpy72 on 7/17/2002. ***
Allthough I am not a railroad fan, and theirfore cannot contribute significantly to this thread, my hometown has quite a large collection of railroad attractions. If any of you ever come to altoona to ride the Leap-The-Dips, make sure you also visit the Altoona Mormorial Railroad Museum and the Horse Shoe Curve.
I should be a travel commercial instead of a cool dude.
*** This post was edited by dexter on 7/17/2002. ***
Someone explain to me what is so good about Trains? In my opinion, they are boring and uninteresting..
I like coasters because of the thrills and adrenaline they provide..
Real transportation trains just drive you around.. they have no thrills.. barely any difference between them (compared to coasters)
So why should anyone care?
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I AM CANADIAN
My favourite Coaster-Site: http://www.brewerianazone.com/page14.html
I guess I was born into it.
See my great grandfather was a B&O guy, He worked the station in Winton Place just north of Cincinnati handing orders ect and also taking manifest numbers, Those 6 digit numbers on every car. That job is now done by machines with Transponders but could you imagine trying to do that on trains passing at 40+ MPH? Great Grandpa later worked in Hamilton OH. also on the B&O. Sadly he died a year before I was born.
Grandpa always took us to train displays ect as kids. I miss him going on just over 10 yrs now.
I have almost always had some kind of setup of HO or N scale train display. I even had the Bicentenial edition of the Tyco Bicentenial train but was a kid and eventually tore something up that would be priceless now.
My brother traded my whole baseball card collection for a 1939 Lionel engine.
Oh heck, I could go on and on but won't.
My Great Grandpa's name was Jake Nungester if Lumpy wants to pass that around the circles.
Chuck, who lives half a block off the ex pennsy Main in Elmwood Place OH. For the main reason being trains and lots of em in Elmwood with the B&O main and Proctor and Gamble just down the street.
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Charles Nungester
Lesourdsville Lake, The great American amusement park opens the season June 6th Thurs-Sun every week. Park phone is (513)539-2193
I used to work part time a little at The Great Train Store, does that count? I helped set up about 10 stores then a year later helped take them all down.
I built a HO scale set in my basement as a kid followed by an N scale set, that's about it.
*** This post was edited by Joe E. on 7/17/2002. ***
I have a very diverse Hornby HO set packed up in boxes somewhere downstairs. It is a real pity, because it is really one of the most fun things to do with your time. If I had more time, and space, I'd set it all up again, and have fun with it. I never did get the special edition Flying Scotsman boxed kit. It was the one train I always wanted to get.
I never got into trains much more than that. Never the real thing. I only catch trains now to get to the Gold Coast parks, as the drive is boring, and it works out to costing less on train than in a car.
While on the same topic, I must admit, I'm a pretty big chairlift enthusiast, especially come the ski season (which is at its peak right now, down here). I doubt there are many out there. I know most of the Doppelmayr range of cable products, and how they work technically (no, really, some of the high-speed detatchable lifts have got some complicated systems in place).
I'd like trains more, if they had more of a technical aspect to them, because I for one like a challenge to figure out how it works.
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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?
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