On May 23, 2012, at 2:16 PM, Phil Schempf wrote:

> I grew up near the tracks

And this can still happen. My sister lived in Northern Ohio - Rocky
River just outside of Cleveland, and there is a set of tracks that ends
in Chicago that went by her back yard. About 2000, we heard that the
Norfolk and Western 611 http://tinyurl.com/77tlezm

was heading from Chicago to Cleveland and would pass through the area in
the afternoon. We didn't know what track but we took a chance and
started passing the football around with her 2 sons - 10 and 12 yrs old
or so - in the back yard. We hit the jackpot. The area has a crossroad
every 1/4 mile or so, so we heard the whistle coming from a loooong way
away. But wait - the engine stopped on a siding so that it was right at
the back fence - not 50 feet from where we stood and talked to the
engineer. This is one big beautiful engine, wonderfully restored and
impeccably maintained and we had a great 15 minutes getting our
breathing in sync with it. The kids still talk about it.

OT content - aw c'mon

Ed Minch

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