Hi Shop Dwellers, happy Sunday! 89*F and sunny in my central MD neighborhood, but not bad at all compared to this same time 1 week ago.
Now that the soreness in the plumbing has diminished, I'm starting to regain some of the lost "control" that Beady alluded to earlier. A significant recovery milestone.
A friend of mine who went thru this advised me to stock up on my favorite movies to pass the time, but I've found [IMHO] something
much better:
1971 is the year I got my drivers license and was able to drive myself to train-watching locations and hobby shops, an exciting time for me train-wise. That's why it's my chosen era. But as I read thru the editorials and articles in these vintage TRAINS magazines, I can totally understand why very few other people model it: This was the Darkest Hour for the U.S. railroad industry. Penn Central had just gone bankrupt, passenger train service was replaced by Amtrak, and the majority of railroads in the East were in a death spiral. I was blissfully clueless about all this at the tender age of 16.
It's fascinating to read all the hand-wringing and lamentations from that period, along with the insights of the economist John Kneiling - who seemed able to understand and explain [in layman's terms] the underlying causes and necessary solutions. Like the Prophet Jeremiah, he was metaphorically stoned by both railway workers and railfans alike because he told them things they didn't like to hear.
Willie - best of luck with Arlene's knee surgery, will keep you both in my prayers!
Sherrell hang in there, this too shall pass [lol]!