Influence

I am a Reading man, I was raised a Reading man, I will always be a Reading man. But I am not without susceptible tendencies to other areas due to outside influence.

Yesterday a flat package arrived in the mail from an awesome friend, thanks Rob, in socal (southern California). The 2008 Union Pacific Calender featuring the UP's Heritage Fleet. You can see some shots of these locomotives at the following link: http://www.trainweb.org/richard/UPHeritage/UP_Heritage_Photo_Shoot.html
Between those awesome paint jobs on the new SD70ACe locomotives honoring the fallen flags of the UP and the shots of the Centenials, FEF and Challenger it is enough to make anyone become a UP man.

My current read is "Set Up Running: The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman, 1904-1949 (Paperback)by John W. Orr (Author), James D. Porterfield (Introduction). See it at: http://www.amazon.com/Set-Running-Pennsylvania-Engineman-1904-1949/dp/027102741X
You can read reviews on Amazon, they all basically say the same thing. If you like trains or railroads, this is a must read. I can easily imagine myself backdating my modeling to steam just from reading this book. I am not even halfway through and it is already one of my favorite books.

My primary railroad influence comes from my mother and her Uncle, Roy Sillman, who was a Reading Engineman basically at the same time as OP Orr was with the PRR. Uncle Roy, Aunt Gertrude, and my Grandparents were regulars on the Reading Rambles and my grandparents operated a toystore in Olney (Philadelphia, PA) that my mother grew up working in. I grew up with trains running around the Christmas tree (Mantua W&A General), trains on a carpeted platform in the basement (American Flyer S-guage with operating log loader and passenger platform) regular trips on Reading Lines commuters from Lawndale to the Reading Terminal in downtown Philadelphia with my mother and semi regular trips to Strasburg to ride the train and meet some real famous hobo's at the picnic area. When Uncle Roy passed and I got my hands on his railroad books and pictures. Reading the Reading Power Pictorial and a few other books solidified my interest in the Reading Lines. Between the old camelbacks, the Crusader, the 4-8-4 T1's from the Rambles and the mighty (if hated by train crews) Fairbanks Morse H24-66 Trainmasters. Being a child of the modern age the sleek and powerful PRR GG-1 Electric is one of my top favorites. But I am forever, a Reading Man.

Oh, and while I am rambling on, check out Hobo News: http://www.hobo.com/news.htm.