From the Superintendent’s Desk

By John Williams, Division 15, Superintendent

Although we are model railroaders, we sometimes forget that we “model” a prototype. This could be a current railroad or a fallen flag, or even a foreign railroad. We have some wonderful opportunities in western North Carolina and beyond to explore. Many of these are an easy day’s drive and back. As a non-native I for one would love to explore the railroad attractions of this region. I would like to set up some day trips to do some railfanning. So if you have some suggestions let me know. Better yet if one or more of you would like to take charge I would provide my full support. Think about it if it weren’t for the 12 inches equals a foot scale we wouldn’t be model railroaders

So until next month, remember Model Railroading is Fun.

Two of the many vintage locomotives, a beautifully restored Pennsy E8 No. 5711 (upper left) and ACL E3 No. 501 (upper right) on display as Amtrak hosted the 100th anniversary celebration of Washington Union Station October 4-5, 2008. Six historic passenger diesels including GG1 No. 4935 and Southern Railway E8 No. 6900 (lower right) were on hand to help recreate the ambiance of rail travel from the early years of the station. Amtrak displayed an Acela Express trainset (lower left) , three superliner cars, an Amcafe car and a Viewliner sleeper.