> Whatever happened to these "ultra"
> infamous steam foamers?

> Willy Lump-Lump
> Superheater (not Rypn poster)
> Shoebox
> Foamer-guy with the peace medallion hung
> around his neck

> I presume these guys were infamous eastern
> railfans. Does the midwest and western U.S.
> have their share of "characters"
> as well? Any good stories to share? I know
> they come up often in conversation among
> tourist railroad crews past and present.
> They are part of the diverse social fabric
> that we call "railway
> preservation."

I think it's BEYOND RUDE to post unpleasant
nicknames for people with physical deformities
on this site. What are we here for, railway preservation, or making fun of those who may
one level below us on our perceived social scale?

Lee Carlson


ebtmikado@aol.com

If not here, where?

Perhaps an Infamous Railfan web site would be in order. Anyone care to create it?

I remember a van painted up in full Canadian Pacific maroon and grey lettering at the East Broad Top railfan weekend a number of years ago. I never saw it again.

kevin.r.gillespie@verizon.net

Seen in St. Charles, IL a couple of years ago...


bowens@rypn.org

> Seen in St. Charles, IL a couple of years
> ago...

I SOOOO did NOT just see that! There is a fella who I believe lives (if he is still alive) between Connellsville, PA and Morgantown, WV that has (had) a minivan painted up as a Pennsy GG1 complete with cat whiskers and he rebuked us when we miscounted the number of stripes! I have also seen this fella on MARC excursions dressed in full Pennsy conductor regalia misleading many passengers, trying to pass himself off as the real deal, AND trying to boss MARC employees!!! This same individual had a cane / walking stick and was not afraid to direct it at people.

Anyone who belonged to the model railroad club in Morgantown, WV knows who I am talking about and probably others that rode some of the WVN charters (Jim Arnold era) and some of the MARC excursions.

I too have seen, and know of the individual that had the van with the set of Nathan M-5 airhorns that chased and paced the NKP 765 on the New River trips. He had those horns on his van at Cass one year and blew them. Echoed for quite a while if I remember right.



bbjimbo@yahoo.com

I know Billy Byrd at TVRM used to spin many a yarn about people he worked with, Pippy Morgan, Oil Can, and Bad Eye Simmons. While these were actual railroaders and not foamers, a nickname is a nickname. Kinda like in school. Twitch, booger, etc. Lump Lump is a far cry from calling someone a crip, gimp or other names if that is how you were directing your statement.

I enjoy steam whistles, so you can imagine the looks I get when people see me taking pictures of whistles instead of lets say the cab, or smokebox front, etc. I know I got some strange looks and comments made to me one time at Steamtown when I was taking pics of the whistle on the Baldwin switcher. Oh well. Maybe I was a little GERFish that day.

> If not here, where?

> Perhaps an Infamous Railfan web site would
> be in order. Anyone care to create it?


bbjimbo@yahoo.com

> I remember a van painted up in full Canadian
> Pacific maroon and grey lettering at the
> East Broad Top railfan weekend a number of
> years ago. I never saw it again.

In Southern California 10 years or so ago there was a railfan with a small size pick-up with camper shell. It was painted in the style of the Santa Fe "yellow bonnet" paint scheme.

Then there was the trolley fan that had a streetcar foot operated gong under the floorboard of his station wagon.

BN

>Actually, one could probably do a lengthy thread of fans on trips whose mis behavior was a source of irritation and concern to the operators and/or the railroad. However, we'd probably accidently name a name or two of folks who are still alive and that would not do.

Bob Richardson told me years ago an Iron Horse News he always wanted to do was on stuff that he dared not print at the the time it actually happened. Oh well.



jimhollis612@charter.net

A few years back I remember a couple of guys coming to a Michigan Central Historical Group meeting heldat the Mt. Clemens, MI Depot. The guy that drove was tooling around in a rather new Dodge Ram painted up in NYC lightning stripes. I do not remember exactly but i think he was from Ohio.

Dave Sutter

sutterd@hotmail.com

I knew a couple of guys in New York, who took a VW Microbus (with shovels and rakes, and implements of destruction), painted it Tuscan red, gold cat whisker stripe, and a Keystone number plate where the old VW emblem used to be. It looked fan-tastic!

glueck@maine.edu

Some of us in the Roanoke Chapter took to calling the guy with the chrome(?) or stainless (?) peace symbol "Stoker" because he usually show up with "Superheator."

hcastle@rcn.com

> Funny thread! Most of these guys (at least
> the ones I've met) are decent people and are
> relatively harmless.

> Sandy,

> Sounds like "Shoebox" (see Kurt's
> list)... very well known around NJ/DE/PA
> steam tourist lines for last 20 or so years.
> He used to carry his recorder in a shoebox
> (hence nickname). Really not a bad fellow,
> IIRC Dan is his name. He got into a bad car
> accident a few years back and I haven't seen
> him trackside in a while.

> I remember a couple "cab unit
> vans" that were/are pretty cool that
> could found trackside here in the Northeast
> some years back. A Chevy done up like a
> tuscan red PRR E8 and a Dodge done up like a
> RDG FP7.

> Regards,
> Jim Robinson

Don't forget Mr. Red Truck "Steam is King"


midh91@hotmail.com

An associate in the Washington DC area passed on updates on "Superheater" and "Mr. Peace Sign":

Superheater is still alive, well, and in good health in the suburban DC area, but seldom seen trackside since the end of NS steam.

I'm happy to report that the reports of the passing of Mr. Peace Sign are false. In the words of the associate, edited for privacy:

"[Peace Sign] was also a peace activist and marched in several marches in the South. During one of them in Georgia protesting the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s someone in the crowd threw a rock at him, striking his hand. The injury was severe, causing a compound fracture (bone sticking out) of one of his fingers. But [Peace sign] being the [guy] he is, did not seek proper medical attention, and simply wrapped the injured finger in a bandage and let it go at that. As you can expect, infection developed, and then gangrene set in, and he lost a couple of fingers initially, however the most severe damage was that the infection got into his blood stream and then into his eyes. His doctor told him many years ago that there was nothing they could do to reverse the damage and he would eventually go blind, which he did. He is currently living in a state operated assisted living center."

A sad ending to the story, unfortunately. I'm tempted to go look him up and pay him a visit, just for old time's sake.



LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net