Say, for a second, you were the newly minted editor of a popular magazine on railroading, traveling one way from the southeast to the upper midwest to world headquarters.

A lot of the area 300 north by northwest of you is new territory.

Purely hypothetical, of course, but if it were you, what would you try and see on the way? Jim

You won't regret visiting the complex of museums in the Cincinnatti Union Station. The history museum has an incredible model railroad of the city at the time of transition, a nicely restored curveside streetcar, and a lot of machine tool content, but what impressed me most was walking through a doorway and finding myself on a street at a steamboat landing on a spring night a century ago. Truly an interactive time machine.

Indianapolis has the Children's Museum which, if you threw out the rugrats, would be fascinating. Lots of hands on interactive stuff and a multimedia display in the basement which will have you believing the Reuben Wells is pounding up a grade a few feet away.

Good brewpubs in both towns. Not sure about BBQ.

dave

Mr. Wrinn:

Assuming you're not being too tongue-in-cheek:

If you look on a map and start at Hickory, NC and draw a lazy "C" with the end point at Waukesha , WI, it wouldn't be hard to imagine TVRM, MOT, and IRM within a reasonable distance of that line. These are the three that come to my mind. I live on the left coast so others on this board are no doubt familiar with other less well-known but more local attractions.

By the way, congratulations.

Scott

Carrillon Park in Dayton, the murals in Bucyrus, Ohio, Wather's carvings in Ohio (near Ohio Central - Sugar Creek) come to mind.

Wesley

Jim,

I missed the first round, so thought I'd jump in here and offer up my congratulations. Think now we might see a slight increase in coverage of things southern? Anyway, I know 1925 is going to miss you. Best of luck and I look forward to having you at the helm (or should we say "throttle"?) of TRAINS.

Stephen S. Syfrett
Albany, GA

If you can arrange it at the right time, visit the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. The new carbarn building is worth seeing as a good example of the right way to house preserved rolling stock, even if you have little interest in traction. Also, if one of the diesel guys are around, we have a 1930 Westinghouse diesel loco that actually runs.

Purely personnal, but once you get there, there are a lot of things you may become in the habit of visiting. That includes IRM, East Troy, Relic, Silver Creek and others which are almost a commute rather than a journey. In fact we have regulars who volunteer at IRM from several southeast Wisconsin locations.

So as I would connect the dots, I would place more emphasis on sites that were farther from the end point and less likely to get back to. Even then some tough choices on what to hit and what to miss.

Once you settle in and unpack the boxes, feel free to contact me off list. I would be honored to meet you in person, and have some flexibility in adjusting my schedule to suit yours.

Congratulations, Jim.

Bob Kutella

The Illinois Railway Museum is something that has been mentioned with the largest collection of railroad and traction equipment in the United States.

Another museum that I think highly of is the Mid-Continent Railway Museum at North Freedom, Wisconsin. they have a wonderful collection of wooden passenger cars.

Ted Miles

Jim;

Just want to add my congrats to you along with everyone elses. I couldn't think of a more welcome and logical choice.

Paul W. Woodring

I appreciate them and the good wishes and look forward to producing a magazine you immediately mug the mailman for, sit down with it and read it cover to cover!

Looks like I'll meander through Kentucky and Indiana and save IRM, Mid-Continent and the others that will be "close by" for exploration later on.

Stay in touch. Even better, WRITE! Jim

I'd come up via the Clinchfield and maybe stop to see Natural Tunnel, then go to Cinci via the rat hole.

The Hesson museum near LaPorte Ind is also on your way -- real problem is it's late fall up here and once we get past Halloween very little is open.

The museum in Elkhard, Ind won't be too far out of your way -- then there's the one in Bellevue, Ohio.

Bob H

Jim,

Even if you skip the Madison hill PRR 0-10-0 at the Indianapolis children's museum, you should see the Madison incline itself before you blow out of the Ohio Valley, and the town of Madison. For sheer weirdness, the West Baden Springs Hotel can't be beat, next to the Indiana Railway Museum and Pluto Water bottling plant at French Lick. My favorite Indiana tourist attraction is the inch-wide welds on the welded-boiler 2-8-4 at North Judson.

Watch out for county deputies of Racine County on I-94, who target out-of-state cars for issuance of speeding tickets welcoming you to Wisconsin.

- Aarne Frobom