30 Years Ago

tomgears · **Posted:** Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:52 pm

Labor Day weekend was the "Capital Limited '79" NRHS convention. Trips featured Southern 722 & 2839, WM F-7s, and a PRR GG-1 all pulling trains on the mainlines. What an amazing time. I was too young to go on my own and unable to find someone to take me and worst of all I really had no idea of what a unique opportunity each excursion offered. I did not really understand this until NS killed it's steam program many years later. There are many ways to support preservation; one of the best is to buy a ticket and ride the train, any train.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:59 am

"Those were the days, my friend,
We thought they'd never end,
We'd sing and dance forever and a day;
We'd live the life we'd choose,
We'd fight and never lose,
For we were young and sure to have our way.........."

Matt Bumgarner · **Posted:** Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:26 am

Poor ol' 722....

Bob Davis · **Joined:** Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:25 am **Posts:** 1025

Not a song that has any direct relation to railway preservation, but I think Born Too Late, a 1958 "teen angst" number by the Poni Tails could be the theme for a lot of us. Maybe someone can come up with new lyrics (in the style of "Weird Al" Yankovic) to lament "things that aren't there anymore". Example, "Born too late...to see Penn Station/Why was I born too late."
At least there's a Royal Hudson running in British Columbia this month, and Midwestern steam fans are recovering from Owossomania.

Jim Lundquist · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:10 am

Never pass up an opportunity to do things you enjoy. Tomorrow may never come!

SR6900 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:35 pm

Matt Bumgarner wrote:

Poor ol' 722....

You said it. At least her sister 630, is getting restored right and will hopefully be up and running next year.

Ron Goldfeder · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:12 am

Wow, was it really that long ago? I was in charge of publicity for the convention, had the cloth patches and pin back buttons made, helped design the trip brochures that were made like employee timetables, and put the whimsical signs in the restrooms asking users not to flush during photo runs. It was quite a lot of work and fun as well, as things went well for the most part. But I was also the senior person back in DC when the Western Maryland trip ran late and had to keep calling the kitchen to delay the food after talking to the dispatcher and finding out what was going wrong next. It was the last year the NRHS convention had its banquet on the day of a major trip - lesson learned. Thanks for bring it up and bringing these memories back.