This is a great thread, pure and simple. I love this stuff, and it brings back great memories.

Although I came into the railfan side of things pretty young (like 8 or 9 circa 1984), I got a chance to work some wonderful trips connected with NS before the sad year of 1995. I even recognize a couple of these guys from the Bluewater Chapter "Fort Wayne Flyer" trips of the mid-1980's. I worked them steady with friend John Knecht (again, has since passed into the great scrapyard in the sky, and WAY to young) in the "first class" diner, very often either the ex-GTW "SILVER LAKE", or an ex-Southern car that Bluewater leased as I remember, usually the last car before the "GLOBAL STAR IV" ex-SAL observation. John was one of the finest guys you'd ever want to meet, and although he hung around with a guy who could sometimes fall into that "extreme foamer" category, he always knew what lines not to cross, and instructed me pretty early on about those, i.e., bad idea to crawl under equipment, talk back to a guy who was probably management, etc.

I remember the trip back in 1986, though, where I think I caught sight of the guy many of describe as "lump-lump." He had these weird looking things on his face, with what looked to be an album under his arm. I remember noticing even at the tender age of 11 that this guy was a bit wierd, and that other guys were giving him a pretty wide berth. One of my fondest memories is leaning out the small side door of the diner (with a single bar across it as I remember: YIKES)and watching us take a curve through some industrial district along the Michigan-Indiana border, and seeing 611 pounding her way around it. Somewhere I have a picture of it, but god knows where. Many a trip spent hanging before and after it on the "Haverstraw Bay" too. Who would have ever thought at that time that NS Steam would be gone in less than 10 years. *sigh*

Below is a picture of John with his son John the IV, dressed in their Civil War reenactor regalia. John always loved to say he was at his best as a cook "at 50 miles an hour."

TJ

> There's a young man here in the South named
> David Belk that lots of folks in the hobby
> know and fear. He has a tendency to do some
> decidedly ill-advised things. The man has a
> serious mental deficiency caused by a
> childhood disease. Unfortunately, few of the
> fans down here are aware of this and treat
> him like a criminal when they see him. I'm
> sort of glad this thread came up, because it
> gives me an excuse to get the facts about
> him "out there" in the hopes that
> fans will start helping to look after him
> instead of condeming him out of hand. David
> lives in Charlotte and visits SCRM at least
> once a year -- I think he hits Spencer a bit
> more often. I always make it a point to
> nicely say hello to him and keep a close
> watch on what he's up to. He can get himself
> in trouble very easily.

> I wonder how many of these other individuals
> y'all are discussing had/have similar
> problems? There's usually a pretty
> compelling reason for strange behavior if
> you look for it.



tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

> This is a great thread, pure and simple. I
> love this stuff, and it brings back great
> memories.

> John Knecht
> (again, has since passed into the great
> scrapyard in the sky, and WAY to young)

> John was one of
> the finest guys you'd ever want to meet

TJ,

Thanks for posting the photo of John and his son. I did not know that John had passed away and was saddened to hear about it. He was always positive and a great person to meet and talk to. He's one of the ones you always remember fondly.

Michael Allen



trainrider47@aol.com

> TJ,

> Thanks for posting the photo of John and his
> son. I did not know that John had passed
> away and was saddened to hear about it. He
> was always positive and a great person to
> meet and talk to. He's one of the ones you
> always remember fondly.

> Michael Allen

Michael-

John was a big guy with a big heart, and always made time for other volunteers, including myself. I very much thought of him as more of uncle or godfather than a friend. He was, in a word, family. Your name sounds awfully familiar; I take it you volunteer or volunteered with Bluewater as well?

T.J.

tjgaffney@phmuseum.org