If you were a 13-year-old kid and the GCRR was in your back yard...and the parents were agreeable to monthly day-long visits...

If you happened to bring a copy of "Pacific Coast Shay" for Dan Ranger to autograph and got invited for a cab ride...and you learned how to hang on despite the bronco billy type ride the track offered...

If the mysterious engine that had eluded you as a child suddenly was the sole power...

If you got to know Graham County weather well enough to choose to ride in the caboose rather than one of the open air cars because a summer storm was just over the next mountain...

If you were on a first name basis with Tom Ebright, the president of the railroad, and had an annual pass...

Then this was a wonderful part of my youth, and today's photos are jimdandy representations of the way it was 30 years ago...Would that everybody could have such a teriffic experience... great people, great railroading and despite everything else going on, very indulgent of a pesky kid who wanted to see it all.

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

Bravo, Jim, and thanks for sharing. That brought back even more memories. Alot of that sure looks different now, doesn't it? Now where's that book? LOL

Go ahead Jim, just make me jealous!
It was interesting for me to see pix of the track. I've heard it was really bad, but those pix really show that it was beyond terrible. I feel for John and Dan, trying to move real freight trains over those tracks.

Looking forward to your book as well,

Mike
> If you were a 13-year-old kid and the GCRR
> was in your back yard...and the parents were
> agreeable to monthly day-long visits...



yenko117@yahoo.com

The Bear Creek passenger tickets had rules for the passengers printed on the back of them - someday I may find mine buried in a box. One I remember said that "WHEN the train derails the passengers will render assistance to the crew to get it back on the rails again" or something similar.

dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

I recall spending a night in the Bear Creek Depot, but as I recall, the view out the window was of a small diesel, and maybe also a water tank.

http://www.steamvalley.com
coniglio.john@comcast.net