Welcome back to another 2017 edition of Legacies…On The Rails! I truly appreciate you continuing to follow the blog and hope you are checking out the soon to be updated podcast on Podomatic.com as well!
As you know, this past weekend was destination Wichita, Kansas. The drive down on Saturday 2/18/18 after attending a birthday party was smooth and uneventful and as my wife drove first, I was able to make notes of some potential railfan sites, either for those of you who may not have been there, or for myself in the future, as I guarantee there will be return trips to Wichita. Those sites include:
I can’t recall the exact exit but it is shortly after SB I-35/Lamar Ave
I-35/119th Olathe, Kansas as the bridge goes over the tracks
SB I-35 just before Exit #148 (Hwy 131 to Lebo, Ks) tracks run under the highway
SB I-35/Burlingame Rd (Exit #131 to Emporia, Ks)
City of Cassaday, Ks
On the drive down, we ate at Braum’s Ice Cream & Burgers in Emporia, Ks. Check them out at http://www.braums.com/stores/emporia-ks-store-265/ . The food was good, their prices are reasonable, the facility was clean and the staff was friendly and quick with service. The only issue I had was the fact that instead of paper towels in the restroom, there was a hand dryer. Now for some, that may be acceptable but let me tell you why it is not for me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that deals with this. 1. I’m a Diabetic and often go into restaurant restrooms to test my sugar before eating. I would like a clean, dry place to lay my supplies on the counter. Most people don’t clean up after themselves and leave the counter and the floor all wet. If there are paper towels, I can rectify this for myself and 2. I would also clean up after myself and leave the restroom better than I found it as is my normal practice. This is why I am giving Braum’s 4 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Once in Wichita, we stayed at the Quality Inn Airport. Check out their site by visiting https://www.choicehotels.com/kansas/wichita/quality-inn-hotels/ks041 . Our room was clean, modern, very spacious and nicely decorated, though the restroom was in need of some serious updating. The staff was very friendly, there was a full breakfast served each morning in their dining area whose ornate ironwork and trees reminded us of something you would likely see in the French Quarter of New Orleans. So, again, I am giving 4 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
On Sunday 2/19/17, we attended the service at The Foundry Christian Church
http://www.thewichitafoundry.com/ where the congregation and staff including my buddy Craig Coffey were all very friendly and welcoming, and we enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and worship (giving 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks)
Then went on to have lunch at Spangles http://www.spanglesinc.com/ . It was another clean, friendly place that in this case had that classic diner feel with lots of classic TV, Movie and Rock & Roll items on display. We were there to have lunch with with Craig & Cynthia Coffey, and we all took advantage of their Classic All American Meal package that came with a burger, fries, a soda and either a a sundae, shake or mud-slide. I had my burger with bbq sauce and Denise had the strawberry mud-slide while I had the Reese’s Peanut Butter mud-slide. I never had to use their restroom so I can’t comment on it but I am giving them 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks
. 
We then headed to Downtown Wichita expecting to check out the Great Plains Transportation Museum. see their website by checking out the following link: http://www.kansastravel.org/wichita/greatplainstransportationmuseum.htm only to find out that I missed seeing on their site that they are only open Sundays from April to October. I took these pics from outside the facility.
At first, I thought they were the best I was going to get of the locomotives and rolling stock in their collection. But, thanks to a later visit to Hewitt’s Antiques Check them out at:
http://www.hewittsantiques.com/www.hewittsantiques.com/Welcome.html where I picked up three HO Scale Spirit Of 76 Bicentennial train cars, and met some older railfans that also come to Kansas City on a regular basis in addition to having a regular first Friday of the month gathering at Hog Wild Barbecue http://www.hogwildpitbbq.com/ there in Wichita, they clued me in to a nearby ramp that would allow me to walk up and get pics of all the Transportation Museum’s equipment. Between the unique layout of the store, friendly guy running the place and the great info I picked up that led to these pics:
I am giving Hewitt’s Antiques 5 out 0f 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks!
Also tried stopping by the Wichita Toy Train Club & Museum: you guessed it: Closed.
I gave them my contact info, and hope to meet up with them when they come to Kansas City and even hope to get back down to Wichita for a weekend for one of their gatherings in the near future. After taking pics of all the awesome equipment, I was able to catch this BNSF led auto rack train that has also been shared on my Railroad Auto Racks Facebook page. It was appropriate to catch some Kansas City Southern 125th Anniversary cars on my 250th LOTR Fan Video. The reason the bottom of the the train is obscured is similar to the reason I only caught the trailing DPU’s of the coal train in St Joseph, Missouri.
Later, we walked the trails at Chisholm Creek Park http://www.gpnc.org/chisholm.htm and got some great exercise as we enjoyed their paved and wooden trails, streams, prairie land, and enjoyed watch a deer as another couple that were there were taking pics and video of it. Nothing better than a walk in a gorgeous park on an equally gorgeous day, and I am giving the park 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Dinner that night was at the Monterrey Mexican Grill. You can check them out on their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monterreymexicangrillwichita/ . They offered a clean enjoyable atmosphere with decor that made you feel like you are walking the sidewalk of a classic Mexican town, taking in all the business storefronts. The staff was friendly, and were quick with service. The food was excellent. The fajita meals Denise and I ordered were each big enough that we could have just shared one. I did have to go find our server when we were ready to go and needed our guest check, but she was again quick to respond and even got us refills on our sodas to go. And hey, there were real paper towels in the restroom (even if the paper towel dispenser was motion activated). I’m going to rant a bit here and say, have we grown so lazy, or so germophobic, (or both) as a society that we need motion-activated lighting, motion-activated sinks, motion-activated flushing urinals or toilets, or motion-activated paper towel dispensers? What happens when those fancy gadgets break down? I’m a firm believer in the following phrase (and say it frequently in many places that are part of my life) as Mr Scott said in Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock: “The more ya’ overtake tha’ plumbin’……tha easier it is ta’ stop up tha’ drain!” And when people rave about how much easier some things will make life, I again refer to Scotty “Aye, and if me grandmother had wheels, she’d be a wagon!” But anyway, I’m giving the Monterrey Mexican Grill of Wichita 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks
On Monday 2/20/17, after breakfast at our hotel, we stopped at the Wichita Kmart that like most these days is going out of business where among many other things we bought, I purchased a Caterpillar Train Set that was originally $17.99 but with the discount was just $9.00. I have a Caterpillar Train Set in I believe O Scale and I’m not big into Caterpillar items, but I figured I am always adding to the other various areas of my train collection, so why not Caterpillar? I may even start a Facebook page for Caterpillar Train Collectors as I have done a search as I do before I start other pages to make sure my idea would not be boringly redundant, and there doesn’t seem to be one currently. I’ll update you in my next posting if I do. Not going to rate Kmart as the fact that they are going out of business, and you already know whet most stores in that process look like, it would be pointless.
On our way to have lunch at the home of Craig & Cynthia Coffey, I saw the Kansas & Oklahoma https://www.watcocompanies.com/services/rail/kansas-and-oklahoma-railroad-ko/ train and though I wasn’t sure if it was coming our way or going away from us as it was on switching operations, it was something unique that I had never seen and that is always a thrill, so here you go:
Well, there you have it. The trip wasn’t a total bust, as I got a weekend away with my wife, got to fellowship with some great friends, get lots of exercise and still came away with several great rail pics, a couple videos and something else to report about here on the blog.
Again, hope you will check out the Legacies On The Rails Podcast on Podomatic.com and I will be updating it most likely on March 2nd, and that you will also check out all the LOTR Fan Videos on my You Tube Channel, as well as the following Facebook pages:
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route)
Fans Of The Kansas City Terminal Railway
Rail Box Freight Car Fans
Railroad Bridges, Related Photos & Video
Railroad Auto Racks
Union Pacific Flag Units
As always, this is John Losh “The Losh-Man“, encouraging you to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior if you have not already, and follow him through His word and prayer each day, stay in an uncompromisingly Bible believing, Bible preaching church, as these are the only way to truly stay on track. And, when it comes to trains, and everything that is railroading, continue leaving “Legacies…On The Rails!” I’ll see you next time!
Legacies...On The Rails!!! 