Welcome to Great Rail Sites Volume 2! When I am not out in the field taking constant rail photos and video, or writing this blog (in rough draft form on paper, then here on the site), or uploading all my pics to Facebook from my phone, videos to You Tube from my phone (sometimes through the Viva Video Editor) or to my computer, then to Facebook, from my camera, and later to this site, I love to watch other railfan videos on You Tube.
That is where I found videos by today’s featured site Delay In Block Productions. http://delayinblock.com/ Using the term that means “If you stop or slow your train to below ten mph, you have to be prepared to stop at the next signal”, in late November 2011, Drayton Blackgrove of Jackson Michigan, who has had a lifelong love of trains started Delay In Block Productions. It was officially licensed in 2013. The goal? Very simple: to produce and share the best quality railfan videos available on the internet. And if I might add, not just videos of current railroads transporting their goods and passengers from Point A to Point B, but also to share the history, the heritage, and the people of railroading.
Since 2011 Delay In Block Productions has gone on to involve over 30 professional photographers. A few of them are listed on their website and you can visit it to view their full profiles, but they are: David Ferrell, Chris Campbell, Jim Stanton (who along with Drayton is one of my Facebook Friends), Jordan Hood, and Connor Short.
Delay In Block Productions website and You Tube channel feature trains from steam to diesel, streamliner to modern. They feature mainline railroads to excursion trains, passenger trains to freight. They feature current day railroads to fallen flags. Very simply put, no matter what you are looking for in railfan video entertainment, Delay In Block Productions that as of this writing had 421 You Tube videos and 321,150 subscribers just on the main channel not to mention their Trains For Children channel, has something for you! My favorite thing they do, is the narration. And, although I do my share of posting here on Legacies…On The Rails, as well as on my You Tube channel which is nearing 300 LOTR Fan Videos, and Legacies On The Rails Radio (Podcast), if I had the knowledge, skills, software and time that Delay In Block Productions‘ staff put into their work, there are some sites out there whose quality I hope to someday see Legacies…On The Rails eventually emulate, and Delay In Block Productions would definitely be in my top 5. They definitely get 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks!
But I think the very best way to share with you their origin and ongoing work is to share some of their You Tube Videos, beginning with Drayton Blackgrove‘s own story.
This edition’s Equipment Profile is this boxcar that I recently photographed at the North Kansas City/Avondale, MissouriNorfolk Southern Yard from the “Fallen Flag” railroad of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.
The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad was, as Trains Magazine‘s April 10,2012 edition called it:
The railroad Abraham Lincoln so ardently championed in the 1800’s had changed dramatically in the ensuing century. On a mainly double-track speedway (enhanced with Automatic Train Stop in Illinois), diesel locomotives rushed goods from Gulf Coast ports and farms to a heavily industrialized North. Perhaps most surprising, the mighty Illinois Central by the mid-1970s was a cog in a larger machine — one component in a merged railroad (Illinois Central Gulf) that itself was part of a giant conglomerate with interests in real estate (La Salle Properties), financial services (Benjamin Franklin Savings), consumer products (Midas Muffler shops), and manufacturing (Waukesha Nuclear Castings). The railroad accounted for 31 percent of the income of parent IC Industries in 1973, a year when the ICG posted an all-time high revenue, thanks to strong grain, coal, and chemical traffic.
It ran from the Northeastern US to tthe Midwestern States from 1881-1988.
I am always encouraging you to accept and pursue a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ here on Legacies…On The Rails and hope you are doing that. I started attending a Men’s Study at our local Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (I am not a student, but simply attend a function there now and then) last night and it has me getting deeper into scripture to prepare to participate in the discussion. No matter how often you read God’s Word, you will always get more and more out of it!
I’m John Losh, “The Losh-Man” and until next time, when it comes to trains and everything that is railroading, just keep leaving Legacies…On The Rails!
As I have traveled to the Losh-Worley Family Reunion in Willow Springs, Missouri http://www.willowspringsmo.com/ from Kansas City, Missouri since July, 2010, and it involving so much time on the road, I had been getting frequent pics of Frisco Railroad cabooses in towns like Osceola, http://www.cityofosceolamo.com/ and even in Willow Springs, but initially to me, they were well preserved railroad rolling stock that I could get up close and personal with, and that was cool. I had even picked up an HO Scale Frisco Box Car on one of my trips from the Moccasin Trails Antique Mallhttps://www.facebook.com/OsceolaAntiques/ in Osceola.
But until the trip my wife and I took our recent trip to several cities in Arkansashttp://www.arkansas.gov/ for our 27th Anniversary, that had us first landing in Eureka Springs, Arkansashttp://www.eurekasprings.org/ on Sunday 4/23/17, later taking us to Rogers http://visitrogersarkansas.com/ Springdale http://www.springdalear.gov/ Bentonville @ http://www.bentonvillear.com/and various other nearby cities, I never stopped to consider the true impact of this “Fallen Flag Railroad” known as the St Louis-San Francisco or simply just “Frisco“, whose motto was “Ship It On The Frisco“, and whose logo was patterned after dried raccoon hides, that at one time were being sold at some old time depots in the road’s early days.
According to Wikepedia Incorporated in Missouri 9/7/1876, and formed from the Missouri Division of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, The Frisco operated in the Midwestern and South Central U.S. from 1876 to April 17,1980 (how appropriate that our trip was also in April.) At the end of 1970 it had 4.547 miles of road on 6,574 miles of track not including its subsidiaries Quanah, Acme & Pacific Railway, and the Alabama, Tennessee & Northern. It was absorbed by one of my family connection railroads, the Burlington Northern on my wife’s birthday 11/21/1980. The Frisco one of only two railroads (the other being The Katy) that were authorized to build on Indian land.
The city of Frisco, Texashttp://www.friscotexas.gov/ is named after the railroad and as the aforementioned Frisco logo is patterned after dried raccoon skins, the Frisco High School mascot is the Fighting Raccoon.
The Frisco had 16 steam locomotives #19, #1351, #1352, #1355, #1501, #1527, #1529, #1621, #1625, #1630, #4003, #4018, #4500 and #4524. In its time of operation, it also operated several stream-liner diesels. Today, the road is operated by the Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF).
On Sunday, 4/23/17 after arriving in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, we checked into the Green Tree Lodge http://www.eurekaspringslodge.com/ where the owner graciously upgraded us to the Honeymoon Cabin at no extra charge once she found out it was our anniversary, and I have to tell you the cabin was extremely luxurious, and even included a jacuzzi tub, a back deck, and we felt really spoiled. She also found out that I am a huge rail-fan, and directed us to the location of the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad that we could walk around and take all the pics we wanted to.
Later that evening, we visited the Lake Leatherwood City Park in Eureka and I recorded one of my Moments Of Tranquility Videos, at a nice waterfall area. I encourage you to check out this growing series on You Tube, as I encourage anyone feeling overwhelmed by life to “Take 5 and have a virtual sit” by streams, creeks, ponds, fountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, from our various travels as well as our local Kansas City area and to focus on a scripture verse about water.
We stayed there Sunday and Monday nights. Later, we realized my wife had left her glasses behind and we called the owner, she had found them, and fortunately, though we were in Bentonville at that point, we were returning to Eureka Springs the following weekend for their City-Wide Garage Sale, as well as to ride the aforementioned Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroadhttps://www.esnarailway.com/ as it was only running Saturdays in April, so we were able to pick them up then. I am giving the Green Tree Lodge 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Our next hotel stay was the Super 8 in the aforementioned Bentonville, Arkansas. You can find it on pretty much all the booking websites. It was clean for the most part, except for one area of the bathroom on some vertical support type structures attached to the tub, and we had some issues with getting the TV to operate properly. I am giving it 3 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
On Tuesday 4/25/17 we were in Rogers, Arkansas. First order of business was lunch after visiting with Ashley Matsumara at the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber Of Commerce http://www.rogerslowell.com/ where she presented me with a very cool Rogers Arkansas Chamber pin in the shape of a steam locomotive, and we both agreed that every railroad town ought to have something like it to present to visitors. I am giving the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber Of Commerce 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Lunch was at Pop’s Hog Wild Barbecuehttps://www.facebook.com/popshogwild/ just across the street from the Chamber as the wonderful smoky smell that every barbecue lover knows, was wafting across the street and was not to be denied. Gary took really good care of us there. I had a pulled pork sandwich meal and Denise had the pulled pork nachos. It was a gorgeous day to sit outside and enjoy some Arkansas barbecue! I even took pics of Gary’s tattoos (though I am normally not a tattoo fan) because they were Batman and The Joker and I included them in a new Facebook Album I started (one of many I started on this trip) called The Batcave. I give Pop’s Hog-Wild Barbecue 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
And as we began to walk around the town of Rogers, with me in my Kansas City Southern Locomotive t-shirt, people immediately gravitated to us and realized I am into trains and began to share their stories of family members that worked on railroads and how much of a Frisco town Rogers is. I have not had that kind of welcome by so many people in any town we have visited in all our travels over the years. We certainly appreciate their very generous hospitality! The people of Rogers, Arkansas are definitely in a class by themselves and I give them 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Folks that we met included Myra, the owner of The Trolley Line Bookshop https://www.facebook.com/Trolley-Line-Bookshop-221526167897843/ . She grew up with her father and several other relatives working on the Union Pacific Railroad and when she found out it was our anniversary week, she presented us with a gift in a mystery book that was written by a local author and takes place on the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, that is also carried in the railroad’s gift shop. While we were there, Character Actress Sondra Torchiahttps://www.facebook.com/sondra.torchia stopped by. She calls herself “a Katy Brat” as her father worked on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad.
So, of course, for her wonderful Rogers, Arkansas hospitality, and the cool name of her store, I give The Trolley Line Bookshop 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
We also visited The Rusty Chair Antiqueshttps://www.facebook.com/rustychair/ where owner Julie Loose made us a sweet deal on an AT & SF Caboose print, and she had a couple other AT & SF items in the store including a caboose heater and a bucket.
And the Iron Horse Coffee Company https://www.facebook.com/Iron-Horse-Coffee-Company-114000608623293/
Tuesday evening, we checked in to the Super 8 Hotel in Bentonville, where we would stay Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and we headed to the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad facility in Springdale where I took several pics and a short SD70ACE power move video, and ordered our tickets for the excursion trip we were to take on Wednesday evening.
Wednesday started out rainy, foggy and a bit chilly. I was told they had several inches of rain overnight, and when we attempted to visit the War Eagle Cavern, check them out http://www.wareaglecavern.com/ as we love doing cave tours and had done the Cosmic Cavernhttp://cosmiccavern.com/ in Berryville, Arkansashttp://www.berryville.com/ earlier in the week, but due to all the rain, water levels in the cave prevented them from giving tours but they did let us take the trail that leads to a cave exit so we could see the water pouring out and all the streams that run along the outside. I recorded another Moments Of Tranquility video there as well.
From there, we headed to the War Eagle Mill, https://wareaglemill.com/ hoping to take the tour there, but they were just closing up, again, due to rising flood waters. Upon our return to Kansas City, my wife found pics online that showed the War Eagle Mill, and other areas we were in on the trip, including the Beaver Bridge http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/beaverbridge.html in Beaver, Arkansashttp://www.beavertownarkansas.com/ that we had crossed twice trying to get home on Saturday 4/29/17 during heavy rains and rising waters under water. Didn’t realize until I started working on this posting how much of a landmark the Beaver Bridge is.
The War Eagle Mill just after we returned to Kansas City.
And, of course, Wednesday evening, we took our train ride on the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad. These folks were also extremely gracious in the fact that there had been a change in their schedule so that instead of just a regular excursion that evening, there was a group of 60 children from a local school that were now riding as well. And as with the Green Tree Lodge upgrading us to their Honeymoon Suite, the Arkansas & Missouri gave us a train car “The Explorer” pretty much to ourselves, except for the Conductor, Christopher and one of the other train crew being with us for a good portion of the time, and in addition to more pics and video, I recorded a two-part Episode 14 of the Legacies On The Rails Podcast with Christopher.
Thursday, 4/27/17 we were back in Rogers, Arkansas, and checked out The Cottage At The Barn Antiques https://www.godowntownrogers.com/cottage-at-the-barn anbd had a picnic lunch at The Railyard Bike Park http://rogersar.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/The-Railyard-57 and I got to go catch a very short Arkansas & Missouri Railroad freight train. Then we walked the trail that ran from The Railyard to Lake Atalantahttps://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arkansas/lake-atalanta-trail that has a stream that runs along the trail and empties into the lake, so I took the opportunity to record my third Moments Of Tranquility video that was then posted to You Tube along with the Legacies OnThe Rails Fan Video of the train.
Later in the day we visited the Crystal Bridges Museum Of Arthttp://crystalbridges.org/ in Bentonville. We later checked into our final motel of the trip, the Country Mountain Innhttp://countrymountaininn.com/ back in Eureka Springs. The owners are a wonderful Christian couple that we had a great time of fellowship with as we checked in.
On our anniversary Friday 4/28/17, we rode the Eureka Springs Trolley http://www.eurekasprings.com/transportation/transport.html originally meaning to use it to get to the various locations that the City Wide Garage Sales were going on, but quickly figured out that wasn’t happening because if we got off at stops that were not assigned Trolley stops, it would be even longer and harder to get back on each time. So instead, we chose to get off in Downtown Eureka Springs and walk around the various shops there. We later returned to the Country Mountain Inn and retrieved our car and took it to catching the last two hours of the garage sales. Dinner that evening was at the Forest Hill Restaurant http://foresthillrestaurant.com/. When we first arrived and for most of our meal, we were the only ones there except for the staff. The facility was clean, the staff was friendly, the food was good. There is a gift shop that you pass through as you enter that looks like a part of a Christian bookstore. I give the Forest Hill Restaurant 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks.
Later that night, we enjoyed having a bonfire with the owners of the Country Mountain Inn.
On Saturday morning 4/28/17 we headed back to Downtown and rode the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad. And, who knew that on the trip with us would be another couple from our native Northland area back in Missouri with their anniversary being the same day as ours but Jimmy Jay and his wife Sabrina Jay from Excelsior Springs, Missouri who had been married since 4/28/01, and are also our Brother/Sister in Christ were on the train with us. Jimmy and I are now Facebook Friends and hope to eventually get together for further rail-fanning! It is truly a small world! We were riding the ES&NA Passenger Car #2585 and were pulled by the former Missouri Pacific Alco #2742 that has 600 tracktive effort horsepower.
But there was a challenge that lay ahead for Denise and I that I eluded briefly to earlier. It had rained all night in the area we were in and rain had steadily picked up as we were riding the train and as we headed back to Missouri. The route our GPS (nicknamed “Dorothy”) was taking us kept leading to nearly flooded or already flooded roads during torrential down-pouring rain. We were really scared of getting trapped and were both getting frustrated but God was faithful and we eventually found our way out but it had taken us 4 hours to reach 71 Highway when it should have taken just 1. Here are is a pic Denise later posted of the Beaver Bridge that we had to cross twice that was later quickly under water.
I’m John Losh “The Losh-Man“, and I pray that with all the references I make to it here in the blog and on my videos that if you had not already done so before reading any of my posts that you have now entered into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and are experiencing the joy of following Him each and every day. If you haven’t, you can still do so! And, when it comes to trains and all things railroading, Continue leaving Legacies…On The Rails! I’ll see you next time!
Welcome To the 7th installment of Legacies…On The Rails for 2017,and my 34th overall edition. Glad you have again joined me and I have a real treat for you today! I had said I wanted to be more eclectic with what I shared here on the blog, and one of the directions I am going is to review other cool sites that I know you will enjoy.
I could not start this any other way but to share about my Facebook Friend Nick Ozorak, a lifelong railfan from (and who resides in) Meadville, Pennsylvania and is a 2013 graduate of Allegheny College with a degree in Film Study. For over 10 years, Nick has been igniting the passion of railroaders and railfans alike with his websites like his first one, At The Railyard http://attherailyard.com/ and his You Tube videos by the same name. The At The Railyard site and most of his videos are dedicated to profiling railroad simulators.
My favorite so far of those is the Monon (Hoosier Line) because, though this may seem insignificant to some, I have a small personal connection to it. Though I mainly concentrate on collecting items related to the railroads I have family connections to, I also pick up random pieces here and there to not only have a more diverse collection, but also for the history lesson, and I happen to own a Hoosier Line box car. I thought I had a pic handy to share but guess not. But I can certainly share Nick‘s video.
And while Nick has been doing At The Railyard the longest, before I knew about that site, I had been for quite some time, listening to and thoroughly enjoying his railroad podcast known as The Roundhouse Podcast http://theroundhousepodcast.com/ . Nick started The Roundhouse Podcast in 2015 with (as he shares in his very first episode) three specific goals in mind.
Create episodes with meaningful content
Explore new topics in the hobby
Connect with all of us as railroaders and railfans and connect all of us as a community
Well, for now 54 episodes since the inception of The Roundhouse Podcast, Nick has done a superb job of doing all that and more. He has covered freight roads, passenger railroads, excursion railroads. Logging railroads, and rail related special events. Railroad hotels, restoration and preservation of historic railroad equipment, and railroad films.
As you see above, episodes of The Roundhouse Podcast can also be found in video form on You Tube.
Starting with Norfolk Southern, he has gone on to cover such topics (always with very interesting and engaged guests who interact with him very well, as he is great at scripting the interviews so it makes things flow very smoothly). Nickel Plate 765, (which, again, I have a personal connection to. Since my opening theme here on the blog and the LOTR Podcast is The Wabash Cannonball, if you search images of the Wabash Cannonball, the NPR 765 is the one that appears the most, and I use it as wallpaper on my phone).
The Norfolk & Western 611. Chris Eden-Green‘s (another mutual Facebook Friend) Steam Locos in Profile. I recently posted a pic of a t-shirt my wife got me,on Chris’ Facebook page, thinking the steam loco looked European, asking if Chris could identify it. Brian Mcdonnell responded that it is the N&W 4-8-0 #382 on the Abingdon Branch in Virgina: affectionately known as The Virginia Creeper.
He has covered the Strasburg, Pennsylvania Railroad, President Lincoln’s Funeral Train, The American Freedom Train. I also happen to own a collector plate from said train and have also photographed one of the steam locos that led it. Nick has covered the restoration of a Royal Husdon steam locomotive. The model train manufacturer Rapido Trains, and so much more. He has done all this from his studio, as well as from inside passenger train cars, the cabs of steam locos, diesel locomotives, and track-side.
Nick’s iconic Roundhouse theme is “In days past, the roundhouse was where the railroad worker united with the steam locomotive, both to prepare for the journey ahead. Today, it’s where we examine the history, the industry, the machines, the hobby, and the passion behind railroading. News, interviews, stories and more. So climb aboard! This is…..The Roundhouse!”
Nick always includes a “Question Of The Day” on The Roundhouse Podcast, and asks us as listeners to interact with him, and that he will (and faithfully does) share the best answers on the following show. His very first Question on Episode 1 was “What railfan activities are you most looking forward to in 2015?
In Episode 9: You Career With Norfolk Southern Part 1 was sharing answers from Episode 8’s Question: What news are you most interested in sharing? In Episode 20: Restoring A Royal Hudson, asked the Question: What aspect of Canadian railroad history fascinates you the most? I think you kind of get the idea of the interesting interaction Nick creates for us as the listeners with this method.
In closing, though he did not state this goal in his opening episode, I believe Nick Ozorak has a 4th goal for The Roundhouse Podcast, At The Railyard and everything he does, that he not only strives for, but succeeds in doing. So I have to say that Goal #4 is to strive for a level of quality that always makes you want to keep coming back for more. He is one person that makes me want to do better with the Legacies On The Rails Blog, the Podcast, and my videos, and I will continue to keep coming back! I hope you catch The Roundhouse Podcast soon. You’ll be glad ya’ did!
Nick sums up how he brings us all together as a railroad community in this, “Remember, The Roundhouse…Is Our House!” I am giving Nick Ozorak , At The Railyard and The Roundhouse Podcast my Seal Of Approval with 5 out of 5 LOTR Railroad Cross-Bucks!
Well, in addition to the Facebook pages I have mentioned previously:
If you would like to send me a story, or suggest a topic, or be featured on the Legacies…On The Rails Blog or Podcast, or even if you live here in Kansas City and want to get together for some railfanning, email me at legaciesontherails@gmail.com .
As always, this is John Losh “The Losh-Man” reminding you that if you haven’t already, seek a relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ, and follow Him each day through time in his word, prayer, and involvement in an uncompromisingly Bible believing and preaching local church. It’s the ONLY WAY to truly stay On Track!
As I read in I Corinthians this morning, Chapter 9, Verse 16 stood out. “If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast in, for necessity has fallen on me. Yes, and woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” And when it comes to trains and everything that is railroading, continue leaving Legacies…On The Rails! I’ll see you next time!
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 Spangleshttp://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 Barbecuehttp://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 & Oklahomahttps://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:
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!!! 