All Aboard For The Legacies On The Rails Art Show And Local Rail Action!

I’ve been needing to update this for some time. But now that I am, let me kick this off by inviting you to the Legacies On The Rails Railroad Art Show. this will be a month-long event and it “heads down the rails” on that journey with a reception on Saturday, August 1st, 2015 6pm-8pm CT at the Cathy Kline Art Gallery located at 8701 NW Riverpark Dr in Parkville, Missouri which is, you may recall from my February 11th posting, a former CB&Q Depot that also houses the Parkville Area Chamber Of Commerce.

If you are an artist interested in having your work displayed for sale during the show, you must contact Cathy Kline on Facebook under her name or Cathy Kline Art Gallery or cathyklineartgallery@gmail.com and have your work submitted no later than July 30th. The best part is, 10% of sales for August will benefit the Model Rail Experience at Kansas City Union Station-which I am waaaay behind on making an appearance at. Will do that this coming week. Looking forward to seeing a good donation made to them and hopeful that this can become at least a yearly event, if not more frequent-we’ll have to see. But I am so incredibly humbled that my friend Cathy is hosting this event, and naming it after the LOTR blog and Podcast, and I hope you will seriously plan to come and be a part of it!

Since my trips to Branson and Columbia, (almost forgot to share this), I have been to my yearly Losh/Worley Family Reunion (our 41st annual) in Willow Springs, Missouri. That was over the 4th of July weekend. Along the way,I made stops at the Jefferson Avenue Foot Bridge in Springfield, Missouri, that overlooks the rail yard there in Downtown Springfield and got lots of pics and video, as well as getting pics and video at the crossing that is just down the road from the Lion’s Club Hall where we have the reunion, in Willow Springs, and getting pics and video in Cabool, and Diggins, Missouri on my drive back to Kansas City. As technical difficulties have reared their ugly head today, just going to share the videos that I know you will still enjoy.

But, getting back to local stuff, I have been down to the gallery several times lately, delivering items to help bring more permanent railroad atmosphere, including HO Scale train cars, a brake service valve for standard railroad freight cars that comes courtesy of New York Air Brake, which you will also recall from a previous LOTR POSTING, and as I have been into getting some of my train photos enlarged lately, in addition to several 8×10’s I am now displaying with my rail collection at home, I had a couple 11×14’s made (all from the Gladstone, Missouri Wal-Mart’s Photo Center) that are from outside the Art Gallery, as well as in neighboring Riverside, Missouri, in hopes that they can be displayed there-although my skill as  a photographer may or may not be suitable for them to be displayed there but if not, I will simply bring them home and display them. Of course, anytime I go down there, I make time to watch and listen for trains, and have caught a few.

Was going to share photos too, but the aforementioned technical difficulties as far as time’s sake (and my nerves) goes, is making that impractical right now.

In addition to that, I got a really good tip from former school classmate and now buddy from New Life Baptist Church, Todd Hawes that the BNSF Yard off Metropolitan Ave behind the Walmart in Kansas City, Kansas was a hopping place, and he wasn’t kidding. Got these pics and video, by standing on a huge mound of gravel on an open piece of land next to Walmart. Thanks, Todd! I will return often. I also caught a WAMX Switcher working some “Oil Cans” off 22nd/Kansas Ave and got some UP Engines off SB 7th St Trafficway. KCK is a major rail hub that I encourage any railfan to check out! Again, just going to share the videos this time. Enjoy.

In addition, I took my daughter Cara out rail-fanning one day, (the first of hopefully many) in hopes that she can score some photos worthy of display at the Cathy Kline Art Gallery. We hit some spots in Liberty, Missouri, the Chouteau Grain Elevator off Birmingham Rd just southwest of N Brighton Ave/210 Hwy, and caught the train the freight cars we shot belonged to, led by Santa Fe Blue Bonnet #3174 over by the former Sam’s Town Casino.

Then, while I went to NKC Hospital to visit my mother-in-law who unfortunately is there for her nearly 15th time in the past year, and like some of the other times, has been stuck there for over a month now, I found a great vantage point on a hill on the  Armour Rd side of the hospital and shot trains leaving EB from the Norfolk Southern yard and got several pictures and a video. Glad I can share both this time.

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

A couple days later, I even got a pic of my very first railroad Heritage Locomotive, in the Norfolk Southern Veteran’s Unit #6920 when I looked out of my Mother-In-Law’s hospital room on Sunday afternoon (that overlooks the NS Yard) and saw it sitting there. Unfortunately, it was blocked in so much that the best I could do was a long-distance shot from the roof of the hospital’s Pavilion parking garage. But I’ll take that!

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

As always, want to give a shout out to all my fellow rail-fans, whose pictures and videos I continue to share daily on my Facebook page, like Jim Matuska, Justin Spencer,Dave Mcdowell, Shane Mason, Railfan Jason, George Li, Tim White. My friend Alan Dewey, who was a recent guest on the LOTR Podcast and this past weekend, was riding the Amtrak Missouri River Runner from Kansas City to St Louis, and I hope to be able to share his story either here, or on the Podcast soon. So many more to say Hey to. Also my thanks  to those who do railroad podcasts like Tim and Craig on the Model Railcast Show, the Model Railway Show, Tom Conboy’s Terminal Talk in both Podcast and video, the Let’s Talk Trains Show, The Scotty Mason Show, Tom Barbalet and company on Model Rail Radio, and The Rip Track Podcast. Your shows continue to help make my work-days go by much smoother, and also continue to inspire me to keep leave Legacies…….On The Rails!

Here again is Roy Acuff with the now signature tune of Legacies On The Rails, Wabash Cannonball. I’m John Losh, and I’ll see you down the line!

Local Rail-Fanning And Out Of Town Trips Yield Much More Than Expected

As I sit here listening to Tim Harrison and Craig Bisgeier on Model Railcast Show #210, http://themodelrailcastshow.com/2015/06/mrcs-show-210-the-rose-knows-op-special-with-mike-rose-and-lawrence-order-swu-safe-wiring-unit-with-larry-eggering/ , that they were kind enough to mention me and the Legacies On The Rails Podcast in, I have to tell you that the last time I thought of doing a posting on here, I though “Well….I don’t have much to share except for a few local pics”. Even though I had more than enough pics to share from my usual local haunts of the KC-Front St KC Southern Knoche Yard, and the North Kansas City located BNSF Murray Yard, and  Norfolk Southern to also finally discovering where Mid-America Car is off KC’s Riverfront Rd just across from the Knoche Yard and getting some shots there. Too many to share everything. We started vacation on the weekend of June 21st and I don’t return to work until July 10th, so lots more time for rail-fanning.

 

Then, my wife and I taking yet another get-away just the two of us, returning to Branson, Missouri and on the way there, I caught some pics and even a short video from the BNSF Yard in Springfield, Missouri.

Once in Branson, we did not initially plan to, but later decided to again ride the Branson Scenic Railway.

Once on board, all the Branson Scenic Railway staff like David, who has been with them since just after our last ride in July, 2014, after retiring, and driving around the country solo is his RV for a while, but finally settling in Branson to be near his sister who is a local resident,and who really loves all the people he meets on the BSR, and John, who was in the Kansas City area for thirty years before retiring and loves trains, and people, and Karen, and David, all took really good care of us.

They seated us with Norman & Carrie Bruggeman from Waterloo, Iowa who are newlyweds, having just gotten married the previous Saturday in Waterloo, after four years of traveling together as he drove a truck, and later we sat for a bit with Dale & Joann from Cincinatti, Ohio.

While in town, we checked out various antique malls and thrift stores, and I picked up a few items for my growing railroad collection. I also picked up some from the Trade Fair Mall (Antiques) in Osceola, Missouri both on the drive down and the return trip to Kansas City.

Speaking of my collection, I have now rearranged how some of it is displayed, and have had some of my pics turned into 8 x 10’s that have now been added, and have also used 3 x 5 index cards to place near the various trains and train cars that state what railroad they are from, and its history-which has been just that, a great history lesson for me. Some of my recent acquisitions include items relating to  Canadaian Pacific’s The Dominion Steam Locomotive, The St Louis-San Francisco Railroad, New York Central, and New Haven. If you really want to see everything, I would suggest, if you are already my Facebook Friend, check out my albums under Railroadin’ and My Railroad Collection. If you are not, send me a request at John W Losh II. You will also see that I have now also began to modify postings of other friends’ rail photos as well as my own, to further share my faith in Jesus Christ by taking the Road # from the various trains, and finding scripture verses to post that correspond to the Road #.

I then, upon my return to Kansas City, had to meet a buddy that I had sold some of my sports card collection to in the past, as he was buying some more that I found in my rec-room closet, and I knew that right near there,I could always find freight cars sitting on a siding, so I took a few moments to go shoot them.

The next day, we had to turn around and leave for Columbia, Missouri where our University Of Missouri student Son lives and works, as our Daughter Cara was a State Finalist in the National American Miss-Missouri Teen Pageant. Here is a video I put together using my new favorite app Viva Video, of pictures from the weekend, both at the Pageant, as well as time with our Son.

And, though Columbia is practically a ghost town as far as railroads go, I was able to find some free time, and drove a couple exits east on I-70 and found some freight cars outside a Honeywell facility, as well as a cool locomotive outside Colt Transload.

But then on Sunday, I was able to be in what is what I call my “Home Church Away From Home” of Renick Church in Renick, Missouri where my Cousin Robert Turpin (the one I told you early on is largely responsible for starting me on the Genealogy journey that has led to the rail-fan in me coming to life) and his family attends, which was great because though I have been in his area numerous times over the past year, just for a few hours here and there, his schedule had not been allowing for us to get together and had really missed him and his family. I was privileged to have him introduce me for the benefit of those who may not have known me, and to let them know that I was taking pics to turn into a video, and I also got to lead the closing prayer at the end of the service. Here is the video.

But as far as being a rail-fan is concerned,the best….was yet to come! I soon found out that as Manager for two Fastenal Stores in the area, Robert services all the local railroads, and that his family’s current home in Huntsville, Missouri has railroad tracks actively used daily by all the same Norfolk Southern and BNSF trains that I see come through the Norfolk Southern Yard here locally. He was even able to take me to the Norfolk Southern Yard in Moberly, Missouri, as well as showing me the exterior of the local rail museum in Moberly that includes a Wabash Caboose and a Pullman car on display. It is my hope that this recent re-connection we made will lead to him nailing down a weekend soon for me to come stay with them, as we could pretty much just set up at the edge of his backyard and shoot pics and video all day long, and who knows where else he could take me.

Here is a video I put together from my pics from all these recent rail-fan excursions. Again, using Viva Video.

Now, during that same weekend, I had hoped…to meet with Tom Conboy of the Terminal Talk Model Railroad Podcast, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/terminaltalk-model-railroad/id595057410?mt=2 but his schedule of church commitments just didn’t allow us to. And, as the Assistant to Pastor Russ Steel of local New Life Baptist Church, I certainly understand what it is to be busy in ministry. Here are some of Tom’s recent videos.

And, since I was there, here are some pics that Robert posted earlier today of a Loram Maintenance Of Way train that he caught near his home.

I jokingly stated on Facebook that this is what happens when your Rail-Fan Cousin comes to visit for the afternoon-he has been assimilated! But, I am have yet another out of town adventure with lots of rail-fan potential yet to come. This Friday, July 3rd, I will point the Legacies On The Rails Cruiser in the direction of West Plains, Missouri, via Springfield Missouri where I will return to the Jefferson Avenue Foot Bridge that my wife and I visited in April, 2014 which is a great Rail-Fan site. This is before heading to my Hotel-the Super 8 in West Plains, where I will stay for two nights to attend my Losh/Worley Family Reunion (the 41st Annual) at the Lions Club Hall in Willow Springs, Missouri on Saturday July 4th. Willow Springs, from what I’ve read, has 20-30 + trains a day passing through, via tracks that are right near our reunion location and that’s just what I know for sure is on my agenda at this point. Indications are that there is a BNSF yard in West Plains, and the list goes on. So, the towns of West Plains and Willow Springs will be assimilated-resistance to Legacies On The Rails is futile!

I also hope to record more Legacies On The Rails Podcasts along the trip. Here is the link to all the current shows.http://www.podomatic.com/podcast . One of them is not a Legacies On The Rails show, but I needed somewhere to Podcast the audio of a speech my daughter gave at the National American Miss Pageant, so be sure and check it out as well.

Let’s wrap up with some Woody Guthrie-This Train Is Bound For Glory . 

.

I’m John Losh, thanking you for tuning in again, and hope you will continue to as we continue to leave Legacies……..On The Rails!