As a kid, I found it thrilling to go to freight yards. You never knew what you’d see. I recently purchased these slides because they reminded me of the feeling I had as a kid upon visiting the ol’ freight yard. Hope you enjoy seeing them too.
I love this photo. Three of my favorite railroads all together. The location is unknown but the date is 1977. I imagine the location is California, but the seller did not know for sure. For the purposes of this blog, it doesn’t completely matter. I just wanted to help readers re-live the old school excitement of visiting the freight yard.
You have to love the variety and the billboard lettering. For me, the late 1970s and early 1980s is the golden era of railroading. I recently saw a similar Seaboard boxcar spotted in a late-1970s Rockford Files episode. I wrote a post on it. Click here to see it.
I loved seeing a few piggyback loads in many consists. Somehow, it was more interesting to have just a few scattered in the consist versus a whole train of piggybacks and containers. Note the beautiful L&N 40 footer! (As a kid, about 1977, I also remember the thrill of seeing a lone Rock Island stock car in a consist in Houston.)
To close Part I, enjoy this image of a GN box car in the fading glow of the day. I can just hear my dad say, “C’mon, it’s getting too dark.”
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Note: I have had a few readers ask about the sales component of Rails West (click here). Over the last year of so, I have sold a number of items from my HO collection. I do that for four reasons–
- To raise funds to purchase the scanner and some slides (including the above slides) to supplement my 1978-1981 slide collection (that I personally shot).
- Purchase a few additional era-appropriate cars and engines for my 1981 era Rail West layout.
- Sell items that are too new for the layout, and
- Have a collection that is more appropriately sized, given the size of my layout. (In other words, I bought too damn much stuff!)
I am trying to keep Rails West and this site close to “break even.”
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In part II, I’ll share a few more gems from the late 1970s.