To Shiny Rails

It was a work day at Bitter Creek today. I didn’t get out there myself (our family was off celebrating Lynn’s birthday), but Rob took some photos and sent them to me: http://www.bittercreekwesternrr.org/091121.html

It was a red letter day for me today! It was my first “solo” run on the SMVRR as a qualified conductor. I put solo in quotes as James was my engineer and helped immensely in the process of getting it all done correctly. By the end of the day (7 hours on the train), I was worn out. This railroading stuff is hard work!

I got to thinking that conducting a train, at least for me, is much like conducting a choir. These are the two things I’ve experienced that are so fun and challenging at the same time that I think of absolutely nothing else when I’m doing them. It’s not that I don’t want to think of other things, it’s that I can’t because both require such focus. And because of that, these two activities are very relaxing in the long run. All the other cares just disappear for the time while I’m engaged.

The picture below was taken last July at a Friends of the SMVRR event. Virlon was running us through a basic training on hand signals and car coupling. I had neither the time nor the inclination to worry about photos today.

The Santa Maria Valley Railroad, with the help of the Friends, hosted the Motorcar Operators West (MOW) “Speeder” Run on the SMVRR today. Photos: http://www.smvrr.com/091114.html and http://www.friends-smvrr.org/091114.html.

I attended the annual meeting of the California Short Line Railroad Association (CSLRA.org) earlier this week (along with Matt and Rob Himoto). And guess what?! It was held (mostly) on a train. The coolest car was on the end with a theater view out the back of the train (pictured below). The rest of the pics are here: http://jf2.smugmug.com/Other/091110-CSLRA-BNSF/

It was a huge week for Matteo! Amtrak trip last Monday (see below), and yesterday we celebrated his birthday by taking a private excursion on the Santa Maria Valley Railroad. He was in seventh heaven… Pics: http://jf2.com/091107

The Bitter Creek Western Railroad and DiscoverLiveSteam.com annually host Website Excellence Awards for web sites about model ride-on railroads (not full-scale). Nominations are open until November 30, 2009. Public voting will take place during December.  If interested, start here:
http://www.bittercreekwesternrr.org/website-contest.html