The star of the show was Norfolk Southern's 9-1-1 Honoring First Responder's engine paying tribute to our Police, Firemen and EMS workers. I knew it was going to be there but kept it a surprise for Brendan who was thrilled to see it again.
Watco displayed its Ann Arbor Heritage engine. Which was neat since the last time I saw this railroad's paint was in the early 90's.
Amtrak displayed one of its heritage engines wearing a paint scheme from the 1970's. They also had several coaches, a cafe car and a sleeper car to walk through.
We also met my model railroader friend and fellow blogger Jeff Leslie at the Station. Those who follow my list of favorite blogs may recognize his Crooked River Rails page where after examining several passenger stations located on Ohio's crooked rivers, Jeff has settled on modeling the Toledo Central Union Terminal. An excellent choice due to the stations compact size and the large amount of surrounding industry, at least back in the 1950's.
Since this was his first trip to see what he's spent so much time researching, it was a treat to see his enthusiasm. While we walked around it was great to have our own personal expert to explain the history of the area and how the different remaining station buildings were used.
While we only stayed a few hours, we all had a good time and got to see another part of Ohio's extensive railroad history.
Yes it was nice to get out and see TCUT in person for the first time even though it was a short trip like you mentioned. I am surprised the station is still for the most part intact as it was built in 1950. While most of the platform tracks have been removed (only 2 through tracks remain), the platforms and structure itself are relatively unchanged although a lot of the concrete platforms are crumbling from neglect.
ReplyDeleteAnother trip will have to be made, and I will make sure to load the SD card into my camera next time!