On Memorial Day Weekend
2003, I took a cruise up Interstate 75 and then across a few
backroads to Grand Rapids, Ohio and the home of the Toledo, Lake
Erie and Western Railway & Museum.
The TLE&W runs the
"Bluebird" excursion trains using three coaches, which when I
arrived, were coupled to a former Chesapeake and Ohio Alco S-4
locomotive, now part of the TLE&W collection.
The train, operating out of
a temporary loading area, gives the appearance you're back in the
1950s with a little step-up box at the side of the last passenger
car.
You can imagine my
surprise when the train crew, due to there only being two passengers
on board, said they would uncouple the locomotive and we could join
the crew there. Wow--my first locomotive cab ride!
It was definitely a different
experience looking down the tracks over the hood of the
locomotive...
 
...and seeing a weather-worn
whistlepost, just as the engineer hit the whistle horn!
At one point, track maintenance was
underway, so we reversed direction and ran backwards to where we
started.
After the trip, I walked around the
Alco to get a few locomotive pictures and noticed how clean the
power trucks were--cleaner than I had observed anywhere
else!
I'd like to thank my new friends at
the TLE&W for providing my first locomotive cab ride--I had a
blast!
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For more information
and their train schedule, please visit the TLE&W Web Site. | 
