Good morning....new to this group; am a big EL/Erie fan, as well as Rock Island, as they're what I grew up with.....the Frisco figured big in my life as well.....Wichita was at close to the end of the Monett (?) to Ellsworth, KS branch then it ended at Wichita....then it was finally pulled up all the way east to around Fredonia.....lived for almost 20 yrs between Augusta and Andover and remember when we first moved out there, I think it had become a BN operation...still using Frisco GP's.....with their Leslie S5 chime horns, orange 'gumball' roof lights, and Pyle Gyralites...inbound to Wichita late afternoon...outbound (to Springfield, I presume) early in the mornings....daily, then every other day....always liked the 'black and yellow' Frisco....orange/white was okay on the newer power, but NEVER on an E8!!! Anyway, a fondness for all the southwestern roads (Frisco, MKT, MoPac) still lingers; maybe it's a desire to remember back to a time when things were more complicated for the railroads (the ICC, rate regulation, train off petitions), but much more interesting for us who loved watching them!! Today, everything pretty much looks alike west of the Mississippi (either yellow and gray, or orange and green/black)....if I could've photographed everything I remember, there'd be enough to fill a bunch of books!!! Enough; I'm 57 and retired from the aircraft industry in Wichita....never outgrew a love of trains....have three grown daughters who each 'took their turn' accompanying dad up to the Frisco yards (and others) in north Wichita to explore and shoot pictures....I collect some N, HO, and O; can't help it; they're all so neat, and constantly bringing better and better products to the market....no layouts to run 'em on, but I display a few of them... And finally...Amtrak is better than nothing....it's not the Super Chief (or the Florida Special!), but it's better than nothing!
Welcome Aboard WM .... My bio reads very close to yours as an "older" train fan - and an airplane driver for 35 years with TWA. I too have models in all scales - want a layout, but cannot decide scale, so each week I take a different model out and place it on the desk in front of me - sometimes the spousal unit lets me stick some on the mantle for a few days. I have 10 years on you and only five (two+three) daughters who have bounced accross many crossings chasing trains. Enjoy the forum and welcome! Hope you have some nice Frisco pictures to post?
