Things are rather slow right now, and I'm in the mood to do some rambling! Mechanical work is being done this and next week on the 231, I also requested the 30-day extension that's offered in the Sales Order. Since the holidays slowed things down, it was ideal to get the extension.

However, as anxious as everybody is, I miss the good ol' days when F40s dominated the rails. Unfortunately, as young as I am (not yet old enough to drink some booze), I didn't get to see many of them in action. (Photo of F40 #231 on Cascades Talgo near Mt Rainier, used with permission.)

231 was the only one that I got to see and photograph, and ride behind on numerous of trips starting back in 1994 to the last month it was in Portland.

I used to come home from work each day, and anxiously wait for the northbound Coast Starlight in anticipation that the 231, or another F40 would be on it.

Now that the F40s are virtually extinct from Amtrak, I no longer anticipate looking forward to the Coast Starlight's GE engines. I quit doing the daily PDX Reports that I offered online (since I saw basically each train, why not report it) -- and I miss the good ol' days, even if it was just a year ago.

The best I can do, for myself, fellow F40 fans, the railroad community, is to preserve that piece of history. Look at the PAs, SDP40Fs, P30CHs, FL9s, E units, they were EVERYWHERE during their prime time.

And they sure disappeared fast. That's a learning lesson for us all, is that when things are going to go, do not delay on preserving one. Think of today's P42s, F59PHIs, Dash-9s, SD70Macs, Geeps... Before you know it, they'll be gone, and you'll be wondering about how fast time flew by.

The F40 #231 came literally within days of being scrapped. In the past 30 days, over 50 F40s at Beech Grove have gone bye bye. The photos show it well, and it is not a pretty sight. It takes a group effort to make preservation happen -- any volunteer involved with preservation of any locomotive (whether it be labor, funds, supplies or a word of support) should give themselves a pat on the back.

When you mention all those F40s being scrapped, it reminds me of similar stories of WWII warbirds going to the junkyard in the late 40s. Nobody thought of them as something worth preserving until later. Thanks to your foresight at least one representative of the era will be available for future generations to see.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

Engine wins a reprieve, RR buff now needs to find a ride home for the big locomotive http://oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/exclude/1043327340177890.xml?oregonian